Wh-Questions

Cantonese question words go in the same position as Mandarin — they stay in situ (where the answer would go). The grammar is identical. The challenge is purely vocabulary: nearly every question word is different from Mandarin.

The essential question word replacements: 邊個 bin1 go3 = 誰 shuí (who), 咩 me1 = 什麼 shénme (what), 邊度 bin1 dou6 = 哪裡 nǎlǐ (where), 點解 dim2 gaai2 = 為什麼 wèishénme (why), 幾時 gei2 si4 = 什麼時候 shénme shíhòu (when), 點 dim2 / 點樣 dim2 joeng2 = 怎麼 zěnme (how).

邊 bin1 is the core question element meaning 'which'. It combines with classifiers: 邊個 bin1 go3 (which one / who), 邊度 bin1 dou6 (which place = where), 邊間 bin1 gaan1 (which shop/room). This is like Mandarin 哪 nǎ but more versatile.

幾 gei2 is used for 'how many/how much': 幾多 gei2 do1 (how many/much = 多少 duōshǎo), 幾多錢 gei2 do1 cin2 (how much money), 幾時 gei2 si4 (when = 什麼時候). Also 幾 + adjective for 'how [adjective]': 幾大 gei2 daai6 (how big), 幾遠 gei2 jyun5 (how far).

點 dim2 is another versatile question root: 點解 dim2 gaai2 (why = 為什麼), 點樣 dim2 joeng2 (how = 怎麼樣), 點算 dim2 syun3 (what to do = 怎麼辦). On its own, 點 dim2 means 'how': 點做？dim2 zou6? (How to do it?). These are extremely common in daily speech.