tou1 tin1滔天
Jyutpingtou1 tin1
Yaletōu tīn
Definition
Heinous, flagrant, or monumental; literally of waves or water, reaching or filling the sky.
- literaryreaching to the sky (of waves or water)
- heinous; flagrant; monstrous (of crimes or sins)
writtendescriptionsother
How it's used
Reserved almost exclusively for describing extreme, unforgivable, or catastrophic situations, particularly in formal or dramatic contexts. It is most frequently paired with words like 大罪 or 惡行 to emphasize the severity of a moral transgression. You will rarely hear it used in casual daily conversation unless someone is being intentionally hyperbolic or theatrical.
Examples
He committed a heinous crime, there is really no saving him.
How can such a flagrant evil act be forgiven so easily?
Related words
Common mistake
Do not use this to describe something that is merely bad or annoying, as it carries a heavy weight of moral outrage. It is not a general adjective for 'big' or 'huge'.
Grammar color guide
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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.
