There are over 10,000 Cantonese characters. Considering the vast number of ways these characters can be combined, it would be an understatement to say that this language has a lot of words! 

→ If you want to learn more about Cantonese characters and the language’s writing system, visit our guide on CantoneseClass101.com.

Feeling overwhelmed? Keep in mind that even native Cantonese speakers only know a fraction of these words! To start having conversations, you’ll only need a few hundred basic Cantonese words. 

In this article, we’ll list the most useful Cantonese words for beginners. Knowing these words will allow you to handle many everyday situations, whether you want to talk, listen, or both. Keep reading!

Table of Contents

1. Pronouns
2. Numbers
3. Nouns
4. Verbs
5. Adjectives
6. Conjunctions
7. Bonus: Cantonese Final Particles
8. How CantoneseClass101.com Can Help You Learn More Cantonese

1. Pronouns

Let’s start with a list of pronouns you should learn as a beginner.

We’ve listed below the basic personal, demonstrative, and interrogative pronouns. As you continue forward in your studies, you’ll be adding a few more to your arsenal.

→ To learn all about Cantonese pronouns and how to use them in a sentence, make sure to visit our complete guide!

Personal Pronouns

#	Chinese Characters	Romanization	Meaning
Singular:
1	我	ngo5	I
2	你	nei5	you
3	佢	keoi5	he / she / it *There are no differences between “he,” “she,” or “it” in Cantonese. You can use 佢  in each case.
4	我嘅	ngo5 ge3	my / mine
5	你嘅	nei5 ge3	your / yours
6	佢嘅	keoi5 ge3	his / her / hers / its
Plural:
7	我哋	ngo5 dei6	we / us
8	你哋	nei5 dei6	you guys
9	佢哋	keoi5 dei6	they / them
10	我哋嘅	ngo5 dei6 ge3	our / ours
11	你哋嘅	nei5 dei6 ge3	your / yours
12	佢哋嘅	keoi5 dei6 ge3	their / theirs

Demonstrative Pronouns

#	Chinese Characters	Romanization	Meaning
1	呢個	ni1 go3	this
2	嗰個	go2 go3	that
3	呢啲	ni1 di1	these
4	嗰啲	go2 di1

Interrogative Pronouns

#	Chinese Characters	Romanization	Meaning
1	乜嘢	mat1 je5	what
2	邊個	bin1 go3	who
3	邊個嘅	bin1 go3 ge3	whose
4	幾時	gei2 si4	when
5	邊度	bin1 dou6	where
6	點樣	dim2 joeng2	how
7	點解	dim2 gaai2	why

2. Numbers

As a beginner, you should be able to get by using the numbers one through ten.

→ Should you need more digits, you could check out our article on Cantonese numbers. There, you’ll find everything you need to count from 1-100 and beyond!

• 1:     一 (jat1)
• 2:     二 (ji6)
• 3:     三 (saam1)
• 4:     四 (sei3)
• 5:     五 (ng5)
• 6:     六 (luk6)
• 7:     七 (cat1)
• 8:     八 (baat3)
• 9:     九 (gau2)
• 10:    十 (sap6)

3. Nouns

Nouns are vital in our everyday conversations and we need them for effective communication. Without them, we wouldn’t be able to talk about people, objects, places, or ideas. 

Below, you’ll find several basic Cantonese nouns divided into categories.

→ The more Cantonese nouns you know, the closer you’ll be to mastering the Cantonese language! If you want to learn more nouns, check out our top 100 Cantonese nouns list!

Time

#	Chinese Characters	Romanization	Meaning
1	星期	sing1 kei4	week
2	年	nin4	year
3	今日	gam1 jat6	today
4	聽日	ting1 jat6	tomorrow
5	噚日	cam4 jat6	yesterday
6	日曆	jat6 lik6	calendar
7	秒	miu5	second
8	鐘	zung1	hour
9	分鐘	fan1 zung1	minute
10	點	dim2	o’clock

People

#	Chinese Characters	Romanization	Meaning
1	媽媽	maa4 maa1	mother
2	爸爸	baa4 baa1	father
3	老婆	lou5 po4	wife
4	老公	lou5 gung1	husband
5	女	neoi2	daughter
6	仔	zai2	son
7	醫生	ji1 sang1	doctor
8	律師	leot6 si1	lawyer
9	護士	wu6 si6	nurse
10	經理	ging1 lei5	manager

