sei3 sap6 sei3四十四
Jyutpingsei3 sap6 sei3
Yalesei sahp sei
Definition
Forty-four; the number 44.
neutralnumbers
How it's used
Cantonese speakers often avoid the number four in daily life due to its homophony with the word for death. While four is unavoidable in counts like forty-four, it is frequently omitted or replaced in contexts like room numbers, floor levels, or phone numbers to avoid bad luck.
Examples
There are forty-four people here in total.
Related words
Common mistake
Be careful with the pronunciation of four and ten, as they sound very similar to beginners; confusing them can lead to significant misunderstandings when discussing prices or quantities.
Grammar color guide
Noun
Verb
Adjective
Adverb
Pronoun
Classifier
Particle
Connector
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).
