A2
唔好 and 咪 — telling someone not to
How Cantonese forms a negative instruction with 唔好 and 咪, how 住 puts an expiry on it, and why 唔 alone will not do the job.
A negative instruction takes 唔好, not bare 唔. 唔 negates a statement; 唔好 tells someone not to do something.
唔好行咁快。
M4 hou2 haang4 gam3 faai3.
Don’t walk so fast.
唔好講嘢。
M4 hou2 gong2 je5.
Don’t talk.
唔行咁快。
唔好行咁快。
唔行咁快 is a statement — doesn’t walk that fast — and leaves the listener waiting for the rest of the sentence. An instruction needs 唔好.
Note that 好 here is not the 好 that props up an adjective. 唔好 is a unit, and it is often written 唔好 and said closer to m2hou2.
咪 is the short one
咪 does the same job in one syllable and is more casual, and a touch more urgent.
咪郁！
Mai5 juk1!
Don’t move!
咪講咁多啦。
Mai5 gong2 gam3 do1 laa1.
Don’t go on about it.
住 puts an expiry on it
Adding 住 changes don’t into don’t yet, and it is one of the neatest things in the language.
唔好走住。
M4 hou2 zau2zyu6.
Don’t go just yet.
唔好講住。
M4 hou2 gong2zyu6.
Don’t say anything for now.
English needs a whole extra word for that and Cantonese needs one syllable.
Softening it
啦 at the end turns an order into a request, and 下 softens the verb.
唔好嬲啦。
M4 hou2 nau1 laa1.
Don’t be cross.
唔使 — no need
Not an instruction but a reassurance: you don’t have to. It is how most offers get declined.
唔使喇，唔該。
M4 sai2 laa3, m4goi1.
No need, thanks.