Adjectives are a very important part of our everyday language. Without them, you wouldn’t be able to describe how pretty the girl sitting next to you is or how spectacular the scenery is.

The more Cantonese adjectives you know, the easier for you to master the Cantonese language. Can’t wait to learn more about Cantonese adjectives? Keep reading and let CantoneseClass101 give you a hand!

Note that we will provide both written and spoken example sentences throughout the article for you. This will help you learn Cantonese adjectives in both forms. We’ve used symbols to help you identify which ones are written (w), spoken (s), or applicable to both (ws).

Now, let’s have some fun with Cantonese adjectives!

Table of Contents

1. How to Use an Adjective
2. Adjectives for Dimensions, Sizes, Distance, Number, Frequency, etc.
3. Adjectives Describing Value, Conditions, etc.
4. Adjectives Describing Personalities and Feelings
5. Adjectives Describing Colors, Weather, Taste, Appearance, etc.
6. Conclusion: How CantoneseClass101.com Can Help You Learn More Cantonese

1. How to Use an Adjective

There are three typical ways to use an Cantonese language adjectives in a sentence or phrase.

1- Adjective + 嘅 + Noun

We usually add 嘅 (ge3) between an adjective and a noun. For example, a “huge portion” in Cantonese is 大嘅份量 (daai6 ge3 fan6 loeng6), where 大 means “huge” and 份量 means “portion.”

Other examples include:

• (s) 開心嘅爸爸 (hoi1 sam1 ge3 baa4 baa1)
  Meaning: “a happy dad”
• (s) 高嘅小朋友 (gou1 ge3 siu2 pang4 jau5)
  Meaning: “a tall kid”

2- Adjective + Noun

In some instances, we can use an adjective and noun together without adding 嘅 (ge3). This implies we should treat the adjective and the noun as a unit.

Examples:

• (ws) 大國 (daai6 gwok3)
  Meaning: “a great country”
• (ws) 窮人 (kung4 jan4)
  Meaning: “poor people” / “the poor”
• (ws) 高山 (gou1 saan1)
  Meaning: “tall mountain”

3- Noun + Be Verb + Adjective + 嘅

We can also put the noun at the front when we use an adjective in Cantonese. Look at the examples below:

• Chinese Character: (s) 屋係白色嘅
  Romanization: uk1zi2 hai6 baak6 sik1 ge3
  Meaning: The house is white.
  Breakdown: 屋 is “house”; 係 is “is”; 白色 is “white”
• Chinese Character: (s) 新書係貴嘅
  Romanization: san1 syu1 hai6 gwai3 ge3
  Meaning: The new book is expensive.
  Breakdown: 新 is “new”; 書 is “book”; 係 is “is”; 貴 is “expensive”

2. Adjectives for Dimensions, Sizes, Distance, Number, Frequency, etc.

3. Adjectives Describing Value, Conditions, etc.

4. Adjectives Describing Personalities and Feelings

5. Adjectives Describing Colors, Weather, Taste, Appearance, etc.

6. Conclusion: How CantoneseClass101.com Can Help You Learn More Cantonese

Did you learn any new Cantonese adjectives? Is there anything you’re still fuzzy on? Let us know in the comments, and we’ll do our best to help! To practice, why not write us a paragraph about yourself in the comments using some of these adjectives? We look forward to hearing what you have to say. 🙂

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