勢利鬼
sai3 lei6 gwai2
The Cantonese word for 'snob' is 勢利鬼 (sai3 lei6 gwai2).
勢利鬼 is used to describe someone who judges others based on their social status, wealth or perceived importance.
Meaning: person who seeks to be a member of the upper classes (noun)
What does it mean word for word?
The term is composed of 勢利 (sai3 lei6), meaning 'seeking profit/advantage' or 'materialistic' and 鬼 (gwai2), meaning 'ghost' or 'demon', used here as a derogatory suffix for a person.
Is it said differently in some regions?
In Guangzhou, the slang term 摆阔 refers to someone who puts on airs and displays wealth.
How does it change in a sentence?
勢利鬼 functions as a noun and is typically used with a classifier like 個 (go3) when counting people, such as 個勢利鬼 (go3 sai3 lei6 gwai2).
How do you pronounce it?
sai3 lei6 gwai2
Did you know?
- A person described as a 勢利鬼 is often contrasted with those who have 人情味, a term for 'human touch' or warmth that English has no single word for.
- The word 鬼 ('ghost') in 勢利鬼 is part of a larger pattern in Cantonese where 'ghost' is used to describe people's characters, such as 懶鬼 for a lazy person or 笨鬼 for a fool.
- In certain Hong Kong social circles, calling someone a 勢利鬼 can be a serious social critique of their 'face' (面子) and how they manipulate it to exclude others.
Examples in context
- 佢真係一個勢利鬼。keoi5 zan1 hai6 jat1 go3 sai3 lei6 gwai2.He is truly a snob.
- 唔好同嗰啲勢利鬼做朋友。m4 hou2 tung4 go2 di1 sai3 lei6 gwai2 zou6 pang4 jau5.Don't be friends with those snobs.
- 我唔鍾意呢種勢利鬼。ngo5 m4 zung1 ji3 ni1 zung2 sai3 lei6 gwai2.I don't like this kind of snob.
Example conversation
Two friends are discussing a former colleague.
- 子健 Tsz Kin你覺得佢點呀？nei5 gok3 dak1 keoi5 dim2 aa3?What do you think of him?
- 雅婷 Nga Ting佢係一個勢利鬼。keoi5 hai6 jat1 go3 sai3 lei6 gwai2.He is a snob.
- 子健 Tsz Kin係咩？我唔知呀。hai6 me1? ngo5 m4 zi1 aa3.Really? I didn't know.
- 雅婷 Nga Ting佢淨係識睇人睇錢。keoi5 zing3 hai6 sik1 tai2 jan4 tai2 cin2.He only judges people by their money.
