V+唔切

Cannot Make It in Time

Level 4Sounds Like m4 cit3

Use V + 唔切 (m4 cit3) when you are 'too late' to do something or the pace is too fast to keep up.

How It Works

The pattern V + 唔切 is a specific potential construction used to indicate that an action cannot be completed within a required timeframe.

1. The Nature of '切' (cit3):
While '切' (cit3) is a common standalone verb meaning 'to cut', in the sense of 'in time', it acts as a bound root. It only appears in potential constructions like 唔切 (m4 cit3) or 得切 (dak1 cit3) for this meaning. You cannot use it as a simple resultative suffix (e.g., you cannot say *食切 to mean 'ate in time').

2. The Idiomatic '嚟唔切' (lai4 m4 cit3) and '趕唔切' (gon2 m4 cit3):
The most common lexicalized uses of this pattern are 嚟唔切 (lai4 m4 cit3) and 趕唔切 (gon2 m4 cit3). They can be used as standalone phrases meaning 'It's too late!' or 'Cannot make it in time!'
Example: 趕唔切喇！架車開咗喇！ (gon2 m4 cit3 laa3! gaa3 ce1 hoi1 zo2 laa3!) 'It's too late! The bus has already left!'

3. Verbal Restrictions:
This pattern works with action verbs involving perception, motion, or consumption (e.g., 睇 tai2 'see', 走 zau2 'go', 食 sik6 'eat'). It cannot be used with stative verbs (e.g., you cannot say *知唔切 zi1 m4 cit3 for 'cannot know in time'), but it works perfectly with process-oriented cognition verbs like 諗 (nam2, 'think') or 反應 (faan2 jing3, 'react').

4. Comparison with other complements:

5. Word Order:
The object follows the entire complement: [Verb] + 唔切 + [Object].
Example: 睇唔切字幕 (tai2 m4 cit3 zi6 mok6) 'cannot read the subtitles in time.'

6. The Idiom '[Verb/Adj] + 都嚟唔切':
A highly common idiomatic usage is adding 都嚟唔切 (dou1 lai4 m4 cit3) after a verb or adjective to mean 'more than [adjective] to' or 'can't even begin to [verb]', rather than a literal time constraint.
Example: 開心都嚟唔切 (hoi1 sam1 dou1 lai4 m4 cit3) 'more than happy to / overjoyed'.

7. The Positive Form (V + 得切):
The positive counterpart to this pattern is V + 得切 (dak1 cit3), meaning you can complete the action in time.
Example: 食得切 (sik6 dak1 cit3) 'can finish eating in time'.

8. Question Formation (A-not-A):
To form a yes/no question, use the A-not-A structure for potential complements: V-唔-V-得切.
Example: 趕唔趕得切呀？ (gon2 m4 gon2 dak1 cit3 aa3?) 'Can we make it in time?' or 睇唔睇得切？ (tai2 m4 tai2 dak1 cit3?) 'Can you finish reading it in time?'

Examples (4)

  1. 班車開咗喇，我哋趕唔切。

    The bus has already left; we can't make it in time.

    Word by Word: Class [of] car open [perfective] [particle], we hurry not in-time.

    趕 (gon2) means to hurry or catch. 趕唔切 is the standard way to say you missed a transport connection because you were too slow.

  2. 我今朝趕住出門口，食唔切早餐。

    I was in a hurry to leave this morning, so I didn't have time to eat breakfast.

    Word by Word: I this morning hurry-ing exit door-mouth, eat not in-time breakfast.

    Here, the time constraint (hurrying to leave) is the reason the breakfast couldn't be eaten.

  3. 啲字幕跳得太快，我睇唔切呀。

    The subtitles are moving too fast; I can't read them in time.

    Word by Word: [Plural] subtitle jump [manner] too fast, I watch not in-time [particle].

    This shows the 'pace' aspect of the pattern. The action (reading) cannot keep up with the speed of the event (subtitles changing).

  4. 份卷太多題目，我做唔切。

    There are too many questions on the exam; I couldn't finish it in time.

    Word by Word: Classifier exam too many topic, I do not in-time.

    Even if you know how to do the questions, if the exam ends before you finish, you use 做唔切.

Common Mistakes

  • Using 唔切 for 'too hard' when you mean 'no time'.

    Different Meaning呢條數太難，我計唔切。
    呢條數太難，我計唔到。

    我計唔切 is a normal sentence meaning 'I cannot work it out in time' (唔切 = not enough time). If a math problem is too difficult, use 計唔到 (gai3 m4 dou2).

  • Placing the object between the verb and the complement.

    我食早餐唔切。
    我食唔切早餐。

    In Cantonese, the potential complement (唔切) must stay attached to the verb. The object (breakfast) must come after the entire verb-complement unit.

How It Connects

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

V+唔切Level 4Cannot Make It in Time

Learn This First

To understand 'V+唔切', you first need to understand the general structure of potential complements in Cantonese. This pattern specifically uses the negative potential form (Verb + 唔 + Complement) to express that an action cannot be completed because time has run out.

Words in This Pattern

唔切