tau1 je5偷嘢
Jyutpingtau1 je5
Yaletāu yéh
Definition
To steal; to pilfer another person's belongings or information.
colloquialdaily actions
How it's used
偷嘢 is the standard, everyday way to describe the act of theft, functioning as a verb-object compound. Because 嘢 acts as a generic placeholder for things, you cannot add a specific object directly after 偷嘢. If you need to specify what was taken, you must drop the 嘢 and place the object between 偷 and the rest of the sentence, such as 偷咗我部電話.
Examples
Related words
Common mistake
Learners often mistakenly try to add an object after 偷嘢, such as saying 偷嘢錢, which is grammatically incorrect. Always use 偷 followed by the item, or use 偷嘢 as an intransitive verb.
Grammar color guide
Noun
Verb
Adjective
Adverb
Pronoun
Classifier
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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.
