siu1 faa3消化
Jyutpingsiu1 faa3
Yalesīu fa
Definition
To digest and process food for nourishment, or to absorb and understand information.
- to digest and break down food in the body for nourishment
- figurativeto process, absorb, or understand knowledge or information
colloquialhealthdaily actions
How it's used
Beyond the literal biological process, this word is frequently used metaphorically to describe the mental processing of complex information, instructions, or new knowledge. It implies that the information is being broken down into manageable parts so that it can be fully understood and utilized. When used in this sense, it is often interchangeable with 吸收.
Examples
It is hard to digest if you go to sleep right after eating.
Have you processed that information yet?
Related words
Common mistake
Learners sometimes confuse this with 吸收, but 消化 specifically emphasizes the process of breaking something down into smaller, usable pieces, whereas 吸收 focuses on the intake or assimilation of that knowledge.
Grammar color guide
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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).
