A1
係 — saying what something is
How 係 links two nouns in Cantonese, why it is a different character from Mandarin 是, and why 我係攰 is the first mistake every learner makes.
係 sits between two nouns and says the first is the second. It is the everyday word; 是 exists in written Chinese but is not what anyone says.
我係學生。
Ngo5 hai6 hok6saang1.
I’m a student.
佢係我朋友。
Keoi5 hai6 ngo5 pang4jau5.
He’s my friend.
呢個係茶。
Ni1 go3 hai6 caa4.
This is tea.
Note 佢 for he, she, it — one word for all three, and nothing like Mandarin 他. Cantonese function words are mostly their own; recognising 係, 唔, 冇, 嘅, 喺 and 佢 is most of what makes written Cantonese readable.
Only between nouns
The same rule as Mandarin, and worth stating because the trap is identical. English says am in both I am a student and I am tired. Cantonese uses 係 only for the first.
我係攰。
我好攰。
攰 is an adjective, and a Cantonese adjective needs no verb — it is one. What goes in front of it is 好, not 係.
Saying something is not
唔 goes in front. 唔係 is one of the most common things you will hear.
我唔係老師。
Ngo5 m4 hai6 lou5si1.
I’m not a teacher.
呢個唔係我嘅。
Ni1 go3 m4 hai6 ngo5 ge3.
This isn’t mine.
係 on its own means yes
As in Mandarin, there is no word for yes, and you answer by repeating the verb. 係 answers a question that asked with 係.
——你係唔係學生呀？——係。
— Nei5 hai6 m4 hai6 hok6saang1 aa3? — Hai6.
— Are you a student? — I am.
係呀 is the softer, friendlier version and is what you will hear most.