zuk1筑
Jyutpingzuk1
Yalejūk
Definition
An ancient five-stringed lute, or to build.
- archaican ancient stringed instrument resembling a zither, played with a bamboo stick
- literaryto build; to construct
writtenhomedaily actions
How it's used
筑 is primarily used in formal or literary contexts when referring to construction, often implying the act of building walls or fortifications. In everyday spoken Cantonese, people almost exclusively use 起 or 起屋 instead of 筑. The sense of the musical instrument is extremely rare and restricted to historical or classical Chinese literature.
Examples
They plan to build a house here.
Related words
Common mistake
Learners often mistakenly use 筑 in casual conversation because it appears in dictionaries, but it sounds overly formal or archaic to native speakers. Stick to 起 for general construction tasks.
Grammar color guide
Noun
Verb
Adjective
Adverb
Pronoun
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.
