嬲
nau¹
The Cantonese word for angry is 嬲 (nau¹).
嬲 is commonly used to describe a person's emotional state of being annoyed or angry.
Meaning: displaying anger (adj)
How does it change in a sentence?
To indicate that a person is currently in the state of being angry, you can add the particle 緊 after 嬲 to form 嬲緊, which represents the present continuous or an ongoing state.
How do you pronounce it?
nau¹
Did you know?
- The original meaning of 嬲 was not 'angry' but 'to play' or 'to flirt', which is still seen in some older written Chinese texts.
- In casual speech, if someone wants to say they are 'pissed off' rather than just 'angry', they might use the slang term 火 (fo2), which literally means 'fire'.
- In Cantonese, if someone is 'angry' in a cute or pouting way, they might be described as 嬲嬲, doubling the word to soften the emotion.
Examples in context
- 你仲嬲緊呀？Are you still angry?This sentence is useful for asking if someone is still in the state of being 嬲.Tatoeba #3475974 by nickyeow, translation #2617107 by CK
- 渠睇落去好嬲。He looks angry.This sentence is useful for describing how someone looks when they are 嬲.Tatoeba #12133434 by thesilhouette, translation #8477905 by CH
- 唔怪得佢咁嬲啦。No wonder he is so angry.This sentence is useful for explaining why someone is so 嬲.Tatoeba #423881 by nickyeow, translation #284044 by CM
- 15 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
A woman asks her friend why he is upset.
- 雅婷 Nga Ting俊傑，你點解咁嬲呀？Zeon kat, nei dim gaai gam nau aa?Chun Kit, why are you so angry?
- 俊傑 Chun Kit因為佢啱啱先鬧我。jan wai keoi ngaam ngaam sin maau ngo.Because he just scolded me.
- 雅婷 Nga Ting唔好嬲啦，放低佢啦。m hou nau laa, fong dai keoi laa.Don't be angry, just let it go.
- 俊傑 Chun Kit我真係好嬲呀。ngo zan hai ho nau aa.I am really angry.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “angry” translations, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
