po3 caai4破柴
Jyutpingpo3 caai4
Yalepo chàaih
Definition
To chop firewood.
colloquialdaily actionsother
How it's used
While 破柴 literally refers to chopping firewood, it is most famous in Hong Kong for the pun 牀下底破柴, which sounds like the English phrase "choke die". This makes it a classic example of Cantonese wordplay that relies on phonetic similarity to English. Outside of this specific joke, the term is quite old-fashioned as most modern households do not use wood for fuel.
Examples
He is chopping firewood in the backyard with great effort.
Related words
Common phrases
Chopping firewood under the bed (a classic Cantonese-English pun for 'choke die')
Common mistake
Do not confuse this with 劈炮, which is slang for quitting a job. Learners often mistake the sound of 破 for other similar sounding characters, but the specific pairing with 柴 is what defines the pun.
Grammar color guide
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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).
