zau1 gung1周公
Jyutpingzau1 gung1
Yalejāu gūng
Definition
Duke of Zhou, a historical regent of the Western Zhou dynasty; also referred to in relation to sleep and dreams.
- Duke of Zhou (11th c. BC), historical regent of the Western Zhou
- figurativethe personification of sleep or dreams
colloquialpeopledaily actions
How it's used
Referring to the Duke of Zhou is the standard way to talk about going to sleep or dreaming in Cantonese. It carries a playful, slightly old-fashioned tone that is very common in daily life. You will often hear people say they are going to meet him when they are exhausted or about to take a nap.
Examples
I am so sleepy, I need to go find the Duke of Zhou.
Did you go have a chat with the Duke of Zhou?
Related words
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).
