wing5永
Jyutpingwing5
Yalewíhng
Definition
Always, forever, or permanent.
colloquialtime
How it's used
While 永 is a morpheme meaning forever, it rarely stands alone in modern spoken Cantonese. It is almost always paired with 遠 to form 永遠, which functions as an adverb for something that persists indefinitely. Using 永 by itself sounds poetic or archaic, similar to how one might use 'eternal' in English rather than 'always'.
Examples
We will always be good friends.
Related words
Common mistake
Learners often try to use 永 as a direct translation for 'always' in everyday sentences, but it sounds unnatural without the 遠 suffix. Stick to 永遠 for standard speech.
Grammar color guide
Noun
Verb
Adjective
Adverb
Pronoun
Classifier
Particle
Connector
Grammar guides
- QuestionsFrom yes or no questions to asking who, what, where, and when. The patterns you need to ask questions naturally in Cantonese.
- ClassifiersCantonese puts a classifier between a number and a noun, and a bare classifier on its own can mean the. Learn the common ones and how to use them.
- ComparisonsHow to say bigger than, the most, the same as, and not as good as. Cantonese uses 過 where Mandarin uses 比, and that catches a lot of learners out.
