ONE-FLIGHT MINI-COURSE🇭🇰 Cantonese 廣東話
Romanized in Jyutping (HK standard, tone numbers 1–6) with Traditional characters. Verbs never conjugate — the one challenge is tones, so start there.
The idea. A small core plus plug-and-play sentence templates. Learn words inside the patterns, not as flashcards.
The good news. Cantonese grammar is close to English word order and verbs never conjugate. The one real challenge is tones — so start there.
0 Tones & sounds
Cantonese has 6 tones. The same syllable means different things at different pitches — the #1 thing to drill. The number after a word (e.g. hou2) is the tone.
The 6 tones — all “si”
1
si1 · high, flat ˥
詩 poem
2
si2 · rising ˧˥
史 history
3
si3 · mid, flat ˧
試 to try
4
si4 · low, falling ˨˩
時 time
5
si5 · low, rising ˩˧
市 market
6
si6 · low, flat ˨
事 matter
Think 1 = top of your voice, 3 = middle, 6 = bottom. 2 and 5 rise; 4 falls.
Letters that surprise you
j
= English "y" (jat1 = "yat")
aa vs a
long "ah" vs short "uh"
yu / oe / eo
French "u" / "ur"-ish
ng-
can start a word (ngo5 = I)
1 Survival phrases
Say these on day one.
m4 goi1 唔該
Thanks (service) · excuse me · please
do1 ze6 多謝
Thank you (for a gift/kindness)
hai6 / m4 hai6 係 / 唔係
yes (it is) / no (it isn't)
nei5 hou2 maa1? 你好嗎?
How are you?
ngo5 giu3 ___ 我叫 ___
My name is ___
ngo5 m4 ming4 我唔明
I don't understand
nei5 sik1 m4 sik1 gong2 jing1man2 aa3? 你識唔識講英文呀?
Do you speak English?
ni1 go3 gei2 do1 cin2 aa3? 呢個幾多錢呀?
How much is this?
gau3 meng6 aa3! 救命呀!
Help! (emergency)
2 Pronouns & “my / your”
My/your = pronoun + ge3 嘅. Add dei6 哋 to make any pronoun plural.
3 Question words
Most sit where the answer goes — no reordering.
me1 / mat1je5 咩/乜嘢 what
bin1 go3 邊個 who
bin1 dou6 邊度 where
gei2 si4 幾時 when
dim2 gaai2 點解 why
dim2 點 how
gei2 do1 幾多 how much
4 Core verbs
These never change form — same word for I / you / past / future.
maai5 / maai6 買 / 賣
to buy / sell
5 Numbers
1jat1 一
2ji6 二
3saam1 三
4sei3 四
5ng5 五
6luk6 六
7cat1 七
8baat3 八
9gau2 九
10sap6 十
20ji6 sap6 二十
100jat1 baak3 一百
11–19 = “ten + digit”: sap6 jat1 十一 = 11. Simple and regular.
6 Essential nouns
People
naam4 jan2 / neoi5 jan2 男人 / 女人
man / woman
maa1 / baa1 媽 / 爸
mum / dad
Places
zaam6 / zau2 dim3 站 / 酒店
station / hotel
Things & time
je5 sik6 / caa4 嘢食 / 茶
food / tea
7 Adjectives (opposite pairs)
hou2 / m4 hou2 好 / 唔好
good / bad
daai6 / sai3 大 / 細
big / small
san1 / gau6 新 / 舊
new / old
jit6 / dung3 熱 / 凍
hot / cold
gwai3 / peng4 貴 / 平
expensive / cheap
jyun5 / kan5 遠 / 近
far / near
8 Glue words
tung4 同 and
waak6 ze2 或者 or
daan6 hai6 但係 but
jan1 wai6 因為 because
so2 ji5 所以 so
gam1 jat6 今日 today
ting1 jat6 聽日 tomorrow
kam4 jat6 琴日 yesterday
ji4 gaa1 而家 now
ni1 dou6 呢度 here
hou2 好 very
dou1 都 also / all
9 7 rules for sentences
1
Word order = Subject–Verb–Object — just like English.
我食飯
Ngo5 sik6 faan6 = I eat rice.
2
Verbs never change. No tenses or endings — same
去 heoi3 for everyone. Time comes from particles or time words (§9+).
我聽日去 ngo5 ting1 jat6 heoi3 = I go tomorrow
3
Use a measure word between a number (or this/that) and a noun. Default =
go3 個.
一個人 jat1 go3 jan4 = one person · 呢杯茶 ni1 bui1 caa4 = this cup of tea
4
Link with ge3 嘅 ('of / 's').
我嘅書 ngo5 ge3 syu1 = my book
5
Adjectives take hou2 好 ('very') as a neutral filler — without it, it can sound like a comparison.
