冇

Not Have

Level 1Sounds Like mou5

冇 (mou5) is one of the most fundamental words in Cantonese. It is used to say 'don't have', 'there isn't', or 'didn't do'.

How It Works

Understanding 冇 (mou5)

The character 冇 (mou5) visually reflects its meaning: it was created by taking away the two inner strokes from 有 (jau5, 'to have'), symbolically representing emptiness or absence.

1. Negating Possession and Existence
Placed directly before a noun phrase, 冇 means 'don't have' or 'there is no / are no':

  • 我冇錢 (ngo5 mou5 cin2) - I don't have money.
  • 呢度冇人 (ni1 dou6 mou5 jan4) - There is nobody here.

2. Negating Past Actions (Did Not Do)
Placed directly before a verb, 冇 indicates that an action did not take place in the past:

  • 佢琴日冇去返學 (keoi5 kam4 jat6 mou5 heoi3 faan1 hok6) - He didn't go to school yesterday.

Note that when negating a verb with 冇, you must drop the completed aspect marker 咗 (zo2). Saying *冇食咗 is ungrammatical.

3. Negating Experience (Have Never Done)
When combined with 過 (gwo3), 冇 forms the pattern 冇 + Verb + 過 ('have not / have never done X'):

  • 我冇試過嗰間餐廳 (ngo5 mou5 si3 gwo3 go2 gaan1 caan1 teng1) - I haven't tried that restaurant before.

4. Choosing Between Negators: 冇 vs. 唔 vs. 未

  • 冇 (mou5) negates past occurrences or possession ('didn't' / 'don't have').
  • 唔 (m4) negates present/future actions, willingness, habits, or adjectives ('don't want to' / 'is not').
  • 未 (mei6) negates actions that haven't happened yet but are expected to ('not yet').

Examples (4)

  1. 我冇錢。

    I don't have money.

    Word by Word: I not-have money

    Uses 冇 (mou5) before the noun 錢 (cin2) to express non-possession.

  2. 呢度冇人。

    There is nobody here.

    Word by Word: here not-have person

    Uses 冇 (mou5) before 人 (jan4) to negate existence ('there is no').

  3. 佢琴日冇去返學。

    He didn't go to school yesterday.

    Word by Word: he yesterday not-have go back-school

    Uses 冇 (mou5) before the verb 去 (heoi3) to negate a past occurrence.

  4. 我冇試過嗰間餐廳。

    I haven't tried that restaurant before.

    Word by Word: I not-have try past that CL restaurant

    Combines 冇 (mou5) with the experiential marker 過 (gwo3) to convey 'have never done'.

Common Mistakes

  • Attempting to negate 有 (jau5) with 唔 (m4) as 唔有 (m4 jau5).

    我唔有錢。
    我冇錢。

    Cantonese never allows *唔有. To express 'don't have', you must use 冇 (mou5).

  • Using 唔 (m4) instead of 冇 (mou5) to negate past actions.

    我琴日唔去。
    我琴日冇去。

    唔 (m4) indicates refusal, habit, or future intention ('I don't go' / 'I won't go'). To express that a past event did not happen ('didn't go'), 冇 (mou5) is required.

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

    我冇食咗飯。
    我冇食飯。

    冇 (mou5) already conveys non-completion. The aspect marker 咗 (zo2) must be omitted when negating with 冇.

How It Connects

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冇Level 1Not Have

Learn This First

To understand '冇', you first need to know the affirmative verb '有' (to have) and the basic word order of Cantonese. It is also helpful to understand how negation usually works with '唔' to recognize that '冇' is an irregular contraction/exception.

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