Key takeaways
- 你好 nei5 hou2 is 'hello', and Wiktionary notes it is often used politely to get someone's attention; 你好嗎 nei5 hou2 maa3, 'how are you?', is a literal translation Wiktionary says is not commonly used.
- 早晨 zou2 san4 is the Cantonese 'good morning'; 早敨 zou2 tau2 is 'good night', but can also be a rude 'drop dead'.
- 唔該 m4 goi1 thanks for a requested service or small favour; 多謝 do1 ze6 thanks for gifts and bigger favours.
- 對唔住 deoi3 m4 zyu6 and 唔好意思 m4 hou2 ji3 si1 both cover 'sorry' and 'excuse me'.
- 再見 zoi3 gin3 is the polite goodbye and 拜拜 baai1 baai3 the informal one.
Greeting someone in Cantonese is mostly about picking the phrase that fits the time of day and the favour involved. There is a textbook hello, a separate morning greeting, two different thank-yous and two goodbyes at different levels of formality. This guide gives each in traditional characters and Jyutping, with usage notes from Wiktionary. Each syllable's final digit is its tone number; Jyutping explained shows how to read it, and Cantonese tones explained covers the sounds.
Nei5 hou2 and asking how someone is
你好 nei5 hou2, "hello", is one of the examples Wikipedia's Jyutping article uses. Wiktionary adds a useful note: it is often used as a polite way of getting someone's attention, much like "hello?" at a shop counter.
Wiktionary also lists 你好嗎 nei5 hou2 maa3, "how are you?", but its usage note calls it a literal translation of the English phrase that is not commonly used among native speakers, though sometimes said when asking about someone's health. It simply adds maa3 to the hello; Cantonese sentence-final particles explains how these small words change a sentence.
Zou2 san4 in the morning, zou2 tau2 at night
早晨 zou2 san4 means "early morning" in general Chinese, but Wiktionary lists "good morning" as a Cantonese sense, with the example 王小姐，早晨, "Good morning, Miss Wong". Note the order there: name and title first, then the greeting.
At night, 早敨 zou2 tau2, literally "rest early", is "good night". Be careful with it. Wiktionary also records a rude sense, roughly "shut up" or "drop dead", using sleep as a metaphor for death. Said warmly at bedtime it is a good-night; snapped in an argument it is not.
M4 goi1 or do1 ze6: choosing the thank-you
Cantonese has two common thank-yous, and Wiktionary is explicit about the difference:
| Phrase | Jyutping | Use |
|---|---|---|
| 唔該 | m4 goi1 | thanks for something you requested or a small favour; also "please" and "excuse me" |
| 多謝 | do1 ze6 | thanks for a gift, including patronage or applause; a bigger favour |
Wiktionary warns that using 唔該 to thank someone for a greater favour, such as a gift, may be offensive, and points to 多謝 instead. Its examples for 唔該 show all three jobs: 唔該，可唔可以要杯冰水呀？ "Excuse me, can I have a glass of ice water?"; 唔該你同我睇住啲嘢, "Please keep an eye on my stuff"; and 唔該嗮！ "Thank you very much!".
Saying sorry: deoi3 m4 zyu6 and m4 hou2 ji3 si1
Wiktionary lists two Cantonese apologies:
- 對唔住 deoi3 m4 zyu6: "sorry; excuse me".
- 唔好意思 m4 hou2 ji3 si1: literally a feeling of embarrassment, and also "sorry; excuse me". Wiktionary gives ji3 si3 as an alternative reading of the last syllable.
Both contain 唔 m4, which Wikipedia's Cantonese grammar article gives as the word for "not", written with Jyutping's syllabic m. The same article notes that verbs are negated by putting 唔 in front of them, and that 唔好 m4 hou2 placed before a verb forms the negative imperative, "don't". The 唔好 at the start of 唔好意思 is not that "don't", though: Wiktionary treats 唔好意思 as one word meaning "embarrassed" or "sorry", so it is best learned whole.
Goodbyes: zoi3 gin3, baai1 baai3 and the dim sum invitation
再見 zoi3 gin3 is labelled polite by Wiktionary: "goodbye; see you later", literally "see again". The informal one is 拜拜, which Wiktionary describes as a phono-semantic match for English "bye-bye". Wiktionary gives its Cantonese reading as baai3-1 baai3, meaning the first syllable changes from tone 3 to tone 1, so it is said baai1 baai3. It also lists a Hong Kong Cantonese euphemistic sense, "to die".
A parting phrase worth recognising is 得閒飲茶！, which Wiktionary translates as "Let's have dim sum if you're free!" and describes as a polite phrase similar to "You must come to dinner!" in English. It is friendly rather than a fixed appointment. Dim sum in Cantonese covers what happens if you do go.
A worked example: one morning at a café
Here is a short exchange built only from the phrases above, with the reason for each choice:
- Arriving: zou2 san4. It is morning, so the time-of-day greeting rather than nei5 hou2.
- Getting attention: m4 goi1, the "excuse me" for something you are about to request.
- Bumping a chair: m4 hou2 ji3 si1, "sorry; excuse me".
- Receiving your drink: m4 goi1 again, because you asked for it.
- A friend pays for you: do1 ze6, because a treat is a bigger favour than a service.
- Leaving: baai1 baai3 to the friend, zoi3 gin3 if the setting is more formal.
Six moments use six distinct phrases, and m4 goi1 appears twice because it covers both "excuse me" and thanks for a service.
Practising greetings in the app
Learn Cantonese for Beginners opens its 12-unit path with greetings and introductions, using traditional characters and Jyutping together, and adds speaking missions, dictation and everyday dialogue as the units progress. It is one of our language-learning apps. For the rest of the first month, see learn Cantonese for beginners.
Good to know
Frequently asked questions
How do you say good morning in Cantonese?
How do you say good night in Cantonese?
How do you apologise in Cantonese?
Is zoi3 gin3 or baai1 baai3 more common in Cantonese?
Sources
- 唔該 (opens in a new tab)Wiktionary — accessed
- 早晨 (opens in a new tab)Wiktionary — accessed
- 早敨 (opens in a new tab)Wiktionary — accessed
- 你好 (opens in a new tab)Wiktionary — accessed
- 你好嗎 (opens in a new tab)Wiktionary — accessed
- 多謝 (opens in a new tab)Wiktionary — accessed
- 對唔住 (opens in a new tab)Wiktionary — accessed
- 唔好意思 (opens in a new tab)Wiktionary — accessed
- 再見 (opens in a new tab)Wiktionary — accessed
- 拜拜 (opens in a new tab)Wiktionary — accessed
- 飲茶 (opens in a new tab)Wiktionary — accessed
- Jyutping (opens in a new tab)Wikipedia — accessed
- Cantonese grammar (opens in a new tab)Wikipedia — accessed
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