Do you know how to say ugly in Cantonese? In this lesson, you will learn how to say ugly in Cantonese and the difference between Adjective（形容詞） 樣衰 [joeng2 seoi1], 醜 [cau2], 醜樣 [cau2 joeng2] and 醜怪 [cau2 gwaai3].
Table of contents
Ugly in Cantonese: 樣衰 [joeng2 seoi1]
Adjective 樣衰 [joeng2 seoi1] means ugly in Cantonese. 樣 [joeng2] here means face and appearance in general.
nei5 neoi5 pang4 jau5 gam3 joeng2 seoi1 ge2？
你女朋友咁樣衰嘅？
Why does your girlfriend look so ugly？
| Type of sentence structure | Subject-predicative | |||
| Functions in sentence | Subject | Adverbial | Predicate | Particle |
| Part of speech | Noun | Adverb | Adjective | Particle |
| Words in sentence | 你女朋友 | 咁 | 樣衰 | 嘅 |
Particle（助詞） 嘅 [ge2] is used for asking why in Cantonese. Read Unit 8 Lesson 9 to learn more.
Subject of that sentence | |
| Type of sentence structure | Subordination |
| Modifier | 你 |
| Head | 女朋友 |
seoi1 jin4 keoi5 hai6 hou2 joeng2 seoi1，daan6 hai6 keoi5 hai6 go3 hou2 jan4 lai4 gaa3。
雖然佢係好樣衰，但係佢係個好人嚟㗎。
Although he looks ugly, he is a good man.
Composite sentences | ||
| Type of composite sentence | Complex sentences | |
| Components | Sentence 1 | Sentence 2 |
| True value | True | True |
| Words in sentence | 雖然佢係好樣衰 | 但係佢係個好人嚟㗎 |
Sentence 1 of that sentence | ||||
| Type of sentence structure | Predicative-object | |||
| Functions in sentence | Conjunction | Subject | Predicate | Object |
| Part of speech | Conjunction | Noun | Auxiliary verb | Clause |
| Words in sentence | 雖然 | 佢 | 係 | 好樣衰 |
Object of that sentence | |||
| Type of sentence structure | Subject-predicative | ||
| Functions in sentence | Subject | Adverbial | Predicate |
| Part of speech | / | Adverb | Adjective |
| Words in sentence | / | 好 | 樣衰 |
Sentence 2 of that sentence | |||||
| Type of sentence structure | Subject-predicative | ||||
| Functions in sentence | Conjunction | Subject | Predicate | Object | Particle |
| Part of speech | Conjunction | Noun | Linking verb | Noun | Particle |
| Words in sentence | 但係 | 佢 | 係 | 個好人 | 嚟; 㗎 |
Object of that sentence | |
| Type of sentence structure | Subordination |
| Modifier | 個 |
| Head | 好人 |
Ugly in Cantonese: 醜 [cau2] and 醜樣 [cau2 joeng2]
Apart from 樣衰 [joeng2 seoi1], adjective 醜 [cau2] and 醜樣 [cau2 joeng2] also mean ugly in Cantonese.
nei5 neoi5 pang4 jau5 gam3 cau2 joeng2 ge2？
你女朋友咁醜樣嘅？
Why does your girlfriend look so ugly？
| Type of sentence structure | Subject-predicative | |||
| Functions in sentence | Subject | Adverbial | Predicate | Particle |
| Part of speech | Noun | Adverb | Adjective | Particle |
| Words in sentence | 你女朋友 | 咁 | 醜樣 | 嘅 |
Subject of that sentence | |
| Type of sentence structure | Subordination |
| Modifier | 你 |
| Head | 女朋友 |
seoi1 jin4 keoi5 hai6 hou2 cau2，daan6 hai6 keoi5 hai6 go3 hou2 jan4 lai4 gaa3。
雖然佢係好醜，但係佢係個好人嚟㗎。
Although he looks ugly, he is a good man.
Composite sentences | ||
| Type of composite sentence | Complex sentences | |
| Components | Sentence 1 | Sentence 2 |
| True value | True | True |
| Words in sentence | 雖然佢係好醜 | 但係佢係個好人嚟㗎 |
Sentence 1 of that sentence | ||||
| Type of sentence structure | Predicative-object | |||
| Functions in sentence | Conjunction | Subject | Predicate | Object |
| Part of speech | Conjunction | Noun | Auxiliary verb | Clause |
| Words in sentence | 雖然 | 佢 | 係 | 好醜 |
Object of that sentence | |||
| Type of sentence structure | Subject-predicative | ||
| Functions in sentence | Subject | Adverbial | Predicate |
| Part of speech | / | Adverb | Adjective |
| Words in sentence | / | 好 | 醜 |
Sentence 2 of that sentence | |||||
| Type of sentence structure | Predicative-object | ||||
| Functions in sentence | Conjunction | Subject | Predicate | Object | Particle |
| Part of speech | Conjunction | Noun | Linking verb | Noun | Particle |
| Words in sentence | 但係 | 佢 | 係 | 個好人 | 嚟; 㗎 |
Object of that sentence | |
| Type of sentence structure | Subordination |
| Modifier | 個 |
| Head | 好人 |
Ugly in Cantonese: 醜怪 [cau2 gwaai3]
Adjective 醜怪 [cau2 gwaai3] also means ugly in Cantonese. Nevertheless, this word is usually used when talking with children. It sounds quite cute(awkwardly cute) if you say this word to someone older.
nei5 waak6 waa2 waak6 dak1 gam3 cau2 gwaai3 ge2？
你畫畫畫得咁醜怪嘅？
Why is your drawing so ugly？
| Type of sentence structure | Predicative-complement | |||
| Functions in sentence | Subject | Predicate | Complement | Particle |
| Part of speech | Noun | Clause | Clause | Particle |
| Words in sentence | 你 | 畫畫 | 畫得咁醜怪 | 嘅 |
Predicate of that sentence | |||
| Type of sentence structure | Predicative-object | ||
| Functions in sentence | Subject | Predicate | Object |
| Part of speech | / | Verb | Noun |
| Words in sentence | / | 畫 | 畫 |
Complement of that sentence | |||
| Type of sentence structure | Predicative-complement | ||
| Functions in sentence | Subject | Predicate | Complement |
| Part of speech | / | Verb; / | Clause |
| Words in sentence | / | 畫; 得 | 咁醜怪 |
Complement of that sentence | |||
| Type of sentence structure | Subject-predicative | ||
| Functions in sentence | Subject | Adverbial | Predicate |
| Part of speech | / | Adverb | Adjective |
| Words in sentence | / | 咁 | 醜怪 |
Reference
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