去

Going Away from the Speaker

Level 1Sounds Like heoi3

In Cantonese, the directional complement 去 (heoi3) is attached after verbs to show that an action or movement is heading away from where the speaker currently is.

How It Works

Understanding Directional 去 (heoi3)

When attached after a verb of motion or action, 去 (heoi3) acts as a directional complement indicating that the movement is directed away from the speaker.

1. Common Compound Combinations:
It pairs with directional path verbs to form specific direction phrases:

  • 入去 (jap6 heoi3): go in / enter away
  • 出去 (ceot1 heoi3): go out / exit away
  • 上去 (soeng5 heoi3): go up / ascend away
  • 落去 (lok6 heoi3): go down / descend away
  • 過去 (gwo3 heoi3): go over / cross away
  • 返去 (faan1 heoi3): go back / return away

2. Placement of Destinations (Locative Objects):
In Cantonese, the directional complement forms a tight unit, so the destination noun directly follows the entire compound complement:

  • 入去圖書館 (jap6 heoi3 tou4 syu1 gun2): go into the library
  • 行上去三樓 (haang4 soeng5 heoi3 saam1 lau2): walk up to the third floor

3. Aspect Marker Placement:
Aspect markers like 咗 (zo2) attach to the primary verb or path verb, before a destination noun:

  • 跳咗落去 (tiu3 zo2 lok6 heoi3): jumped down away (Correct)
  • 跳落去咗 (tiu3 lok6 heoi3 zo2) is also heard when no destination follows

Examples (4)

  1. 佢行咗上去三樓。

    He walked up to the third floor.

    Word by Word: He walk [perfective] up away third floor.

    The compound 上去 (soeng5 heoi3) indicates moving upwards away from the speaker, while 咗 (zo2) attaches right after the verb 行 (haang4).

  2. 呢枝筆我冇用，你攞去啦！

    I'm not using this pen, take it away!

    Word by Word: This [classifier] pen I not use, you take away [suggestion]!

    When paired with action verbs like 攞 (lo2, take), 去 (heoi3) indicates taking something away from the speaker's location.

  3. 我返去先喇，拜拜！

    I'm going back home now, bye-bye!

    Word by Word: I return away first [particle], bye-bye!

    返去 (faan1 heoi3) combines returning (返) with moving away from the speaker's current location (去).

  4. 佢哋跑咗出去公園。

    They ran out to the park.

    Word by Word: They run [perfective] exit away park.

    The destination 公園 (gung1 jyun2) directly follows the directional complement unit 出去 (ceot1 heoi3).

Common Mistakes

  • Placing the aspect marker 咗 (zo2) at the end of the sentence after 去 (heoi3).

    佢行上去咗三樓。
    佢行咗上去三樓。

    In Cantonese, aspect markers such as 咗 (zo2) must attach to the main verb or the first directional verb, not at the very end after 去 (heoi3).

  • Thinking 嚟 (lai4) is wrong for going to the listener's home.

    Different Meaning我而家嚟你屋企。
    我而家去你屋企。

    我而家嚟你屋企 is natural: 嚟 takes the listener's point of view, like English "I am coming over". 我而家去你屋企 takes your own point of view, "I am going to your home".

How It Connects

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

去Level 1Going Away from the Speaker

Learn This First

To understand the directional use of 去 (heoi3), you should first be familiar with how Cantonese uses verbal particles to modify the meaning of a verb and the basic word order of the language.

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