soeng1 tung3傷痛伤痛
Jyutpingsoeng1 tung3
Yalesēung tung
Definition
Grief, sorrow, or emotional pain caused by external trauma.
neutralemotionhealth
How it's used
Focuses on deep, lingering emotional distress rather than physical injury. It is often used in formal or literary contexts to describe profound heartbreak or trauma, making it sound more serious than common expressions like 唔開心. When describing physical pain, Cantonese speakers almost exclusively use 痛 or 痛楚 instead.
Examples
This kind of grief is really hard to recover from.
What other sorrows are you still holding onto?
Related words
Common mistake
Avoid using this to describe minor physical aches or temporary sadness. It carries a heavy emotional weight, so using it for a small cut or a bad day sounds overly dramatic or unnatural.
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.
