ngoi6 dou6外道
Jyutpingngoi6 dou6
Yalengoih douh
Definition
Heretics or non-Buddhist doctrines.
neutralother
How it's used
Primarily used in Buddhist contexts to refer to non-Buddhist schools of thought or practitioners. It carries a strong sense of being outside the orthodox path, often implying a deviation from the truth as defined by the speaker's tradition. While it can be used metaphorically in casual speech to describe someone with unconventional or fringe views, it retains a slightly archaic or scholarly flavor.
Examples
They always call others heretics, but they don't really know much themselves.
In the eyes of traditional Buddhism, these sects are all considered heretical.
Related words
Common mistake
Avoid using this to describe someone who is simply 'weird' or 'eccentric' in a secular sense, as the term is deeply rooted in religious polemics and implies a fundamental doctrinal error rather than just unusual behavior.
Grammar color guide
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Grammar guides
- Directional complementsThe small words added after a verb to show direction of movement, like up, down, out, in, and back. Common in everyday Cantonese.
- DemonstrativesThis and that with 呢 and 嗰, the personal pronouns, and how 哋 turns I, you, and he into we, you all, and they.
- Resultative complementsSticking a result word onto a verb to show how it turned out, like eat until full or look and find. A productive everyday pattern.
