sung3 ce1 mei5送車尾送车尾
Jyutpingsung3 ce1 mei5
Yalesung chē méih
Definition
To miss a bus, train, or other vehicle, watching it drive away.
colloquialtransportdaily actions
How it's used
This expression vividly captures the frustration of watching the vehicle you intended to board pull away just as you arrive. It is primarily used for buses or trains and implies a sense of bad luck or poor timing. While it literally refers to seeing the back of the vehicle, it is often used figuratively to describe missing any opportunity that has just slipped away.
Examples
Oh no, I missed the bus again, I'm definitely going to be late.
Related words
Common phrases
miss the bus to work
Common mistake
Do not use this to describe missing a flight or a meeting, as it is specifically tied to ground transport where you can physically see the vehicle departing in front of you.
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.
