Adjectives

Cantonese Lesson 2 (Adjectives and Food)

Duration: 30 mins

This second lesson teaches many important aspect in Cantonese like adjectives, vocabulary list about food and finally common phrases about greeting. I will try to give examples using both vocabulary and grammar. That way it will be easy for you to see the words when they are separate and when they are in a sentence. Going through the whole page should take about 30 min. Make sure to read the pronunciation and hear the audio as well. If you have any question about this course, please email me directly at Cantonese Classes.

Adjectives

Knowing adjectives in Cantonese is a powerful skill. It can make it easy to have a conversation about different topics by simply knowing some key words such as "good", "bad", "right", "wrong" etc. Adjectives are words used to describe or modify another person or thing in the sentence for example: I am happy. Cantonese is easy.

Below is a list of 20 adjectives that you might come across or use very often. The table contains 3 columns (English, Cantonese, and Audio). Make sure you repeat each word after hearing it by either clicking on the audio button or by reading the pronunciation. That should help with memorization as well as improving your pronunciation.

Adjectives List in Cantonese

Adjectives Cantonese Audio
Tall
gou1 
Short
dyun2 
Big
daai6 
Wide
fut3 
Long
coeng4 
Small
sai3 
Thick
hau5 
Thin薄 /瘦
bok6  / sau3 
New
san1 
Old (opposite of new)
gau6 
Cheap
ping4 
Expensive
gwai3 
Young年青
nin4 cing1 
Old (opposite of young)
lou5 
Wrong
co3 
Right (correct)正確/啱
zing3 kok3 / ngaam1 
Good
hou2 
Bad
caa1 
Difficult
naan4 
Easy容易
jung4 ji6 

Now we will try to implement some of the words above into full Cantonese sentences. That way you will be able to use the word not only by itself but embedded in a structure.

Cantonese Adjectives in a Sentence

English Cantonese Audio
Am I right or wrong?我啱定錯?
ngo5 ngaam1 ding6 co3 ?
Is he younger or older than you?佢細過定大過你?
keoi5 sai3 gwo3 ding6 daai6 gwo3 nei5 ?
Is the test easy or difficult?個測驗易定難?
go3 caak1 jim6 ji6 ding6 naan4 ?
Is this book new or old?呢本書新定舊?
ne1 bun2 syu1 san1 ding6 gau6 ?
This is so expensive太貴啦
taai3 gwai3 laa1 

Questions?

If you have any questions, please contact me using the Cantonese contact form on the header above.

Vocabulary List about Food

Below is a list of 50 words related to food such as fruits, vegetables and edible items. If you can memorize them by heart, you will be able to buy many food necessities from the supermarket or off the menu in a restaurant without a problem.

Food List in Cantonese

Food Cantonese Audio
Breakfast早餐
zou2 caan1 
Lunch午餐
ng5 caan1 
Dinner晚餐
maan5 caan1 
Meal
caan1 
Apples蘋果
ping4 gwo2 
Avocados牛油果
ngau4 jau4 gwo2 
Bananas香蕉
hoeng1 ziu1 
Beans青豆
cing1 dau6 
Bread麵包
min6 baau1 
Butter牛油
ngau4 jau4 
Carrots 紅蘿蔔
hung4 lo4 baak6 
Cheese芝士
zi1 si6 
Chicken
gai1 
Coffee咖啡
gaa1 fe1 
Corn粟米
suk1 mai5 
Cucumbers青瓜
cing1 gwaa1 
Eggs
daan2 
Figs無花果
mou4 faa1 gwo2 
Fish
jyu4 
Food食物
sik6 mat6 
Fruit生果
saang1 gwo2 
Garlic蒜頭
syun3 tau4 
Grapes提子
tai4 zi2 
Ice cream雪糕
syut3 gou1 
Lemons檸檬
ling4 mung1 
Lettuce生菜
saang1 coi3 
Meat
juk6 
Milk牛奶
ngau4 naai5 
Olives橄欖
gaam3 laam5 
Onions洋葱
joeng4 cung1 
Orange juice橙汁
caang2 zap1 
Oranges
caang2 
Peaches
tou4 
Pears啤梨
be1 lei4 
Peppers胡椒
wu4 ziu1 
Pineapples菠蘿
bo1 lo4 
Pizza薄餅
bok6 beng2 
Potatoes薯仔
syu4 zai2 
Pumpkin南瓜
naam4 gwaa1 
Salad沙律
saa1 leot6 
Salt
jim4 
Sandwich三文治
saam1 man4 zi6 
Soda (like Coke)汽水
hei3 seoi2 
Strawberries士多睥梨
si6 do1 pai5 lei4 
Sugar
tong4 
Tea
caa4 
Tomatoes蕃茄
faan4 ke4 
Vegetables蔬菜
so1 coi3 
Water
seoi2 
Watermelon西瓜
sai1 gwaa1 

Daily Conversation in Cantonese

Finally, a list of sentences using the vocabulary used in this lesson plus some bonus phrases. For a complete list of commonly used sentences, please visit our Cantonese Phrases page. Enjoy!

Common Expressions in Cantonese

English Cantonese Audio
Are you thirsty?你口唔口渴?/你頸唔頸渴?
nei5 hau2 m4 hau2 hot3 ?/ nei5 geng2 m4 geng2 hot3 ?
I'm hungry我好肚餓
ngo5 hou2 tou5 ngo6 
Do you have a bottle of water?你有冇一樽水?
nei5 jau5 mou5 jat1 zeon1 seoi2 ?
Breakfast is ready早餐準備好啦
zou2 caan1 zeon2 bei6 hou2 laa1 
What kind of food do you like?你鐘意食咩嘢?
nei5 zung1 ji3 sik6 me1 je5 ?
I like cheese我鐘意食芝士
ngo5 zung1 ji3 sik6 zi1 si6 
Bananas taste sweet香蕉係甜嘅
hoeng1 ziu1 hai6 tim4 ge3 
I don't like cucumber我唔鐘意食青瓜
ngo5 m4 zung1 ji3 sik6 cing1 gwaa1 
I like bananas我鐘意食香蕉
ngo5 zung1 ji3 sik6 hoeng1 ziu1 
Lemons taste sour檸檬係酸嘅
ling4 mung1 hai6 syun1 ge3 
This fruit is delicious呢個生果好好味
ne1 go3 saang1 gwo2 hou2 hou2 mei6 
Vegetables are healthy食蔬菜有益健康
sik6 so1 coi3 jau5 jik1 gin6 hong1 
Hi!
wai3 
Good morning!早晨!
zou2 san4 !
Good afternoon!午安!
ng5 ngon1 !
Good evening!晚安!
maan5 ngon1 !
Welcome!歡迎
fun1 jing4 
How are you? (informal)你好嗎?
nei5 hou2 maa1 ?
How are you? (formal)你點呀?
nei5 dim2 aa1 ?
What's up? (colloquial) 咩事呀?
me1 si6 aa1 ?
I'm fine, thank you!唔錯,有心!
m4 co3 ,jau5 sam1 !
And you? (informal)你幾好嗎?
nei5 gei2 hou2 maa1 ?
And you? (formal)你呢?
nei5 ne1 ?
Good
hou2 

Fun Facts

Language Quote that a palindrome is a word, phrase, number, or other sequence of characters which reads the same backward or forward. Allowances may be made for adjustments to capital letters, punctuation, and word dividers.

Congratulations! You finished your second lesson in Cantonese about adjectives, and food. Are you ready for the next lesson? We recommend Cantonese Lesson 3. You can also simply click on one of the links below or go back to our Learn Cantonese homepage.