Common Mistakes in Cantonese

	English	Students' translation	Suggested translation / just a more common way	Literal meanings of the suggested translation / Remarks
1	See you soon	hóu faai gin	yât-jahn gin/ jahn-gâan gin / yât-jahn-gâan gin	See you a moment later
2	How are you?	néih hóu ma?		It's grammatically correct. However, it's not Hong Kong people's habit to say "How are you?" among them.
3	I wish you well / Nice to meet you	néih hóu?	néih hóu	I wish you well (If someone say "néih hóu" to you, you should say "néih hóu" to him or her.)
4	See you tomorrow	tîng-yaht joi-gin	tîng-yaht gin
5	I prefer to go at 7:00	-	ngóh séung chât-dím heui / ngóh gok-dâk chât-dím heui hóu-dî	Cantonese doesn’t the the word “prefer” exactly
	I prefer this one more	-	ngóh jûng-yi nî-go dô-dî
6	How about 10:00?		sahp-dím dâk m`h dâk a?	Can we make it at 10:00? (If you don't know if the addressee can make it or not, people say "... dâk m`h dâk a?")
	How about 10:00?		sahp-dím hóu m`h hóu a?	Is it good to make it at 10:00? (If you know the addressee can make it, you just don't know he/she prefers it or not, people say "... hóu m`h hóu a?")
7	my wife	ngóh ge taai-táai	ngóh taai-táai	poessive marker “ge” is usually skipped for kindship or closed objects.
	my company	ngóh ge gûng-sî	ngóh gûng-sî
	your friend	néih ge pàhng-yáuh	néih pàhng-yáuh
	your home	neih ge ûk-kéi	néih ûk-kéi
8	I can't go	ngóh m`h dak heui	ngóh m`h heui dâk / ngóh m`h hó-yíh heui / ngóh heui m`h dóu
9	It's fine	hóu la	hóu â (HL)	“â” in HL shows pleased ending here
10	I forgot my book	ngóh m`h gei-dâk ngóh bún syû	ngóh m`h gei-dâk daai syû	I forgot to bring my book
11	I like coke	ngóh jûng-yi hó-lohk	ngóh jûng-yi yám hó-lohk	I like “drinking” coke
12	I gave her money	ngóh bei neih chin	ngóh béi chín kéuih	I gave money to her
13	She is very short (opposite of tall)		kéuih hóu ai
	The pen is very short (opposite of long)		jî-bât hóu dyun
14	He is very thin (opposite of fat)		kéuih hóu sau
	The book is very thin (opposite of thick)		bún-syû hóu bohk
15	I could do 4:00-5:00		ngóh hó-yíh ngh-dím dou luhk-dím hôi-wúi (eg. arrange a meeting)	Usually, Cantonese would mention the exact action instead of just using "do".
16	A: Will you come?
	B: Depends		eg. tai háh dâk m`h dâk hàahn	take a look if I'm free
	A: Are taxi drivers in Hong Kong nice?
	B: Depends		yât-dî-dî / yât-dî hóu, yât-dî m`h-hóu	some are nice, some are not nice
17	late (being late)		chìh-dou	[late + arrive]
	late (in the day time)		aan
	late (at night)		yeh
	late (happen late)		chìh
18	later (in the future)		chìh-dî
	later, later on (in the past)		hauh-mêi / hâu-mêi / hauh-méih
	later (in the day time)		aan-dî
	later (at night)		yeh-dî
19	after that		jî-hauh
	after 3:00	ji-hauh sâam-dím	sâam-dím jî-hauh
	before 3:00	ji-chìhn sâam-dím	sâam-dím jî-chìhn
20	I have no free time	ngóh móuh dâk-hàahn	ngóh m`h dâk-hàahn / ngóh móuh sìh-gaan	I'm not free / I have no time
21	fatter		fèih-dî
	fatter than		fèih-gwo
	He is taller than me	kéuih gôu dî ngoh	kéuih gôu-gwo ngóh
	He is taller		kéuih gôu-dî
22	I don't know if he will come	ngóh m`h jî yùh-gwó kéuih làih	ngóh m`h jî kéuih làih m`h làih	if: yùh-gwó is only used in conditional sentences. eg. If it rains, he won’t come.
23	Do you have any pens? / Do you have a pen?	néih yauh móuh jî bât a?	néih yáuh móuh bât a?	non specific referring, don’t need any measure words (classifiers)
24	He asked (requested) me to do homework	kéuih mahn ngóh jouh gûng-fo	kéuih giu ngóh jouh gûng-fo
	He asked me a question		kéuih mahn ngóh yât-go mahn-tàih
25	everyweek	múih láih-baai	múih-go láih-baai	MW “go” is needed
	everyday	-	múih yaht	exception, “day” doesn’t take MW
26	very very tall	hóu hóu gôu	hóu gôu hóu gôu (less common) / jân-haih hóu gôu (more common)	Catonese don’t say “very very” as E