Cantonese Level UpCantonese Level Up40 lessons structured for Mandarin speakers — focus on what's different in Cantonese
Credit: Thank you to the r/Cantonese reddit community for a helpful list of resources. For this grammar section in particular, these lessons are adapted from learnings after reading the Modified version of Basic Cantonese that Redditors kindly created and shared, which added Jyutping on top of Virginia Yip and Stephen Matthews' amazing work. From the Cantonese Level Up side, we added the comparison and contrast of Mandarin to Cantonese, and common mappings and key differences. If you found any of this helpful, please purchase the original Basic Cantonese (Yale Romanization) at this link.
1.Consonants & Initials
Jyutping initials compared to Pinyin — focusing on sounds that don't exist in Mandarin.
2.Vowels & Finals
Jyutping vowels and finals — including the -p, -t, -k stop endings unique to Cantonese.
3.The Six Tones
Cantonese 6-tone system vs Mandarin 4 tones — tone numbers, contour comparison, and minimal pairs.
4.Pronouns
佢 keoi5 (he/she/it unified), 我哋/你哋/佢哋, and 人哋 — how Cantonese pronouns differ from Mandarin 他/她/它.
5.Possession: 嘅 ge3
Cantonese 嘅 vs Mandarin 的 — usage patterns and when it's dropped.
6.Existence & Having: 有 jau5
Same as Mandarin 有 but with Cantonese-specific patterns and constructions.
7.Being: 係 hai6
Cantonese 係 vs Mandarin 是 — including the 係...嚟嘅 construction.
8.Noun Classifiers
Overlap with Mandarin but key differences — 個 go3 as default, classifiers unique to Cantonese.
9.Negation: 唔 m4 and 冇 mou5
唔 vs Mandarin 不, 冇 vs 沒有, and double negation patterns.
10.Adjectives
Stative verb patterns (same as Mandarin) and Cantonese-specific intensifiers: 好 hou2, 超 ciu1.
11.Adverbs of Manner
咁 gam3 vs Mandarin 那麼/這麼 and Cantonese reduplication patterns.
12.Adverbs of Time, Frequency & Duration
而家 ji4 gaa1, 頭先 tau4 sin1, 成日 seng4 jat6 — Cantonese time words vs Mandarin.
13.Comparison: 過 gwo3 and 啲 di1
Cantonese 過 vs Mandarin 比 for comparisons, and 啲 for 'a bit more'.
14.Verbs of Motion: 去 heoi3 and 嚟 lei4
Same concept as Mandarin 去/來 but pronunciation and usage differences.
15.Verbs of Giving: 俾 bei2
Cantonese 俾 replaces Mandarin 給/讓/被 — one word, triple function!
16.Verbs & Particles (Verb Complements)
Cantonese-specific verb particles: 到 dou2, 返 faan1, 埋 maai4, 開 hoi1, 晒 saai3.
17.Completed Actions: 咗 zo2 and 過 gwo3
Cantonese 咗 vs Mandarin 了 for completed actions; 過 for experience.
18.Ongoing Activities: 緊 gan2 and 住 zyu6
緊 vs Mandarin 在/正在 for ongoing actions; 住 for sustained states.
19.Auxiliary Verbs
Mostly shared with Mandarin (可以, 應該, 要), plus Cantonese-specific: 識 sik1, 肯 hang2.
20.Passives & 俾 bei2 Construction
Cantonese passive with 俾 vs Mandarin 被 — different structure, same 俾.
21.Word Order & Topicalization
Largely same as Mandarin with Cantonese-specific direct object fronting patterns.
22.Yes/No Questions: 呀 aa4 and V-not-V
Cantonese question patterns vs Mandarin 嗎; the A-唔-A pattern.
23.Wh-Questions
邊個 bin1 go3, 點解 dim2 gaai2, 幾時 gei2 si4 — Cantonese question words vs Mandarin.
24.Sentence-Final Particles
THE big Cantonese topic: 呀, 喎, 㗎, 嘅, 啦, 咩, 喇, 囉 — mood, tone, pragmatics.
25.Imperatives & Commands
唔好 m4 hou2 (don't) and softening commands with particles.
26.Requests & Politeness: 唔該 m4 goi1
Cantonese politeness system vs Mandarin 請/謝謝.
27.Numbers, Dates & Times
Mostly shared with Mandarin; key differences: 兩 vs 二, Cantonese time expressions.
28.Prepositions: Space & Time
喺 hai2 vs Mandarin 在; 由...到 patterns; Cantonese spatial terms.
31.就 zau6 — Then, Right Away, Precisely
One of Cantonese's most versatile words: conditional 'then', immediate sequence, emphasis, and more.
32.仲 zung6 — Still, Even More, Also
Replaces Mandarin 還 and 更 — used for 'still', 'even more', and 'furthermore'.
33.都 dou1 — All, Also, Even
Same character as Mandarin 都 but pronounced dou1 — covers 'all', 'also', and 'even'.
34.同 tung4 — With, And, For
The all-purpose preposition for 'with', 'and', and 'for' — replaces Mandarin 跟/和/給.
35.Potential Complements: V + 得/唔 + Result
The 'can/can't do' pattern — V得晒 (can eat all) vs V唔晒 (can't eat all). A major productive structure.
36.Resultative Compounds
Verb + result: 做好 (done well), 睇明 (understood), 搞掂 (sorted) — how actions combine with their outcomes.
37.Conditional Sentences
如果...就, 就算...都, 一...就 — building 'if/then', 'even if', and 'as soon as' sentences.
38.Reported Speech & 話 waa6
How to say 'X said Y', 'tell someone', and express thoughts — using 話, 話俾...知, 叫, 諗, 覺得.