Translingual

Han character

咗 (radical 30 口+5, 8 strokes, cangjie input 口大一 (RKM), composition ⿰口左)

References

• KangXi: not present, would follow page 185, character 21
• Hanyu Da Zidian: volume 1, page 599, character 4
• Unihan data for U+5497

Chinese

Alternative forms

• (non-standard) 左 (zuǒ)
• (Internet) o左

Etymology

May be derived from 著 or 徂.

Pronunciation

Definitions

咗

1. A chant sound made while working.
2. (Cantonese) Used to emphasise an action which has been completed and whose result still applies to the present situation. It roughly translates to the past tense in English.

   佢哋啱啱走咗。 [Cantonese, trad. and simp.]

   Keoi⁵ dei⁶ ngaam¹ ngaam¹ zau²zo². [Jyutping]

   They left just now.

   阿媽尋日煲咗湯。佢而家去咗超級市場買餸。 [Cantonese, trad.]

   阿妈寻日煲咗汤。佢而家去咗超级市场买𩠌。 [Cantonese, simp.]

   Aa³ maa¹ cam⁴ jat⁶ bou¹zo² tong¹. Keoi⁵ ji⁴ gaa¹ heoi³zo² ciu¹ kap¹ si⁵ coeng⁴ maai⁵ sung³. [Jyutping]

   My mum made soup yesterday. Now, she has gone grocery shopping in the supermarket.

   食咗就冇 [Cantonese]  ―  sik⁶zo² zau⁶ mou⁵ [Jyutping]  ―  if you eat it there will not be any more

Synonyms

Compounds

• 嘿咗