siu3 neoi5少女
Jyutpingsiu3 neoi5
Yalesiu néuih
Definition
Young girl; young female.
neutralpeople
How it's used
少女 is a formal or literary term that is rarely used in casual spoken Cantonese. In everyday conversation, people prefer using 女仔 or 妹妹 to refer to a young girl. Using 少女 in speech can sound overly dramatic or like a description from a news report or a romantic novel.
Measure word
go3個goExamples
Did you see a young girl waiting for the bus there?
Related words
Common mistake
Avoid using 少女 in casual conversation as it sounds stiff and unnatural. Use 女仔 instead for general reference to a young female.
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.
