What are common Cantonese greetings?

The most common Cantonese greeting is 你好 (nei5 hou2 – hello). In everyday informal settings, 你點呀 (nei5 dim2 aa3 – how are you doing?) sounds more natural. 早晨 (zou2 san4) is used for good morning. A uniquely Cantonese casual greeting is 你食咗飯未 (nei5 sik6 zo2 faan6 mei6 – have you eaten yet?).

What is the difference between Cantonese and Mandarin phrases?

Cantonese and Mandarin share many written characters but are pronounced completely differently and use distinct tonal systems – Cantonese has six to nine tones, Mandarin has four. For example, 'hello' is 'nei5 hou2' in Cantonese and 'nǐ hǎo' in Mandarin. The two languages are not mutually intelligible in spoken form. Cantonese is spoken primarily in Hong Kong, Macau, and Guangdong; Mandarin is the official language of mainland China, Taiwan, and Singapore.

Cantonese Phrases: Common Phrases with Pronunciation Guide

This article was last updated and reviewed in April 2026.

Cantonese is spoken by around 85 million people worldwide – primarily in Hong Kong, Macau, Guangdong province, and in overseas Chinese communities across the UK, North America, and Australia. If your reason for learning phrases is connected to any of those places or communities, you’re in the right spot.

One thing I’ve observed in language learning: Cantonese gets underestimated. People assume that because it shares characters with Mandarin, the two are interchangeable in practice. They are not. Showing up with even basic Cantonese phrases in Hong Kong lands very differently than Mandarin – it signals that you’ve made a specific effort, which people notice and appreciate.

This page covers the most common Cantonese phrases for everyday situations, with pronunciation in IPA. For those looking for Mandarin phrases instead, see the Chinese phrases page. And if you’re still deciding between Mandarin and Cantonese, the full guide on learning Chinese covers that decision in detail.

Quick answers

How do you say goodbye in Cantonese? The standard farewell is 再見 (zoi3 gin3). For “take care”, use 保重 (bou2 zung6). More farewell phrases are in the section below.

How do you say “see you soon” in Cantonese? 好快見 (hou2 faai3 gin3) – literally “see you very soon”. For “see you later”, use 陣間見 (zan6 gaan1 gin3).

How do you say “have a good day” in Cantonese? 祝你今日愉快 (zuk1 nei5 gam1 jat6 jyu4 faai3). The shorter 祝你愉快 (zuk1 nei5 jyu4 faai3) works in any context.

Cantonese phrases you should know

The sections below cover the situations you’re most likely to encounter: greetings, farewells, introductions, and everyday expressions. Cantonese has six tones (some analyses count nine), which means the same syllable can carry completely different meanings depending on how it’s pitched. The IPA transcriptions include tone markers – if you want to hear native pronunciation, the free demo of the 17-Minute-Languages Cantonese course* is a practical way to train your ear from day one.

OUR TIP:

If you want to practise these phrases interactively with native speaker audio, try the free demo of the 17-Minute-Languages Cantonese course. No payment needed to start.

Greet someone in Cantonese

The standard “nei5 hou2” (你好) covers most situations. The food-related greeting “have you eaten yet?” is genuinely used as a casual hello – it comes across as warm and culturally aware when used appropriately.

English	Cantonese	Pronunciation (IPA)
Welcome!	歡迎！	[fʰuːn⁵⁵ jɪŋ²¹]
Hello / How are you?	你好！	[nei̯¹³ hou̯²⁵]
Good morning!	早晨！	[tsou̯³⁵ sɐn²¹]
Good evening!	晚安！	[maːn²¹ ɔːn⁵⁵]
Good day to you!	祝你今日愉快！	[tsʊk̚⁵ nɐi̯¹³ kɐm⁵⁵ jɐt̚²² jyː²¹ faːi̯³³]
Have you eaten yet? (common casual greeting)	你食咗飯未？	[nei̯¹³ sɪk̚⁵ tsɔː³ faːn²² mei̯²²]
Good to see you.	見到你真好。	[kiːn³³ tou̯²⁵ nɐi̯¹³ t͡sɐn⁵⁵ hɔu̯²¹]
I’m glad to see you.	見到你我好開心。	[kiːn³³ tou̯²⁵ nɐi̯¹³ ŋɔː²¹ hɔːi̯⁵⁵ sɐm⁵⁵]

When someone greets you:

