A1
過 — have you ever
How 過 marks experience in Cantonese, how it differs from 咗, and why the same character does something completely different in a comparison.
過 after a verb says you have done it at some point in your life. This is one of the places where Cantonese and Mandarin agree exactly.
我去過中國。
Ngo5 heoi3gwo3 Zung1gwok3.
I’ve been to China.
你食過火鍋未呀？
Nei5 sik6gwo3 fo2wo1 mei6 aa3?
Have you ever had hotpot?
Against 咗
咗 reports that an action finished. 過 reports that it is somewhere in your history.
我去咗中國。
Ngo5 heoi3zo2 Zung1gwok3.
I went to China.
我去過中國。
Ngo5 heoi3gwo3 Zung1gwok3.
I’ve been to China.
The first is one trip, and without more context suggests you may still be there. The second says China is on the list of places you have been, and implies you came back.
The negative keeps the 過
冇 negates it, and unlike 咗 — which disappears under a negative — 過 stays.
我冇去過。
Ngo5 mou5 heoi3gwo3.
I’ve never been.
我唔去過中國。
我冇去過中國。
Whether something has ever happened is always 冇, never 唔 — the same split as everywhere else.
從來冇…過 for “never”
從來 makes it emphatic and covers your whole life.
我從來冇聽過呢首歌。
Ngo5 cung4loi4 mou5 teng1gwo3 ni1 sau2 go1.
I’ve never heard this song.
The other 過
過 is also how Cantonese makes a comparison — 我高過佢, I’m taller than him. Same character, entirely different construction, and the one that catches Mandarin speakers hardest. See comparison.