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Deoi3 or Ge1?
Throughout my short time of studying Cantonese, I have always learned that 'Ge1' is the possession particle. So like, 'Ngo5 ge1 be1 zau2' (My beer) But in a recent video in Cantonese, one girl was talking about her eyes, and she said 'Ngo5 deoi3 ngaan5 hou2 sai3' (My eyes are very small) So why didn't she say 'Ngo5 ge1 ngaan5' instead of 'Ngo5 deoi3 ngaan5'? Are they the same thing? Or are they different? Someone please explain.
Aug 21, 2016 10:38 PM
Comments · 3
Deoi3 means a pair of something
"ngo5 deoi5 ngaan5 hou2 sai3" is an idiomatic abbreviation. It actually means "(ngo5 ge1) (ni1 deoi5 ngaan5) (hou2 sai3)"
ngo5 ge1 = mine
ni1 deoi5 ngaan5 = this pair of eyes
hou2 sai3 = really small
August 23, 2016
Agree with Maksim.
In addition, you can say...
ngo5 deoi5 haai4 = my (pair of) shoes
ngo5 deoi5 haai4 hai6 bin1? (我對鞋係邊？）( Where is my shoes? )
ngo5 deoi5 faai3 zi2 = my (pair of) chopticks
ngo5 deoi5 mat6 = my (pair of) socks
August 24, 2016
I agree with Maksim. Ge1 is a general quantifier, whereas deoi3 is a specific quantifier i.e. pair (like Maksim said) :3
September 6, 2016
