佢哋
keoi5 dei6
The English pronoun "them" is translated into Cantonese as 佢哋 (keoi5 dei6).
佢哋 is a third personal plural pronoun used after a preposition or as the object of a verb (pron).
Meaning: third personal plural pronoun used after a preposition or as the object of a verb (pron)
What does it mean word for word?
The word is composed of the third-person singular pronoun 佢 (he/she/it) and the plural suffix 哋 (plural marker for people or animate objects).
How does it change in a sentence?
The form 佢哋 is used both as a subject (they) and an object (them) in Cantonese.
How do you pronounce it?
keoi5 dei6
Did you know?
- The plural marker 哋 is derived from an ancient word for 'earth' or 'ground', though it has completely lost this meaning in the phrase 佢哋.
- If you use 佢哋 to describe a group of inanimate objects, such as mountains or cars, you are effectively personifying them. This makes the objects sound like characters in a story or a living group.
- If you were referring to a group of inanimate things, you would instead use 嗰啲, which literally translates to 'those', because the suffix 哋 is too 'alive' for objects.
Examples in context
- 邊個幫過佢哋？Who helped them?Tatoeba #5221198 by kaenif, translation #3914864 by CH
- 唔好傷害佢哋。Don't harm them.Tatoeba #5795823 by nickyeow, translation #2245349 by CK
- 佢幫唔到佢哋。He was unable to help them.Tatoeba #6108432 by nickyeow, translation #6104404 by mailohilohi
- 99 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Mei Ling and Chun Kit are talking about some friends.
- 美玲 Mei Ling你見過佢哋未？nei5 gin3 gwo3 keoi5 dei6 mei6?Have you seen them before?
- 俊傑 Chun Kit未見過，佢哋係邊個？mei6 gin3 gwo3, keoi5 dei6 hai6 bin1 go3?Not yet, who are they?
- 美玲 Mei Ling佢哋係我啲新同事。keoi5 dei6 hai6 ngo5 di1 san1 tung4 si6.They are my new colleagues.
- 俊傑 Chun Kit我想識佢哋。ngo5 soeng2 sik1 keoi5 dei6.I want to get to know them.
Sources
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
