ngan1奀
Jyutpingngan1
Yalengān
Definition
Thin and weak; tiny, puny, or negligible.
- thin, weak, and small
- figurativemeager, tiny, or negligible
colloquialbodydescriptions
How it's used
Describes someone who appears physically underdeveloped or sickly thin, often implying a lack of vitality rather than just being slim. It is frequently used to describe children or young animals that seem to have failed to thrive. While it can describe objects that are puny or negligible in amount, its primary and most common use is for human physical appearance.
Examples
Related words
Common mistake
Do not confuse this with 瘦, which is a neutral term for thin. 奀 carries a negative connotation of being weak or poorly nourished, so it can sound insulting if used to describe an adult.
Grammar color guide
Noun
Verb
Adjective
Adverb
Pronoun
Classifier
Particle
Connector
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).
