HKDictionary

Everyday Cantonese Verbs

A few verbs cover most of daily life. Several are uniquely Cantonese — 睇 for "look" and 食 for "eat" differ from Mandarin — and Cantonese verbs never change form, so each one you learn works straight away.

sikˍ₆食
sth edible; sth used for cooking
jamˊ²飲
be hit by; receive (a bullet, an arrow, etc)
gongˊ²講
Cantonese dialectical word: say; speak
taiˊ²睇
believe; think; consider
seˊ²寫
write (with brush, pen, etc)
coˏ₅坐
sit; be seated
tingˉ¹聽
listen to; hear
hangˎ₄行
line; row
maaiˏ₅買
buy; purchase | [antonym] 賣
heoi˗₃去
departing tone
laiˎ₄嚟
come; arrive
fan˗₃瞓
sleep; go to bed; lie down

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Frequently asked questions

How do you say to eat in Cantonese?

食 (sik6). 食咗飯未呀? (sik6 zo2 faan6 mei6 aa3), have you eaten yet?, is a common greeting.

How do you say to watch or look in Cantonese?

睇 (tai2) — used for watching TV, reading a book and seeing a doctor (睇醫生).

How do you say something happened in the past in Cantonese?

Add 咗 (zo2) after the verb: 食咗 (ate), 飲咗 (drank). The verb itself never changes.

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