唔/冇/未

Choosing the Right Negator

Level 2Sounds Like mou5 / mei6

Cantonese negation is based on aspect and intention rather than verb tense. Use 唔 (m4) for don't/won't (habits and willingness), 冇 (mou5) for didn't/don't have (past actions and possession), and 未 (mei6) for not yet (pending actions).

How It Works

To build fluency in Cantonese, you need to select negators based on aspect, modality, and intention rather than strict tenses.

1. 唔 (m4) — General / Modal Negator ("not / don't / won't")
• Pronunciation: syllabic nasal m4 (Tone 4, Low Falling).
• Denies habits, general truths, preferences, intentions, willingness, or present/future states.
• Strictly incompatible with post-verbal aspect markers like 咗 (zo2) or 過 (gwo3) in sentential negation.
• Cannot stand alone as 'No'; repeat the verb/copula instead (e.g., 唔係 m4 hai6).

2. 冇 (mou5) — Existential / Aspectual Negator ("don't have / didn't")
• Pronunciation: mou5 (Tone 5, Low-Mid Rising).
• Negates present possession ('to not have') or the factual occurrence/completion of an event ('didn't').
• Suppresses and replaces 咗 (zo2). Do not put 咗 on the verb after 冇 (say 冇食, not 冇食咗).
• Can co-occur with experiential 過 (gwo3) (e.g., 冇去過 mou5 heoi3 gwo3 = 'have not been to').

3. 未 (mei6) — Inchoative Negator ("not yet")
• Pronunciation: mei6 (Tone 6, Low Level).
• Indicates that an action has not occurred up to now, but is planned, expected, or pending.
• Suppresses 咗 (zo2) in pre-verbal negation (e.g., 我未食 ngo5 mei6 sik6), but co-occurs with 過 (gwo3) (e.g., 未去過 mei6 heoi3 gwo3 = 'have not yet been to').
• Can move to the end of a sentence to form questions via V咗...未?, where 咗 (zo2) is retained or optional in the main clause (e.g., 你食咗飯未？ nei5 sik6 zo2 faan6 mei6? = 'Have you eaten yet?').

Examples (4)

  1. 我唔食辣嘢。

    I don't eat spicy food.

    Word by Word: I not eat spicy thing

    Uses 唔 (m4) because eating spicy food is a general habit and preference.

  2. 佢琴日冇嚟上堂。

    S/he didn't come to class yesterday.

    Word by Word: S/he yesterday not-have come attend class

    Uses 冇 (mou5) to negate the occurrence of a past action. Notice 咗 (zo2) is omitted.

  3. 我未做完功課，一陣先食飯。

    I haven't finished my homework yet; I will eat in a bit.

    Word by Word: I not-yet do finish homework, a moment then eat rice

    Uses 未 (mei6) because the action is expected and planned to be finished soon.

  4. 我而家冇時間，改天再講啦。

    I don't have time right now, let's talk another day.

    Word by Word: I now not-have time, change day again speak SFP

    Uses 冇 (mou5) as a main verb negating present possession of time.

Common Mistakes

  • Combining 冇 (mou5) or 唔 (m4) with the perfective aspect marker 咗 (zo2).

    我冇食咗飯。
    我冇食飯。

    冇 (mou5) suppresses 咗 (zo2). Adding 咗 after 冇 is redundant and ungrammatical.

  • Using 唔 (m4) to state that a past event did not occur.

    我琴日唔去 party。
    我琴日冇去 party。

    唔去 (m4 heoi3) means 'refuse to go' or 'don't go (habitually)'. To neutrally report that you didn't go in the past, use 冇去 (mou5 heoi3).

  • Answering 'No' with a standalone '唔'.

    ——你係咪香港人？ ——唔。
    ——你係咪香港人？ ——唔係。

    唔 (m4) must modify a verb or adjective directly. To answer 'No', repeat the verb with 唔, such as 唔係 (m4 hai6).

How It Connects

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唔/冇/未Level 2Choosing the Right Negator

Learn This First

To choose the correct negator, you must first understand the individual functions of '唔' (general/habitual negation), '冇' (negation of past actions), and '未' (negation of actions not yet completed). This pattern focuses on the contrast and selection between these three markers based on time and aspect.

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