waa6話话
Jyutpingwaa6
Yalewah
Definition
Speech, words, or language.
colloquialcommunication
How it's used
Refers specifically to a language or a particular way of speaking rather than the act of talking itself. When used to mean language, it often appears in compounds like 廣東話 or 英文話. It carries a slightly more informal or grounded feel compared to the more abstract 語言.
Examples
What he said is very unpleasant, don't pay attention to him.
Related words
Common mistake
Avoid using 話 as a direct translation for the verb to speak in all contexts, as 講 is the standard verb for the action of talking. Using 話 as a verb is largely restricted to specific phrases like 話事 or 話知你.
Grammar color guide
Noun
Verb
Adjective
Adverb
Pronoun
Classifier
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Connector
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).
