呢度/嗰度

Here / There

Level 1Sounds Like ni1 dou6 / go2 dou6

Use 呢度 (ni1 dou6) for 'here' and 嗰度 (go2 dou6) for 'there'. They can stand alone as place pronouns or attach to personal pronouns (e.g. 我呢度 'my place here', 我嗰度 'my place over there') to turn people into physical locations.

How It Works

1. Basic Meaning and the Spatial Triad
• 呢度 (ni1 dou6 / li1 dou6): 'here / this place' (proximal)
• 嗰度 (go2 dou6): 'there / that place' (distal)
• 邊度 (bin1 dou6): 'where / which place' (interrogative)
All three are formed by combining demonstrative or question stems (呢, 嗰, 邊) with 度 (dou6), which serves as a location marker meaning 'place' or 'spot'.

2. Expressing Action Locations with 喺
To say that an action happens at 'here' or 'there', place the preposition 喺 (hai2) before 呢度 or 嗰度:
• 佢喺呢度食飯。 (keoi5 hai2 ni1 dou6 sik6 faan6.) = 'He eats here.'
• 擺喺嗰度啦。 (baai2 hai2 go2 dou6 laa1.) = 'Put it there.'

3. Turning People and Pronouns into Locations
In Cantonese, you cannot directly move toward or exist at a person (*去我 is incorrect). You must attach 呢度, 嗰度, or simply 度 after pronouns or titles:
• 我呢度 / 我度 (ngo5 ni1 dou6 / ngo5 dou6): 'my place / where I am (here)'
• 我嗰度 (ngo5 go2 dou6): 'my place (over there, distant from current location)'
• 醫生嗰度 (ji1 sang1 go2 dou6): 'the doctor's place / office'
• 例句：你聽日嚟我呢度玩啦。 (nei5 ting1 jat6 lei4 ngo5 ni1 dou6 waan2 laa1.) = 'Come over to my place (here) to hang out tomorrow.'

4. Spatial Zone Specifier for Nouns
When attached to room or building nouns, 嗰度/呢度 highlights the physical zone or spot around that place:
• 廚房嗰度有兩個橙。 = 'There are two oranges over in the kitchen area.'

5. Spoken Variants, Register & Literary Alternatives
• 呢度 is often pronounced as li1 dou6 or written informally as 依度 in casual speech.
• In literary or formal contexts, 處 (syu3) often replaces 度 (dou6), yielding 呢處 (ni1 syu3) or 嗰處 (go2 syu3).
• Standard Written Chinese uses 這裡 (zhè lǐ) and 那裡 (nà lǐ) instead.

Examples (4)

  1. 擺喺呢度得喇。

    Just put it here.

    Word by Word: Put at here okay [particle].

    Uses 喺呢度 (hai2 ni1 dou6) to indicate the location where an object should be placed.

  2. 廚房嗰度有兩個橙。

    There are two oranges over in the kitchen.

    Word by Word: Kitchen over-there have two [classifier] orange.

    Attaching 嗰度 after a location noun (廚房) specifies 'over in the area of [location]'.

  3. 你聽日嚟我呢度玩啦。

    Come over to my place tomorrow to hang out.

    Word by Word: You tomorrow come my here play [particle].

    Attaching 呢度 (or simply 度) after standard pronoun 我 (ngo5) creates 'my place (here where I am)' when inviting someone.

  4. 呢度好熱，我哋去嗰度啦。

    It's very hot here; let's go over there.

    Word by Word: Here very hot, we go there [particle].

    Contrasts 呢度 (here) and 嗰度 (there) within the same sentence.

Common Mistakes

  • Omitting 喺 (hai2) when specifying the location where an action takes place.

    佢呢度食飯。
    佢喺呢度食飯。

    In Cantonese, non-movement actions occurring at a spot require the coverb/preposition 喺 (hai2) before 呢度 or 嗰度.

  • Directly using a person or pronoun as a physical destination without adding 嗰度 or 度.

    你聽日嚟去我。
    你聽日嚟我嗰度。

    People or pronouns (我, 你, 醫生) are not physical locations. You must attach 嗰度 or 度 after them to mean 'at my place' or 'where I am'.

  • Confusing 呢度 (here) with 呢邊 (this direction/this way).

    Different Meaning請行呢度。
    請行呢邊。

    請行呢度 is understandable, but when guiding someone the usual word is 呢邊 (ni1 bin1, this way or this side). Use 呢度 (ni1 dou6) for a specific spot.

How It Connects

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呢度/嗰度Level 1Here / There

Learn This First

To understand 'here' and 'there' in Cantonese, you first need to know the basic demonstratives for 'this' and 'that'. Understanding how to express existence (there is/are) is also helpful as these locatives often serve as the setting for such statements.

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