九唔搭八

Chinese

		nine	hold in mouth; bite; (Cant.) no/not	build (scaffolding); take (boat, train); hang build (scaffolding); take (boat, train); hang; join; match; take passage	eight
trad. (九唔搭八)		九	唔	搭	八
simp. #(九唔搭八)		九	唔	搭	八
Literally: “nine didn't join eight”.

Pronunciation

• Cantonese (Jyutping): gau² m⁴ daap³ baat³

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• Cantonese
  • (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)⁺
    • Jyutping: gau² m⁴ daap³ baat³
    • Yale: gáu m̀h daap baat
    • Cantonese Pinyin: gau² m⁴ daap⁸ baat⁸
    • Guangdong Romanization: geo² m⁴ dab³ bad³
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /kɐu̯³⁵ m̩²¹ taːp̚³ paːt̚³/

Adjective

九唔搭八

1. (Cantonese, colloquial) completely nonsensical or irrelevant

   佢今日寫嗰啲嘢，全部都九唔搭八。 [Cantonese, trad.]
   佢今日写嗰啲嘢，全部都九唔搭八。 [Cantonese, simp.]

   keoi⁵ gam¹ jat⁶ se² go² di¹ je⁵, cyun⁴ bou⁶ dou¹ gau² m⁴ daap³ baat³. [Jyutping]

   Nothing he wrote today made sense.

Synonyms

• 牛頭不對馬嘴／牛头不对马嘴 (niútóubùduìmǎzuǐ)