邊個

Who

Level 1Sounds Like bin1 go3

Use 邊個 (bin1 go3) to ask 'who' or 'which person' in spoken Cantonese. It stays in the standard word order position (in-situ) without moving to the front of the sentence.

How It Works

In Cantonese, question words follow in-situ word order. This means 邊個 (bin1 go3) appears in the sentence right where the person's name or pronoun would normally sit.

1. Basic Identity and Objects:
• As Subject: 邊個食咗我個包？ (bin1 go3 sik6 zo2 ngo5 go3 baau1? / Who ate my bun?)
• As Object: 你搵邊個呀？ (nei5 wan2 bin1 go3 aa3? / Who are you looking for?)

2. Asking 'Whose':
Combine 邊個 with the possessive particle 嘅 (ge3) to form 邊個嘅 (bin1 go3 ge3).
• 部電話係邊個嘅㗎？ (bou6 din6 waa6 hai6 bin1 go3 ge3 gaa3? / Whose phone is this?)

3. Indefinite Usage ('Anyone / Everyone'):
Outside of direct questions, pairing 邊個 with the adverb 都 (dou1) creates an indefinite or universal pronoun meaning 'anyone' or 'everyone'.
• 我邊個都唔想見。 (ngo5 bin1 go3 dou1 m4 soeng2 gin3. / I don't want to see anyone.)

4. Register Distinction:
邊個 is the standard neutral spoken Cantonese term. In polite or service contexts (e.g., answering a business phone), Cantonese speakers use the honorific form 邊位 (bin1 wai2) instead.

Examples (5)

  1. 佢係邊個呀？

    Who is he?

    Word by Word: He is who [particle]?

    A simple identity question. Notice that 邊個 stays right after the verb 係 (hai6).

  2. 你喺度搵邊個呀？

    Who are you looking for here?

    Word by Word: You at here look-for who [particle]?

    When 邊個 is the direct object, it comes after the verb 搵 (wan2).

  3. 部電話係邊個嘅㗎？

    Whose phone is this?

    Word by Word: [CL] phone is who [possessive] [particle]?

    Adding 嘅 (ge3) turns 邊個 ('who') into 'whose'.

  4. 邊個想同我一齊去？

    Who wants to go together with me?

    Word by Word: Who want with me together go?

    When asking about the subject of the action, 邊個 sits at the beginning of the sentence.

  5. 我邊個都唔想見。

    I don't want to see anyone.

    Word by Word: I who all not want see.

    Combining 邊個 with 都 (dou1) and negation creates the meaning 'anyone' or 'nobody'.

Common Mistakes

  • Moving 邊個 to the beginning of the sentence when it acts as an object.

    邊個你搵呀？
    你搵邊個呀？

    Cantonese keeps Wh-words in place (in-situ). Maintain standard Subject + Verb + Object order.

  • Leaving out 嘅 when asking 'whose'.

    呢個係邊個手袋呀？
    呢個係邊個嘅手袋呀？

    To ask 'whose', 邊個嘅 (bin1 go3 ge3) is the clear, usual form. Leaving out 嘅 is sometimes heard, but it is less clear, so include it while learning.

  • Using 邊個 to ask a customer or stranger who they are.

    Different Meaning請問你係邊個呀？
    請問點稱呼？ / 請問邊位搵？

    請問你係邊個呀 is good, natural Cantonese, and 請問 makes it polite. Asking a stranger 你係邊個呀 on its own can sound blunt, so in customer service use 請問點稱呼 or 邊位.

How It Connects

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邊個Level 1Who

Learn This First

To understand '邊個' (who), you need to know how Cantonese handles question word placement (wh-in-situ) and how classifiers are used to specify nouns. Familiarity with basic sentence-final particles is also helpful for natural phrasing.

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边个