Cantonese Word of the Day
借
JEH • verb — 27th of May, 2026
Listen to pronunciation
Meaning: to borrow; to lend; to use temporarily
Examples
- 借支筆畀我，好嗎？
(Lend me a pen, please.) - 我向佢借咗三十蚊。
(I borrowed thirty dollars from him.) - 呢本書我借咗畀朋友，佢話會還。
(I lent this book to a friend; he said he will return it.)
Synonyms
- 借用
- 租借
Use 借 when talking about borrowing or lending items or small amounts of money. In Cantonese the same character can mean either 'borrow' or 'lend' depending on word order: '借我...' typically asks someone to lend you something, while '向佢借...' means to borrow from someone. Use 咗 to mark past actions and 畀 to indicate giving (i.e., lending something to someone). Formal contexts may use 借用.
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