saang1 jat6生日
Jyutpingsaang1 jat6
Yalesāang yaht
Definition
Birthday; the day of one's birth, or the annual celebration of that day.
neutraltimepeople
How it's used
People often use the verb 過 to describe the act of spending their birthday, such as 過生日. While standard, it is also very common to simply say 係我生日 to indicate that the day has arrived. When talking about someone's age, Cantonese speakers frequently use 歲 as the measure word for years.
Examples
How do you plan to celebrate your birthday this year?
Next week is my mom's birthday, I need to buy a gift.
Related words
Common phrases
birthday party
birthday cake
birthday gift
Common mistake
Avoid using the Mandarin structure 生日快樂 as a standalone sentence in casual conversation, as it sounds a bit formal or like a greeting card. Instead, locals often say 祝你生日快樂 or just 祝你生日開心.
Grammar color guide
Noun
Verb
Adjective
Adverb
Pronoun
Classifier
Particle
Connector
Grammar guides
- LocationHow to say where something is using 喺 (hai2), place words like 度, and the common coverbs that work like English prepositions.
- Serial verbsStringing two or more verbs together without any joining word, like go to the shop buy things. Extremely common in Cantonese.
- 將 disposalHow to move the object in front of the verb with 將, to focus on what happens to it. Common in instructions and writing.
