功課 / 功课
gung¹ fo³
In Cantonese, the English phrase "homework" is translated as 功課 / 功课 (gung¹ fo³).
The term 功課 / 功课 is the standard way to refer to school-related homework.
Meaning: work that is done at home (noun)
Is it said differently in some regions?
In Guangzhou, you may hear 作業 (zok3 yip6) to refer to homework.
How does it change in a sentence?
When quantifying homework, you can use the measure word 份 (fan6) for an amount of homework or 篇 (pin1) specifically for written assignments.
How do you pronounce it?
gung¹ fo³
Did you know?
- When talking about extremely difficult homework, a student might use the slang 攞命 (lo2 ming6), which literally means 'taking one's life', to describe how exhausting the task is.
- The word 功課 was originally used to describe religious duties or the practice of spiritual lessons, not school assignments.
- If a student has failed to do their homework, a teacher might use the word 漏 (lau6), which literally means 'to leak' or 'to omit', to describe the missing assignment.
Examples in context
- 我有兩份功課要完成I have two pieces of homework to complete
- 明天嘅功課好難Tomorrow's homework is difficult
- 我要改寫呢份作業I need to revise this assignment
- 你做完功課未呀？Have you finished your homework yet?
Sources
- Wiktionary, “homework” translations, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
