膝頭哥 / 膝头哥
The English word "knee" is 膝頭哥 / 膝头哥 in Cantonese. Wiktionary also lists 膝頭 / 膝头 (sat¹ tau⁴).
Meaning: joint in the middle of the leg and area around it (noun)
Ways to say it
| Cantonese | Romanization (Wiktionary) |
|---|---|
| 膝頭哥 / 膝头哥 | |
| 膝頭 / 膝头 | sat¹ tau⁴ |
This term refers to the joint in the middle of the leg and the area around it.
What does it mean word for word?
The term 膝頭 / 膝头 (sat¹ tau⁴) is composed of 膝 (knee) and 頭 (head), literally meaning "knee head".
Which one should you use?
While 膝頭 (sat¹ tau⁴) is the standard term, 膝頭哥 / 膝头哥 is more common in informal, everyday speech.
Did you know?
- While 膝頭哥 (sat1 tau4 go1) is informal, the suffix 哥 (go1) is the same character used for 'older brother', giving the body part a quasi-human kinship term.
- When describing a 'knock-kneed' person, Cantonese uses the term X型腿 (X jing2 teoi2), literally describing the legs as forming the letter 'X'.
- Cantonese speakers use the term 跪 (gwaai4) for the act of kneeling, but this character is visually derived from a person with their legs bent under them.
Example sentences for Cantonese are not verified yet.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “knee” translations, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