English	Cantonese	Pronunciation (IPA)
Have a nice day too!	祝你今日都愉快！	[tsʊk̚⁵ nɐi̯¹³ kɐm⁵⁵ jɐt̚²² tou̯⁵⁵ jyː²¹ faːi̯³³]
Thanks, nice to see you too.	多謝你，我都好開心見到你。	[tɔː⁵⁵ tsɛː²² nɐi̯¹³ ŋɔː¹³ tou̯⁵⁵ hou̯³⁵ hɔːi̯⁵⁵ sɐm⁵⁵ kiːn³³ tou̯²⁵ nɐi̯¹³]

How are you? – asking and answering in Cantonese

Note that 你點呀 (nei5 dim2 aa3) is the more natural everyday version of “how are you?” in Cantonese – it sounds more native than the more formal 你好嗎.

English	Cantonese	Pronunciation (IPA)
How are you doing?	你點呀？	[nei̯¹³ tiːm²⁵ aː³³]
Are you doing well?	你好嗎？	[nei̯¹³ hou̯²⁵ maː³³]

Possible responses:

English	Cantonese	Pronunciation (IPA)
Thank you for asking, I am fine.	多謝你關心，我幾好。	[tɔː⁵⁵ tsɛː²² nei̯¹³ kwaːn⁵⁵ sɐm⁵⁵, ŋɔː¹³ kei̯²⁵ hou̯²⁵]
Thank you, I am fine.	多謝，我幾好。	[tɔː⁵⁵ tsɛː²², ŋɔː¹³ kei̯²⁵ hou̯²⁵]
Thank you, I am not doing so well.	多謝，我唔太好。	[tɔː⁵⁵ tsɛː²², ŋɔː¹³ m̩²¹ tʰaːi̯³³ hou̯²¹]
Thanks, I’m fine. How are you?	多謝，我幾好。你點呀？	[tɔː⁵⁵ tsɛː²², ŋɔː¹³ kei̯²⁵ hou̯²⁵. nei̯¹³ tiːm²⁵ aː³³]

Free book: “How to learn any language in just 7 weeks”

The methods that make phrases and vocabulary stick long-term – free to download.

More about learning Cantonese and Mandarin: Cantonese or Mandarin – which Chinese should you learn?

How do I say goodbye in Cantonese?

再見 (zoi3 gin3) is the all-purpose farewell. The phrases below add useful nuance – “see you soon” and “see you later” in particular come up constantly in everyday conversation and are worth getting right from the start.

English	Cantonese	Pronunciation (IPA)
Goodbye!	再見！	[tsɔːy̯˧ kɪːn˧]
Take care of yourself!	保重！	[pou̯˧ tsʊŋ˨]
See you soon	好快見！	[hou̯˧ faːi̯˧ kɪːn˧]
See you later	陣間見！	[tsɐn˨ kaːn˥ kɪːn˧]
See you tomorrow	聽日見！	[tʰeŋ˥ jɐt̚˨ kɪːn˧]
See you next time	下次見！	[haː²² tsiː³³ kiːn³³]
See you again	再見到你！	[tsɔːy̯˧ kiːn³³ tou̯²⁵ nei̯¹³]
Good night!	晚安！	[maːn˩ ɔːn˥]
Sleep well!	瞓得好！	[fɐn˧ tɐk̚˥ hou̯˧]
Talk to you later.	之後再傾。	[tsiː˥ hɐu̯˨ tsɔːy̯˧ kʰɪŋ˥]
Nice to have met you!	好開心識到你！	[hou̯˧ hɔːi̯˥ sɐm˥ sɪk̚˥ tou̯˧ nei̯˩]

How do I introduce myself in Cantonese?

When meeting someone in Hong Kong or a Cantonese-speaking context, these phrases cover the basics. A note on “where are you from?” – the phrasing in Cantonese is quite different from Mandarin and worth learning as a unit rather than word by word.

