V+剩

Leave Some Over

Level 3Sounds Like sing6

Verb + 剩 (zing6) = 'to leave [amount] over' or 'to have [amount] remaining' after doing an action.

How It Works

In Cantonese, 剩 (zing6) acts as a resultative complement. It describes the result of the verb that precedes it, indicating that a portion of something remains after an action is performed. In informal writing, you will very often see the character 淨 used interchangeably with 剩, as they share the same colloquial pronunciation (zing6). Note that while zing6 is the dominant colloquial pronunciation, traditional dictionaries list sing6 as the standard reading.

1. Sentence Structure:
The standard word order is: [Subject] + [Verb] + 剩 + (咗) + [Quantity/Object].
Example: 我食剩咗兩件 (ngo5 sik6 zing6 zo2 loeng5 gin6) - I ate and left two pieces.

2. Common Verbs:
It is most frequently paired with verbs of consumption or usage:

  • 食 (sik6) - to eat → 食剩 (sik6 zing6) 'leftovers'
  • 用 (jung6) - to use → 用剩 (jung6 zing6) 'remaining balance'
  • 賣 (maai6) - to sell → 賣剩 (maai6 zing6) 'unsold stock'
  • 飲 (jam2) - to drink → 飲剩 (jam2 zing6) 'leftover drink'

3. Adding 番/返 (faan1) for Emphasis:
It is extremely common and natural to add the directional particle 番 or 返 (faan1) right after 剩 to emphasize the result of returning to a remaining state. V + 剩 + 番/返 is a highly natural alternative to just V + 剩.
Example: 食剩返兩件 (sik6 zing6 faan1 loeng5 gin6) - Ate and left two pieces remaining.

4. Expressing "Finishing Everything" or "Saving Leftovers":
Learners often mistakenly try to use potential forms of 剩 (like V + 得 + 剩) to say they can or cannot finish something, but these are rarely used. To express finishing, native speakers flip the concept and use the potential forms of 晒 (saai3). If you want to talk about intentionally saving leftovers, use the verb 留 (lau4).

  • Can finish (no leftovers): 食得晒 (sik6 dak1 saai3) - Can finish it all.
  • Cannot finish (will have leftovers): 食唔晒 (sik6 m4 saai3) - Cannot finish it all.
  • Intentionally saving leftovers: 留返啲 (lau4 faan1 di1) - Save some for later.

Alternatively, you can use 會 (wui5) or 冇得 (mou5 dak1) to express these ideas:

  • Will leave leftovers: 會食剩 (wui5 sik6 zing6) - Will have leftovers.
  • Nothing left over: 冇得剩 (mou5 dak1 zing6) - Nothing left / no leftovers possible. Note that to express this, the action verb is dropped entirely and 剩 becomes the main verb. If you include an action verb (e.g., 冇得食剩 mou5 dak1 sik6 zing6), it changes the meaning to "not allowed to leave leftovers" (like a strict parent's command).

5. Noun Modification (Leftover things):
To talk about "leftover [noun]", use the attributive structure V + 剩 + 嘅 / 啲 + [Noun]:

  • 食剩嘅飯 (sik6 zing6 ge3 faan6) - Leftover rice
  • 用剩啲錢 (jung6 zing6 di1 cin2) - The leftover money

6. 剩 / 淨 as a Main Verb and Compound Complement (剩低):
Note that 剩 (or 淨) is not only a complement but can also be used as a main verb in its own right meaning 'to remain' or 'be left over'. If you want to emphasize what is 'left behind' (剩低 zing6 dai1), you can use 剩 as the main verb of the sentence. Furthermore, while it can act as a main verb, it can also be stacked after action verbs as a compound resultative complement (e.g., 食剩低).
Examples:

  • Main verb: 剩低三個 (zing6 dai1 saam1 go3) - There are three left behind.
  • Main verb: 淨返好多 (zing6 faan1 hou2 do1) - There is a lot remaining.
  • Compound complement: 食剩低兩件 (sik6 zing6 dai1 loeng5 gin6) - Ate and left two pieces behind.
  • Idiom: 渣都冇得剩 (zaa1 dou1 mou5 dak1 zing6) - Literally "not even the dregs are left", meaning completely wiped out, gone, or consumed.

Examples (4)

  1. 我食剩咗半碗飯。

    I left half a bowl of rice uneaten.

    Word by Word: I eat remain [perfective] half bowl rice.

    Here, 食 (sik6) is the action, and 剩 (zing6) shows the result: half a bowl of rice remains.

  2. 呢個月用剩幾百蚊。

    I have a few hundred dollars left over this month.

    Word by Word: This month use remain a-few hundred dollars.

    用 (jung6) means 'to use' or 'to spend'. The result of the spending is that a few hundred dollars remain.

  3. 啲貨賣剩兩件咋。

    There are only two items left from the stock.

    Word by Word: [Plural] goods sell remain two items [only].

    賣 (maai6) is 'to sell'. This sentence describes the unsold remainder using the particle 咋 (zaa3) to emphasize 'only'.

  4. 仲有冇飲剩嘅可樂？

    Is there any leftover cola?

    Word by Word: Still have not-have drink remain [possessive] cola?

    In this case, 飲剩 (jam2 zing6) acts as a modifier for the noun 'cola' using the particle 嘅 (ge3).

Common Mistakes

  • Using the Mandarin-style '剩下' (zing6 haa6) in casual speech.

    Different Meaning我食剩下好多嘢。
    我食剩好多嘢。

    While 剩下 (zing6 haa6) is grammatically correct in Standard Written Chinese, native Cantonese speakers almost exclusively use V + 剩 (zing6) or V + 剩番 (zing6 faan1) in conversation.

  • Incorrect word order with the quantity.

    我半碗飯食剩咗。
    我食剩咗半碗飯。

    The quantity or the object being left over must follow the [Verb + 剩] unit, not come before the verb.

How It Connects

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

V+剩Level 3Leave Some Over

Learn This First

To understand 'V+剩', you need to be familiar with the concept of resultative verb compounds in Cantonese, where a second word describes the outcome of the verb. You should also understand basic Cantonese word order for counting objects, as this pattern usually specifies how much of something remains.

Words in This Pattern

剩