How to Say "No" in Cantonese (Plus All the Ways You'll Actually Use It)

So you're learning Cantonese and need to know how to say "no." Makes sense—it's one of the first things you need in any language. But here's what nobody tells you: saying "no" in Cantonese isn't a simple one-word answer. The way to say it changes depending on the situation, what you're negating, and how polite you need to be.

If you came here expecting "here's the Cantonese word for 'no,' now go practice it," I've got bad news. There are actually multiple ways to say "no" in Cantonese, and using the wrong one will confuse native speakers. This lesson breaks down the must-know negation patterns you'll actually use in real conversations.

The Basic Cantonese Negation Word: 唔 (m4)

The most common way to express negation in Cantonese is with the character 唔 (m4). You stick it in front of verbs to make them negative. This is your bread-and-butter Cantonese negation pattern.

But here's the thing: you can't just say 唔 (m4) by itself. That's not how Cantonese works. If someone asks you a yes-or-no question, you need to use the full verb structure.

How to Say "No" to Yes-or-No Questions: 唔係 (m4 hai6)

When someone asks you a question and you want to say "no," you use 唔係 (m4 hai6)—which literally means "not is." This is your actual equivalent to saying "no" in response to questions.

Question: 你識講英文嗎? (Do you speak English?) Answer: 唔係 (m4 hai6) - No / No, I don't

Question: 你想食嘢嗎? (Do you want to eat?) Answer: 唔係 (m4 hai6) - No

This is a must-know pattern for any Cantonese learner. Get this confused with just saying 唔 (m4), and people won't understand what you're trying to express.

Video Lessons vs. Real Cantonese: Why Context Matters

A lot of Cantonese learning video content will teach you these words in isolation. You'll watch a video lesson that says "唔 (m4) means 'no,'" practice saying it a few times, then move on. But that doesn't help you understand the different ways to say "no" depending on the situation.

Here's what you actually need: hearing these negation patterns in real Cantonese conversations. Not from a language learning app audio track, but from watching Hong Kong shows, YouTube video content, or listening to how native speakers actually talk. The tone, the context, the casual versus formal usage—that's what makes the difference between sounding like a textbook and sounding natural.

This is why Cantonese is tricky to learn compared to something like Mandarin. It's not just vocabulary and grammar—it's understanding when to use which negation word in different situations. And you can't get that from a dictionary or a single video lesson.

The Weird Cantonese Exception: 有 → 冇 (mou5)

Every language has irregular verbs that don't follow the normal rules. In Cantonese, the verb 有 (jau5) meaning "to have" is the big one. Instead of using 唔 (m4) for negation, you use a completely different character: 冇 (mou5).

You cannot say 我唔有時間. That's just wrong Cantonese. This is the opposite of the normal negation pattern, and it trips up learners constantly.

冇 (mou5) also gets used to express past negation:

Different Ways to Say "Not Yet": 未 (mei6)

Another way to say "no" in Cantonese is 未 (mei6), which specifically means "not yet." This is often used to express that something hasn't happened yet but probably will.

The difference between 冇 (mou5) and 未 (mei6) is subtle but important. 未 implies the action will happen eventually. 冇 is more neutral—it just didn't happen, and might not happen.

Here's a darker example to make it clear: imagine someone asks if you killed someone (fun hypothetical, I know):

So yeah. Context and vocabulary choice matter in Cantonese learning.

How to Say "Don't Do That" in Cantonese

When you need to tell someone "don't do that," you have two options: 唔好 (m4 hou2) or 咪 (mai5). Both go in front of the verb, but they have different levels of emphasis.

唔好 (m4 hou2) is softer and more polite. It's what you'd say in most situations with friends, family, or people you don't want to be rude to. 咪 (mai5) is sharper—use it when you need someone to stop immediately or when you're putting extra emphasis on the command.

Why Saying "No" in Cantonese Requires Understanding Tone

Look, if you're learning Cantonese, you already know the language has six tones (or nine if you're being technical). The character 唔 (m4) uses tone 4—a low falling tone. Get that tone wrong and native Cantonese speakers might not understand you're trying to say "no" at all.

