tong3 saam1燙衫烫衫
Jyutpingtong3 saam1
Yaletong sāam
Definition
To iron clothes.
colloquialdaily actionsclothing
How it's used
This term is the standard colloquial way to describe the act of ironing in Hong Kong. While the formal written term is 熨衫, 燙衫 is almost exclusively used in spoken contexts. It is a transitive verb that typically takes clothing items as the object.
Related words
Common mistake
Learners often confuse 燙 with 熨. While 熨 is the technically correct character for ironing, 燙 is the common character used in daily life and is widely accepted in casual writing and text messaging.
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.