Places Around Town

#	Chinese Characters	Romanization	Meaning
1	便利店	bin6 lei6 dim3	convenience store
2	藥房	joek6 fong4	drugstore
3	商場	soeng1 coeng4	shopping mall
4	超市	ciu1 si5	supermarket
5	咖啡室	gaa3 fe1 sat1	coffee shop / cafe
6	山頂	saan1 deng2	The Peak
7	維港	wai4 gong2	Victoria Harbor
8	星光大道	sing1 gwong1 daai6 dou6	Avenue of Stars
9	海洋公園	hoi2 joeng4 gung1 jyun2	Ocean Park
10	天壇大佛	tin1 taan4 daai6 fat6	Tian Tan Buddha

School/Office Essentials

#	Chinese Characters	Romanization	Meaning
1	作業	zok3 jip6	homework
2	筆記簿	bat1 gei3 bou2	notebook
3	同學	tung4 hok6	classmate
4	大學	daai6 hok6	university
5	背囊	bui3 nong4	backpack
6	鉛筆	jyun4 bat1	pencil
7	原子筆	jyun4 zi2 bat1	pen
8	數學	sou3 hok6	math
9	考試	haau2 si3	exam
10	學生	hok6 saang1	student

Body Parts

#	Chinese Characters	Romanization	Meaning
1	腳	goek3	foot
2	腿	teoi2	leg
3	頭	tau4	head
4	手臂	sau2 bei3	arm
5	手	sau2	hand
6	手指	sau2 zi2	finger
7	身體	san1 tai2	body
8	肚	tou5	stomach
9	背脊	bui3 zek3	back
10	胸	hung1	chest

Food

#	Chinese Characters	Romanization	Meaning
1	水果	seoi2 gwo2	fruit
2	蘋果	ping4 gwo2	apple
3	香蕉	hoeng1 ziu1	banana
4	西瓜	sai1 gwaa1	watermelon
5	提子	tai4 zi2	grape
6	菠蘿	bo1 lo4	pineapple
7	蜜瓜	mat6 gwaa1	melon
8	西柚	sai1 jau2	grapefruit
9	蔬菜	so1 coi3	vegetable
10	薯仔	syu4 zai2	potato
11	粟米	suk1 mai5	corn
12	大豆	daai6 dau2	soybean
13	蕃薯	faan1 syu2	sweet potato
14	紅蘿蔔	hung4 lo4 baak6	carrot
15	洋葱	joeng4 cung1	onion
16	胡椒	wu4 ziu1	peppers
17	西蘭花	sai1 laan4 faa1	broccoli
18	蕃茄	faan1 ke2	tomato
19	蘑菇	mo4 gu1	mushroom
20	腰果	jiu1 gwo2	cashew nut

4. Verbs

Below is a list of the 50 most useful Cantonese verbs for beginners. Of course, depending on whether you’re studying, working, or just visiting, you might have different needs. But in any case, this list is a good place to start!

→ For more information on the topic, be sure to have a look at our full article on Cantonese verbs.

#	Chinese Characters	Romanization	Meaning
1	去	heoi3	go
2	食	sik6	eat
3	飲	jam2	drink
4	行	haan4	walk
5	明	ming4	understand
6	諗	lam2	think
7	瞓覺	fan3 gaau3	sleep
8	答	daap3	answer
9	拎	ling1	take
10	做嘢	zou6 je5	work
11	講	gong2	talk
12	睇	tai2	watch
13	問	man6	ask
14	跑	paau2	run
15	聽	teng1	hear
16	玩	waan2	play
17	認識	jing6 sik1	know
18	幫	bong1	help
19	鍾意	zung6 ji3	like
20	收	sau1	receive
21	用	jung6	use
22	計劃	gai3 waak6	plan
23	解釋	gaai2 sik1	explain
24	跳	tiu3	jump
25	教	gaau3	teach
26	買	maai5	buy
27	讀	duk6	read
28	開始	hoi1 ci2	begin
29	踢	tek3	kick
30	賣	maai6	sell
31	離開	lei4 hoi1	leave
32	成為	sing4 wai4	become
33	邀請	jiu1 cing2	invite
34	寫	se2	write
35	等	dang2	wait
36	學	hok6	study
37	分享	fan1 hoeng2	share
38	打	daa2	call
39	記得	gei3 dak1	remember
40	相信	soeng1 seon3	believe
41	解決	gaai2 kyut3	solve
42	介紹	gaai3 siu6	introduce
43	取消	ceoi2 siu1	cancel
44	到	dou3	arrive
45	唱	coeng3	sing
46	笑	siu3	smile
47	休息	jau1 sik1	rest
48	煮	zyu2	cook
49	覺得	gok3 dak1	feel
50	畫畫	waat6 waa2	draw

5. Adjectives

Another set of Cantonese beginner words you should study are basic adjectives. 

Adjectives are very important in our everyday conversations and in writing. Without them, you wouldn’t be able to describe how pretty the girl sitting next to you is or how spectacular the scenery is.

