seon4 seoi6純粹纯粹
Jyutpingseon4 seoi6
Yalesèuhn seuih
Definition
Purely; completely; wholly; of a single nature without any other elements.
colloquialdescriptions
How it's used
Focuses on the absence of ulterior motives or mixed intentions. It often appears in defensive contexts to clarify that an action is simple or singular in its purpose. Unlike the formal usage in other Chinese varieties, it feels quite natural in spoken Cantonese when someone wants to dismiss suspicion or simplify a complex situation.
Examples
He purely wants to help you, don't overthink it.
Related words
Common mistake
Avoid using it to mean 'clean' or 'unpolluted' as one might in other contexts; in Cantonese, it is strictly an adverbial marker for 'only' or 'just'.
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.