English	Cantonese	Pronunciation (IPA)
My name is Jonas.	我叫約拿斯。	[ŋɔː˩ kɪu̯˧ jœːk̚˥ naː²¹ sɪː⁵⁵]
What is your name?	你叫咩名？	[nei̯¹³ kɪu̯˧ mɛː˥˩ mɛːŋ²¹]
What is your surname?	你姓咩？	[nei̯¹³ sɪŋ˥ mɛː˥˩]
Where do you come from?	你係邊度嚟㗎？	[nei̯¹³ hɐi̯²¹ pɪn⁵⁵ tou̯²² lɐi̯²¹ kɐː³³]
I am from London.	我係倫敦嚟㗎。	[ŋɔː˩ hɐi̯²¹ lɐn²¹ tɵn⁵⁵ lɐi̯²¹ kɐː³³]
Where do you live?	你住邊度？	[nei̯¹³ t͡syː²² pɪn⁵⁵ tou̯²²]
I live in Berlin.	我住喺柏林。	[ŋɔː˩ t͡syː²² hɐi̯²¹ pʰaːk̚⁵ lɐm²¹]

If your Cantonese is limited, these help manage expectations early in a conversation:

English	Cantonese	Pronunciation (IPA)
Do you speak English?	你識唔識講英文？	[nei̯¹³ sɪk̚⁵ m̩²¹ sɪk̚⁵ kɔːŋ²⁵ jɪŋ⁵⁵ mɐn²¹]
Yes, I speak English.	識呀，我識講英文。	[sɪk̚⁵ aː³³, ŋɔː˩ sɪk̚⁵ kɔːŋ²⁵ jɪŋ⁵⁵ mɐn²¹]
Yes, I speak some English.	識呀，我識少少英文。	[sɪk̚⁵ aː³³, ŋɔː˩ sɪk̚⁵ siːu²⁵ siːu²⁵ jɪŋ⁵⁵ mɐn²¹]
I only speak English.	我淨係識講英文。	[ŋɔː˩ tsɪŋ⁶ hɐi̯²¹ sɪk̚⁵ kɔːŋ²⁵ jɪŋ⁵⁵ mɐn²¹]
I understand some Cantonese.	我聽得明少少廣東話。	[ŋɔː˩ tʰɛːŋ⁵⁵ tɐk̚⁵ mɪŋ²¹ siːu²⁵ siːu²⁵ kwɔːŋ²⁵ tʊŋ⁵⁵ waː²¹]

Useful “I am…” phrases in Cantonese

The pattern ŋɔː˩ (我, “I”) + state covers most everyday expressions. These are also the phrases that come up most in beginner Cantonese courses – worth learning as complete units rather than building word by word.

English	Cantonese	Pronunciation (IPA)
I am hungry.	我肚餓。	[ŋɔː˩ tou̯¹³ ŋɔː²¹]
I am thirsty.	我口渴。	[ŋɔː˩ hɐu̯²⁵ hɔːt̚³]
I need help!	我需要幫手！	[ŋɔː˩ sɵy̯⁵⁵ jɪu̯⁵⁵ pɔːŋ⁵⁵ sɐu̯²¹]
I am tired.	我攰。	[ŋɔː˩ kʷɵy̯²²]
I am happy.	我開心。	[ŋɔː˩ hɔːi̯⁵⁵ sɐm⁵⁵]
I am sad.	我傷心。	[ŋɔː˩ sœːŋ⁵⁵ sɐm⁵⁵]
I am lost.	我迷路。	[ŋɔː˩ mɐi̯²¹ lou̯²²]
I am a tourist.	我係遊客。	[ŋɔː˩ hɐi̯²¹ jɐu̯²¹ hɐːk̚³]
I am ill.	我病咗。	[ŋɔː˩ pɛːŋ²¹ tsɔː³]
I am injured.	我受傷。	[ŋɔː˩ sɐu̯²¹ sœːŋ⁵⁵]
I am late.	我遲到。	[ŋɔː˩ t͡sʰiː²¹ tou̯³³]
I am busy.	我好忙。	[ŋɔː˩ hou̯²⁵ mɔːŋ²¹]
I am ready.	我準備好。	[ŋɔː˩ tsɵn²⁵ pei̯²² hou̯²⁵]
I am in a hurry.	我趕時間。	[ŋɔː˩ kɔːn²¹ siː²¹ gaːn⁵⁵]
I am new here.	我啱啱嚟。	[ŋɔː˩ ʔaːm⁵⁵ ʔaːm⁵⁵ lɐi̯²¹]
I am a teacher.	我係老師。	[ŋɔː˩ hɐi̯²¹ lou̯²⁵ siː⁵⁵]
I am 30 years old.	我三十歲。	[ŋɔː˩ saːm⁵⁵ sɐp̚² sɵy̯³³]
I am surprised.	我好驚訝。	[ŋɔː˩ hou̯²⁵ kɛːŋ⁵⁵ ŋaː²¹]
I am angry.	我好嬲。	[ŋɔː˩ hou̯²⁵ lɐu̯⁵⁵]
I am proud.	我好自豪。	[ŋɔː˩ hou̯²⁵ tsiː²² hɔu̯²¹]
I am confident.	我有信心。	[ŋɔː˩ jɐu̯²¹ sɵn³³ sɐm⁵⁵]
I am in love.	我拍拖緊。	[ŋɔː˩ pʰaːk̚⁵ tʰɔː⁵⁵ kɐn²¹]

