siu2 si4 hau6小時候小时候
Jyutpingsiu2 si4 hau6
Yalesíu sìh hauh
Definition
During one's childhood; when one was young.
colloquialtimepeople
How it's used
Native speakers almost exclusively use 細個嗰陣 instead of the written term 小時候 in daily speech. Using 小時候 in casual conversation can sound overly formal or like reading from a book. It is common to drop the 嗰陣 and just say 細個 to mean 'when I was young' or 'as a child'.
Related words
Common mistake
Learners often mistakenly use 小時候 because it is the standard term in Mandarin, but it sounds unnatural in spoken Cantonese. Always prefer 細個 or 細個嗰陣 to sound like a local.
Grammar color guide
Noun
Verb
Adjective
Adverb
Pronoun
Classifier
Particle
Connector
Grammar guides
- QuestionsFrom yes or no questions to asking who, what, where, and when. The patterns you need to ask questions naturally in Cantonese.
- ClassifiersCantonese puts a classifier between a number and a noun, and a bare classifier on its own can mean the. Learn the common ones and how to use them.
- ComparisonsHow to say bigger than, the most, the same as, and not as good as. Cantonese uses 過 where Mandarin uses 比, and that catches a lot of learners out.
