V+飽

Eat Your Fill

Level 2Sounds Like baau2

Add 飽 (baau2) directly after a verb to mean doing something until full or to your heart's content. The complement attaches straight to the verb before any object: V + 飽 (+ Object).

How It Works

V + 飽 (baau2) is an essential resultative verb complement in spoken Cantonese.

1. Literal and Metaphorical Functions
• Literal: Paired with consumption verbs like 食 (sik6, eat) or 飲 (jam2, drink) to indicate physical fullness.
• Metaphorical: Paired with activity or perception verbs such as 瞓 (fan3, sleep), 睇 (tai2, watch), or 玩 (waan2, play) to mean doing something to one's heart's content or getting one's fill.

2. Key Structural Rules
• Word Order: 飽 must attach directly to the main verb before any direct object: V + 飽 + Object (e.g., 食飽飯 sik6 baau2 faan6, 'eat [a meal] until full').
• Subject-Focused State: The resulting state of being full or satisfied always describes the subject (the doer), not the object.
• Aspect Markers: Aspect markers like 咗 (zo2) attach immediately after 飽 (e.g., 食飽咗 sik6 baau2 zo2).
• Potential Forms: Insert 得 (dak1) for positive potential (V + 得 + 飽, 'able to get full') or 唔 (m4) for negative potential (V + 唔 + 飽, 'unable to get full').

Examples (4)

  1. 我食飽啦，唔該！

    I am full, thank you!

    Word by Word: I eat full SFP, thank you!

    The standard expression 食飽 (sik6 baau2) literally means eating until full.

  2. 佢食飽飯就去咗睇戲。

    After eating his fill, he went to watch a movie.

    Word by Word: He eat full rice then go PAST watch movie.

    Notice the word order: 飽 (baau2) attaches directly to the verb 食 (sik6) before the noun 飯 (faan6).

  3. 今晚我要瞓飽，聽朝要早起。

    I need to get a good night's sleep tonight because I have to wake up early tomorrow morning.

    Word by Word: Tonight I must sleep full, tomorrow morning must early get up.

    Here, 飽 (baau2) is used metaphorically with 瞓 (fan3, sleep) to mean getting a full, satisfying sleep.

  4. 隻貓食唔飽，仲喵喵叫。

    The cat isn't getting full and is still meowing.

    Word by Word: CL cat eat not full, still meow meow cry.

    Demonstrates the negative potential form V + 唔 + 飽 to show inability to reach fullness.

Common Mistakes

  • Placing the direct object between the verb and 飽

    我食飯飽啦。
    我食飽飯啦。

    Resultative complements must attach directly to the verb before the object (食飽飯, not 食飯飽).

  • Using potential 得 (dak1) when stating a completed result

    我食得飽啦。
    我食飽啦。

    Inserting 得 (dak1) changes the meaning to 'I am able to get full'. To say 'I am full', use 食飽.

  • Using Mandarin 吃 (chī) instead of Cantonese 食 (sik6)

    我吃飽啦。
    我食飽啦。

    Spoken Cantonese uses 食 (sik6) for eating, not the standard written Chinese/Mandarin character 吃.

How It Connects

Tap a pattern to see what it builds on and what it leads to.

V+飽Level 2Eat Your Fill

Learn This First

To understand 'V+飽' (eat your fill), you need to understand the general concept of resultative verb compounds in Cantonese, where a verb is followed by a result (in this case, 'full'). Familiarity with basic verbal particles and how to ask 'have you... yet' questions will help you use this pattern in common conversational contexts.

Words in This Pattern

饱