pui1胚
Jyutpingpui1
Yalepūi
Definition
Embryo, or a state of chaos and disorder.
- technicalembryo; fetus
- literarychaos; primeval state of the universe
neutralhealthother
How it's used
Refers primarily to the biological state of an embryo, though it is frequently used metaphorically to describe the early, unformed stage of a project or idea. It is almost always used in conjunction with 胎 to form 胚胎 in everyday speech to avoid ambiguity, as the single character 胚 can sound overly clinical or incomplete in casual conversation.
Measure word
go3個goExamples
The doctor said the embryo is developing very healthily.
This matter is still in the embryonic stage, there is no final decision yet.
Related words
Common mistake
Avoid using this word to describe a literal baby or fetus, as 胎 or 嬰兒 are the appropriate terms for those stages of development.
Grammar color guide
Noun
Verb
Adjective
Adverb
Pronoun
Classifier
Particle
Connector
Grammar guides
- QuestionsFrom yes or no questions to asking who, what, where, and when. The patterns you need to ask questions naturally in Cantonese.
- ClassifiersCantonese puts a classifier between a number and a noun, and a bare classifier on its own can mean the. Learn the common ones and how to use them.
- ComparisonsHow to say bigger than, the most, the same as, and not as good as. Cantonese uses 過 where Mandarin uses 比, and that catches a lot of learners out.