Apologising in Cantonese

對唔住 (dui3 m4 zyu6) is the go-to apology in everyday Cantonese – more natural than the formal 對不起 borrowed from Mandarin. The variations below cover different degrees of intent.

English	Cantonese	Pronunciation (IPA)
I apologise. / Sorry.	對唔住。	[tɵy̯˥ m̩˨ ts͡yː²¹]
Sorry, that was not the intention.	對唔住，唔係故意㗎。	[tɵy̯˥ m̩˨ ts͡yː²¹, m̩˨ hɐi̯²¹ kuː³³ jiː³³ kɐː³³]
Sorry, I did not do it on purpose.	對唔住，我唔係特登㗎。	[tɵy̯˥ m̩˨ ts͡yː²¹, ŋɔː˩ m̩˨ hɐi̯²¹ tɐk̚⁵ tɐŋ¹ kɐː³³]
Sorry, that was very clumsy of me.	對唔住，我好笨手笨腳。	[tɵy̯˥ m̩˨ ts͡yː²¹, ŋɔː˩ hou̯²⁵ pɐn²¹ sɐu̯²¹ pɐn²¹ kœːk̚³]

Learn Cantonese faster – just 17 minutes a day

Test the Cantonese online course for two days completely free. Native speaker audio, spaced repetition, structured from beginner level.

Useful signs and notices in Cantonese

Hong Kong is bilingual – English and Cantonese appear side by side on most public signage. But in Guangdong province and in Cantonese-speaking communities abroad, these characters are what you’ll encounter on their own. Knowing them makes navigation considerably easier.

English	Cantonese	Pronunciation (IPA)
Entrance	入口	[jɐp̚˨ hɐu̯˧]
Exit	出口	[tsʰɵt̚˥ hɐu̯˧]
Toilet	廁所	[tsʰiː˥ sɔː˧˥]
Attention!	注意！	[tsyː˧ jiː˥]
Caution!	小心！	[siːu̯˧˥ sɐm˥]
Police	警察	[kɪŋ˧˥ tsʰaːt̚˥]
Emergency services	急救	[kɐp̚˥ kɐu̯˧]
Fire brigade	消防隊	[siːu̯˥ fɔːŋ˩ dɵy̯˨]
Passage forbidden.	禁止通行。	[kɐm˧˥ tsiː˧ tʰʊŋ˥ hɐŋ˩]
This building is under video surveillance.	此建築已被閉路電視監察。	[tsʰiː˧˥ kin˥ tsʊk̚˥ jiː²² pei̯˨ pɐi̯˧ lou̯˨ tiːn˨ siː˨ kaːm˥ tsʰaːt̚˧]

Numbers 1–25 in Cantonese

Cantonese numbers follow the same logical structure as Mandarin – once you have 1–10, the numbers 11–19 are “ten + digit”, and 20 onwards follows as “two-ten + digit”. One key difference: Cantonese uses 兩 (loeng5) rather than 二 (ji6) for “two” in many counting contexts, though 二 appears in the number sequence itself.

English	Cantonese	Pronunciation (IPA)
1	一	[jɐt̚⁵]
2	二	[jiː²¹]
3	三	[saːm⁵⁵]
4	四	[sei̯³³]
5	五	[ŋ̍⁵]
6	六	[lʊk̚²¹]
7	七	[tsʰɐt̚⁵]
8	八	[paːt̚³]
9	九	[kɐu̯²⁵]
10	十	[sɐp̚²¹]
11	十一	[sɐp̚²¹ jɐt̚⁵]
12	十二	[sɐp̚²¹ jiː²¹]
13	十三	[sɐp̚²¹ saːm⁵⁵]
14	十四	[sɐp̚²¹ sei̯³³]
15	十五	[sɐp̚²¹ ŋ̍⁵]
16	十六	[sɐp̚²¹ lʊk̚²¹]
17	十七	[sɐp̚²¹ tsʰɐt̚⁵]
18	十八	[sɐp̚²¹ paːt̚³]
19	十九	[sɐp̚²¹ kɐu̯²⁵]
20	二十	[jiː²¹ sɐp̚²¹]
21	二十一	[jiː²¹ sɐp̚²¹ jɐt̚⁵]
22	二十二	[jiː²¹ sɐp̚²¹ jiː²¹]
23	二十三	[jiː²¹ sɐp̚²¹ saːm⁵⁵]
24	二十四	[jiː²¹ sɐp̚²¹ sei̯³³]
25	二十五	[jiː²¹ sɐp̚²¹ ŋ̍⁵]