→ If you want to put more Cantonese adjectives in your pocket, make sure to check out our complete guide on Cantonese adjectives.

Describing Objects

#	Chinese Characters	Romanization	Meaning
1	高	gou1	tall
2	短	dyun2	short
3	大	daai6	big / huge
4	闊	fut3	wide
5	長	coeng4	long
6	厚	hau5	thick
7	細	sai3	small / little
8	瘦	sau3	thin
9	深	sam1	deep
10	窄	zaak3	narrow

Describing People

#	Chinese Characters	Romanization	Meaning
1	勤力	kan4 lik6	diligent
2	幽默	jau1 mak6	humorous
3	誠實	sing4 sat6	honest
4	有趣	jau5 ceoi3	funny
5	冷靜	laang5 zing6	calm
6	怕醜	paa3 cau2	shy
7	善良	sin6 loeng4	kind
8	有活力	jau5 wut6 lik6	energetic
9	親切	can1 cit3	friendly
10	聰明	cung1 ming4	smart

Describing Emotions

#	Chinese Characters	Romanization	Meaning
1	不安	bat1 on1	anxious
2	驕傲	giu1 ou6	proud
3	攰	gui6	tired
4	肚餓	tou5 ngo6	hungry
5	飽	baau2	full
6	開心	hoi1 sam1	happy
7	傷心	soeng1 sam1	sad
8	悶	mun6	bored
9	嬲	nau1	angry
10	興奮	hing1 fan5	excited

Describing Weather

#	Chinese Characters	Romanization	Meaning
1	凍	dung3	cold
2	熱	jit6	hot
3	溫暖	wan1 nyun5	warm
4	潮濕	ciu4 sap1	humid
5	曬	saai3	sunny
6	有風	jau5 fung1	windy
7	天晴	tin1 cing4	sunny
8	密雲	mat6 wan4	cloudy

6. Conjunctions

There’s a lot to say and explain when it comes to Cantonese conjunctions, but luckily, you don’t need many when you first start learning Cantonese.

→ As you progress in your studies, you might want to have a look at our complete guide on Cantonese conjunctions. You’ll learn everything about how to connect phrases, express conditions, talk about consequences, and much more.

#	Chinese Characters	Romanization	Meaning
1	和	wo4	and
2	或者	waak6 ze2	or
3	即使	zik1 si2	even if
4	因為	jan1 wai6	since
5	於是	jyu1 si6	so
6	但係	daan6 hai6	but
7	除非	ceoi4 fei1	unless
8	而且	ji4 ce2	also
9	雖然	seoi1 jin4	although
10	如果	jyu4 gwo2	if

7. Bonus: Cantonese Final Particles

In Cantonese we have a special type of word called final particles. Final particles are meaningless by themselves, but when placed at the end of a sentence, they indicate the mood or attitude of the speaker. They also serve to make speech more colloquial. Here are the top five Cantonese final particles:

#	Chinese Characters	Romanization	Function
1	呀	aa3	Indicates enthusiasm and friendliness (usually in a softer tone); can also be used as a sarcastic retort
2	喇	laa3	Indicates an exclamation with an emphasis on the past; “already”
3	嘅	ge3	Indicates humbleness or understanding; emphasis on raising the fact in a subtle way
4	㗎	gaa3	Emphasizes a fact that’s being raised
5	囉	lo1	Indicates discontentment or sarcasm

→ Intrigued by how useful these “meaningless” final particles can be? Have a look at our full article here to see what other Cantonese final particles there are!

8. How CantoneseClass101.com Can Help You Learn More Cantonese

Ready to move on to the next level after learning all of these Cantonese beginner words? We recommend starting with our series of Cantonese beginner lessons: 

• Absolute Beginner Season 1

With CantoneseClass101.com, you can have your daily dose of Cantonese whenever and wherever you want, through mobile apps, desktop software, and our website. We offer entertaining, engaging, and effective lessons on various aspects of the Cantonese language and culture.

Until now, we’ve delivered more than 750,000,000 lessons to thousands of happy students from all around the globe. You can learn Cantonese with over 1060 audio and video lessons delivered by our knowledgeable and energetic hosts, detailed PDF lesson notes, an abundance of vocabulary learning tools, spaced repetition flashcards, and a lively community where you can discuss lessons with fellow learners. What are you waiting for? Download our lessons, enjoy our audio and video files, and start learning now!

Keep in mind that if you prefer a 1-on-1 learning approach and want to further accelerate your Cantonese learning, you can take advantage of our MyTeacher program! 

Know that your hard work will pay off, and before you know it, you’ll be speaking Cantonese like a native! 

Before you go: How many of these words did you know already? Were most of them new to you? We look forward to hearing from you in the comments!