100 Basic Cantonese Vocabularies
We believe in learning the most important vocabularies first to start off your learning journey on the right foot. The list below contains 100 of the most frequently used Cantonese vocabularies. For more vocabularies like that, check out our yellow vocabulary book towards the end of this page.
| English | Cantonese |
|---|---|
| I | 我 (ngo5) |
| you | 你 (nei5) |
| he | 佢 (keoi5) |
| she | 佢 (keoi5) |
| it | 佢 (keoi5) |
| we | 我哋 (ngo5 dei6) |
| you | 你哋 (nei5 dei6) |
| they | 佢哋 (keoi5 dei6) |
| what | 咩 (me1) |
| who | 邊個 (bin1 go3) |
| where | 邊到 (bin1 dou3) |
| why | 點解 (dim2 gaai2) |
| how | 點 (dim2) |
| which | 邊個 (bin1 go3) |
| when | 幾時 (gei2 si4) |
| then | 然後 (jin4 hau6) |
| if | 如果 (jyu4 gwo2) |
| really | 真 (zan1) |
| but | 但 (daan6) |
| because | 因為 (jan1 wai6) |
| not | 唔 (m4) |
| this | 呢個 (ni1 go3) |
| that | 嗰個 (go2 go3) |
| all | 所有 (so2 jau5) |
| or | 或者 (waak6 ze2) |
| and | 同 (tung4) |
| to know | 知 (zi1) |
| to think | 諗 (nam2) |
| to come | 來 (loi4) |
| to put | 放 (fong3) |
| to take | 攞 (lo2) |
| to find | 搵到 (wan2 dou3) |
| to listen | 聽 (ting1) |
| to work | 工作 (gung1 zok3) |
| to talk | 講 (gong2) |
| to give | 畀 (bei2) |
| to like | 鐘意 (zung1 ji3) |
| to help | 幫 (bong1) |
| to love | 愛 (oi3) |
| to call | 打電話 (daa2 din6 waa6) |
| to wait | 等 (dang2) |
| 0 | 零 (ling4) |
| 1 | 一 (jat1) |
| 2 | 二 (ji6) |
| 3 | 三 (saam1) |
| 4 | 四 (sei3) |
| 5 | 五 (ng5) |
| 6 | 六 (luk6) |
| 7 | 七 (cat1) |
| 8 | 八 (baat3) |
| 9 | 九 (gau2) |
| 10 | 十 (sap6) |
| 11 | 十一 (sap6 jat1) |
| 12 | 十二 (sap6 ji6) |
| 13 | 十三 (sap6 saam1) |
| 14 | 十四 (sap6 sei3) |
| 15 | 十五 (sap6 ng5) |
| 16 | 十六 (sap6 luk6) |
| 17 | 十七 (sap6 cat1) |
| 18 | 十八 (sap6 baat3) |
| 19 | 十九 (sap6 gau2) |
| 20 | 二十 (ji6 sap6) |
| new | 新 (san1) |
| old | 舊 (gau6) |
| few | 少 (siu2) |
| many | 多 (do1) |
| wrong | 錯 (cok3) |
| correct | 啱 (ngaam1) |
| bad | 差 (caa1) |
| good | 好 (hou2) |
| happy | 開心 (hoi1 sam1) |
| short | 短 (dyun2) |
| long | 長 (zoeng2) |
| small | 小 (siu2) |
| big | 大 (daai6) |
| there | 嗰度 (go2 dou6) |
| here | 呢度 (ni1 dou6) |
| right | 右 (jau6) |
| left | 左 (zo2) |
| beautiful | 靚 (leng3) |
| young | 年輕 (nin4 heng1) |
| old | 老 (lou5) |
| hello | 你好 (nei5 hou2) |
| ok | 得 (dak1) |
| of course | 當然 (dong1 jin4) |
| bye bye | 拜拜 (baai3 baai3) |
| good bye | 再見 (zoi3 gin3) |
| excuse me | 唔好意思 (m4 hou2 ji3 si1) |
| sorry | 對唔住 (deoi3 m4 zyu6) |
| thank you | 多謝 (do1 ze6) |
| please | 請 (ceng2) |
| now | 而家 (ji4 gaa1) |
| hour | 鐘頭 (zung1 tau4) |
| minute | 分鐘 (fan1 zung1) |
| second | 秒 (miu5) |
| day | 日 (jat6) |
| week | 星期 (sing1 kei4) |
| month | 月 (jyut6) |
| year | 年 (nin4) |
| evening | 晚上 (maan5 soeng6) |
Cantonese Vocabulary Books
Learn Cantonese - Quick / Easy / Efficient
This vocabulary book is a curated Cantonese word frequency list with 2000 of the most common Cantonese words and phrases. Following the Pareto principle (80/20 rule), this book is built to streamline the learning process by concentrating on the core words and sentence structures. The result is a unique book ideal for driven learners and language hackers.
Cantonese Vocabulary Book
This Cantonese vocabulary book contains more than 3000 words and phrases and is organized by topic to make it easier for you to pick what to learn first. It is well suited for learners of all levels who are looking for an extensive resource to improve their vocabulary or are interested in learning vocabularies in one particular area of interest.
Cantonese Flashcards
Cantonese Quizlet Flashcards
These Cantonese flashcard sets contain 1300 of the most important Cantonese vocabularies sorted by topic. Each set represents one topic which allows you to dive deeper into areas depending on your priorities and interests.