跟

Follow/learn from

Level 2Sounds Like gan1

跟 (gan1) means 'to follow' or 'to learn from/under' someone. Unlike general accompaniment ('with'), Cantonese uses 跟 for directional or hierarchical relationships, such as following a guide or studying under an instructor.

How It Works

1. Learning under someone's guidance
When learning a skill or language from a teacher or instructor, Cantonese places 跟 (gan1) before the person:
• [Subject] + 跟 (gan1) + [Instructor] + [Verb Phrase]
Example: 佢跟我學廣東話 (keoi5 gan1 ngo5 hok6 gwong2 dung1 waa2) - "He is learning Cantonese from me."

2. Main verb: "To follow" or "To go with"
As a main verb on its own, 跟 (gan1) simply means 'to follow' or 'to go along with':
• 你跟佢去啦 (nei5 gan1 keoi5 heoi3 laa1) - "Go with him."
Mentorship or study nuances arise only when it is combined with an instructor noun or a learning verb (e.g., 我跟咗呢個師傅五年 ngo5 gan1 zo2 ni1 go3 si1 fu2 ng5 nin4 - "I have trained under this teacher for five years").

3. Restaurant ordering: "Comes with"
In everyday dining contexts, 跟 (gan1) is used when ordering meals to mean 'comes with' or 'is served with':
• 套餐跟熱咖啡 (tou3 caan1 gan1 jit6 gaa3 fe1) - "The set meal comes with hot coffee."

4. Key distinction: 跟 (gan1) vs 同 (tung4)
Unlike Mandarin, Cantonese usually does not use 跟 for general equal accompaniment:
• Use 同 (tung4) for equal peer accompaniment ("with a friend") or conjunction ("and").
• Use 跟 (gan1) for following, learning under someone, or items coming with meals.

Examples (4)

  1. 佢跟我學廣東話。

    He is learning Cantonese from me.

    Word by Word: He follow me learn Cantonese.

    Shows 跟 (gan1) used as a preverbal preposition indicating mentorship.

  2. 我跟咗呢個師傅學藝五年喇。

    I have been learning the craft under this expert teacher for five years.

    Word by Word: I follow perfective this classifier teacher learn craft five year particle.

    Combines 跟 (gan1) with the aspect marker 咗 (zo2) to show a period of continuous apprenticeship.

  3. 你跟佢去啦，佢識路。

    Follow him; he knows the way.

    Word by Word: You follow him go particle, he know way.

    Demonstrates 跟 (gan1) in the context of physically following someone who leads.

  4. 你而家跟邊個學唱歌呀？

    Who are you learning singing from right now?

    Word by Word: You now follow who learn sing song particle?

    Shows how 跟 (gan1) is used in a question asking about a teacher or instructor.

Common Mistakes

  • Using 跟 (gan1) for plain accompaniment where 同 is the usual word.

    Different Meaning我跟朋友去睇戲。
    我同朋友去睇戲。

    For plain ‘with someone’, 同 (tung4) is the usual word. 跟 (gan1) can also be heard for ‘along with’, but it often means following or learning from someone.

  • Placing the teacher or mentor after the action verb.

    我學廣東話跟佢。
    我跟佢學廣東話。

    Prepositional coverbs like 跟 (gan1) must be placed before the verb phrase ([Subject] + 跟 + [Person] + [Verb]).

How It Connects

Tap a pattern to see what it builds on and what it leads to.

跟Level 2Follow/learn from

Learn This First

To understand '跟' (follow/learn from), you first need to be comfortable with basic Cantonese word order and pronouns. It is also helpful to understand the general 'with' marker '同', as '跟' is a more specific version used when there is a sense of following or studying under someone.

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Patterns that build on this one.

Words in This Pattern

跟