呢個好靚 Ni1 go3 hou2 leng3 = This is (very) pretty.
6
Negate with m4 唔 before verbs/adjectives; use
mou5 冇 for 'don't have'.
我唔食 ngo5 m4 sik6 = I don't eat · 冇錢 mou5 cin2 = no money
7
Ask yes/no two ways: add
maa1 嗎 at the end, or say 'verb-m4-verb'. Answer by repeating the verb.
係唔係? hai6 m4 hai6? → 係 (yes) / 唔係 (no)
Sentence-final particles
Little sounds at the end — 呀 aa3, 啦 laa1, 咩 me1 — add mood and soften the tone. You'll absorb them by ear.
9+ Time & “to be” cheat-sheet
Since verbs don't conjugate, two things do the work: aspect particles (for time) and three different words for “to be”.
A · Three ways to say “to be”
hai6 係 — + a NOUN
我係學生 Ngo5 hai6 hok6 saang1 = I am a student
hou2 好 — before an ADJECTIVE
我好攰 Ngo5 hou2 gui6 = I'm tired (✕ 我係攰)
hai2 喺 — AT a place
我喺屋企 Ngo5 hai2 uk1 kei2 = I'm at home
B · Aspect particles — show WHEN
The trick: the verb stays the same; add a particle after it (or a time word).
(nothing) — general / present
我食飯 Ngo5 sik6 faan6 = I eat
zo2 咗 — done / completed
我食咗飯 Ngo5 sik6 zo2 faan6 = I ate
gan2 緊 — happening now (-ing)
我食緊飯 Ngo5 sik6 gan2 faan6 = I'm eating
gwo3 過 — have ever (experience)
我去過香港 Ngo5 heoi3 gwo3 hoeng1 gong2 = I've been to HK
wui5 會 — will (before the verb)
我會去 Ngo5 wui5 heoi3 = I will go
For the future you can also just use a time word: 我聽日去 Ngo5 ting1 jat6 heoi3. The verb never changes — only the particle or time word does.
10 Sentence-building machine
Memorize the frame, swap the ___ for any core word. (aa3 呀 just softens a question.)
我想 ___ · Ngo5 soeng2 ___
= I want to ___ (do something).
heoi3 · sik6 faan6 · fan3
我要 ___ · Ngo5 jiu3 ___
= I want / need ___ (a thing).
bui1 caa4 · seoi2
___ 喺邊度呀? · ___ hai2 bin1 dou6 aa3?
= Where is ___?
gaai1 si5 · zaam6
呢個係咩呀? · Ni1 go3 hai6 me1 aa3?
= What is this?
point + ask
你識唔識 ___ 呀? · Nei5 sik1 m4 sik1 ___ aa3?
= Do you know how to ___?
gong2 jing1man2 · zou6
我鍾意 ___ · Ngo5 zung1 ji3 ___
= I like ___.
caa4 · hoeng1 gong2
___ 幾多錢呀? · ___ gei2 do1 cin2 aa3?
= How much is ___?
ni1 go3 · bui1 caa4
我係 ___ 人 · Ngo5 hai6 ___ jan4
= I'm ___ (nationality).
jing1 gwok3 · mei5 gwok3
11 Your turn — practice
Write the Cantonese (Jyutping is fine). Answers below.
- Greet someone and give your name:
- Ask “Where is the market?”:
- Say “I want tea”:
- Say “I don't understand”:
- Count 1 to 5:
- Ask “How much is this?”:
Check yourself: 1) Nei5 hou2, ngo5 giu3 ___ 2) Gaai1 si5 hai2 bin1 dou6 aa3? 3) Ngo5 jiu3 caa4 4) Ngo5 m4 ming4 5) jat1 ji6 saam1 sei3 ng5 6) Ni1 go3 gei2 do1 cin2 aa3?
12 A 2-week plan
15–20 min a day, out loud. Tones need daily reps — don't skip them.
Week 1 — Tones & survival
- Days 1–2: the 6 tones (drill the 'si' set) + survival phrases.
- Day 3: numbers 1–10, then 11–20.
- Day 4: pronouns + ge3.
- Day 5: the question words.
- Days 6–7: review, no notes.
Week 2 — Build sentences
- Day 8: the core verbs (they never change!).
- Day 9: nouns + measure word 個 go3.
- Day 10: adjectives (+ hou2) & glue words.
- Days 11–12: the 7 rules + aspect particles.
- Days 13–14: sentence machine + practice.
3 habits that make it stick
1. Nail the tone with the word — a wrong tone is a wrong word.
2. Learn words inside a template.
3. Speak before you're ready. Being understood is the goal.
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