Prepositions
Cantonese "prepositions" are coverbs — little verbs that team up before the main verb. "I eat at home" is literally "I be-at home eat". Learn the coverb slot — subject + coverb phrase + verb — and the system falls into place.
The core coverbs
| coverb | meaning | example |
|---|---|---|
| 喺 hai2 | at, in, on | 我喺屋企食飯 ngo5 hai2 uk1 kei2 sik6 faan6 — "I eat at home" |
| 畀 bei2 | to, for (recipient) | 買畀你 maai5 bei2 nei5 — "buy (it) for you" |
| 同 tung4 | with; and; for (someone) | 我同你去 ngo5 tung4 nei5 heoi3 — "I'll go with you" |
| 由 jau4 | from | 由呢度行去 jau4 ni1 dou6 haang4 heoi3 — "walk from here" |
| 去 heoi3 | to (destination) | 我去香港 ngo5 heoi3 hoeng1 gong2 — "I'm going to Hong Kong" |
| 用 jung6 | with (a tool) | 用筷子食 jung6 faai3 zi2 sik6 — "eat with chopsticks" |
| 幫 bong1 | for (on behalf of) | 幫我買杯咖啡 bong1 ngo5 maai5 bui1 gaa3 fe1 — "buy me a coffee" |
| 搭 daap3 | by (transport) | 搭地鐵去 daap3 dei6 tit3 heoi3 — "go by MTR" |
Each is still a real verb: 喺 "be at", 畀 "give", 用 "use", 幫 "help". "Eat with chopsticks" is literally "use chopsticks eat".
喺 hai2 — the big one
Location before the verb; after the verb for where something ends up:
佢喺公司做嘢 keoi5 hai2 gung1 si1 zou6 je5 — "she works at the office" 我住喺香港 ngo5 zyu6 hai2 hoeng1 gong2 — "I live in Hong Kong"
(Mandarin's 在 zài — Cantonese uses 喺 instead; 在 belongs to written Chinese.)
English in / on / under = 喺 + location word
The detail lives after the noun:
| 喺枱上面 hai2 toi2 soeng6 min6 | "on the table" |
| 喺袋入面 hai2 doi2 jap6 min6 | "in(side) the bag" |
| 喺張床下面 hai2 zoeng1 cong4 haa6 min6 | "under the bed" |
| 喺銀行隔籬 hai2 ngan4 hong4 gaak3 lei4 | "next to the bank" |
| 喺度 / 喺呢度 hai2 (ni1) dou6 | "here"; 喺嗰度 — "there" |
Literally "at table's top-side" — the noun owns the position.
畀 bei2 — give, to, for
The busiest word in the chapter. As a verb, "give" — with Cantonese's own object order (thing before person):
畀本書我 bei2 bun2 syu1 ngo5 — "give me the book" (lit. "give book me" — see Word order)
As a coverb after another verb, it routes the recipient:
我send咗個message畀你 ngo5 send zo2 go3 message bei2 nei5 — "I sent you a message" 話畀我知 waa6 bei2 ngo5 zi1 — "tell me" (lit. "say give me know")
Where Mandarin differs
| job | Cantonese | Mandarin |
|---|---|---|
| at/in | 喺 hai2 | 在 zài |
| to/for someone | 畀 bei2 | 给 gěi |
| with | 同 tung4 | 跟 gēn / 和 hé |
| from | 由 jau4 / 喺 | 从 cóng |
The pattern is the same across Chinese; the words are almost all different — you can't port Mandarin prepositions into Cantonese speech.
What's easy, what's hard
- Easy: a dozen coverbs replace the entire English preposition maze; no case endings after them.
- Hard: the coverb phrase must come before the main verb (English puts it after), and location words come after their noun — two habits to rewire.
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