About
The character 唔 is a phono-semantic compound whose function varies significantly by region. It combines the left-side semantic radical 口 (mouth), indicating a link to speech, with the right-side phonetic component 吾, an archaic pronoun for "I" or "my". In standard Mandarin, it primarily serves as an onomatopoeic exclamation, like "mhm" or "well", to express realization, agreement, or hesitation. In Cantonese and other southern dialects, however, it plays a key grammatical role as the main negative adverb, meaning "not" or "no", and is used in place of characters like 不 to negate verbs and adjectives.
Etymology Hide
Example Sentences Hide
我唔係學生。
我今日唔去學校。
佢話佢唔識游水。
你點解唔早啲講呢？
我唔明白你嘅意思。
佢唔單只遲到，重冇做功課。
我唔係好確定去唔去得成。
你唔好以為唔出聲就冇人知。