Cantonese words and sounds that learners commonly confuse or misuse, explained side by side. Front: the confusable Cantonese words in Chinese characters with Jyutping romanization in parentheses. Back: an explanation of the difference.
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- 你 vs 佢 (nei5 vs keoi5)
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Nei5 means "you," keoi5 means "he/she/it"; easy to mishear since both are common pronouns.- 唔該 vs 多謝 (m4 goi1 vs do1 ze6)
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M4 goi1 is used for "please/excuse me" or thanking someone for a service, do1 ze6 is used for thanking someone for a gift or compliment.- 喺 vs 係 (hai2 vs hai6)
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Hai2 means "at/in" (location), hai6 means "to be" (is/am/are); they sound almost identical but work very differently in a sentence.- 買 vs 賣 (maai5 vs maai6)
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Maai5 means "to buy," maai6 means "to sell"; only the tone is different, so listen carefully.- 借 vs 還 (ze3 vs waan4)
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Ze3 means "to borrow/lend," waan4 means "to return/pay back"; the direction of the action is opposite.- 平 vs 貴 (peng4 vs gwai3)
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Peng4 means "cheap," gwai3 means "expensive"; opposite meanings often confused by new learners.- 遲 vs 早 (ci4 vs zou2)
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Ci4 means "late," zou2 means "early"; watch the tone and context.- 睇 vs 睇見 (tai2 vs tai2 gin3)
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Tai2 means "to look/watch," tai2 gin3 means "to see/have seen"; the second implies the action was completed and perceived.- 聽 vs 聽日 (teng1 vs ting1 jat6)
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Teng1 means "to listen," but the same character in "聽日" is pronounced ting1 jat6 and means "tomorrow."- 你哋 vs 我哋 (nei5 dei6 vs ngo5 dei6)
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Nei5 dei6 means "you all," ngo5 dei6 means "we/us"; similar structure, easy to mix up quickly.- 女 vs 仔 (neoi5 vs zai2)
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Neoi5 means "daughter/girl," zai2 often means "boy/son" or acts as a diminutive suffix; combined they form 女仔 (girl) vs 男仔 (boy).- 幾多 vs 幾時 (gei2 do1 vs gei2 si4)
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Gei2 do1 means "how much/many," gei2 si4 means "when"; both start with gei2 but ask very different questions.- 得 vs 唔得 (dak1 vs m4 dak1)
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Dak1 means "okay/can," m4 dak1 means "not okay/cannot"; a single syllable negation completely reverses the meaning.- 屋企 vs 屋 (uk1 kei2 vs uk1)
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Uk1 kei2 means "home" (family home), uk1 alone more often just means "house/building."- 講 vs 講嘢 (gong2 vs gong2 je5)
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Gong2 means "to speak," gong2 je5 means "to talk/chat about things"; the added word changes the nuance.
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