sai3 sik1勢色势色
Jyutpingsai3 sik1
Yalesai sīk
Definition
Situation; circumstances; state of affairs.
colloquialdescriptions
How it's used
Focuses specifically on the shifting nature of a situation or the 'vibe' of an environment. It is almost exclusively used in the context of assessing whether it is safe or advantageous to proceed. It carries a sense of intuition, suggesting that one is reading the room or gauging the wind before taking action.
Examples
Seeing that the situation wasn't right, we left immediately.
Related words
Common mistake
Do not confuse this with 情況, which is a neutral term for 'situation'. 勢色 implies a dynamic, changing, or potentially threatening environment that requires careful observation.
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.
