sin3 cing4煽情
Jyutpingsin3 cing4
Yalesin chìhng
Definition
Sensationally emotional; deliberately stirring up strong feelings such as excitement, anger, or sentimentality.
colloquialdescriptionsemotion
How it's used
Often carries a negative connotation in Hong Kong, implying that someone is deliberately over-dramatizing a situation to manipulate the audience's feelings. It is frequently used to critique news reports, political speeches, or films that feel insincere or overly sentimental. Unlike simply being emotional, it suggests a calculated effort to provoke a reaction.
Examples
The plot of this movie is very manipulative, it made me tear up.
You don't need to say such emotional things, just get straight to the point.
Related words
Common mistake
Learners often mistake this for a positive term meaning touching or moving, but it is almost always used as a criticism for being overly dramatic or cheesy.
Grammar color guide
Noun
Verb
Adjective
Adverb
Pronoun
Classifier
Particle
Connector
Grammar guides
- Directional complementsThe small words added after a verb to show direction of movement, like up, down, out, in, and back. Common in everyday Cantonese.
- DemonstrativesThis and that with 呢 and 嗰, the personal pronouns, and how 哋 turns I, you, and he into we, you all, and they.
- Resultative complementsSticking a result word onto a verb to show how it turned out, like eat until full or look and find. A productive everyday pattern.
