oi3 gwok3愛國爱国
Jyutpingoi3 gwok3
Yaleoi gwok
Definition
Patriotic; to love one's country.
neutralpeopleother
How it's used
Used primarily in formal or political contexts, this term is less common in casual daily chatter. It often carries a serious or heavy tone, making it sound slightly stiff if used to describe trivial personal preferences. When used in conversation, it is frequently paired with intensifiers like 好 to emphasize the depth of one's sentiment.
Examples
He is very patriotic and watches the news all the time.
Do you think this behavior counts as patriotic?
Related words
Common mistake
Learners often mistakenly use this as a verb, but it functions primarily as an adjective. It cannot be used directly as a verb like 'to love the country' without adding a verb like 係 or being used in a specific descriptive structure.
Grammar color guide
Noun
Verb
Adjective
Adverb
Pronoun
Classifier
Particle
Connector
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.
