Cantonese Super Seven Verbs

In 2013, Terry Waltz identified seven words that are the most widely used in communication, in any language. These became known as the Super Seven Verbs.

The following are the Super Seven Verbs for Cantonese:

🟰 係 (hai6) – Identity: to be

• 🏕️〉 我 ngo5  係 hai6  人 jan4  。   🔊 – I am a person.
• 🏕️〉 佢 keoi5  係 hai6  英國 jing1 gwok3  人 jan4  。   🔊 – He is British.

📍 喺 (hai2) – Location: to be at a place

• 🏕️〉 我 ngo5  喺 hai2  屋企 uk1 kei2  。   🔊 – I am at home.
• 🏕️〉 我 ngo5  喺 hai2  美國 mei5 gwok3  。   🔊 – I am in America.

Note:

• [🟰] 係 (hai6) is a low tone
• [📍] 喺 (hai2) is a high tone

🏃‍♂️ 去 (heoi3) – Motion: to go

• 🏕️〉 我 ngo5  去 heoi3  屋企 uk1 kei2  。   🔊 – I go home.
• 🏕️〉 你 nei1  去 heoi3  英國 jing1 gwok3  。   🔊 – You go to England.

☉ 有 (jau5) – Existence: there is

• 🏕️〉 呢度 ni1 dou6  有 jau5  水 seoi2  。   🔊 – Here, there is water.
• 🏕️〉 學校 hok6 haau6  有 jau5  學生 hok6 saang1  。   🔊 – At the school, there are students.

🎒 有 (jau5) – Possession: to have

• 🏕️〉 我 ngo5  有 jau5  個 go3  電話 din6 waa2  。   🔊 – I have a phone.
• 🏕️〉 你 nei1  有冇 jau5 mou5  水 seoi2  ？   🔊 – Do you have water?

Note:

• In Cantonese, Existence & Possession are the same. Both use 有 (jau5). Cantonese speakers describe existence as “The place has …”, as opposed to the English way of saying “There is … at the place”.

🩷 鍾意 (zung1 ji3) – Preference: to like

• 🏕️〉 我 ngo5  鍾意 zung1 ji3  你 nei1  。   🔊 – I like you.
• 🏕️〉 我 ngo5  唔 m4  鍾意 zung1 ji3  蟲 cung4  。   🔊 – I do not like bugs.

🌠 想 (soeng2) – Volition: to want

• 🏕️〉 我 ngo5  想 soneg2  飲 jam2  水 seoi2  。   🔊 – I want to drink water.
• 🏕️〉 我 ngo5  想 soneg2  去 heoi3  澳洲 ou3 zau1  。   🔊 – I want to go to Australia.

Note: Tip: It’s easy to recognize 鍾意 (zung1 ji3) (like) and 想 (soeng2) (want), because they both have a 🏕️〉 心 sam1  🔊 (heart ❤️) in them.

Finally, here is how you negate verbs in Cantonese:

🚫 唔 (m4) – Negation: not

• 🏕️〉 佢 keoi5  唔係 m4 hai6  美國人 mei5 gwok3 jan4  。   🔊 – He is not American.
• 🏕️〉 我 ngo5  唔 m4  想 soeng2  食飯 sik6 faan6  。   🔊 – I do not want to eat rice.

Wrapping Up

There you have it! The Super 7 Verbs for Cantonese!

• 🟰 係 (hai6)
• 📍 喺 (hai2)
• 🏃‍♂️ 去 (heoi3)
• 🎒 有 (jau5)
• 🩷 鍾意 (zung1 ji3)
• 🌠 想 (soeng2)
• 🚫 唔 (m4)

With just these seven words (technically 6 verbs and an adverb), you can now understand a large amount of Cantonese sentences!