Greetings and politeness in Cantonese
Hello, please, thank you, sorry: the ten openers everything else builds on. Play the ten Cantonese words against the clock, with a note on how locals really use each one after every answer. All ten are written out below.
All 11 Cantonese phrases in this lesson
- 你好NAY-ho
- Hello
- 早晨JO-san
- Good morning
- 晚上好MAAN-seung HO
- Good evening
- 再見JOY-gin
- Goodbye
- 拜拜baai-BAAI
- See you
- 請CHING
- Please
- 唔該m-GOY
- Thank you
- 唔使客氣m-SAI haak-hei
- You're welcome
- 對唔住DUI-m-JU
- Sorry
- 唔該借借m-GOY jeh-JEH
- Excuse me
- 好高興認識你HO GO-hing YING-sik NEI
- Nice to meet you
The standard greeting for anyone you do not know. Literally "you good". Perfectly safe in shops, hotels and with strangers of any age.
Used until about noon. You will hear this constantly from shop staff and neighbors in the morning. The slightly more casual form "早" (JO) on its own is also common and perfectly fine.
Formal, the way announcers and hotel staff greet you. 晚安 (MAAN-on) is only good night, and friends simply say 你好 (NAY-ho) or ask whether you have eaten.
The standard goodbye, fine in any context. In casual speech you will also hear 拜拜 (BAI-bai), borrowed from English bye-bye, which is extremely common in Hong Kong and not considered childish.
Borrowed from English bye-bye and said by everyone in Hong Kong. 再見 (joi-GIN) is the polite goodbye.
Used to soften requests, or when gesturing someone to go ahead. Cantonese speakers often attach 唔該 (m-GOY) at the end of a request instead of a standalone please, which sounds more natural in everyday speech.
The everyday thank you for services and small acts. This is what you say to a waiter, taxi driver or shopkeeper. A second word, 多謝 (DO-jeh), is used when receiving a gift or a compliment rather than a service.
Literally "no need to be polite". The warm, relaxed reply to thanks. You will also hear 唔使 (m-SAI) on its own, which means the same thing more briefly.
The real apology. For a small bump, 唔好意思 (m-HO YI-si), literally "embarrassed", is more common.
Literally "thanks, make way". The phrase for squeezing past someone in a crowd or getting a stranger's attention. The doubled 借借 gives it a polite, non-urgent feel.
Literally "very happy to know you".