A2
住 — and it stayed that way
How 住 marks a state left behind by an action in Cantonese, how it differs from the 緊 that marks an action in progress, and its second use giving a soft instruction.
住 after a verb says the state that action produced is still holding. It is zyu6, and it does the job Mandarin gives to 着.
門開住。
Mun4 hoi1zyu6.
The door is open.
佢攞住本書。
Keoi5 lo2zyu6 bun2 syu1.
He’s holding a book.
佢著住件褸。
Keoi5 zoek3zyu6 gin6 lau1.
He’s wearing a coat.
That last one is the clearest case. 著 is to put on, a moment’s action; 著住 is the wearing that follows it. English uses two different verbs and Cantonese uses one verb and a suffix.
The difference from 緊
緊 is the action running. 住 is what the action left behind.
佢著緊衫。
Keoi5 zoek3gan2 saam1.
He’s getting dressed.
佢著住衫。
Keoi5 zoek3zyu6 saam1.
He’s dressed.
A film and a photograph. English blurs them — he’s putting on a coat and he’s wearing a coat — and Cantonese keeps them one syllable apart.
Describing how something was done
住 also attaches one verb to another, where the first describes the manner of the second.
佢企住講嘢。
Keoi5 kei5zyu6 gong2 je5.
He talks standing up.
唔好瞓住睇書。
M4 hou2 fan3zyu6 tai2 syu1.
Don’t read lying down.
住 at the end means “for now”
Its other everyday job, and one Mandarin 着 does not have: on the end of a sentence, 住 means for the moment, hold off.
等住先。
Dang2zyu6 sin1.
Hold on a moment.
唔好走住。
M4 hou2 zau2zyu6.
Don’t go just yet.
唔好走 is don’t go. 唔好走住 is don’t go yet — the same instruction with an expiry on it, and the difference is one syllable.