Introducing 40 Common Cantonese Verbs That’s Easy To Learn

Ling Learn Languages
5 min readJul 27, 2021

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Original blog post: https://ling-app.com/yue/common-cantonese-verbs/

To eat (食 sik6), to buy (買 maai5), to go 去 heoi3. All of these falls into one category, which is verbs. Common Cantonese verbs (動詞 dung6 ci4) are the first things you should know when learning Cantonese. Verbs are an essential part of sentence structure. Verbs are words that show actions, and almost every sentence requires a verb to complete its thought.

Cantonese is the language spoken by most people in Hong Kong. In this blog, prepare yourself to learn the common Cantonese verbs. Don’t worry because you’ll be guided by the English translations and Pinyin to have a meaningful learning experience. So find a comfortable place, and let’s start learning now.

Something To Remember Cantonese Verbs?

Every language has its way of expressing verbs. There are rules to follow and tenses to use. But, in Cantonese, which is also true to another Chinese language like Mandarin, it’s different. How? Keep on reading.

You should know about Cantonese verbs because they have no tenses, which means Cantonese verbs do not change words according to tenses. In fact, Cantonese speakers use time words to indicate if the action is already done, still happening, or will happen. Verbs are not conjugated. Unlike in English, a Cantonese action word will not change according to its tense. Instead, they use adverbs to express what others can communicate in English or other languages.

To indicate that the action took place in the past, use this formula:

verb + 咗 (zo2) = past tense

Example: 食咗 (sik6 zo2) — ate

Another thing that you should know about Cantonese verbs because there are verbs that are expressed differently in spoken and written language. But, some words are expressed the same way for both written and spoken.

There’s so much to learn about the common Cantonese verbs, especially when used in sentences. But for now, learning the basic action words in Cantonese can get you a long way. If you want to be fluent in Cantonese, you can search Ling App on the internet or download it from the Playstore or App Store.

Let’s Learn Cantonese Verbs With Example Sentences

Learning common Cantonese verbs, both written and spoken, is important because they can be used all the time. Here are examples of common Cantonese verbs you’ll need to know when you start to learn the Cantonese language.

Action Verbs

Learning common Cantonese verbs should definitely begin in action verbs which you can use in many situations like traveling around, dining in restaurants and food carts, having drinks with friends, asking directions, riding public transportations, and more. Therefore, here are the common Cantonese verbs that you must learn as a beginner.

Helping Verbs

Now that you have learned some common Cantonese verbs in written and spoken form, let us also learn some Cantonese helping verbs.

Linking Verbs

Linking verbs are also used in a typical Cantonese sentence. Here are the common linking verbs to start with.

What’s Next In Learning The Common Cantonese Verbs?

Cantonese is a beneficial language to learn. Now that you have learned the Common Cantonese verbs, you are probably wondering what to do next? Well, the answer is simple. Learn Cantonese with Ling App. If you would like to improve your speaking and writing skills in Cantonese, Ling App is undoubtedly the best language learning partner for you.

Say goodbye to hassles and books. If you download Ling App, you’ll have access to free language lessons that are well-categorized and well-prepared. Each lesson is designed in a way where you can learn and have fun at the same time. Vocabulary building, improving writing and speaking skills will not be a problem. Words and phrases are presented like flashcards with audio recordings from a native speaker and images to guide your learning.

Please remember that learning languages can be hard at first, but when you have the motivation and the right tool like Ling App, you can speak Cantonese like a native speaker in just a short period of time.

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Ling Learn Languages
Ling Learn Languages

Written by Ling Learn Languages

Ling is a game-like language learning app with a pack of 60+ languages. You will learn languages in fun ways!

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