Answering Yes or No

Unlike English, Cantonese does not have simple universal words for 'yes' and 'no'. Instead, you echo the main verb, modal, adjective, or state from the question. The bare word itself is the actual 'yes' or 'no' and is perfectly grammatical on its own. (Note: While there are no direct universal equivalents, native speakers sometimes use 係 (hai6) and 唔係 (m4 hai6) to agree or disagree with a general premise.)

1. Action Verbs (V唔V)
Echo the verb directly.
• Question: 你去唔去呀？ (nei5 heoi3 m4 heoi3 aa3? — Are you going?)
• Yes: 去 (heoi3)
• No: 唔去 (m4 heoi3)

2. The Copula Verb 係
係 (hai6) is used to confirm facts, agree with statements, or answer 係咪 (hai6 mai6) questions, but it cannot be used as a generic 'yes' for action verbs.
• Question: 你係咪學生呀？ (nei5 hai6 mai6 hok6 saang1 aa3? — Are you a student?)
• Yes: 係 (hai6)
• No: 唔係 (m4 hai6)

3. Existential, Possession & Past Actions (有冇)
Confirm with 有 (jau5) and deny with 冇 (mou5). Note that 有 is negated by 冇—you can never say 唔有。 Additionally, 有冇 is used to ask yes/no questions about past actions. The answer to these questions is also simply 有 (Yes, I did) or 冇 (No, I didn't).
• Question: 你有冇車呀？ (nei5 jau5 mou5 ce1 aa3? — Do you have a car?)
• Yes: 有 (jau5)
• No: 冇 (mou5)
• Question: 你有冇睇呀？ (nei5 jau5 mou5 tai2 aa3? — Did you watch it?)
• Yes: 有 (jau5)
• No: 冇 (mou5)

4. Modal Verbs (想, etc.)
Usually echo the modal verb rather than the action verb.
• Question: 你想唔想去呀？ (nei5 soeng2 m4 soeng2 heoi3 aa3? — Do you want to go?)
• Yes: 想 (soeng2)
• No: 唔想 (m4 soeng2)

5. Adjectives & Capability (Adj唔Adj / 識)
Echo the adjective or capability verb.
• Question: 靚唔靚呀？ (leng3 m4 leng3 aa3? — Is it pretty?)
• Answer: 靚 (leng3) or 唔靚 (m4 leng3)
• Question: 你識唔識游水呀？ (nei5 sik1 m4 sik1 jau4 seoi2 aa3? — Do you know how to swim?)
• Answer: 識 (sik1) or 唔識 (m4 sik1)

6. Multi-syllable Verbs and Adjectives
For two-syllable words like 鍾意 (zung1 ji3 - to like) or 舒服 (syu1 fuk6 - comfortable), the question often contracts to A唔AB (e.g., 鍾唔鍾意). However, you must echo the full word in your answer, not just the first character.
• Question: 你鍾唔鍾意呀？ (nei5 zung1 m4 zung1 ji3 aa3? — Do you like it?)
• Yes: 鍾意 (zung1 ji3)
• No: 唔鍾意 (m4 zung1 ji3)

7. Aspectual Questions with 未
When asked if an action has happened yet using the V咗...未 structure, answer with the verb plus 咗 for 'yes', or 未 (mei6) for 'not yet'.
• Question: 你食咗飯未呀？ (nei5 sik6 zo2 faan6 mei6 aa3? — Have you eaten yet?)
• Yes: 食咗 (sik6 zo2)
• Not yet: 未 (mei6)

8. Sounding Natural with Particles
While the bare verb is perfectly grammatical and is the actual 'yes' or 'no', answering with a bare single word can sometimes sound abrupt or blunt. Adding sentence-final particles like 呀 (aa3) or 喇 (laa3) softens your response and makes it sound friendly. For example, you can say 去呀 (heoi3 aa3) instead of just 去。

9. Questions with Particles
The echo strategy applies to all yes-no questions, regardless of how they are formed. Even if the question uses a sentence-final particle like 呀 (aa4) or 咩 (me1) instead of an A-not-A structure, you still answer by echoing the main verb.
• Question: 你去呀？ (nei5 heoi3 aa4? — You're going?)
• Yes: 去呀 (heoi3 aa3)

10. Suggestions and Permission (好唔好/得唔得)
When a question asks for agreement to a suggestion or permission, you can use 好 (hou2) or 得 (dak1) as functional 'yes' answers.
• Question: 我哋去食飯，好唔好呀？ (ngo5 dei6 heoi3 sik6 faan6, hou2 m4 hou2 aa3? — Let's go eat, shall we?)
• Yes: 好 (hou2)
• No: 唔好 (m4 hou2)
• Question: 我坐呢度得唔得呀？ (ngo5 co5 ni1 dou6 dak1 m4 dak1 aa3? — Is it okay if I sit here?)
• Yes: 得 (dak1)
• No: 唔得 (m4 dak1)