Cantonese Vocabulary
Verbs 1

The verbs section is arranged differently than the other vocabulary lessons on this site.  Instead of arranging words in terms of a theme, they will be arranged according to the type of object which they take.

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The verbs on this page fit the pattern:

Verb + Noun/Noun Phrase

If these verbs appear without an object in the sentence, an object must be understood from the context or have a resultative complement.

 

/bei/

to give

io

\chaam\ \ga\

to attend

參加

**

cheung

to sing

def

-cheut-

to exit

rc

\choh\

to sit

 

/da/

to hit

 

duhk

to read

def

/faan/

to return

rc

\fan\ /heung/

to share

分享

 

gaai siuh

to introduce

介紹

 

/gaai/ kyut

to solve

解決

 

gaau

to teach

def

gwo

to cross

rc

/haang/

to walk

**

\hoi\

to open

**

/jau/

to leave

 

jouh

to be/ to do

**

/jyu/

to cook

def

Notes

IO- This verb can take an Indirect Object
RC- Can take a resultative complement in place of an object
Def- The first choice in the box is the verb's default object

\chaam\ \ga\ can mean either to participate in something, or to attend it.

/da/ has several functions in addition to the basic meaning of "to hit".  One common use is to refer to playing any sport where hitting is involved, but it does not refer to playing games where contact is not part of the game.

gwo means "to cross", "to go beyond", or "to pass through".  gwo \sang\ means "to die" because it literally means "to pass beyond life".

\hoi\ means both "to open" and "to start".  It functions in many ways, including as a resultative complement.  It is also the verb used mean "turn on" in refer to electrical equipment.

/jyu/ faahn means both to cook rice, and to cook any sort of meal.

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