ngai5 laan1 gam2蟻躝噉蚁躝啖
Jyutpingngai5 laan1 gam2
Yalengáih lāan gám
Definition
Extremely slow; moving like a crawling ant.
colloquialdescriptionsdaily actions
How it's used
This expression vividly captures the image of ants crawling to describe something moving with extreme slowness. It is almost exclusively used to complain about the speed of people walking or vehicles stuck in traffic. The tone is informal and slightly impatient, emphasizing that the movement is frustratingly sluggish.
Examples
You are walking like a snail, when will we arrive?
Related words
Common mistake
Do not use this to describe abstract concepts like slow internet or slow progress on a project, as it is specifically tied to physical movement. It is not a formal adjective and should be avoided in professional or written contexts.
Grammar color guide
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Grammar guides
- In 30 secondsThe whole language at a glance. No tenses, no plurals, six tones, sentence particles. Read this before you dive into any specific topic.
- ParticlesSentence particles add tone, emotion, and nuance. Learn the most common particles in Cantonese and how to use them.
- Possession (嘅)How to say my, your, and his, and how to link a describing word to a noun, all with the little word 嘅 (ge3).
