Character Mastery — Cantonese.hk

Cantonese-Only Characters

These characters are unique to written Cantonese and are not commonly used in standard Mandarin. They appear constantly in Cantonese texts, chat messages, and subtitles.

嘅

ge3

possessive particle (的)

Example: 我嘅書

咁

gam3

so, like this

Example: 咁好

嗰

go2

that

Example: 嗰個人

嘢

je5

thing, stuff

Example: 食嘢

唔

not, no (不)

Example: 唔好

冇

mou5

don't have (沒有)

Example: 冇錢

噉

gam2

like that, in that way

Example: 噉做

喺

hai2

at, in (在)

Example: 喺度

啲

di1

some, a little

Example: 快啲

咗

zo2

completed action (了)

Example: 食咗

緊

gan2

ongoing action (-ing)

Example: 食緊

畀

bei2

give, to (給)

Example: 畀你

嚟

lai4

come (來)

Example: 過嚟

咩

me1

what (什麼)

Example: 做咩

點

dim2

how (怎麼)

Example: 點算

啦

laa1

sentence-final particle

Example: 好啦

Six Tones Reference

Cantonese has six tones. Each is shown with its signature colour used throughout the site.

Tone 1

詩

si1

High level

Tone 2

史

si2

High rising

Tone 3

試

si3

Mid level

Tone 4

時

si4

Low falling

Tone 5

市

si5

Low rising

Tone 6

事

si6

Low level

Common Radicals

Radicals are the building blocks of Chinese characters. Knowing them helps you guess meanings and memorise new characters faster.

亻

Person

Related to people

你、他、們、住、作

口

Mouth

Speaking, eating

吃、呢、嘅、咁、嗰

女

Woman

Female, feminine

她、媽、姐、妹、好

水

Water

Liquid, flow

海、湯、洗、河、酒

火

Fire

Heat, cooking

煮、燒、熱、炒、煲

食

Food

Eating, food

飯、餐、飲、餓、館

心

Heart

Feelings, mind

想、意、愛、感、忙

手

Hand

Actions, handling

打、拿、搭、搵、撐

言

Speech

Language, words

話、講、語、說、謝

金

Metal

Metal, money

錢、銀、鐘、鋪、鏡

日

Sun

Time, day

時、明、早、晚、暗

木

Tree

Wood, plants

樹、林、桌、椅、機

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