Word order: SVO, like English
Basic Cantonese sentences follow Subject – Verb – Object, same as English:
我食飯
Pronunciation ngo5 sik6 faan6
I eat rice / a meal
I – eat – meal.
佢睇書
Pronunciation keoi5 tai2 syu1
he/she reads a book
你飲茶
Pronunciation nei5 jam2 caa4
you drink tea
Details attach differently, though. Two things to remember:
- **Topic first:** Cantonese loves putting the topic up front. 飯我食咗 (faan6 ngo5 sik6 zo2) = "as for the meal, I've eaten it" — the object can lead when it's the topic.
- **Adjectives and modifiers come before nouns:** 好食嘅嘢 (hou2 sik6 ge3 je5) = "tasty things" — the connector 嘅 (ge3) works like English 'that/which'.
No conjugation, no gender, no articles
Cantonese verbs never change for person or tense — 食 (sik6, eat) is the same in "I eat", "she ate", "they will eat". Time and completion are marked by aspect particles placed after the verb (咗 zo2 = completed, 緊 gan2 = in progress, 過 gwo3 = experienced), which you can often just leave out.
| English | Cantonese | Jyutping | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| I eat | 我食 | ngo5 sik6 | verb unchanged |
| he eats | 佢食 | keoi5 sik6 | 佢 is gender-neutral |
| we ate | 我哋食咗 | ngo5 dei6 sik6 zo2 | 咗 zo2 marks completed |
| they are eating | 佢哋食緊 | keoi5 dei6 sik6 gan2 | 緊 gan2 marks ongoing |
| you have eaten (before) | 你食過 | nei5 sik6 gwo3 | 過 gwo3 = experienced |
Asking questions
The main spoken pattern for yes/no questions is A-not-A — sandwich 唔 between the verb (or adjective) and itself:
- Verb: 去唔去? (heoi3 m4 heoi3) = "are you going?" — 鍾唔鍾意? (zung1 m4 zung1 ji3) = "do you like it?" — 好唔好? (hou2 m4 hou2) = "is it good?"
- Copula: 係唔係 (hai6 m4 hai6) or its everyday contraction 係咪 (hai6 mai6): 你係咪學生呀? (nei5 hai6 mai6 hok6 saang1 aa3) = "Are you a student?"
- Existence/possession: 有冇 (jau5 mou5): 有冇位呀? (jau5 mou5 wai2 aa3) = "are there seats?"
The final particle 呀 (aa3) often rides along — but it only softens the question; it doesn't create it. 你係咪學生呀? = the A-not-A 係咪 does the asking, 呀 makes it friendly.
Question words stay in place — no reordering like English: 你叫咩名? (nei5 giu3 me1 meng2) = "What's your name?" (literally "you are-called what name?")
嗎 (maa3) also appears, especially in more formal usage, but everyday spoken Cantonese strongly favors the A-not-A patterns above.
| Question word | Jyutping | English | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| 咩 | me1 | what (spoken) | 呢個係咩? ni1 go3 hai6 me1 — what is this? |
| 邊個 | bin1 go3 | who | 邊個嚟咗呀? bin1 go3 lai4 zo2 aa3 — who came? |
| 邊度 | bin1 dou6 | where | 你喺邊度? nei5 hai2 bin1 dou6 — where are you? |
| 幾時 | gei2 si4 | when | 幾時走? gei2 si4 zau2 — when are you leaving? |
| 點解 | dim2 gaai2 | why | 點解? dim2 gaai2 — why? |
| 點 | dim2 | how | 點去? dim2 heoi3 — how to get there? |
| 幾 | gei2 | how many / how much | 幾多錢? gei2 do1 cin2 — how much money? |
Negation: 唔 and 冇
Cantonese has two main negators, and they're not interchangeable:
- 唔 (m4) — general "not / don't" for present and habitual states, and for 係: 我唔知 (ngo5 m4 zi1) = "I don't know".
- 冇 (mou5) — "don't have / didn't" — negates 有 and completed actions: 我冇錢 (ngo5 mou5 cin2) = "I have no money"; 我冇食 (ngo5 mou5 sik6) = "I didn't eat".
Rule of thumb: 冇 is the opposite of 有. Where English uses "didn't", Cantonese often uses 冇 (+verb): 冇去 = didn't go, 冇見 = didn't see.
我唔食辣嘅嘢
Pronunciation ngo5 m4 sik6 laat6 ge3 je5
I don't eat spicy food
佢唔係學生
Pronunciation keoi5 m4 hai6 hok6 saang1
he/she is not a student
我冇時間
Pronunciation ngo5 mou5 si4 gaan1
I don't have time
我冇聽到
Pronunciation ngo5 mou5 teng1 dou2
I didn't hear it
Sentence-final particles — preview
Spoken Cantonese ends many sentences with a small word that carries tone of voice: 呀 (aa3, friendly), 咩 (me1, doubt/surprise), 啫 (ze1, "only / that's all"), 喇 (laa3, change of state), 囉 (lo1, obviousness). They don't translate word-for-word — think of them as built-in intonation. There's a whole article on them later; for now, notice them at the end of examples.
係呀
Pronunciation hai6 aa3
that's right / yeah
好味呀
Pronunciation hou2 mei6 aa3
it's tasty! (said with feeling)
走喇
Pronunciation zau2 laa3
let's go / I'm off now
真係㗎咩?
Pronunciation zan1 hai6 gaa3 me1
really?! (surprise)
Mini practice
What's the basic word order of a Cantonese sentence?
Subject – Verb – Object, like English: 我食飯 (ngo5 sik6 faan6) = I eat a meal.
How do you say "he/she" in Cantonese?
佢 (keoi5) — gender-neutral, covers he, she, and singular they.
"I didn't eat" — which negator?
冇: 我冇食 (ngo5 mou5 sik6). 唔 negates states and general verbs; 冇 negates 有 and completed actions.
How do you ask "where are you?"
你喺邊度? (nei5 hai2 bin1 dou6) — the question word stays where the answer would go; no reordering.
How do you ask "are you going?" in spoken Cantonese?
A-not-A: 你去唔去? (nei5 heoi3 m4 heoi3). With 係, use 係咪: 你係咪學生呀? = Are you a student?
What does the particle 咩 (me1) do?
Marks doubt or surprise — 真係㗎咩? = "really?!". It's also the spoken word for "what" in 叫咩名 (what's your name?).
