{"id":435,"date":"2025-07-18T10:08:54","date_gmt":"2025-07-18T10:08:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/exercises.cantonesehome.com\/category\/vocab\/?p=435"},"modified":"2025-07-18T10:11:25","modified_gmt":"2025-07-18T10:11:25","slug":"both-%e3%80%8c%e8%80%81%e3%80%8dlou5-and-%e3%80%8c%e8%88%8a%e3%80%8dgau6-can-be-translated-as-old-in-english","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/exercises.cantonesehome.com\/category\/vocab\/both-%e3%80%8c%e8%80%81%e3%80%8dlou5-and-%e3%80%8c%e8%88%8a%e3%80%8dgau6-can-be-translated-as-old-in-english\/","title":{"rendered":"Both\u00a0\u300c\u8001\u300d(lou5)\u00a0and\u00a0\u300c\u820a\u300d(gau6)\u00a0can be translated as\u00a0\u201cold\u201d\u00a0in English"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><br>Introduction:<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>In Cantonese, both&nbsp;<strong>\u300c\u8001\u300d(lou5)<\/strong>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<strong>\u300c\u820a\u300d(gau6)<\/strong>&nbsp;can be translated as&nbsp;<strong>\u201cold\u201d<\/strong>&nbsp;in English, but they have&nbsp;<strong>very different meanings and uses<\/strong>. Understanding the difference between these two characters is important, especially when talking about&nbsp;<strong>people, relationships, or objects<\/strong>. This passage will help you learn:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>How to use \u300c\u8001\u300dwhen describing\u00a0<strong>age<\/strong>\u00a0or\u00a0<strong>seniority<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>How to use \u300c\u820a\u300dto refer to\u00a0<strong>past relationships<\/strong>,\u00a0<strong>former things<\/strong>, or\u00a0<strong>outdated items<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Common mistakes and how to avoid them<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Clear examples with\u00a0<strong>Cantonese pronunciation (Jyutping)<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Take your time to study the examples and think about how English sometimes uses&nbsp;<strong>the same word (\u201cold\u201d)<\/strong>&nbsp;for many different meanings\u2014while Cantonese keeps things more precise!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">\u00a0<strong>1. Meaning Differences\uff08\u8a9e\u7fa9\u5dee\u7570\uff09<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table\"><table class=\"has-fixed-layout\"><thead><tr><th><strong>Word<\/strong><\/th><th><strong>Meaning<\/strong><\/th><th><strong>Usage<\/strong><\/th><th><strong>Example (Cantonese + Jyutping)<\/strong><\/th><th><strong>English Translation<\/strong><\/th><\/tr><\/thead><tbody><tr><td><strong>\u8001<\/strong>&nbsp;(lou5)<\/td><td>Refers to someone or something that has aged or become old; it often expresses&nbsp;<strong>seniority<\/strong>,&nbsp;<strong>respect<\/strong>, or&nbsp;<strong>longstanding status<\/strong>.<\/td><td>Used for&nbsp;<strong>people or animals<\/strong>, or to express familiarity\/seniority.<\/td><td>\u8001\u4eba\u5bb6&nbsp;<em>(lou5 jan4 gaa1)<\/em>&nbsp;\u2013 elderly person<\/td><td><\/td><\/tr><tr><td>\u8001\u7d30&nbsp;<em>(lou5 sai3)<\/em>&nbsp;\u2013 boss<\/td><td><\/td><td><\/td><td><\/td><td><\/td><\/tr><tr><td>\u8001\u516c&nbsp;<em>(lou5 gung1)<\/em>&nbsp;\u2013 husband<\/td><td>old (in age), elder, senior<\/td><td><\/td><td><\/td><td><\/td><\/tr><tr><td><strong>\u820a<\/strong>&nbsp;(gau6)<\/td><td>Refers to things, relationships, or concepts that are&nbsp;<strong>from the past<\/strong>&nbsp;or&nbsp;<strong>no longer current<\/strong>.<\/td><td>Used for&nbsp;<strong>non-living things<\/strong>,&nbsp;<strong>past versions of relationships<\/strong>, or&nbsp;<strong>things that are no longer new or current<\/strong>.<\/td><td>\u820a\u886b&nbsp;<em>(gau6 saam1)<\/em>&nbsp;\u2013 old clothes<\/td><td><\/td><\/tr><tr><td>\u820a\u6a13&nbsp;<em>(gau6 lau2)<\/em>&nbsp;\u2013 old building<\/td><td><\/td><td><\/td><td><\/td><td><\/td><\/tr><tr><td>\u820a\u7537\u53cb&nbsp;<em>(gau6 naam4 jau5)<\/em>&nbsp;\u2013 ex-boyfriend<\/td><td><\/td><td><\/td><td><\/td><td><\/td><\/tr><tr><td>\u820a\u540c\u4e8b&nbsp;<em>(gau6 tung4 si6)<\/em>&nbsp;\u2013 former colleague<\/td><td>old (object), former, ex-<\/td><td><\/td><td><\/td><td><\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>2. Key Usage Differences\uff08\u7528\u6cd5\u6bd4\u8f03\uff09<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table\"><table class=\"has-fixed-layout\"><thead><tr><th><strong>Aspect<\/strong><\/th><th><strong>\u8001 (lou5)<\/strong><\/th><th><strong>\u820a (gau6)<\/strong><\/th><\/tr><\/thead><tbody><tr><td><strong>Applies to<\/strong><\/td><td>Living beings (people\/animals), sometimes titles or familiar figures<\/td><td>Non-living objects,&nbsp;<strong>past identities or relationships<\/strong>, ideas, habits<\/td><\/tr><tr><td><strong>Emotional tone<\/strong><\/td><td>Often warm, respectful, familiar<\/td><td>Neutral; sometimes nostalgic or outdated<\/td><\/tr><tr><td><strong>Typical translations<\/strong><\/td><td>elder, aged, veteran, familiar<\/td><td>old (thing), former, ex-<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>3. Example Sentences with Jyutpin<\/strong>g<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table\"><table class=\"has-fixed-layout\"><thead><tr><th><strong>Cantonese Sentence (Jyutping)<\/strong><\/th><th><strong>English Translation<\/strong><\/th><th><strong>Explanation<\/strong><\/th><\/tr><\/thead><tbody><tr><td>\u6211\u963f\u5abd\u8001\u5497\u3002&nbsp;<em>(ngo5 aa3 maa1 lou5 zo2)<\/em><\/td><td>My mother has aged.<\/td><td>Describes someone getting older \u2014 use&nbsp;<strong>\u8001<\/strong>.<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>\u5462\u4ef6\u886b\u597d\u820a\u5587\u3002&nbsp;<em>(ni1 gin6 saam1 hou2 gau6 laa3)<\/em><\/td><td>This shirt is very old.<\/td><td>Refers to an object \u2014 use&nbsp;<strong>\u820a<\/strong>.<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>\u4f62\u4fc2\u6211\u8001\u670b\u53cb\u3002&nbsp;<em>(keoi5 hai6 ngo5 lou5 pang4 jau5)<\/em><\/td><td>He is an old friend of mine.<\/td><td>Expresses a&nbsp;<strong>longstanding, familiar<\/strong>&nbsp;relationship \u2014 use&nbsp;<strong>\u8001<\/strong>.<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>\u4f62\u4fc2\u6211\u820a\u7537\u670b\u53cb\u3002&nbsp;<em>(keoi5 hai6 ngo5 gau6 naam4 pang4 jau5)<\/em><\/td><td>He is my ex-boyfriend.<\/td><td>Refers to a&nbsp;<strong>past relationship<\/strong>&nbsp;\u2014 use&nbsp;<strong>\u820a<\/strong>.<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>\u6211\u4ee5\u524d\u5572\u820a\u540c\u4e8b\u597d\u597d\u4eba\u3002&nbsp;<em>(ngo5 ji5 cin4 di1 gau6 tung4 si6 hou2 hou2 jan4)<\/em><\/td><td>My former colleagues were really nice.<\/td><td>Past identity \u2014 use&nbsp;<strong>\u820a<\/strong>.<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>\u7e3d\u7d50 Summary<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Use\u00a0<strong>\u8001 (lou5)<\/strong>\u00a0when referring to someone\u2019s\u00a0<strong>age<\/strong>,\u00a0<strong>familiarity<\/strong>, or\u00a0<strong>seniority<\/strong>.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Use\u00a0<strong>\u820a (gau6)<\/strong>\u00a0when referring to\u00a0<strong>things from the past<\/strong>, including\u00a0<strong>relationships<\/strong>\u00a0that no longer exist in the present (even if the person is still alive).<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Introduction: In Cantonese, both&nbsp;\u300c\u8001\u300d(lou5)&nbsp;and&nbsp;\u300c\u820a\u300d(gau6)&nbsp;can be translated as&nbsp;\u201cold\u201d&nbsp;in English, but they have&nbsp;very different meanings and uses. [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[22],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-435","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-vocab"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/exercises.cantonesehome.com\/category\/vocab\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/435","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/exercises.cantonesehome.com\/category\/vocab\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/exercises.cantonesehome.com\/category\/vocab\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/exercises.cantonesehome.com\/category\/vocab\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/exercises.cantonesehome.com\/category\/vocab\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=435"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/exercises.cantonesehome.com\/category\/vocab\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/435\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":436,"href":"https:\/\/exercises.cantonesehome.com\/category\/vocab\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/435\/revisions\/436"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/exercises.cantonesehome.com\/category\/vocab\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=435"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/exercises.cantonesehome.com\/category\/vocab\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=435"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/exercises.cantonesehome.com\/category\/vocab\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=435"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}