同埋（補充）

And What's More

Level 3Sounds Like tung4 maai4

同埋 (tung4 maai4) is the standard spoken way to say 'and.' While it connects nouns, at this level, it is used to tack on extra information or arguments as an afterthought, meaning 'and what's more' or 'besides.'

How It Works

While beginners learn 同埋 (tung4 maai4) to join nouns (e.g., 'apples and oranges'), intermediate speakers use it to join entire ideas.

1. The Afterthought Function
When you finish a sentence but realize you have one more thing to say, you start the next sentence with 同埋. In this context, it translates to 'And another thing...' or 'Plus...'. It feels much more natural and spontaneous than formal connectors.

2. Strengthening an Argument
It is often used to provide additional reasons for a choice or opinion. For example, 'I don't want to go because I'm tired, 同埋 it's raining.' To sound even more natural, speakers often pair it with the adverb 又 (jau6) in the second clause: '...同埋佢又好勤力' (...tung4 maai4 keoi5 jau6 hou2 kan4 lik6; ...and plus he is also very hardworking).

3. Register and Usage
In written Cantonese (like texting or social media), 同埋 is perfectly acceptable. However, in formal Standard Written Chinese (SWC), you would replace this conjunction with 而且 (ji4 ce2). Note that 亦都 (jik6 dou1) is an adverb meaning 'also' and cannot replace the conjunction 同埋 directly at the start of a clause.

4. Placement
It almost always appears at the very beginning of the second clause or sentence. Unlike the particle 都 (dou1), which must come after the subject, 同埋 comes before the subject. It can also mean 'with' (accompaniment) depending on the context, so pay attention to whether it is linking two nouns or two full thoughts.

Examples (5)

  1. 佢份人好好，同埋好勤力。

    He is a very nice person, and what's more, he's very hardworking.

    Word by Word: He person very good, and-also very hardworking.

    Here, 同埋 connects two descriptive phrases about a person's character.

  2. 我唔想去呀，好貴，同埋好遠。

    I don't want to go; it's expensive, and besides, it's far.

    Word by Word: I not want go [particle], very expensive, and-also very far.

    同埋 is used here to add a second reason for not wanting to go, acting as an afterthought.

  3. 同埋你可以任你揀幾耐。

    And besides, you can take as long as you like to choose.

    Word by Word: And-also you can allow you choose how long.

    This shows 同埋 at the start of a new sentence, adding a final point to a previous conversation.

  4. 我想去行街，同埋睇戲。

    I want to go shopping and watch a movie.

    Word by Word: I want go walk street, and-also watch movie.

    In this case, 同埋 connects two verb phrases (actions) that the speaker wants to do.

  5. 呢度啲嘢食好正，同埋唔算貴。

    The food here is great, and plus, it's not that expensive.

    Word by Word: Here [plural-classifier] food very awesome, and-also not consider expensive.

    同埋 adds a positive secondary point about the restaurant.

Common Mistakes

  • Using the Mandarin-style '和' (wo4) in casual speech.

    Different Meaning我鍾意食蘋果和橙。
    我鍾意食蘋果同埋橙。

    和 (wo4) is the standard 'and' in Mandarin and in writing; in spoken Cantonese it sounds stiff or textbook-like, so 同埋 is the usual choice.

  • Confusing the word order of 同埋 and 都 (dou1).

    佢好叻，佢同埋都好勤力。
    佢好叻，同埋佢都好勤力。

    同埋 (and) should come at the start of the clause, while 都 (also) must come after the subject (佢).

How It Connects

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同埋（補充）Level 3And What's More

Learn This First

The afterthought usage of '同埋' builds upon its basic function as a conjunction meaning 'and'. To use it as an afterthought, learners should already be comfortable using it to link nouns and understand how Cantonese uses discourse markers to add extra points to a conversation.

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