乜嘢

What

Level 1Sounds Like mat1 je5

乜嘢 (mat1 je5) means 'what' or 'what kind of' in Cantonese. Unlike English, question words stay in their natural sentence position (SVO order).

How It Works

1. Basic Usage: 'What' in Question Positions
In Cantonese, question words stay in place rather than fronting to the beginning of the sentence as in English. 乜嘢 (mat1 je5) replaces the object or subject directly:

  • 你食乜嘢？ (nei5 sik6 mat1 je5?) = 'What are you eating?' (literally: 'You eat what?')
  • 呢個係乜嘢？ (ni1 go3 hai6 mat1 je5?) = 'What is this?'

2. Attributive Modifier: 'What kind of [Noun]'
When placed directly before a noun, 乜嘢 acts as 'what kind of' or 'what'. Crucially, you do not need a classifier between 乜嘢 and the noun:

  • 乜嘢書 (mat1 je5 syu1) = 'what book / what kind of book'
  • 你想睇乜嘢電影？ (nei5 soeng2 tai2 mat1 je5 din6 jing2?) = 'What kind of movie do you want to watch?'

3. Universal Meaning with 都 (dou1): 'Everything / Anything'
When 乜嘢 is fronted before the adverb 都 (dou1) in a question word + 都 structure, it expresses 'everything' or 'anything':

  • 佢乜嘢都知。 (keoi5 mat1 je5 dou1 zi1.) = 'He/She knows everything.'
  • 我乜嘢都食。 (ngo5 mat1 je5 dou1 sik6.) = 'I eat anything/everything.'

4. 乜嘢 vs. 咩 (me1) vs. Standard Written Chinese
In casual speech, 咩 (me1) is a common contraction of 乜嘢. However, 咩 (me1) can also serve as a sentence-final particle indicating disbelief or rhetorical surprise (e.g., 係咩？ 'Is that so?'). 乜嘢 cannot be used at the end of a sentence as a doubt particle.
In formal written Chinese, standard 什麼 (shénme) is written, but native speakers use 乜嘢 in natural spoken Cantonese.

Examples (4)

  1. 你做緊乜嘢呀？

    What are you doing?

    Word by Word: You do-ing what [particle]?

    乜嘢 (mat1 je5) stays in the object position after the verb 做 (zou6, 'to do') and progressive marker 緊 (gan2).

  2. 呢本係乜嘢書嚟㗎？

    What kind of book is this?

    Word by Word: This [classifier] is what book come [particle]?

    When modifying a noun like 書 (syu1, 'book'), 乜嘢 sits directly before the noun without a classifier.

  3. 佢乜嘢都知。

    He knows everything.

    Word by Word: He what all know.

    Placing 乜嘢 before 都 (dou1) creates the universal meaning 'everything' or 'anything'.

  4. 你想飲乜嘢？

    What do you want to drink?

    Word by Word: You want drink what?

    A standard question structure where 乜嘢 follows the verb 飲 (jam2, 'to drink').

Common Mistakes

  • Moving 乜嘢 to the front of the sentence (English word order transfer)

    乜嘢你買呀？
    你買乜嘢呀？

    Cantonese keeps question words in their natural syntactic position (SVO). You should put 乜嘢 where the object noun would go, not at the beginning of the sentence.

  • Inserting a classifier between 乜嘢 and the noun it modifies

    乜嘢個車
    乜嘢車

    乜嘢 directly modifies nouns (e.g., 乜嘢車 mat1 je5 ce1, 'what car'). Do not insert a classifier like 個 (go3) between 乜嘢 and the noun.

  • Using Standard Written Chinese 什麼 (shénme) in spoken Cantonese dialogue

    你想食什麼？
    你想食乜嘢？

    Although 什麼 is used in formal writing, native Cantonese speakers use 乜嘢 (mat1 je5) or 咩 (me1) in daily spoken conversation.

How It Connects

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乜嘢Level 1What

Learn This First

To use '乜嘢' (what) correctly, you need to understand that Cantonese question words stay in the same position as the object they replace (wh-in-situ). You should also be familiar with basic sentence structure and the use of the question particle '呀' which often accompanies this word.

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