This is where learning Cantonese from audio and video becomes critical. You need to hear how native speakers pronounce 唔 (m4) in different contexts. Not from a single online lesson, but from repetition across hours of real Chinese language content. The tone system isn't optional—it's the core of how Cantonese communication works.

Chinese tones in general are tough for English speakers, but Cantonese tones are even more complex than Mandarin. You can't just memorize the tone patterns from a chart. You need to train your ear through constant exposure to native Cantonese speakers in real situations.

Cultural Context: Why Direct "No" Can Be Rude in Hong Kong

Here's something most Cantonese language learning resources skip: in Hong Kong culture, saying "no" too directly can come across as confrontational. People often use indirect communication to keep things smooth and help everyone save face.

Instead of a flat "no," Cantonese speakers might say:

This is basically a polite way to say "no" without shutting the door completely. It's not fake—it's about maintaining harmony in social situations. Understanding this cultural layer is part of learning to speak Cantonese naturally.

Gift-giving is another situation where Cantonese customs around saying "no" get complicated. Someone might refuse a gift two or three times before accepting it. That's not them actually rejecting the gift—it's a politeness ritual. If you take the first "no" as final and walk away, you've misread the entire interaction.

This isn't just linguistics or vocabulary. It's understanding how Cantonese communication works in practice.

Formal vs. Casual: When to Use Different Negation Patterns

The way you would say "no" in Cantonese changes depending on whether you're in a formal or casual setting. In formal situations—like business communication or talking to elders—you might soften your negation with polite phrases. In casual situations with friends, you can be more direct.

Formal contexts:

Casual contexts:

Understanding when to use formal versus casual negation is part of becoming a competent Cantonese speaker, not just a learner who knows vocabulary lists.

How to Actually Study Cantonese Negation (Beyond Memorizing Words)

Reading this blog post is a start, but here's the reality: you won't internalize these negation patterns just by studying them once. You need repetition, context, and practice hearing them used naturally by native speakers.

Most Cantonese learning apps and online lessons give you isolated vocabulary, maybe some audio clips, then expect you to magically turn that into natural speech. But your brain doesn't work that way. You need to see 唔 (m4) used in dozens of different contexts to understand when it's natural versus when you should use 冇 (mou5) or 未 (mei6) instead.

This is where immersion makes the difference. Explore Cantonese content you actually care about—Hong Kong movies, Cantopop videos, YouTube channels, TV shows. Pay attention to how characters say "no" in different situations. When do they use 唔好 (m4 hou2) versus 咪 (mai5)? When do speakers soften their negation with indirect language?

But here's the catch with passive watching: you'll hear these patterns, but unless you're actively engaging with them, they won't stick. You need to look up words, save examples, and review them until saying "no" in Cantonese becomes automatic.

If you want to turn watching Cantonese content into actual language learning, Migaku's browser extension handles the heavy lifting. You can watch any Cantonese video—YouTube, Netflix, whatever—and look up words instantly with one click. The extension pulls the definition, shows you the sentence context, and lets you add it to your spaced repetition deck automatically.

No pausing to type into a dictionary. No manually creating flashcards. Just click the word, and Migaku handles the rest. The mobile app syncs everything so you can review those "no" expressions on your commute or whenever you have five minutes.

Since you're learning from real content you're actually interested in—not generic language learning audio tracks—you'll see how Cantonese speakers use negation in practice. You'll hear 唔 (m4) in a argument scene, 唔好 (m4 hou2) in a romantic comedy, 冇 (mou5) in casual conversation between friends. That's how you build intuition for when to use which negation pattern.

You get a 10-day free trial to test it out. No credit card required, and you can cancel anytime if immersion learning isn't your thing. But if you're serious about actually speaking Cantonese instead of just collecting vocabulary words, it's worth checking out.

Learn Cantonese through real content that doesn't feel like study. That's the whole point.