街市
gaai1 si5
The Cantonese word for market is 街市 (gaai1 si5).
街市 is the common term used when discussing daily grocery shopping for fresh ingredients such as vegetables, meat and seafood.
Meaning: gathering for trading (noun)
What does it mean word for word?
The word is composed of 街, meaning street and 市, meaning market or city. Literally, it means 'street market'.
Which one should you use?
While a general market can be referred to as 市場, 街市 specifically refers to traditional wet markets or open-air markets where fresh produce is sold. If you are referring to a modern supermarket, use 超市 instead.
How do you pronounce it?
gaai1 si5
Did you know?
- Many 街市 in Hong Kong are located underground or in multi-story complexes to save space in the crowded city.
- The word 市場 is used for formal 'markets' like the stock market, whereas using 街市 to describe a financial market would sound quite strange to a local.
- It is common to bargain for a lower price at a 街市 especially if you buy multiple items from the same vendor.
Examples in context
- 佢喺街市賣魚賣咗好多年囉，咁多年嚟每逢星期二都會喺街市度見到佢。For years he has been at the market every Tuesday morning with his fish stall.This sentence shows how to describe someone who has sold goods at the 街市 for many years.Tatoeba #400650 by nickyeow, translation #400426 by Dorenda
- 今日我去咗個大型市場買衫。I went to a large market to buy clothes today.
- 我喺街市買咗一隻新鮮嘅雞。I bought a fresh chicken at the street market.
- 我最鍾意去菜市場揀新鮮蔬菜。I love going to the vegetable market to pick fresh vegetables.
- 我去街市買咗啲菜。ngo5 heoi3 gaai1 si5 maai5 zo2 di1 coi3.I went to the market to buy some vegetables.
Example conversation
Two friends are planning their grocery shopping.
- 曉彤 Hiu Tung家明，你聽日有時間去街市嗎？ga1 ming4, nei5 ting1 jat6 jau5 si4 gaan3 heoi3 gaai1 si5 maa1?Ka Ming, do you have time to go to the market tomorrow?
- 家明 Ka Ming有啊，我想買啲新鮮水果。jau5 aa3, ngo5 soeng2 maai5 di1 san1 jin1 shui2 gwo2.Yes, I want to buy some fresh fruit.
- 曉彤 Hiu Tung好，我哋朝早八點出發。hou2, ngo5 dei6 ziu1 zou2 baat3 dim2 chut1 faat3.Great, let's set off at eight in the morning.
- 家明 Ka Ming冇問題，到時見。mou5 man6 tai4, dou3 si4 gin3.No problem, see you then.
Sources
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
