咗

Perfective Aspect

Level 1Sounds Like zo2

Use 咗 (zo2) immediately after a verb to show that an action is complete. It marks completed aspect rather than past tense, meaning it can be used in past, present, or relative future contexts.

How It Works

1. Perfective Aspect vs. Tense
Cantonese verbs do not conjugate for tense. Instead, aspect markers like 咗 (zo2) tell us whether an action is completed. Because 咗 (zo2) marks aspect rather than past tense, you can use it for completed future actions too: 我聽日食咗飯就嚟搵你 (ngo5 ting1 jat6 sik6 zo2 faan6 zau6 lai4 wan2 nei5) = "Tomorrow, after I eat, I will come find you."

2. Negation Rules
To say you did not do something in the past, use 冇 (mou5) before the verb and remove 咗 (zo2). Saying *我冇食咗飯 is incorrect; the correct form is 我冇食飯 (ngo5 mou5 sik6 faan6).
Note: Verbs containing 唔 as part of their word stem (like 唔見 m4 gin3 'to lose' or 唔記得 m4 gei3 dak1 'to forget') are affirmative verb concepts and take 咗 (zo2) when completed (e.g. 唔見咗 m4 gin3 zo2). However, sentential negation with 冇 (mou5) always requires dropping 咗 (zo2) (e.g. 冇唔見 mou5 m4 gin3 'didn't lose').

3. Use with Adjectives
When added to an adjective, 咗 (zo2) indicates a change of state (becoming [adjective]): 瘦咗 (sau3 zo2) means "has gotten thin / lost weight".

4. Cantonese 咗 (zo2) vs. Mandarin 了 (le)
Mandarin uses 了 (le) both after verbs and at the end of sentences. Cantonese strictly splits these functions: verbal completion uses 咗 (zo2), while sentence-level change of state uses sentence-final particles like 喇 (laa3).

5. Casual Contraction
In casual fast speech, 咗 (zo2) may be dropped after a single-syllable verb, changing the verb's tone to Tone 2 (high rising). For example, 食咗 (sik6 zo2) becomes 食 (sik2).

Examples (4)

  1. 我食咗飯。

    I have eaten / I ate.

    Word by Word: I eat [completed] rice.

    咗 (zo2) attaches directly after the verb 食 (sik6, to eat) to show the action of eating is finished.

  2. 佢去咗日本。

    S/he went to / has gone to Japan.

    Word by Word: S/he go [completed] Japan.

    咗 (zo2) marks the journey to Japan as a completed action.

  3. 我聽日食咗飯就嚟搵你。

    Tomorrow, after I eat, I will come find you.

    Word by Word: I tomorrow eat [completed] rice then come find you.

    Here 咗 (zo2) marks relative completion in a future context (eating before coming to find someone).

  4. 佢瘦咗好多。

    S/he has lost a lot of weight.

    Word by Word: S/he thin [completed] very much.

    When attached to an adjective like 瘦 (sau3, thin), 咗 (zo2) signals a change of state.

Common Mistakes

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

    我冇買咗嘢。
    我冇買嘢。

    When negating past actions with 冇 (mou5), drop 咗 (zo2). You cannot use 冇 (mou5) and 咗 (zo2) together in the same verb phrase.

  • Placing 咗 (zo2) at the end of the sentence after the object.

    我食飯咗。
    我食咗飯。

    咗 (zo2) is a verbal suffix and must directly follow the verb, appearing before the object.

  • Using 咗 (zo2) with stative verbs like 係 (hai6, to be).

    佢係咗學生。
    佢係學生。

    Stative verbs like 係 (hai6, to be) or 喺 (hai2, to be at) state continuous conditions rather than dynamic events, so they cannot take 咗 (zo2).

How It Connects

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咗Level 1Perfective Aspect

Learn This First

Before learning the perfective aspect marker 咗, it is important to grasp the fundamental concept of aspect in Cantonese and the role of verbal particles in modifying verbs.

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