sou3 liu2塑料
Jyutpingsou3 liu2
Yalesou líu
Definition
Plastic, specifically as a raw material.
colloquialother
How it's used
Native speakers almost exclusively use 塑膠 instead of 塑料 to refer to the material. 塑料 sounds distinctly like a Mandarin loanword or a technical term found in industrial documents rather than everyday speech. Using 塑膠 ensures you sound natural in a Hong Kong context.
Examples
Have you found the plastic raw materials yet?
Related words
Common mistake
Avoid using 塑料 in casual conversation as it will sound unnatural or overly formal to locals. Stick to 塑膠 for all contexts involving plastic materials.
Grammar color guide
Noun
Verb
Adjective
Adverb
Pronoun
Classifier
Particle
Connector
Grammar guides
- Aspect markersCantonese has no tenses, but it does have aspect markers. Learn how zo2, gwo3, gan2, and hai2 dou6 show completion, experience, and ongoing action.
- 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.
