sung3餸
Jyutpingsung3
Yalesung
Definition
Dishes or food prepared as part of a meal to accompany rice.
colloquialfood
How it's used
Refers specifically to the savory items eaten alongside rice, rather than the rice itself. It is a fundamental concept in local dining culture where a meal is defined by the balance between the staple grain and the accompanying dishes. You will often hear people ask about the number of dishes being served to gauge the generosity of a host.
Measure word
mei2味méiExamples
What dishes are you cooking tonight?
Related words
Common phrases
to go grocery shopping for ingredients
to add an extra dish to the meal
Common mistake
Do not confuse this with 食物, which is a general term for food items or groceries. Use 餸 only when referring to prepared dishes intended to be eaten with rice or noodles.
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.
