zou1 joeng1遭殃
Jyutpingzou1 joeng1
Yalejōu yēung
Definition
To suffer a disaster, misfortune, or calamity.
colloquialemotionother
How it's used
Focuses on the idea of being an innocent bystander or a victim of collateral damage rather than just experiencing personal misfortune. It carries a sense of being dragged into a bad situation that was caused by someone else or external circumstances. It is often used to describe the unfortunate result of a chain reaction.
Examples
They were fighting, and ended up dragging the person next to them into the mess.
If this plan fails, the whole department will suffer the consequences.
Related words
Common phrases
to suffer innocently
to suffer as a result of being implicated
Common mistake
Avoid using this to describe personal health issues or minor inconveniences, as it implies a more significant, often external, disaster or negative outcome.
Grammar color guide
Noun
Verb
Adjective
Adverb
Pronoun
Classifier
Particle
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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).
