嚿

Classifier for Lumps

Level 2Sounds Like gau6

嚿 (gau6) is the primary spoken Cantonese classifier for thick, chunky, three-dimensional objects without a thin or flat shape (such as chunks of meat, blocks of stone, or slices of cake). It is also widely used in Cantonese slang to represent 100 dollars (一嚿水) and in idioms describing a state of daze or confusion.

How It Works

1. Core Semantic Function
嚿 (gau6) categorizes solid objects that exist as shapeless, irregular, or bulky masses. Common nouns modified by 嚿 include:

  • 肉 (juk6): meat (chunky pieces)
  • 蛋糕 (daan6 gou1): cake
  • 麵包 (min6 baau1): bread
  • 石頭 (sek6 tau4): stone/rock
  • 泥 (nai4): clay/mud

2. Common Grammatical Patterns
• Number + CL + Noun: 一嚿肉 (jat1 gau6 juk6) — a chunk of meat
• Demonstrative + CL + Noun: 呢嚿石 (nei1 gau6 sek6) — this rock
• Bare Classifier + Noun: 嚿肉好硬 (gau6 juk6 hou2 ngaang6) — the/this piece of meat is hard

3. Idiomatic and Slang Usages
• Currency ($100 bill/unit): Preceded by numbers, 嚿 functions as informal slang for a 100-dollar bill. For instance, 一嚿水 (jat1 gau6 seoi2) literally means 'one lump of water' but translates to '100 dollars' in casual conversation.
• Figurative descriptions: Applied to people or states to denote clunkiness or confusion, such as 一嚿雲 (jat1 gau6 wan4, lit. 'a lump of cloud') meaning 'confused/in a daze', or 一嚿飯 (jat1 gau6 faan6, lit. 'a lump of rice') describing a clueless or unresponsive person.

4. Register Note
嚿 belongs to spoken Cantonese (and informal written Cantonese) and does not exist in Standard Written Chinese (where 塊 kuài or 團 tuán are used instead).

Examples (4)

  1. 呢嚿肉鬼咁韌，咬唔入。

    This piece of meat is extremely tough; I can't bite into it.

    Word by Word: this lump meat devil so tough, bite not in

    Uses 呢 (nei1) with 嚿 (gau6) to point to a thick, tough piece of meat.

  2. 我可唔可以食多嚿蛋糕呀？

    May I have another piece of cake?

    Word by Word: I can not can eat more lump cake SFP?

    In Cantonese, 多 (do1) + classifier + noun means 'one more piece/portion of'.

  3. 呢度食餐晏都要幾嚿水㗎。

    Eating lunch here costs a few hundred bucks.

    Word by Word: here eat meal lunch also need a-few hundred water SFP

    Here, 幾嚿水 (gei2 gau6 seoi2) uses 嚿 as Cantonese slang for units of one hundred dollars.

  4. 佢成日都一嚿雲咁，唔知諗緊乜。

    He is always in a daze, who knows what he's thinking about.

    Word by Word: he whole-day all one lump cloud like, not know thinking-progressively what

    一嚿雲 (jat1 gau6 wan4) is a common idiom meaning 'confused' or 'spacing out'.

Common Mistakes

  • Using 嚿 for thin, flat slices of food

    我想要一嚿吐司。
    我想要一塊吐司。

    Use 塊 (faai3) for thin, flat slices like toast or cheese. Reserve 嚿 (gau6) for thick, bulky 3D chunks.

  • Writing the adjective 舊 (old) instead of the classifier 嚿

    呢舊石頭好重。
    呢嚿石頭好重。

    舊 (gau6) is the character for ‘old’, and it has the same sound as the classifier. People sometimes write the classifier as 舊, but the standard spelling for lumps is 嚿, with the mouth radical.

How It Connects

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嚿Level 2Classifier for Lumps

Learn This First

To use the classifier 嚿 (gau6), you first need to understand the basic grammar of Cantonese classifiers and how they fit into noun phrases. It is helpful to be familiar with other shape-based classifiers like 塊 (faai3) to understand the specific nuance of 'lumps' or 'chunks' that 嚿 represents.

Words in This Pattern

嚿