Negation
Cantonese has four negators, each with one job. The core split — 唔 m4 vs 冇 mou5 — is the Cantonese version of Mandarin's 不/没, and the negator always sits directly before the verb.
The four
| word | job | example |
|---|---|---|
| 唔 m4 | general "not": habits, states, refusals, future | 我唔食牛肉 ngo5 m4 sik6 ngau4 juk6 — "I don't eat beef" |
| 冇 mou5 | "didn't" (completed events) + "not have" | 我冇去 ngo5 mou5 heoi3 — "I didn't go" |
| 未 mei6 | "not yet" | 我未食飯 ngo5 mei6 sik6 faan6 — "I haven't eaten yet" |
| 咪 mai5 | "don't!" (commands) | 咪嘈! mai5 cou4 — "don't be noisy!" |
唔 m4 — the default not
Negates states, habits, intentions, adjectives, and modal verbs:
我唔係學生 ngo5 m4 hai6 hok6 saang1 — "I'm not a student" 唔貴 m4 gwai3 — "not expensive" 我唔去喇 ngo5 m4 heoi3 laa3 — "I'm not going (after all)"
Handy fused forms: 唔使 m4 sai2 — "no need", 唔該 m4 goi1 — "please/thanks", 唔緊要 m4 gan2 jiu3 — "it doesn't matter".
冇 mou5 — didn't, and don't have
冇 is literally "not have", and it also negates completed events — like Mandarin 没(有), but a single word of its own:
| 我冇車 ngo5 mou5 ce1 | "I don't have a car" |
| 我冇買 ngo5 mou5 maai5 | "I didn't buy (it)" |
| 佢琴日冇返工 keoi5 kam4 jat6 mou5 faan1 gung1 | "he didn't go to work yesterday" |
Trap: 冇 replaces the completed marker 咗 zo2 — never combine them. "I ate" 我食咗 → "I didn't eat" 我冇食, not 我冇食咗.
未 mei6 — not yet
未 leaves the door open — it hasn't happened so far:
佢未嚟 keoi5 mei6 lai4 — "he's not here yet" 我未去過日本 ngo5 mei6 heoi3 gwo3 jat6 bun2 — "I've never been to Japan (yet)"
未 also closes the classic yes/no question: 食咗飯未呀? sik6 zo2 faan6 mei6 aa3 — "eaten yet?" (see Questions).
咪 mai5 — don't (do that)
The spoken imperative negative — a fusion of 唔好 m4 hou2, which also works:
咪走住! mai5 zau2 zyu6 — "don't leave yet!" 唔好講畀佢聽 m4 hou2 gong2 bei2 keoi5 teng1 — "don't tell him"
(Mandarin uses 别 bié here — no relation to 咪.)
Picking the right one
| English | Cantonese | why |
|---|---|---|
| "I don't drink coffee" | 我唔飲咖啡 ngo5 m4 jam2 gaa3 fe1 | habit → 唔 |
| "I didn't drink the coffee" | 我冇飲 ngo5 mou5 jam2 | completed event → 冇 |
| "I haven't drunk it yet" | 我未飲 ngo5 mei6 jam2 | still pending → 未 |
| "Don't drink it!" | 咪飲! mai5 jam2 | command → 咪 |
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