Cantonese Manners

Learn how to say "thank you"

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Lesson Transcript

Nei5 ho2, ngo5 hai6 Olivia. Hi everybody! I’m Olivia.

Welcome to CantoneseClass101.com’s “saam1 fan1 zung1 gwong2 dung1 waa2”. The fastest, easiest, and most fun way to learn Cantonese.

In the last lesson, we learned how to introduce ourselves in Cantonese. Today we’re going to learn how to use good manners as we thank others.

Zeon2 bei6 hou2 mei6? Are you ready? Gam2 zau6 hoi1 ci2 laa6! Let’s start!

There are basically two different ways to thank someone, when thanking someone for a service or assistance, we say M4 goi1.

[slowly] M4 goi1.

M4 goi1. means “thank you”.

When saying “thank you very much” you just need to add saai3.

M4 goi1 saai3.

[slowly] M4 goi1 saai3.

saai3 means “entirely”. So M4 goi1 saai3 is like saying “Thank you very much.”

Another way to thank someone in Cantonese is Do1 ze6. It is used when receiving a gift or money.

[slowly] Do1 ze6

And again, to say “Thank you very much”, just add saai3.

Do1 ze6 saai3.

[slowly] Do1 ze6 saai3.

Let’s break this phrase down. Do1 is many, and ze6 is thanks. saai3 means “entirely.” Thank you very much. Do1 ze6 saai3.

How do you answer when *you* are thanked? It’s easy!

Just say:

M4 sai2 haak3 hei3.

[slowly] M4 sai2 haak3 hei3.

M4 sai2 haak3 hei3. literally means “no need to be polite”, but it is the equivalent of you are welcome.

So when someone say M4 goi1 or Do1 ze6 to you, we can simply reply with:

M4 sai2 haak3 hei3.

Now it’s time for Olivia’s Insights.

If you’re not sure about whether to use M4 goi1 or Do1 ze6, remember that Do1 ze6 expresses a deeper appreciation of personal kindness, and is used in most formal situations.

Do you know what zoi3 gin3 means? In our next lesson you’ll learn this and other greetings in Cantonese!