saam1 wong4 ng5 dai3三皇五帝
Jyutpingsaam1 wong4 ng5 dai3
Yalesāam wòhng ńgh dai
Definition
The Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors, mythological rulers in ancient Chinese history.
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How it's used
This term is frequently used idiomatically to refer to things that are extremely ancient or legendary. When someone says something happened back in the days of the 三皇五帝, they are often humorously implying that the topic is so old it is practically prehistoric or irrelevant to modern life.
Examples
He is telling stories about the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors.
Related words
Common phrases
to talk about ancient history
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).
