落

Judging by

Level 4Sounds Like lok6

The particle 落 (lok6) acts as an evaluative complement. When attached to a verb of perception (like looking, tasting, or hearing), it means "judging by the experience of [verb]-ing."

How It Works

In Cantonese, 落 (lok6) is a directional complement (literally "down") used figuratively to provide an evaluation. It is extremely common in colloquial speech and is the natural way to say "it feels/tastes/sounds like..."

1. Usage with Sensory Verbs
It attaches to verbs related to the senses:

  • Visual: 睇 (tai2 - look) → 睇落 (looks like)
  • Auditory: 聽 (teng1 - hear) → 聽落 (sounds like)
  • Gustatory: 食 (sik6 - eat) → 食落 (tastes like)
  • Olfactory: 聞 (man4 - smell) → 聞落 (smells like)
  • Tactile: 摸 (mo2 - touch) or 著 (zoek3 - wear) → 摸落 / 著落 (feels like)
  • Cognitive: 諗 (nam2 - think) → 諗落 (thinking about it / on second thought)

2. Sentence Structure
The pattern usually follows this structure: [Subject] + [Verb] + 落 + [Adjective/Evaluation]. Unlike the literal directional use, this pattern requires an adjective or a descriptive clause to follow it. You cannot simply say "it looks like" without saying what it looks like.

3. Nuance and Caution
Using 落 (lok6) implies that the judgment comes from the act of experiencing the object. For example, saying a cake is 好食 (hou2 sik6) is a general statement, but saying it 食落好甜 (sik6 lok6 hou2 tim4) emphasizes that "once you actually eat it, it tastes very sweet."

Note: Be careful with 著落 (zoek3 lok6). While it means "feels like (when wearing)" in this grammar pattern, it is also a common noun (zoek6 lok6) meaning "whereabouts" or "a place to settle" (e.g., 工作未有著落 - the job hasn't been settled yet).

Examples (6)

  1. 呢件衫著落幾舒服。

    This shirt feels quite comfortable when you wear it.

    Word by Word: This piece [of] shirt wear-down quite comfortable.

    Here, 著落 (zoek3 lok6) indicates the evaluation of comfort comes from the physical act of wearing the shirt.

  2. 聽落好似好複雜噉。

    It sounds like it's quite complicated.

    Word by Word: Hear-down seems very complicated [particle].

    聽落 (teng1 lok6) is used to express a judgment based on information the speaker has just heard.

  3. 呢個蘋果睇落好新鮮。

    This apple looks very fresh.

    Word by Word: This [classifier] apple look-down very fresh.

    睇落 (tai2 lok6) is the most common use of this pattern, meaning 'judging by appearance'.

  4. 諗落又真係幾有道理。

    Thinking about it, it actually makes quite a bit of sense.

    Word by Word: Think-down also really quite have reason.

    諗落 (nam2 lok6) is used for cognitive reflection, similar to 'on second thought' or 'now that I think about it'.

  5. 啲肉食落有啲硬。

    The meat tastes a bit tough (when you eat it).

    Word by Word: Piece [of] meat eat-down have a-bit hard.

    食落 (sik6 lok6) focuses on the texture or flavor experienced while eating.

  6. 呢啲花聞落好香。

    These flowers smell very good.

    Word by Word: These [plural classifier] flower smell-down very fragrant.

    聞落 (man4 lok6) is used to provide an evaluation based on the sense of smell.

Common Mistakes

  • Using 起來 instead of 落.

    Different Meaning佢睇起來好攰。
    佢睇落好攰。

    佢睇起來好攰 is natural, and 睇起嚟 is common in Cantonese too. 睇落 (tai2 lok6) is the classic colloquial way to say 'judging by how it looks'.

  • Using '落' with non-perception verbs.

    買落好貴。
    買嗰陣好貴。

    落 (lok6) is specifically for sensory or experiential evaluation. For actions like 'buying', you should use time markers like 嗰陣 (go2 zan6 - at that time) instead.

How It Connects

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

落Level 4Judging by

Learn This First

The evaluative '落' (lok6) is a specialized use of the directional particle. It follows perception verbs (like 睇 'look', 聽 'hear', or 摸 'touch') to indicate a subjective judgment or impression. To use this pattern, learners need to understand how Cantonese adjectives function as stative verbs and how verbal particles modify the meaning of a base verb.