嘢 (yě) — thing, matter, stuff (Cantonese)

Definition

嘢 (yě) is a Cantonese colloquial word for 'thing, stuff' — broader and more casual than Mandarin 东西, used in everyday speech across Hong Kong and Guangdong.

noun

thingmatterstuff (Cantonese)

Examples

冇嘢。
Wǒ mǎo yě zuò.
I have nothing to do.
嘢。
Ne gè yě hǎo hǎo shí.
This stuff is really delicious.
咗嘢？
Nǐ mǎi zuo miē yě?
What kind of stuff did you buy?

Origin

Sound + meaning

六书liùshū

形声xíngshēng

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

口野嘢

Meaning part形符xíngfú

口口kǒu

Sound part声符shēngfú

野

野yě嘢

Same sound today

嘢 is made of 口, showing a mouth-related meaning, and 野, giving the sound.

Appears in

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