Colours in Cantonese

English	Cantonese	Pronunciation (IPA)
Red	紅色	[hʊŋ²¹ sɪk̚⁵]
Orange	橙色	[tsʰaːŋ²⁵ sɪk̚⁵]
Yellow	黃色	[wɔːŋ²¹ sɪk̚⁵]
Green	綠色	[lʊk̚²¹ sɪk̚⁵]
Blue	藍色	[laːm²¹ sɪk̚⁵]
Purple	紫色	[tsiː²⁵ sɪk̚⁵]
Pink	粉紅色	[fɐn²⁵ hʊŋ²¹ sɪk̚⁵]
Brown	啡色	[fɛː⁵⁵ sɪk̚⁵]
Black	黑色	[hɐk̚³ sɪk̚⁵]
White	白色	[paːk̚²¹ sɪk̚⁵]

Days, months and seasons in Cantonese

Days of the week in Cantonese follow the same numbered structure as Mandarin – Monday is star-week-one, Tuesday star-week-two, and so on. Sunday uses 日 (jat6) instead of a number. Months work identically: number + 月 (jyut6). Once you know the numbers above, the days and months come almost automatically.

English	Cantonese	Pronunciation (IPA)
Monday	星期一	[sɪŋ˥ kʰeːi̯˧ jɐt̚⁵]
Tuesday	星期二	[sɪŋ˥ kʰeːi̯˧ jiː²¹]
Wednesday	星期三	[sɪŋ˥ kʰeːi̯˧ saːm⁵⁵]
Thursday	星期四	[sɪŋ˥ kʰeːi̯˧ sei̯³³]
Friday	星期五	[sɪŋ˥ kʰeːi̯˧ ŋ̍⁵]
Saturday	星期六	[sɪŋ˥ kʰeːi̯˧ lʊk̚²¹]
Sunday	星期日	[sɪŋ˥ kʰeːi̯˧ jɐt̚⁶]
January	一月	[jɐt̚⁵ jyːt̚²¹]
February	二月	[jiː²¹ jyːt̚²¹]
March	三月	[saːm⁵⁵ jyːt̚²¹]
April	四月	[sei̯³³ jyːt̚²¹]
May	五月	[ŋ̍⁵ jyːt̚²¹]
June	六月	[lʊk̚²¹ jyːt̚²¹]
July	七月	[tsʰɐt̚⁵ jyːt̚²¹]
August	八月	[paːt̚³ jyːt̚²¹]
September	九月	[kɐu̯²⁵ jyːt̚²¹]
October	十月	[sɐp̚²¹ jyːt̚²¹]
November	十一月	[sɐp̚²¹ jɐt̚⁵ jyːt̚²¹]
December	十二月	[sɐp̚²¹ jiː²¹ jyːt̚²¹]
Spring	春天	[tsʰɵn⁵⁵ tʰin˥]
Summer	夏天	[haː²¹ tʰin˥]
Autumn	秋天	[tsʰɐu̯⁵⁵ tʰin˥]
Winter	冬天	[tʊŋ⁵⁵ tʰin˥]

OUR TIP:

To practise these Cantonese phrases interactively with native speaker audio and spaced repetition, try the free two-day demo of the 17-Minute-Languages Cantonese course.

Looking for a live Cantonese tutor for pronunciation practice? Find a Cantonese tutor on Preply*.

More on learning Chinese and Cantonese:

About the author

Sven Mancini is a published language author and the founder of Learn-A-New-Language.eu. He has learned Norwegian, Danish, Swedish, French, and Spanish through self-study, reaching business fluency in Norwegian starting from zero. His four published vocabulary guides document the systematic methods he has tested across more than two decades of hands-on language learning. On this site, he reviews courses and methods based on direct experience – not on theory.