saa1 faat3沙發沙发
Jyutpingsaa1 faat3
Yalesā faat
Definition
Sofa; couch.
colloquialhome
How it's used
Cantonese speakers almost exclusively use the loanword 梳化, which is a direct phonetic borrowing from the English word sofa. Using 沙發 sounds distinctly like Mandarin and will immediately mark you as a non-native speaker in Hong Kong. It is treated as a standard household object and is used in all contexts from casual conversation to furniture store advertisements.
Measure word
zoeng1張jēungRelated words
Common mistake
Avoid using 沙發 in daily speech, as it is perceived as a foreign term imported from Mandarin and sounds unnatural to local ears.
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).
