V+出

Verb + Outward

Level 2Sounds Like ceot1

Attaching 出 (ceot1) after a verb indicates moving 'out' or 'outward'. Beyond physical movement, it is heavily used to mean figuring something out, discerning hidden details, or issuing/sending something.

How It Works

1. Physical Direction & Spoken Precision
Literally, 出 (ceot1) marks outward movement. Remember that in Cantonese, 行 (haang4) means 'walk' while 走 (zau2) means 'to leave' or 'to flee'. Speaker vantage point dictates the directional ending: use 嚟 (lai4) when movement comes toward the speaker (outward to here) and 去 (heoi3) when moving away (outward to there). When specifying a location object, spoken Cantonese pairs 出 (ceot1) with an optional classifier or location noun:

  • Verb + 出 + [Classifier] + Location: 行出間房 (haang4 ceot1 gaan1 fong2, 'walk out of the room') or 行出房門 (haang4 ceot1 fong4 mun4, 'walk out through the room door'). Note that 房 undergoes a colloquial tone change (變音 pinjam) to a high-rising tone (fong2) when used as a standalone noun.

When no location is specified, Cantonese prefers compound directionals such as 行出去 (haang4 ceot1 heoi3, 'walk out [away]') or 攞出嚟 (lo2 ceot1 lai4, 'bring out [toward speaker]').

2. Emergence, Revelation & Visibility
Beyond physical movement, 出 (ceot1) is frequently used to express emergence, revelation, or making something visible that was previously hidden or unsaid. Common examples include:

  • 講出嚟 (gong2 ceot1 lai4): speak out / reveal (a secret or thought)
  • 浮出嚟 (fau4 ceot1 lai4): surface / float out
  • 露出嚟 (lou6 ceot1 lai4): expose / stick out

3. Cognitive Realization: 出 vs 起
In abstract usage, 出 (ceot1) indicates that mental processing produces a new outcome (e.g., 諗出嚟 nam2 ceot1 lai4 - to come up with/invent). This strongly contrasts with 起 (hei2), which means recalling a memory that already exists (e.g., 諗起 nam2 hei2 - to recall/remember).

Crucially, in simple colloquial spoken declaratives, bare V + 出 without trailing markers is usually avoided. Spoken Cantonese prefers the compound 出嚟 (ceot1 lai4), an aspect marker like 咗 (zo2), or the resultative 到 (dou2).

4. Potential Forms with Perception & Cognitive Verbs
When expressing potential ability or inability, infix 得 (dak1) ('can') or 唔 (m4) ('cannot') directly between the verb and 出 (ceot1) to create the potential form (V + 得/唔 + 出). This is highly common with perception and cognitive verbs:

  • 睇得出 / 睇唔出 (tai2 dak1 ceot1 / tai2 m4 ceot1): can / cannot tell by looking
  • 認得出 / 認唔出 (jing6 dak1 ceot1 / jing6 m4 ceot1): can / cannot recognize
  • 聽得出 / 聽唔出 (teng1 dak1 ceot1 / teng1 m4 ceot1): can / cannot tell by hearing
  • 估得出 / 估唔出 (gu2 dak1 ceot1 / gu2 m4 ceot1): can / cannot guess
  • 諗唔出 (nam2 m4 ceot1): cannot think of / figure out

5. Strict Object Placement with Directionals
With compound directional forms involving 出嚟 (ceot1 lai4) or 出去 (ceot1 heoi3), there is an explicit grammatical rule for where to put a direct object. A non-location object typically goes before the compound directional or splits it. The object CANNOT follow the full compound directional (e.g., *我諗出嚟個辦法 sounds unnatural). Instead, you must use one of these natural word orders:

  • Verb + Object + 出嚟 (Authentic Cantonese): 攞本書出嚟 (lo2 bun2 syu1 ceot1 lai4, 'bring out the book') or 我諗個辦法出嚟 (ngo5 nam2 go3 baan6 faat3 ceot1 lai4, 'I think up a solution'). This is the highly frequent, natural Cantonese word order.
  • Verb + 出 + Object + 嚟 (Alternative split): 攞出本書嚟 (lo2 ceot1 bun2 syu1 lai4). This splits the directional particle and is also acceptable.

6. Distinguishing 睇得出 vs. 睇到
Use 睇到 (tai2 dou2) for physical visual sight ('I saw it'), but use 睇得出 (tai2 dak1 ceot1) when inferring non-obvious facts, emotions, or lies ('I can tell / figure out from looking').

Examples (5)

  1. 外面落緊雨，你唔好行出去。

    It is raining outside; don't walk out.

    Word by Word: Outside fall-ing rain, you not good walk out go.

    Here, 行 (haang4, walk) is combined with the compound directional 出去 (ceot1 heoi3) to show physical movement away from the speaker.

  2. 我一眼就睇得出佢講緊大話。

    I could tell at a glance that he was telling a lie.

    Word by Word: I one eye then look can out he speak-ing big words.

    Uses the potential resultative 睇得出 (tai2 dak1 ceot1) to express cognitive discernment—discerning a hidden truth from visual clues.

  3. 呢條問題太難，我諗唔出答案。

    This question is too difficult; I can't think of the answer.

    Word by Word: This [classifier] question too difficult, I think not out answer.

    Uses 諗唔出 (nam2 m4 ceot1) with the negative potential infix 唔 (m4) to show that mental processing fails to produce the solution.

  4. 麻煩你攞本書出嚟。

    Please take the book out.

    Word by Word: Trouble you take [classifier] book out come.

    Shows the strict object placement rule: the object 本書 (bun2 syu1) is placed right between the verb 攞 (lo2) and the directional 出嚟 (ceot1 lai4).

  5. 佢終於講咗個秘密出嚟。

    He finally told the secret.

    Word by Word: He finally speak [perfective] [classifier] secret out come.

    Beyond physical movement, 出 (ceot1) is used here to express revelation, making something previously hidden known.

Common Mistakes

  • Dropping 嚟 (lai4) or 去 (heoi3) when describing general physical movement without a location object.

    佢走出。
    佢走出去。

    In spoken Cantonese, standalone physical motion requires either a destination object (e.g. 走出房 zau2 ceot1 fong2) or a directional particle like 嚟 (lai4) or 去 (heoi3) (e.g. 走出去 zau2 ceot1 heoi3).

  • Using 睇到 (tai2 dou2) when you mean 'I can tell' from clues.

    Different Meaning我睇到佢好開心。
    我睇得出佢好開心。

    我睇到佢好開心 is a good sentence: it says you see that he is happy. To say you can tell from clues that he is happy, use 睇得出 (tai2 dak1 ceot1).

  • Using Mandarin-style 把 (baa2) disposal structure to express bringing something out.

    把本書拿出來。
    攞本書出嚟。

    Cantonese places the noun object directly inside or after the verb-complement structure (e.g., 攞本書出嚟 lo2 bun2 syu1 ceot1 lai4 or 攞出本書嚟 lo2 ceot1 bun2 syu1 lai4), rather than using Mandarin 把.

How It Connects

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V+出Level 2Verb + Outward

Learn This First

To understand 'V+出', you first need to be familiar with how Cantonese uses verbal particles to indicate direction. It is helpful to understand the basic 'come/go' directional system and the opposite directional particle '入' (inward) to see how '出' (outward) fits into the spatial logic of the language.

Words in This Pattern