zou6 sai3做勢做势
Jyutpingzou6 sai3
Yalejouh sai
Definition
To promote, talk up, or create momentum for someone or something.
colloquialcommunicationwork
How it's used
Focuses on the act of creating a buzz or building momentum through external validation or exaggerated praise. It often implies that the promotion is somewhat artificial or calculated to influence public perception. You will frequently hear this in contexts involving marketing, political campaigns, or celebrity image management.
Examples
They specifically hired people to hype up the new product.
Do you really need to go to such lengths to talk him up?
Related words
Common mistake
Do not confuse this with 扮嘢, which refers to acting fake or pretentious in one's personal behavior. While both involve a degree of artificiality, 做勢 is specifically about external promotion or building a narrative around a subject.
Grammar color guide
Noun
Verb
Adjective
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Classifier
Particle
Connector
Grammar guides
- Directional complementsThe small words added after a verb to show direction of movement, like up, down, out, in, and back. Common in everyday Cantonese.
- DemonstrativesThis and that with 呢 and 嗰, the personal pronouns, and how 哋 turns I, you, and he into we, you all, and they.
- Resultative complementsSticking a result word onto a verb to show how it turned out, like eat until full or look and find. A productive everyday pattern.
