sin3 hoeng1線香线香

Jyutpingsin3 hoeng1

Yalesin hēung

Definition

Incense sticks.

neutralother

How it's used

Refers specifically to the thin, stick-like incense used for religious or ancestral worship in homes and temples. While the formal term is used in written contexts, speakers often just say 香 when the context of burning it is clear. It is culturally essential for rituals involving ancestors or deities, and the act of lighting them is almost always described with the verb 點.

Measure word

zi1支jī

Examples

keoi5佢喺hai2神san4枱toi4前cin4面min6點dim2咗zo2三saam1支zi1線sin3香。

He lit three incense sticks in front of the altar.

nei5你maai5買zo2咗sin3線hoeng1香mei6未aa4呀？

Have you bought the incense sticks yet?

Common phrases

dim2點sin3線hoeng1香

to light incense sticks

caap3插sin3線hoeng1香

to insert incense sticks into the burner

Common mistake

Do not confuse this with the word for electric cables or telephone lines, which is also written as 線. While the character is the same, the context of burning or worship makes the meaning clear.