V得起/V唔起
Afford to
The pattern V得起 / V唔起 expresses the capacity to afford something, either financially (money) or socially (consequences).
How It Works
In Cantonese, V得起 / V唔起 is the standard way to discuss affordance. While it is most commonly used for financial transactions, it extends to social risks, moral standing, and personal resilience. The negative form V唔起 is particularly frequent when issuing warnings or emphasizing high stakes.
1. Financial Affordance
It is used with verbs like 買 (maai5 - buy), 租 (zou1 - rent), or 養 (joeng5 - maintain/raise) to show you have enough money for the cost.
2. Social/Consequential Affordance
It is used with verbs like 得罪 (dak1 zeoi6 - offend), 輸 (syu1 - lose), or 玩 (waan2 - play/participate) to show you can handle the fallout. For example, 玩唔起 (waan2 m4 hei2) implies someone cannot handle the emotional or financial stakes of a situation.
3. Respect and Regard
The pattern is used idiomatically for respect: 睇得起 (tai2 dak1 hei2 - to think highly of) and 睇唔起 (tai2 m4 hei2 - to look down on).
4. Moral Worth and Apologies
對得起 (deoi3 dak1 hei2) and 對唔起 (deoi3 m4 hei2) describe whether one can 'face' someone without guilt. While 對唔起 is used for 'sorry', note that 對唔住 (deoi3 m4 zyu6) is the much more common high-frequency form for everyday apologies in spoken Cantonese.
5. Endurance and Resilience
The verb 捱得起 (ngaai4 dak1 hei2) is essential for describing general endurance, stamina, or the ability to 'take it' over a long period. While 頂得住 (ding2 dak1 zyu6) refers to the immediate act of resisting pressure, 捱得起 refers to the underlying capacity to handle the 'cost' of hardship.
Examples (6)
- 呢度啲租咁貴，我真係<grammar expression="V得起/V唔起">租唔起</grammar>。
The rent here is so expensive; I really cannot afford to rent it.
Word by Word: here [plural] rent so expensive, I really am rent not up.
租唔起 (zou1 m4 hei2) specifically refers to the lack of financial means to pay the rent.
- 佢背景好強，你<grammar expression="V得起/V唔起">得罪唔起</grammar>佢。
His background is very powerful; you cannot afford to offend him.
Word by Word: he background very strong, you offend not up him.
得罪唔起 (dak1 zeoi6 m4 hei2) is a social use, meaning the consequences of offending him would be too great for you to handle.
- 你唔好<grammar expression="V得起/V唔起">睇唔起</grammar>人啦。
Don't look down on people.
Word by Word: you not good look not up people [particle].
睇唔起 (tai2 m4 hei2) is a common idiomatic use meaning 'to look down on' or 'to despise'.
- 佢份人好<grammar expression="V得起/V唔起">捱得起</grammar>，做幾多嘢都冇怨言。
He is a very resilient person; he can handle any amount of work without complaining.
Word by Word: he [classifier] person very endure can up, do how many things all not have complaint.
捱得起 (ngaai4 dak1 hei2) refers to having the stamina or resilience to endure hardship or long-term pressure.
- 輸唔起就唔好玩啦。
If you can't afford to lose, then don't play.
Word by Word: lose not up then not good play [particle].
玩唔起 (waan2 m4 hei2) or 輸唔起 (syu1 m4 hei2) are common warnings used when the stakes or consequences are too high for someone to handle.
- 車就<grammar expression="V得起/V唔起">買得起</grammar>，但係<grammar expression="V得起/V唔起">養唔起</grammar>。
I can afford to buy the car, but I cannot afford to maintain it.
Word by Word: car [emphasis] buy can up, but raise not up.
This contrasts 買得起 (maai5 dak1 hei2 - afford to buy) with 養唔起 (joeng5 m4 hei2 - afford to maintain/raise).
Common Mistakes
Using 搬唔起 where 搬唔郁 is more natural for something too heavy to budge.
Different Meaning呢張枱好重，我搬唔起。呢張枱好重，我搬唔郁。V唔起 often means 'cannot afford' (買唔起), but 起 can also mean 'up', as in 攞唔起 (cannot pick up). When a table is too heavy to move at all, 搬唔郁 (bun1 m4 juk1) is the natural choice.
Using 買唔起 when you mean you could not get it.
Different Meaning我買唔起嗰本書，因為賣晒。我買唔到嗰本書，因為賣晒。我買唔起嗰本書 is a normal sentence meaning you cannot afford the book. If you cannot buy it because it is sold out, use 買唔到 (maai5 m4 dou2).
Incorrect negation placement.
我唔買得起。我買唔起。In potential complements, the negation 唔 (m4) must be placed between the verb and the complement, not before the verb.
How It Connects
Learn This First
To understand V得起 (afford to) and V唔起 (cannot afford to), you first need to understand the potential construction in Cantonese, where the markers '得' or '唔' are placed inside a verb-complement compound. You also need to be familiar with the particle '起' (hei2), which in this specific grammatical context indicates the financial or social capacity to carry out an action.
- V+起（趨向）Verb + Up Off
The particle 起 (hei2) is the core component of this pattern, which here shifts from its literal 'upward' meaning to the metaphorical meaning of 'affording' or 'sustaining' an action.
Level 2 - V得CLong Potential
This pattern is a specific instance of the 'Long Potential' structure (Verb + Potential Marker + Complement), which is necessary to understand how the verb and the particle 起 are combined.
Level 3
Related Patterns
- V+得（可能）Can Be Done / Is Allowed
The affirmative form V得起 uses this potential marker to indicate the capacity to perform the action.
Level 2 - Verb + 唔 + ComplementLong Potential (Cannot)
V唔起 is a specific type of negative potential complement where '起' (hei2) is the resultative component.
Level 3 - V+唔到Cannot Manage to
Often confused with V唔起; V唔到 means 'cannot manage to/fail to attain', whereas V唔起 means 'cannot afford'.
Level 2 - 睇唔起Look Down on
A high-frequency idiomatic phrase meaning 'to look down on someone', following the V唔起 structure.
Level 4
Words in This Pattern
Practice V得起/V唔起 in Bubblegum
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