唔該

唔該

See also: 唔该

Chinese

		hold in mouth; bite; (Cant.) no/not	that; the above-mentioned; most likely that; the above-mentioned; most likely; to deserve; should; ought to; owe
trad. (唔該)		唔	該
simp. (唔该)		唔	该

Etymology

From the negation particle 唔 (m4) and the character 該／该 (goi1, “should”), literally meaning "[this] should not [be done]", saying that what the other had done was not necessary or it was very kind of them to have done this.

Pronunciation

• Cantonese

  (Guangzhou, Jyutping): m⁴ goi¹

  (Taishan, Wiktionary): m³ goi¹

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• Cantonese
  • (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou)⁺
    • Jyutping: m⁴ goi¹
    • Yale: m̀h gōi
    • Cantonese Pinyin: m⁴ goi¹
    • Guangdong Romanization: m⁴ goi¹
    • IPA ^(key): /m̩²¹ kɔːy̯⁵⁵/
  • (Taishanese, Taicheng)
    • Wiktionary: m³ goi¹
    • IPA ^(key): /m̩²² kᵘɔi³³/

Interjection

唔該

(Cantonese)

1. excuse me (to get attention)

   唔該，可唔可以要杯冰水呀？ [Cantonese, trad.]
   唔该，可唔可以要杯冰水呀？ [Cantonese, simp.]

   M⁴ goi¹, ho² m⁴ ho² ji⁵ jiu³ bui¹ bing¹ seoi² aa³? [Jyutping]

   Excuse me, can I have a glass of ice water?

2. please

   唔該你同我睇住啲嘢。 [Cantonese, trad.]
   唔该你同我睇住啲嘢。 [Cantonese, simp.]

   M⁴ goi¹ nei⁵ tung⁴ ngo⁵ tai² zyu⁶ di¹ je⁵. [Jyutping]

   Please keep an eye on my stuff.

3. thank you

   唔該嗮！ / 唔该嗮！ [Cantonese]  ―  M⁴ goi¹ saai³! [Jyutping]  ―  Thank you very much!

Usage notes

When 唔該／唔该 is used to mean "thank you," only use it to thank someone for something that you have requested or for small favours. Using it to thank someone for a greater favour such as a (gift, patronage, or applause) may be offensive. See 多謝／多谢 (do1 ze6).

Synonyms

• (thank you):

Dialectal synonyms of 謝謝 (“thank you”) [map]
Variety	Location	Words edit
Classical Chinese		有勞, 感謝, 感恩
Formal (Written Standard Chinese)		謝謝, 多謝
Mandarin	Beijing	謝謝, 謝謝你
	Taiwan	謝謝, 謝謝你
	Chengdu	謝謝, 感謝
Cantonese	Guangzhou	唔該, 多謝
	Hong Kong	唔該, 多謝
	Taishan	唔該, 多謝
Gan	Nanchang	多謝
Hakka	Meixian	多謝
	Miaoli (N. Sixian)	恁仔細, 承蒙你, 阿里加多
	Liudui (S. Sixian)	多謝, 承蒙, 承蒙你, 阿里加多
	Hsinchu (Hailu)	承蒙, 承蒙你, 阿里加多
	Dongshi (Dabu)	勞瀝, 恁勞瀝, 承蒙, 承蒙你, 阿里加多
	Hsinchu (Raoping)	承蒙, 承蒙你, 恁仔細, 勞力, 阿里加多
	Yunlin (Zhao'an)	勞力, 阿里加多
Jin	Taiyuan	謝謝
Min Dong	Fuzhou	謝謝
Min Nan	Xiamen	多謝, 費神, 勞力
	Quanzhou	道謝, 費神, 勞力
	Zhangzhou	多謝, 費神, 勞力
	Taipei	多謝, 勞力
	Kaohsiung	多謝, 勞力, 感恩
	Tainan	多謝, 勞力, 感恩
	Taichung	勞力, 多謝
	Hsinchu	勞力, 多謝
	Lukang	多謝, 勞力
	Sanxia	勞力
	Yilan	多謝, 勞力, 感恩
	Kinmen	勞力, 多謝
	Magong	勞力, 多謝
	Penang	感謝, thank you
Wu	Shanghai	謝謝, 謝謝儂, 多謝
Xiang	Changsha	多謝