soeng1 gu2商賈商贾
Jyutpingsoeng1 gu2
Yalesēung gú
Definition
Merchant or businessman.
writtenpeoplemoney
How it's used
Refers almost exclusively to wealthy, prominent, or historical traders rather than the average shopkeeper or street vendor. It carries a formal or literary weight that makes it sound out of place in casual, everyday conversation about modern business people. Use 商人 for general references to business people to avoid sounding overly dramatic or archaic.
Measure word
wai6位waihExamples
This merchant is very wealthy and donated a lot of money to build schools.
Merchants in ancient times always had to travel around to find business.
Related words
Common mistake
Learners often mistakenly use this term to describe any person who works in business, but it implies a level of prestige or historical context that makes it inappropriate for describing a typical office worker or small business owner.
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).
