唔係好

Not Very

Level 2Sounds Like m4 hai6 hou2

Use 唔係好 (m4 hai6 hou2) before an adjective or verb to mean 'not very' or 'not really'. It softens your speech so you sound polite rather than overly blunt.

How It Works

1. Meaning and Function
唔係好 (m4 hai6 hou2) is the standard Cantonese expression for 'not very', 'not really', or 'not particularly'. Expressing direct negation like 唔食 (m4 sik6 - 'don't eat') or 唔好食 (m4 hou2 sik6 - 'tastes bad') can sometimes sound rude or rigid. Using 唔係好 softens the statement, making it gentler and more polite.

2. Sentence Structure
The basic structure is:
Subject + 唔係好 + [Adjective / Mental Verb / Habitual Verb]

3. What It Attaches To

  • Adjectives: 唔係好貴 (m4 hai6 hou2 gwai3 - not very expensive), 唔係好大 (m4 hai6 hou2 daai6 - not very big).
  • Mental/Psychological Verbs: 唔係好明 (m4 hai6 hou2 ming4 - don't quite understand), 唔係好想 (m4 hai6 hou2 soeng2 - don't really want to), 唔係好鍾意 (m4 hai6 hou2 zung1 ji3 - don't particularly like).
  • Habitual Action Verbs: 唔係好食肉 (m4 hai6 hou2 sik6 juk6 - don't really eat meat).

4. Crucial Structural Rule
English speakers often attempt a word-for-word translation of 'not' (唔) + 'very' (好) + adjective, resulting in ungrammatical phrases like *唔好貴. In Cantonese, *唔好貴 is incorrect because 唔好 means 'don't' or 'bad'. Whenever you negate a degree modifier like 好, you must insert 係 (hai6) between 唔 and 好.

Examples (4)

  1. 呢個電話唔係好貴。

    This phone is not very expensive.

    Word by Word: This item phone not is very expensive.

    Here 唔係好 modifies the adjective 貴 (gwai3, expensive) to soften the description of price.

  2. 唔好意思，我唔係好明。

    Sorry, I don't quite understand.

    Word by Word: Not good meaning, I not is very understand.

    Modifies the mental verb 明 (ming4, to understand) to sound polite when asking for clarification.

  3. 佢今日唔係好想出街。

    He doesn't really want to go out today.

    Word by Word: He today not is very want go out street.

    Modifies the modal verb 想 (soeng2, to want to) to express hesitation or mild reluctance.

  4. 我唔係好食甜嘢。

    I don't really eat sweet things.

    Word by Word: I not is very eat sweet stuff.

    When attached to an action verb like 食 (sik6, to eat), it indicates a general habit or dietary preference rather than an absolute rule.

Common Mistakes

  • Dropping 係 (hai6) to directly translate 'not very' as *唔好.

    呢間衫舖頭唔好貴。
    呢間衫舖頭唔係好貴。

    Translating 'not very' directly as 唔好 creates confusion because 唔好 (m4 hou2) means 'don't' (imperative command) or 'bad'. You must include 係 (hai6) to make the valid pattern 唔係好.

  • Adding 係 (hai6) to a plain positive sentence with 好.

    Different Meaning佢係好高。
    佢好高。

    佢係好高 is natural Cantonese with an emphatic 係 ('he IS tall'). In a plain statement 佢好高 is enough. 係 only has to come back when you negate 好: 唔係好高.

How It Connects

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

唔係好Level 2Not Very

Learn This First

To understand '唔係好', a learner needs to know how to negate the verb 'to be' (唔係) and how '好' is used as a default degree marker with adjectives. This pattern specifically combines these to soften a negation from 'not' to 'not very'.

Words in This Pattern

唔系