zing3 daai6正大
Jyutpingzing3 daai6
Yalejing daaih
Definition
Honest, straightforward, and aboveboard.
colloquialpeopledescriptions
How it's used
Focuses on the moral integrity of a person or the transparency of an action. It implies a lack of hidden agendas or underhanded schemes. While often used as an adjective, it carries a strong sense of righteousness that commands respect in social or professional settings.
Examples
He is a very honest person and won't pull any petty tricks.
The most important thing in business is to be above board, don't cheat people.
Related words
Common phrases
open and above board
Common mistake
Do not confuse this with 正大光明, which is a common four-character idiom. While 正大 can stand alone, it is often used as a shortened form of the idiom, and using it in isolation might sound slightly less natural than using the full phrase in formal contexts.
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).
