Meaning of 'dik'

Linwe · Post by **Linwe** » Wed May 18, 2005 3:57 pm

I've tried soooo hard to find the meaning of this word but it seems in its isolated form, no dictionary or phrase book has it.

I really can't work out what it is...help!!

context: I was listening to a Kelly Chen song (Hope/Jewel in the Palace) from her new album and there's a line...

nei dik mei siu
(you) (??) (smile)

what does 'dik' mean???

Mark Yong · Post by **Mark Yong** » Wed May 18, 2005 4:33 pm

Hi, Linwe,

'dik' is a possessive particle, used in Mandarin grammar. The character is 的. In Mandarin, it is pronouced 'de1'. So, "nei dik mei siu" 你的美笑 translates as follows:

nei = you, therefore nei+dik = your
mei = beautiful
siu = smile

Regards,
Mark

Linwe · Post by **Linwe** » Fri May 20, 2005 4:20 am

Thanks soo much!!
makes sense now!

And if I may ask...what's the rules involved with 'dik'? can it follow 'kui' for example?

Mark Yong · Post by **Mark Yong** » Fri May 20, 2005 6:47 am

Yes, it can. k'ui dik 佢的 (his/hers), ngor dik 我的 (mine), XXX dik, etc.

Linwe · Post by **Linwe** » Sun May 22, 2005 10:48 am

Ok, last question...

could you translate these for me?

nuen dik (context: nuen dik sam oi jui yik)

jung dik (context: sam jung dik kei mong)

mei dik (context: chuen wai liu yi ging jaau do yuen mei dik yat goh)

mo ham dik yung po

thanks!

Mark Yong · Post by **Mark Yong** » Sun May 22, 2005 4:33 pm

Without the actual characters, it is difficult for me to do an accurate translation, but in general, the "dik" here still functions as a possessive particle - in the contexts you have listed, it means "..of the..."

So, sam jung dik 心中的期望 means "hope OF THE (centre of the) heart", mei dik yat guo 美的日過 means "the passing OF A beautiful day", etc.

qrasy · Post by **qrasy** » Mon May 23, 2005 7:46 am

What is 'nuen' anyway?

Linwe · Post by **Linwe** » Sat May 28, 2005 6:57 am

'nuen' can mean 'warm' but if there's any other word that it shares with I have no clue...

j · Post by j » Thu Jun 02, 2005 2:30 am

As you guys may know, with the same pronunciation, it can mean different words in Cantonese (and Putonghua). Sometimes we may guess, but sometimes we can't.

j · Post by j » Thu Jun 02, 2005 2:48 am

Sorry but I don't think this is 100% correct. In spoken Cantonese, we usually say "k'ui gare" 佢o既 rather than "k'ui dik" 佢的. e.g. "k'ui gare mei siu" 佢o既微笑 (same pronounciation for his smile or her smile). While in writing (Chinese), we usually write as 他的微笑 or 她的微笑 (different writing for his and her), and pronounce in Cantonese as "ta dik mei siu" (same pronunciation for his smile or her smile).
Please note lyrics in Cantonese songs sometimes use spoken Cantonese or written Chinese (and pronounce in Cantonese). In this case, the lyrics is in written Chinese (and pronounce in Cantonese), and so it use the word "dik" 的 instead of "gare" o既. Though anyway, both are of the same meaning.
Hope this help. ^_^

Mark Yong wrote:Yes, it can. k'ui dik 佢的 (his/hers), ngor dik 我的 (mine), XXX dik, etc.