ting3 gin3聽見听见
Jyutpingting3 gin3
Yaleting gin
Definition
To hear; to perceive sound with one's ears.
colloquialdaily actionsbody
How it's used
While 聽見 is understood in Cantonese, it is often perceived as slightly more formal or literary compared to the ubiquitous 聽到. In everyday spoken Cantonese, 聽到 is the default choice for expressing the successful perception of sound. Using 聽見 can sometimes sound like you are reading from a script or trying to sound more precise than the situation requires.
Examples
Did you hear that sound just now?
I heard them chatting from inside the room.
Related words
Common mistake
Learners often confuse 聽見 with 聽得到, but 聽得到 specifically implies the ability to hear something, such as because the volume is loud enough, whereas 聽見 focuses on the sensory act of hearing itself.
Grammar color guide
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Grammar guides
- 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.
- Possession (嘅)How to say my, your, and his, and how to link a describing word to a noun, all with the little word 嘅 (ge3).
