唔

wú

口 + 吾

Definitions

wú (particle) oh (expression of agreement or surprise)

wú (adverb) not (Cantonese)

Etymology

Phonosemantic compound. 口 represents the meaning and 吾 represents the sound.

Semantic: 口 Phonetic: 吾

About

唔 is a phonosemantic compound: 口 (mouth) on the left indicates vocalization, and 吾 on the right provides the sound. It functions quite differently across regions. In standard Mandarin, it is an onomatopoeic exclamation capturing murmurs of realization, agreement, or hesitation, comparable to "mhm" or "well". In Cantonese and other southern dialects, it took on the essential grammatical role of a negative adverb meaning "not" or "no", replacing 不 to negate verbs and adjectives in everyday speech.

Etymology Hide

Clerical Western Han dynasty (202 BC-9 AD)

Traditional Modern

Simplified Modern

Example Sentences Hide

我唔係學生。

wǒ m̀h haih hohk sāang.

I am not a student.

我今日唔去學校。

wǒ gām yah t m̀h heui hohk haauh.

I am not going to school today.

佢話佢唔識游水。

kéuih wah kéuih m̀h sīk yàuh séui.

He says he doesn't know how to swim.

你點解唔早啲講呢？

néih dím gáai m̀h jóu dī góng nē?

Why didn't you say so earlier?

我唔明白你嘅意思。

wǒ m̀h mìhng baahk néih ge yi sī.

I don't understand what you mean.

佢唔單只遲到，重冇做功課。

kéuih m̀h dāan jí chìh dou, chung móuh jouh gūng foh.

Not only was he late, he also didn't do his homework.

我唔係好確定去唔去得成。

wǒ m̀h haih hóu kok dihng heui m̀h heui dāk sèhng.

I'm not very sure if I can make it to go.

你唔好以為唔出聲就冇人知。

néih m̀h hóu yíh wàih m̀h chēut sīng jauh móuh yàhn jī.

Don't think that just because you stay silent, no one will know.

Related Characters

Component: 口

Component: 吾

唔