緊 / 住

Doing It vs. Having Done It

Level 2Sounds Like gan2 zyu6

Use 緊 for dynamic actions happening right now (e.g., in the act of putting on clothes). Use 住 for sustained continuous states (e.g., wearing clothes) or temporary background actions.

How It Works

Understanding the distinction between 緊 (gan2) and 住 (zyu6) is essential to sound natural in spoken Cantonese.

1. Active Action vs. Resulting State
This distinction is most obvious with verbs of posture, body movement, and wearing (e.g., 著 zoek3 'wear/put on', 戴 daai3 'wear/put on accessories', 揸 zaa1 'hold/drive', 坐 co5 'sit'):

  • Verb + 緊: Marks the dynamic physical act happening right at this instant. For example, 佢著緊衫 (keoi5 zoek3 gan2 saam1) means 'S/he is in the middle of slipping into clothes.'
  • Verb + 住: Marks the unchanged continuous state following the action. For example, 佢著住外套 (keoi5 zoek3 zyu6 ngoi6 tou3) means 'S/he is wearing a jacket (it is currently on their body).'

2. 住 as a Background Condition
When linking two actions, 住 marks an ongoing state that serves as the background for another main verb:
唔好戴住太陽眼鏡睇書 (m4 hou2 daai3 zyu6 taai3 joeng4 ngaan5 geng2 tai2 syu1) = 'Don't read books while wearing sunglasses.'

3. Secondary Use of 住 ('For Now / Temporarily')
In everyday speech, 住 can also mean carrying out an action temporarily or 'for the time being', often paired with 先 (sin1):
食住先 (sik6 zyu6 sin1) = 'Eat this for now.'

4. Structure and Restrictions
Both markers attach directly after the verb root (Verb + 緊/住 + Object). Placing them after the direct object is ungrammatical. Note also that 緊 requires dynamic action verbs; it cannot attach to stative or cognitive verbs like 知 (zi1, 'know') or 係 (hai6, 'be').

Examples (4)

  1. 佢喺度著緊衫，等佢一陣啦。

    S/he is putting on clothes right now; wait a moment for them.

    Word by Word: S/he [at here] wear [in progress] clothes, wait s/he one moment [particle].

    Here, 著緊 (zoek3 gan2) refers to the active, physical process of slipping on clothes.

  2. 佢著住一件紅色嘅外套。

    S/he is wearing a red jacket.

    Word by Word: S/he wear [durative] one [classifier] red [possessive] jacket.

    Here, 著住 (zoek3 zyu6) describes the ongoing, static state of having the jacket on.

  3. 唔好戴住太陽眼鏡睇書呀。

    Don't read books while wearing sunglasses.

    Word by Word: Not good wear [durative] sun glasses read book [particle].

    戴住 (daai3 zyu6) establishes wearing sunglasses as a continuous background state accompanying reading.

  4. 你食住個麵包先啦，陣間去食大餐。

    Eat this bread for now; we'll go have a big meal later.

    Word by Word: You eat [for now] [classifier] bread first [particle], short while go eat big meal.

    This demonstrates the secondary sense of 住 (zyu6) used in the V + 住 + ... + 先 structure meaning 'doing something for now'.

Common Mistakes

  • Using 緊 for a lasting state such as wearing glasses.

    Different Meaning佢戴緊眼鏡，你睇唔睇到？
    佢戴住眼鏡，你睇唔睇到？

    佢戴緊眼鏡 is a good sentence and is heard for ‘is wearing glasses’. 緊 (gan2) puts the stress on an action in progress, while 戴住 (daai3 zyu6) is the usual way to describe the lasting state of wearing them.

  • Placing the aspect marker after the direct object instead of immediately after the verb.

    佢戴眼鏡緊。
    佢戴緊眼鏡。

    Aspect markers such as 緊 (gan2) and 住 (zyu6) must be attached directly to the verb root, preceding any object.

  • Assuming 住 is a past tense marker because the action resulted from a prior motion.

    佢琴日住喺公司。
    佢琴日喺公司住。

    Cantonese has no grammatical tense. 咗 (zo2) marks completed events, whereas 住 (zyu6) marks an ongoing continuous state or functions as a main verb meaning 'to reside'.

How It Connects

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緊 / 住Level 2Doing It vs. Having Done It

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This comparison helps you understand the differences between 緊 and 住. Study each pattern individually first.

Words in This Pattern

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