How to Say “Pandemic” in Cantonese

大流行
daai6 lau4 hang4
The Cantonese word for pandemic is 大流行 (daai6 lau4 hang4).
大流行 refers to a disease that affects a wide geographical area and a large proportion of the population. It is used to describe an epidemic or a pandemic.
Meaning: disease that affects a wide geographical area and a large proportion of the population (noun)

What does it mean word for word?

The term is composed of 大 (big/great), 流 (flow/spread) and 行 (to go/act), which literally means a great spreading or outbreak.

How do you pronounce it?

daai6 lau4 hang4

Did you know?

  • The word 流行 is more commonly used today to describe something that is 'trendy' or 'fashionable' rather than a disease. Without the qualifier 大 ('big'), a Cantonese speaker might think you are talking about a popular clothing style.
  • The term 流行 shares a root with the word for 'currency' or 'circulation' of money. Both ideas describe the act of something moving rapidly from person to person throughout a society.
  • When discussing the 'flow' of a pandemic, one might use the verb 蔓延 (maan6 jin4), which specifically describes something spreading like creeping vines.

Examples in context

  • 呢個係自2020年3月全球大流行令國際旅遊停頓之後,美國、英國同歐盟嘅旅客首次被允許喺冇檢疫要求嘅情況下去呢個畀陽光錫住嘅國家同佢啲白色嘅島嶼。
    It is the first time U.S., British and EU travelers are allowed to visit this sun-kissed nation and its white-washed islands without quarantine requirements since March 2020, when the global pandemic brought international travel to a grinding halt.
    This sentence is useful for discussing how the global pandemic affected international travel.
    Tatoeba #12908455 by Matthewyau1367, translation #12134944 by Cangarejo
  • 嗰日係2022年2月14號嘅情人節,喺露露島。朝早,我喺薄餅舖食咗塊薄餅,而菲律賓人玫瑰係嗰度嘅常客。下晝,我喺咖啡館飲咗黑冰茶,喺嗰度我同我嘅英格蘭撒克遜鄰居 Barb 同 Ken 傾吓用墨西哥、瑪雅文同阿克雷斯語環遊呢個世界加勒比海,希臘群島嘅超凡脫俗嘅建築物,我哋對著名嘅法國人嘅常識,同埋我哋對大流行嘅經歷,然後同荷蘭人漢斯傾咗幾個月嘅新詹姆斯 · 韋伯太空望遠鏡嘅調整階段,木星嘅氣氛,有閃電,古埃及嘅文物,閃電製成嘅玻璃,同埋我喺咖啡廳入面發現咗兩個唔同嘅恐龍骨頭。
    It was Valentine's Day on the 14th of February of 2022, on Lulu Island. In the morning, I had pizza slices at the pizzeria, where Rose the Filipina was the regular vendor. In the afternoon, I drank black iced tea at the cafe, where I talked to my Anglo-Saxon neighbours Barb and Ken about travelling around this world, Mayan and Aztec pyramids in Mexico, the creole languages in the Caribbean, the otherworldly buildings in the Greek Islands, our common knowledge of prestigious French, and our experiences of the Pandemic, and then talked to Hans the Netherlander about the months-long adjustment phase of the new James Webb Space Telescope, the Jovian atmosphere with lightnings, artifacts of Ancient Egypt, lightning-made glass, and dinosaur bones. At the cafe, I noticed two different round-headed stocky men, who came in and out.
    This sentence is useful for showing how one might discuss experiences of the pandemic in a conversational setting.
    Tatoeba #13128015 by Davidgo5867, translation #10674504 by nonong
  • 近年嚴重嘅疫情令全世界陷入恐慌。
    In recent years, the serious pandemic has plunged the world into panic.
  • 今次嘅大流行對經濟造成巨大衝擊。
    This pandemic has caused a tremendous impact on the economy.
  • 政府正喺度監測緊呢場大流行。
    Zing fu zing hai dou gaam cuk gan ni coeng daai lau hang.
    The government is monitoring this pandemic.

Sources

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Dean Luca
Dean LucaHelp make this guide better. Spot a mistake, know another way to say it, or have an example from real life? Share it below.
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