wui4 heoi3回去
Jyutpingwui4 heoi3
Yalewùih heui
Definition
To go back or return to an original place.
colloquialdaily actions
How it's used
Native speakers almost exclusively use 返去 instead of the written form 回去 in daily speech. Using 回去 in conversation sounds overly formal, stiff, or like a direct translation from written text. It is common to drop the 去 and just use 返 when the destination is implied or already mentioned.
Related words
Common mistake
Learners often use 回去 because they see it in textbooks, but it sounds unnatural in casual settings. Stick to 返去 or just 返 to sound like a local.
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.
