saang1 zi6生字

Jyutpingsaang1 zi6

Yalesāang jih

名詞Uncommon

Definition

Unfamiliar characters or vocabulary words.

colloquialschool

How it's used

Teachers and students use this term frequently in classroom settings to refer to new vocabulary items found in textbooks. Unlike the Mandarin term 生詞 which covers general vocabulary, Cantonese speakers specifically use 生字 to highlight characters or words that are visually or conceptually new to the learner. It implies a focus on the act of learning and decoding written language.

Measure word

go3個go

Examples

le1呢pin1篇man4文jau5有hou2好do1多saang1生zi6字，hou2好naan4難tai2睇。

This article has many unfamiliar words, it's hard to read.

nei5你gin3見dou3到saang1生zi6字wui2會m4唔wui2會zik1即hak1刻caa4查zi6字din2典？

Do you look up the dictionary immediately when you see an unfamiliar word?

Common phrases

zaa1查saang1生zi6字

look up unfamiliar words

caau1抄saang1生zi6字

copy down unfamiliar words

Common mistake

Learners often confuse this with 生詞. While they are sometimes interchangeable, 生字 specifically emphasizes the character or word form itself, whereas 生詞 often refers to a broader lexical unit or phrase.