梗係

Of Course

Level 3Sounds Like gang2 hai6

梗係 (gang2 hai6) is the standard colloquial way to say 'of course' in Cantonese. It is placed before the verb or adjective to show that a statement is logically necessary or common sense.

How It Works

1. Sentence Position
梗係 (gang2 hai6) is a pre-verbal adverb. It must appear before the predicate (the verb or adjective).
Pattern: Subject + 梗係 + Verb/Adjective + (Object) + (Particle).

2. Copula Function (The Verb 'To Be')
Because 梗係 ends with the character 係 (hai6), it can function as the main verb of a sentence when followed by a noun. You should not add an extra 係. For example, 'He is of course the boss' is 佢梗係老細 (keoi5 gang2 hai6 lou5 sai3), not 佢梗係係老細.

3. Standalone Usage
In response to a question, you can simply say 梗係啦！ (gang2 hai6 laa1!) to mean 'Of course!' or 'Obviously!'

4. Negation
To say 'Of course not,' the negation marker 唔 (m4) follows the pattern: 梗係唔... (gang2 hai6 m4...). For example, 'Of course it's not' is 梗係唔係啦 (gang2 hai6 m4 hai6 laa1).

5. Register and Nuance
This is a purely colloquial term. In formal writing, you would use 當然 (dong1 jin4). Be aware that using 梗係 can sometimes sound slightly impatient if the speaker feels the answer should have been obvious to the listener.

Examples (5)

  1. 「你聽日去唔去呀？」「梗係去啦！」

    "Are you going tomorrow?" "Of course I'm going!"

    Word by Word: [You] [tomorrow] [go] [not] [go] [question]? [Of course] [go] [particle]!

    Here, 梗係 is used before the verb 去 (heoi3 - to go) to show the answer is a definite 'yes'.

  2. 佢喺英國住咗十年，英文梗係好啦。

    He lived in the UK for ten years; of course his English is good.

    Word by Word: [He] [at] [England] [live] [perfective] [ten] [years], [English] [of course] [good] [particle].

    梗係 is used before the adjective 好 (hou2 - good) to indicate that the result is a natural consequence of the previous statement.

  3. 「你係咪唔鍾意佢呀？」「梗係唔係啦！」

    "Do you dislike him?" "Of course not!"

    Word by Word: [You] [is-not-is] [not] [like] [him] [question]? [Of course] [not] [is] [particle]!

    To negate the 'of course' statement, the negator 唔 (m4) is placed after 梗係.

  4. 我梗係會幫你啦。

    Of course I will help you.

    Word by Word: [I] [of course] [will] [help] [you] [particle].

    梗係 appears before the auxiliary verb 會 (wui5 - will) to show a strong commitment to an obvious duty.

  5. 佢梗係老細啦，你睇佢幾威。

    He is of course the boss; look how powerful he looks.

    Word by Word: [He] [of course] [boss] [particle], [you] [look] [him] [how] [powerful].

    In this sentence, 梗係 acts as the main verb (copula). You do not need to add another 係 (hai6) before the noun 'boss'.

Common Mistakes

  • Placing 梗係 at the end of the sentence.

    我會去梗係。
    我梗係會去啦。

    In English, 'of course' can go at the end of a sentence, but in Cantonese, 梗係 (gang2 hai6) must come before the verb.

  • Adding a redundant 係 (hai6) when using 梗係 with a noun.

    佢梗係係老細。
    佢梗係老細。

    Because 梗係 (gang2 hai6) already contains the verb 係 (hai6), you do not need to add another 係 when identifying what someone or something is. It functions as 'is of course' all by itself.

  • Confusing 梗係 with 硬係 (ngaang6 hai6).

    我梗係覺得有啲唔妥。
    我硬係覺得有啲唔妥。

    硬係 (ngaang6 hai6) means 'somehow' or 'stubbornly,' while 梗係 (gang2 hai6) means 'of course.' They sound similar but have completely different meanings.

How It Connects

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

梗係Level 3Of Course

Learn This First

To understand '梗係' (of course), learners first need to be comfortable with the basic verb 'to be' (係). It is also helpful to understand other markers of certainty like '一定' (definitely) and the 'obviousness' nuance found in sentence particles like '嘛'.

Words in This Pattern

梗系