Lessons for English speakers

Learn to read Cantonese

A short, active path into reading Cantonese: see how a character is built out of a meaning half and a sound half, learn the sixty characters a fable runs on, meet the grammar words 係唔嘅咗 that mark written Cantonese out from Mandarin, and read a short story before opening your first book.

13 core sections · ≈ 34 min + 3 optional lookups · ≈ 43 min with everything

How sentences work

3 sections

Sentences run in English order — and this is not Mandarin

≈ 4 min

What you'll learn

Cantonese puts the doer first, the doing word next, the done-to last, exactly as English does.
Verbs never change: no endings for person, for number or for tense.
Nouns never change: no plural, no gender, and no words for “a” or “the”. A bare noun covers both, and “one” plus a counting word is the nearest thing to “a”.
係hai6 is “is”, and only for saying that one thing is another thing.
Ten small words separate written Cantonese from Mandarin, and your books use the Cantonese ones.

Here is the relief. A Cantonese sentence puts the doer first, then the doing word, then the thing it is done to — the same order as English. And a second relief behind it: nothing changes shape. One verb form for every person and every time; one noun form whether there is one of it or fifty.

我ngo5“I” 飲jam2“drink” 水seoi2“water”.

我飲水。

ngo5 jam2 seoi2.

Doer, action, done-to — and the verb does not move a stroke whoever is doing it.

The person words

Cantonese	How it is built
我ngo5“I, me”	one form for both — no separate “me”
你nei5“you”	the person piece on the left
佢keoi5“he, she, it”	one word for all three: no gender here
佢哋keoi5 dei6“they, them”	哋dei6 added — and it works the same on the other two

哋dei6 is the nearest thing Cantonese has to a plural ending, and it goes on people rather than on things. 狗gau2“dog” has no plural form at all, and needs none.

佢keoi5“he” 係hai6“is” 我嘅朋友ngo5 ge3 pang4 jau5“my friend”.

佢係我嘅朋友。

keoi5 hai6 ngo5 ge3 pang4 jau5.

係hai6 joins two nouns. It does not go in front of a describing word — “the dog is big” takes no “is” at all.

The ten words that say “this is Cantonese”

是“is — Mandarin”

係hai6“is”

不“not — Mandarin”

唔m4“not”

他“he — Mandarin”

佢keoi5“he, she”

的“of, ’s — Mandarin”

嘅ge3“of, ’s”

在“at — Mandarin”

喺hai2“at, in”

了“done — Mandarin”

咗zo2“done”

沒有“have not — Mandarin”

冇mou5“have not”

看“look — Mandarin”

睇tai2“look at”

說“say — Mandarin”

講gong2“say”

東西“thing — Mandarin”

嘢je5“thing”

Five greetings the stories use

Cantonese	When to use it
你好nei5 hou2	hello — literally “you good”
早晨zou2 san4	good morning
唔該m4 goi1	please, or thanks for a favour
多謝do1 ze6	thanks for a gift or a kindness
再見zoi3 gin3	goodbye — “see again”

Two thank-yous, and the line between them is what you received: a service takes 唔該, a thing takes 多謝.

Order, and which word

佢睇我。
Doer, action, done-to.
Show answer +Hide answer −
keoi5 tai2 ngo5 — “He is looking at me.”
佢哋係朋友。
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keoi5 dei6 hai6 pang4 jau5 — “They are friends.” No plural on 朋友pang4 jau5.
A book uses 佢 and 嘅. Cantonese or Mandarin?
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Cantonese. Mandarin would write 他 and 的.