si6 lek1士叻
Jyutpingsi6 lek1
Yalesih lēk
Definition
Shellac; a resin secreted by female lac bugs, used as a wood finish or food glaze.
neutralother
How it's used
This term is a direct loanword from English and is primarily used in professional contexts like carpentry, wood finishing, or food manufacturing. You will rarely hear it in casual daily conversation unless you are specifically discussing DIY furniture restoration or food additives. It is often referred to as 士叻水 when it is in liquid form.
Measure word
gun3罐gunExamples
This table needs a coat of shellac to look good.
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).
