saai1 sam1 gei1 ngaai4 ngaan5 fan3嘥心機,挨眼瞓嘥心机,挨眼瞓
Jyutpingsaai1 sam1 gei1 ngaai4 ngaan5 fan3
Yalesāai sām gēi ngàaih ngáahn fan
Definition
To work hard for nothing; to waste one's efforts and endure sleepiness in vain.
colloquialdaily actionswork
How it's used
嘥心機 carries a sense of frustration or futility, often used when someone realizes their hard work will not yield the expected results. 挨眼瞓 is specifically used for the act of enduring sleep deprivation to complete a task, highlighting the physical struggle of keeping one's eyes open.
Related words
Common phrases
really a waste of effort
working while fighting sleepiness
Common mistake
Learners often confuse 嘥心機 with 嘥氣, but 嘥氣 usually refers to wasting one's breath or energy arguing about something pointless, whereas 嘥心機 focuses on the wasted mental effort or planning.
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).
