siu1 mo4消磨
Jyutpingsiu1 mo4
Yalesīu mòh
Definition
To kill or pass time, or to wear down gradually.
- to kill or pass time by doing something
- to wear down, erode, or consume gradually
colloquialdaily actionstime
How it's used
Focuses specifically on the act of passing time when one has nothing better to do. It carries a slightly more deliberate or reflective nuance than just idling, often implying a need to find an activity to occupy oneself during a lull. It is almost exclusively paired with the object 時間.
Examples
There is nothing to do here, how can we kill time?
He bought a lot of books to take home to kill time.
Related words
Common phrases
to kill time
Common mistake
Do not confuse this with 消耗, which refers to the physical wearing down or consumption of resources like energy or supplies. Using 消耗 for time sounds unnatural and technically incorrect in standard Cantonese.
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).
