zau1舟
Jyutpingzau1
Yalejāu
Definition
A small boat.
writtentransport
How it's used
This character is primarily a literary or classical term for a boat and is rarely used in modern spoken Cantonese. In everyday life, people almost exclusively use 船 to refer to any kind of watercraft. It is mostly encountered in formal idioms or poetic descriptions of travel.
Measure word
zek3隻jekExamples
Related words
Common phrases
exhausted from a long journey
Common mistake
Do not use this word in daily conversation to describe a ferry or a ship, as it will sound overly dramatic or archaic. Stick to 船 for all practical purposes.
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.
