sing1星
Jyutpingsing1
Yalesīng
Definition
Star; a luminous celestial body or a star-shaped pattern.
- star; a luminous celestial body in space
- star shape; a pattern with four or more acute angles
Example
gam1今maan5晚jau5有hou2好do1多sing1星。
There are lots of stars tonight.
colloquialnature
How it's used
When referring to celestial bodies, Cantonese speakers almost always add the classifier 粒 before 星 to make it sound natural. While 星 can stand alone in literary contexts, in daily speech, it is common to use the reduplicated form 星星 to refer to stars in the sky, especially when talking to children or describing a starry night.
Measure word
nap1粒nāpExamples
Related words
Common mistake
Learners often forget to use the classifier 粒, which is essential for counting or specifying individual stars. Without it, the sentence can sound incomplete or overly formal.
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).
