唔係（否定整句）

Is Not / It's Not That

Level 1Sounds Like m4 hai6

唔係 (m4 hai6) means 'is not' when placed before nouns. When placed before verbs or adjectives, it means 'it's not that...' to clarify a misunderstanding or negate an entire idea.

How It Works

1. Copula Negation ('Is Not')
To negate identity or link a subject to a non-matching noun, combine 唔 (m4) and 係 (hai6) into 唔係 (m4 hai6).
• 佢唔係我哋嘅老師。 (keoi5 m4 hai6 ngo5 dei6 ge3 lou5 si1.) = He/She is not our teacher.

2. Propositional / Focus Negation ('It's Not That...')
Placing 唔係 before a verb, adjective, or whole clause negates the truth of the statement as a whole, meaning 'it is not the case that...'. This is frequently used to clarify misunderstandings or soften statements.
• 我唔係唔想幫你，係未有時間呀。 (ngo5 m4 hai6 m4 soeng2 bong1 nei5, hai6 mei6 jau5 si4 gaan1 aa3.) = It's not that I don't want to help you; it's that I haven't had time yet.

3. Contrastive Negation ('Not X, But Y')
Pair 唔係 with 係 to form 'not X, but Y':
• 呢個唔係蘋果，係橙。 (ni1 go3 m4 hai6 ping4 gwo2, hai6 caang2.) = This is not an apple; it's an orange.

4. Phonetic Contractions & Discourse Use
• Standalone answer: 唔係 serves as an echo-response meaning 'No / That's not correct.'
• Fast speech & questions: 唔係 (m4 hai6) often contracts phonetically to 咪 (mai6, tone 6) in question structures like 係咪 (hai6 mai6). However, 咪 (mai6) cannot replace 唔係 in simple copula negation (佢咪我哋嘅老師) or standalone answers (咪). Do not confuse tone 6 咪 (mai6) with the imperative prohibition marker 咪 (mai5, tone 5, 'don't').
• Questions: The A-not-A question form 係唔係 (hai6 m4 hai6) commonly contracts to 係咪 (hai6 mai6).

Examples (4)

  1. 佢唔係我哋嘅老師。

    He/She is not our teacher.

    Word by Word: He not-is our teacher.

    Standard copula negation placed directly before a noun phrase.

  2. 呢個唔係蘋果，係橙。

    This is not an apple; it's an orange.

    Word by Word: This-one not-is apple, is orange.

    Demonstrates the contrastive '唔係...係...' (not X, but Y) structure.

  3. 我唔係唔想幫你，係未有時間呀。

    It's not that I don't want to help you; it's that I haven't had time yet.

    Word by Word: I not-is not want help you, is not-yet have time SFP.

    Shows propositional negation before a verb phrase to clarify an intention.

  4. A: 佢係咪學生呀？ B: 唔係。

    A: Is she a student? B: No, she isn't.

    Word by Word: A: She is-not-is student SFP? B: Not-is.

    Used as a standalone echo-response answer meaning 'No / That's not correct'.

Common Mistakes

  • 我唔係去 is natural, but it means 'It is not that I am going', not 'I am not going'.

    Different Meaning我唔係去。
    我唔去。

    Cantonese does not use a copula for standard verb negation. Use simple 唔 (m4) for 'I am not going'. Saying 我唔係去 actually means 'It's not that I'm going'.

  • 我尋日唔係食飯 is natural, but it means 'It was not rice that I ate yesterday'.

    Different Meaning我尋日唔係食飯。
    我尋日冇食飯。

    To state that an action did not take place in the past, use 冇 (mou5, 'didn't'). Using 唔係 implies focus negation ('It wasn't rice that I ate yesterday').

How It Connects

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唔係（否定整句）Level 1Is Not / It's Not That

Learn This First

To understand '唔係', you first need to be familiar with the copula '係' (to be) and the basic word order of Cantonese sentences, as this pattern functions by placing the negative marker '唔' before the verb.

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Words in This Pattern

唔系