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.
Saying no, and asking a question
- Two negatives: 唔m4 in front of a verb, and 冇mou5 for “does not have”.
- The commonest question is the verb said twice with a “not” in the middle: is-not-is?
- A question moves nothing: the question word sits where the answer would go.
- Five question words cover almost everything a story asks.
To deny something, put 唔m4 in front of the verb and change nothing else. No “do” to add, no order to rearrange. The one exception is having, which has a word of its own.
Denying, in two words
佢keoi5“he” 係唔係hai6 m4 hai6“is-not-is” 你嘅朋友nei5 ge3 pang4 jau5“your friend”?
佢係唔係你嘅朋友？
keoi5 hai6 m4 hai6 nei5 ge3 pang4 jau5?
The commonest yes-or-no question offers both answers at once: the verb, then the same verb denied. It works on any verb — 去唔去heoi3 m4 heoi3“are you going?”.
Five question words
| Question word | In a sentence |
|---|---|
| 邊個bin1 go3“who; which one” | 你係邊個？nei5 hai6 bin1 go3?“who are you?” |
| 乜嘢mat1 je5“what” | 你食乜嘢？nei5 sik6 mat1 je5?“what are you eating?” |
| 邊度bin1 dou6“where” | 你去邊度？nei5 heoi3 bin1 dou6?“where are you going?” |
| 幾時gei2 si4“when” | 佢幾時嚟？keoi5 gei2 si4 lai4?“when is he coming?” |
| 點解dim2 gaai2“why” | 你點解唔開心？nei5 dim2 gaai2 m4 hoi1 sam1?“why are you unhappy?” |
Nothing moves to the front. “Where are you going” is “you go where”: the question word stands in the slot the answer will fill.
Deny it, then ask it
- Make 我知 into “I do not know”.
Show answer +Hide answer −
我唔知ngo5 m4 zi1“I do not know”. - 你有冇水？
A verb, then the same verb denied.
Show answer +Hide answer −
nei5 jau5 mou5 seoi2? — “Do you have any water?” - 呢隻唔係貓。
Show answer +Hide answer −
ni1 zek3 m4 hai6 maau1 — “This one is not a cat.”