<p>Words.hk defines it as:</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>名詞<br>
  星期一至五, 唔屬於星期六日或公眾假期嘅日子（量詞：個）<br>
  weekdays: Monday,Tuesday,Wednesday, Thursday or Friday; usually with the restriction of a non-holiday</p>
</blockquote>

<p>And they give the example:</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>閒日飲茶有折喎！<br>
  haan4 jat2 jam2 caa4 jau5 zit3 wo3!<br>
  Discount for dim-sum on weekdays! </p>
</blockquote>

<p>——</p>

<p>閒日 is literally made up of the characters for idle + day. Why weekdays are idle days could only be explained by slow business - because business is would, assumably, be good on the weekends and holidays. But you’d never hear this usage in Mandarin where it just simply means “off day,” i.e.: a day where one doesn’t work.</p>

<p>——</p>

<p>Guangzhouhua-Putonghua gives it a different Cantonese definition:</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>背集；不逢集的日子。</p>
</blockquote>

<p>“Non-market days.”</p>

<p>CCCanto’s definition is also similar:</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>free time or off day</p>
</blockquote>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-10-08T07:31:41.927Z
2019-10-08T07:45:06.937Z
2019-10-08T07:45:06.937Z
Mou某
<p>閒日 means "weekdays" instead of "weekend" because restaurants, touring  and entertaining business get busy in weekend and holiday.  (I worked in restaurants, so I am familiar with this term)</p>

<p>閒日(weekdays/non-busy days) is a lingo in the business mentioned above. </p>

<p>The more accurate translation of 閒日 should be "non-holiday weekdays" or literally "non-busy day"</p>

<p>Another Cantonese term for weekdays is "拜頭" (short for 禮拜頭). "拜尾" (short for 禮拜尾) means weekend. </p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-10-08T08:18:23.187Z
2019-10-08T08:38:35.870Z
2019-10-08T08:38:35.870Z
Tang Ho
<p>In the sentence 唔知佢點解，佢閒日唔會打電話嚟。</p>

<p>What is the meaning of 閒日？
The official translation given by my reference is “weekdays”, but when i searched this in the dictionary, the meaning given is “free time”.</p>

<p>Which is it? Is it a cultural difference? </p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-10-09T06:14:57.513Z
閒日 means weekdays, but contextually it's a metaphor(free time/non-busy days)
wada
<meaning-in-context>
Meaning of 閒日 (cantonese)
# Meaning of 閒日 (cantonese)

(Asked by: username_0 on 2019-10-08)

In the sentence 唔知佢點解，佢閒日唔會打電話嚟。

What is the meaning of 閒日？
The official translation given by my reference is “weekdays”, but when i searched this in the dictionary, the meaning given is “free time”.

Which is it? Is it a cultural difference?

**Tags:** meaning-in-context

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: 閒日 means weekdays, but contextually it's a metaphor(free time/non-busy days)  

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## 2 answers

### Answer by username_2 on 2019-10-08. Score: 2 | Accepted answer

Words.hk defines it as:

> 名詞  
> 星期一至五, 唔屬於星期六日或公眾假期嘅日子（量詞：個）  
> weekdays: Monday,Tuesday,Wednesday, Thursday or Friday; usually with the restriction of a non-holiday

And they give the example:

> 閒日飲茶有折喎！  
> haan4 jat2 jam2 caa4 jau5 zit3 wo3!  
> Discount for dim-sum on weekdays!

——

閒日 is literally made up of the characters for idle + day. Why weekdays are idle days could only be explained by slow business - because business is would, assumably, be good on the weekends and holidays. But you’d never hear this usage in Mandarin where it just simply means “off day,” i.e.: a day where one doesn’t work.

——

Guangzhouhua-Putonghua gives it a different Cantonese definition:

> 背集；不逢集的日子。

“Non-market days.”

CCCanto’s definition is also similar:

> free time or off day


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### Answer by username_3 on 2019-10-08. Score: 2

閒日 means "weekdays" instead of "weekend" because restaurants, touring and entertaining business get busy in weekend and holiday. (I worked in restaurants, so I am familiar with this term)

閒日(weekdays/non-busy days) is a lingo in the business mentioned above.

The more accurate translation of 閒日 should be "non-holiday weekdays" or literally "non-busy day"

Another Cantonese term for weekdays is "拜頭" (short for 禮拜頭). "拜尾" (short for 禮拜尾) means weekend.


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