saang1 kam4生擒
Jyutpingsaang1 kam4
Yalesāang kàhm
Definition
To capture or take alive.
colloquialpeopledaily actions
How it's used
Carries a strong sense of dramatic action and is frequently found in news reports or crime stories. It implies a struggle or a deliberate effort to secure a target without causing fatal harm. While it can apply to animals, it is most commonly associated with law enforcement apprehending dangerous suspects.
Examples
The police finally captured the thief alive.
How do you plan to catch that cat alive?
Related words
Common phrases
capture a criminal alive
Common mistake
Avoid using this for inanimate objects or general tasks like catching a ball. It specifically requires a living target that is actively trying to escape or resist.
Grammar color guide
Noun
Verb
Adjective
Adverb
Pronoun
Classifier
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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).
