zaa3 mung2詐懵诈懵
Jyutpingzaa3 mung2
Yaleja múng
Definition
To pretend to be ignorant, dumb, or naive.
colloquialpeopledescriptions
How it's used
Acting ignorant to avoid responsibility or awkward questions is the core of this expression. It carries a slightly accusatory tone, implying that the person is being intentionally evasive rather than genuinely confused. You will often hear it used when someone is caught in a lie or trying to dodge a chore.
Examples
He clearly knows what happened, but he insists on playing dumb.
Don't play dumb here, tell the truth quickly.
Related words
Common phrases
playing dumb and acting foolish
Common mistake
Do not confuse this with 扮傻, which can sometimes imply acting silly or foolish for comedic effect. 詐懵 specifically targets the act of feigning ignorance to escape accountability.
Grammar color guide
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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).
