煩
faan4
The Cantonese word for 'annoying' is 煩 (faan4).
The word 煩 is a straightforward term that can be used as an adjective to describe a situation as annoying, bothersome or troublesome. It can also function as a verb to describe the feeling of being bothered or troubled by something.
Meaning: causing irritation or annoyance (adj)
Which one should you use?
While 煩 is used for general annoyance, 擾民 is a more specific term used when describing actions that annoy or disturb the public or neighbors.
How does it change in a sentence?
To express that something is very annoying, you can add 好 before the word to get 好煩. To express that something is extremely annoying, you can use the structure 'adjective + 到 + death', as seen in the phrase 煩到死.
How do you pronounce it?
faan4
Did you know?
- When used as a verb, 煩 can mean to 'trouble' someone, often appearing in polite phrases like 煩你 to ask for a favor.
- In Hong Kong, the term 煩 can be used as a soft way to decline a request by implying the process of doing it would be too troublesome.
- The word 煩 shares a deep connection with the concept of 'heart' or 'mind' in many Chinese characters. It often implies a mental clutter or an emotional burden that causes the annoyance.
Examples in context
- 我阿爸阿媽成日為埋啲芝麻綠豆嘅嘢喺度嗌交，真係煩到死呀！My parents keep arguing about stupid things. It's so annoying!This sentence shows how to use 煩 to describe an extremely annoying situation.Tatoeba #426750 by nickyeow, translation #1683 by Swift
- 佢好煩人He/she is very annoying.
- 佢嘅叫聲好嘈，整晚都唔得安寧。His/her voice is so annoyingly loud, unable to have peace the entire night.
- 佢成日喺度嘈，真係好煩。keoi5 seng4 jat6 hai2 dou6 cou4, zan1 hai6 hou2 faan1.He is always making noise, it's really annoying.
- 呢個廣告真係好煩。ni1 go3 gwong2 gou3 zan1 hai6 hou2 faan1.This advertisement is really annoying.
Example conversation
Zhiqiang is complaining to Meiling about his phone notifications.
- 志強 Chi Keung個電話不停響，好煩呀！go din wa bat ting hoeng, hou fan aaThe phone keeps ringing, it's so annoying!
- 美玲 Mei Ling咁你熄咗個聲唔好就得啦。gam nei cik zo go seng m hou zau dak laThen just mute it and it'll be fine.
- 志強 Chi Keung但我驚錯過重要嘅訊息。dan ngo zeng co gwo zung jiu ge seon sikBut I'm afraid of missing important messages.
- 美玲 Mei Ling志強，你咁樣真係好煩。zi keung, nei gam joeng zan hai hou fanZhiqiang, you are really being annoying.
Sources
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
