<blockquote>
  <p>1) Is 扔掉 the formal way of saying "throw away"?</p>
</blockquote>

<p>Yes, it is. </p>

<p>'掉' in  '扔掉' is a <a href="https://resources.allsetlearning.com/chinese/grammar/Result_complement" rel="nofollow noreferrer">result complement</a>, not a verb itself.</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>2) Is there a difference between using 扔 or 掉?</p>
</blockquote>

<ul>
<li><p>扔 mainly mean 'throw'</p></li>
<li><p>掉 mainly mean 'drop' </p></li>
</ul>

<p>you can 扔 forward, backward, upward or downward; But you can only  掉 downward</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-11-22T10:55:21.020Z
2017-11-22T10:55:21.020Z
Tang Ho
<p>I'm a native Cantonese and I have always used 掉 to represent 'throw'</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-11-24T10:20:25.037Z
you meant you always use  掉 for 'throw away'. You can't serious think saying  '把球掉給我' instead of '  把球扔給我 ' is acceptable.
Tang Ho
CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-11-25T13:45:15.207Z
@TangHo we don't use 扔 or 給 in Cantonese, if not, quite rarely. Native Cantonese speakers use 俾 instead of 給
rgex
CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-11-25T13:53:05.340Z
If you are talking about colloquial Cantonese, It is "將個波擲(or 掟)俾我" ;  " 把球扔給我 " is SWC (standard written Chinese that Cantonese use for writing) I am a native Cantonese speaker too. We can also say , "抛俾我"
Tang Ho
CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-11-25T14:04:49.703Z
BTW,   beside '掉垃圾' people also use  '抌垃圾' , '丟垃圾' or "擗垃圾"   for "throw away the garbage"
Tang Ho
CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-11-25T21:56:28.133Z
@Tang Ho wow I've never heard of 擗垃圾 before. and I never knew we would write in SWC in Mandarin instead of Cantonese. Why can't SWC be in Cantonese too? :( Thanks for the insight!
rgex
CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-11-22T13:27:35.277Z
2017-11-22T13:27:35.277Z
rgex
<p>CantoDict lists 扔掉 as the translation for "throw away" as in "throw away the can," but I often hear people use 扔 by itself or 掉 by itself.</p>

<ol>
<li><p>Is 扔掉 the formal way of saying "throw away"?</p></li>
<li><p>Is there a difference between using 扔 or 掉?</p></li>
</ol>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-11-22T15:01:57.973Z
see dictionaries: ＂汉语水平考试词典＂：扔［义２］丢掉；抛弃（throw away;cast aside):随地～垃圾要罚款的｜这些愉快的回忆早就～在脑后了。bkrs： 扔 。。。
（抛弃; 丢） throw away; cast aside:
把它扔了吧。 Throw it away.
不要在地板上乱扔纸屑。 Don't litter up the floor with scraps of paper.
那个疯子把自己的手表和皮夹子扔了。 The madman flung away his watch and his wallet.
我认为应该把它扔进历史的垃圾箱。 I think that should be relegated to the garbage can of history.
这事他早就扔在脖子后边了。 He'd clean forgotten about it.
user6065
CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-11-24T23:32:58.547Z
I see that you tagged both "cantonese" and "mandarin". Is this question about Cantonese or Mandarin? Because the answer may be different for each.
user102008
<mandarin><cantonese>
How to say throw away: 扔掉?
# How to say throw away: 扔掉?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2017-11-22)

CantoDict lists 扔掉 as the translation for "throw away" as in "throw away the can," but I often hear people use 扔 by itself or 掉 by itself.

1. Is 扔掉 the formal way of saying "throw away"?
2. Is there a difference between using 扔 or 掉?

**Tags:** mandarin, cantonese
> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: see dictionaries: ＂汉语水平考试词典＂：扔［义２］丢掉；抛弃（throw away;cast aside):随地～垃圾要罚款的｜这些愉快的回忆早就～在脑后了。bkrs： 扔 。。。 （抛弃; 丢） throw away; cast aside: 把它扔了吧。 Throw it away. 不要在地板上乱扔纸屑。 Don't litter up the floor with scraps of paper. 那个疯子把自己的手表和皮夹子扔了。 The madman flung away his watch and his wallet. 我认为应该把它扔进历史的垃圾箱。 I think that should be relegated to the garbage can of history. 这事他早就扔在脖子后边了。 He'd clean forgotten about it.  
> **username_2**: I see that you tagged both "cantonese" and "mandarin". Is this question about Cantonese or Mandarin? Because the answer may be different for each.  

---

## 2 answers

### Answer by username_3 on 2017-11-22. Score: 1 | Accepted answer

> 1) Is 扔掉 the formal way of saying "throw away"?

Yes, it is.

'掉' in '扔掉' is a [result complement](https://resources.allsetlearning.com/chinese/grammar/Result_complement), not a verb itself.

> 2) Is there a difference between using 扔 or 掉?

* 扔 mainly mean 'throw'
* 掉 mainly mean 'drop'

you can 扔 forward, backward, upward or downward; But you can only 掉 downward


---

### Answer by username_4 on 2017-11-22. Score: 1

I'm a native Cantonese and I have always used 掉 to represent 'throw'

> **Comments:**
> **username_3**: you meant you always use  掉 for 'throw away'. You can't serious think saying  '把球掉給我' instead of '  把球扔給我 ' is acceptable.  
> **username_4**: @TangHo we don't use 扔 or 給 in Cantonese, if not, quite rarely. Native Cantonese speakers use 俾 instead of 給  
> **username_3**: If you are talking about colloquial Cantonese, It is "將個波擲(or 掟)俾我" ;  " 把球扔給我 " is SWC (standard written Chinese that Cantonese use for writing) I am a native Cantonese speaker too. We can also say , "抛俾我"  
> **username_3**: BTW,   beside '掉垃圾' people also use  '抌垃圾' , '丟垃圾' or "擗垃圾"   for "throw away the garbage"  
> **username_4**: @Tang Ho wow I've never heard of 擗垃圾 before. and I never knew we would write in SWC in Mandarin instead of Cantonese. Why can't SWC be in Cantonese too? :( Thanks for the insight!  

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