ziu3照
Jyutpingziu3
Yalejiu
Definition
Photo; photograph.
colloquialother
How it's used
While 照 can mean a photo, it is almost exclusively used as a suffix in compound words like 合照 or 證件照. When referring to a single photograph in everyday speech, speakers overwhelmingly prefer the word 相. Using 照 as a standalone noun for a photo sounds quite unnatural or overly formal to native ears.
Measure word
zoeng1張jēungExamples
Let's take a group photo as a souvenir.
Related words
Common mistake
Do not confuse 照 with 相. While they share the same meaning, 相 is the standard noun for a photograph, whereas 照 functions more like a bound morpheme that requires a prefix to form a complete word.
Grammar color guide
Noun
Verb
Adjective
Adverb
Pronoun
Classifier
Particle
Connector
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).
