Nouns & gender
Cantonese nouns have no gender, no case, no endings — a noun never changes shape. The real system to learn is classifiers: the counting word every noun carries, which in Cantonese does far more work than in Mandarin.
No gender, no cases
個學生 go3 hok6 saang1 — "the student" (male or female, subject or object — same word everywhere)
Nothing to agree, nothing to decline. The whole European gender chapter doesn't exist.
Classifiers — the top 10
Every noun pairs with a classifier when counted or pointed at. Learn the classifier with the noun:
| classifier | used for | example |
|---|---|---|
| 個 go3 | people, general fallback | 一個人 jat1 go3 jan4 — "one person" |
| 隻 zek3 | animals, one of a pair, bowls | 一隻貓 jat1 zek3 maau1 — "one cat" |
| 條 tiu4 | long thin things: fish, roads, trousers | 一條魚 jat1 tiu4 jyu2 — "one fish" |
| 本 bun2 | books | 一本書 jat1 bun2 syu1 — "one book" |
| 張 zoeng1 | flat things: paper, tables, beds | 一張枱 jat1 zoeng1 toi2 — "one table" |
| 間 gaan1 | buildings, rooms, shops | 一間屋 jat1 gaan1 uk1 — "one house" |
| 部 bou6 | machines, phones, films | 一部電話 jat1 bou6 din6 waa2 — "one phone" |
| 架 gaa3 | vehicles | 一架車 jat1 gaa3 ce1 — "one car" |
| 杯 bui1 | cups of | 一杯茶 jat1 bui1 caa4 — "one cup of tea" |
| 件 gin6 | items, tops, matters | 一件衫 jat1 gin6 saam1 — "one shirt" |
Plus 啲 di1, the plural/mass classifier: 啲水 di1 seoi2 — "(the) water", 呢啲人 ni1 di1 jan4 — "these people".
When in doubt, 個 go3 — wrong but understood.
Classifiers work overtime in Cantonese
This is where Cantonese differs from Mandarin. The classifier isn't just for counting:
| job | example | note |
|---|---|---|
| counting | 三本書 saam1 bun2 syu1 — "three books" | same as Mandarin |
| pointing | 呢本書 ni1 bun2 syu1 — "this book" | same as Mandarin |
| definite article | 本書唔見咗 bun2 syu1 m4 gin3 zo2 — "the book is lost" | Mandarin can't — needs 这/那 |
| possessive linker | 我本書 ngo5 bun2 syu1 — "my book" | Mandarin can't — needs 我的书 |
Possession: 嘅 or classifier
Two ways to say "my/your/his X":
| pattern | example | flavour |
|---|---|---|
| pronoun + 嘅 ge3 + noun | 我嘅書 ngo5 ge3 syu1 — "my book" | neutral, works for anything |
| pronoun + classifier + noun | 我本書 ngo5 bun2 syu1 — "my book" | the everyday spoken way for concrete things |
佢架車好貴 keoi5 gaa3 ce1 hou2 gwai3 — "his/her car is expensive"
With people and relationships, 嘅 often drops entirely: 我媽媽 ngo5 maa4 maa1 — "my mum".
Two "twos"
Counting objects uses 兩 loeng5, not 二 ji6:
兩個人 loeng5 go3 jan4 — "two people" (二 ji6 is for numbers themselves: 十二 sap6 ji6 — "twelve")
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