zau1鯫鲰
Jyutpingzau1
Yalejāu
Definition
Minnows or small fish.
writtenanimals
How it's used
Refers specifically to small, insignificant fish, often used metaphorically in literature to describe someone of low status or limited vision. In modern spoken Cantonese, it is rarely used in isolation and almost always appears as 鯫魚 to clarify that it refers to the fish itself. It carries a slightly formal or literary tone compared to common terms for small fish like 細魚.
Measure word
tiu4條tìuhExamples
Related words
Common mistake
Learners often confuse this with other fish characters due to the radical, but it is specifically associated with small, fry-like fish rather than any generic fish species.
Grammar color guide
Noun
Verb
Adjective
Adverb
Pronoun
Classifier
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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).
