paau1 hei3拋棄抛弃
Jyutpingpaau1 hei3
Yalepāau hei
Definition
To abandon, forsake, or discard.
neutraldaily actionspeople
How it's used
While often used for people or pets, this term is frequently applied to inanimate objects in daily life to mean throwing away or discarding. It carries a stronger sense of deliberate rejection compared to simply losing or misplacing something. In casual speech, people might prefer 掉咗 or 扔咗 for physical trash.
Examples
Why did he have to abandon the cat?
Related words
Common phrases
to abandon an old flame
to abandon one's principles
Common mistake
Learners often use this word for losing an item, but it implies an intentional act of getting rid of something rather than an accidental loss.
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).
