pei4 lou4疲勞疲劳
Jyutpingpei4 lou4
Yalepèih lòuh
Definition
Fatigue; a state of extreme tiredness or lack of rest.
neutralhealthwork
How it's used
Although 疲勞 is understood in speech, it carries a formal or clinical tone compared to the ubiquitous 攰. You will mostly encounter this term in medical contexts, news reports, or formal workplace discussions regarding burnout. Using 攰 is almost always the better choice for casual daily conversation.
Examples
I've been working all day, I'm really exhausted.
Are you feeling unwell because of work-related fatigue?
Related words
Common mistake
Learners often mistake 疲勞 for a direct synonym of 攰 in all contexts. While 攰 is a versatile adjective for feeling tired, 疲勞 is a noun that functions more like a state or condition, making it sound overly stiff or academic if used to describe simple sleepiness.
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).
