午餐
ng5 caan1
The English phrase 'lunch' is 午餐 (ng5 caan1) in Cantonese.
午餐 is a noun meaning a meal around midday. You may also encounter the term 午餐時間 to mean 'lunchtime'.
Meaning: meal around midday (noun)
What does it mean word for word?
The word 午餐 is composed of 午, meaning 'midday' and 餐, meaning 'meal'.
Which one should you use?
午餐 is a formal noun used in written text or formal announcements. In contrast, when you want to express the act of 'having lunch' in conversation, you should use the related verb phrase 食晏.
Is there a formal and an informal way to say it?
The most common and formal way to say 'lunch' in Cantonese is 午餐. For daily spoken Cantonese, the colloquial phrase 食晏 is much more common when referring to the act of eating lunch.
Related words
How do you pronounce it?
ng5 caan1
Did you know?
- If someone asks 食咗晏未？, they are literally asking 'Have you eaten lunch yet?', but it is often used as a general greeting similar to 'How are you?'
- The character 午 in 午餐 refers to the 'Horse' sign of the Chinese zodiac, which governs the period from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.
- Cantonese speakers may use the term 便當 to refer to a boxed lunch, a word borrowed from Japanese 'bento' that has become common in urban areas.
Examples in context
- 我食咗隻熱狗做午餐。I ate a hot dog for lunch.This sentence shows how to use 午餐 to specify what was eaten for lunch.Tatoeba #689764 by nickyeow, translation #259448 by CK
- 我午餐食咗幾塊麵包同埋一隻烚蛋。I ate some bread and a boiled egg for lunch.This sentence uses 午餐 to describe the components of a lunch meal.Tatoeba #635065 by nickyeow, translation #259452 by CK
- 11 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Two colleagues are discussing their plans for the break.
- 嘉欣 Ka Yan家明，你今日午餐食咩？gaa ming, nei gam jat ng co caan sik me?Ka Ming, what are you having for lunch today?
- 家明 Ka Ming我未諗好，不如一齊去食午餐？ngo mei nam hou, bat jyu jat cai heoi sik ng co caan?I haven't decided yet, why don't we go have lunch together?
- 嘉欣 Ka Yan好呀，我想食日式午餐。hou aa, ngo soeng sik jat sik ng co caan.Sure, I want to have a Japanese lunch.
- 家明 Ka Ming冇問題，我陪你行去。mou man tai, ngo pui nei haang heoi.No problem, I'll walk there with you.
Sources
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
