bei3 mat6秘密

Jyutpingbei3 mat6

Yalebei maht

名詞Common

Definition

A secret; information that must not be made public or revealed to outsiders.

neutralcommunicationpeople

How it's used

While the word is standard, in casual speech, people often use the phrase 唔話得人知 to describe something that must be kept quiet. It is frequently paired with verbs like 守 or 隱瞞 to emphasize the act of maintaining confidentiality. Using it in a sentence often implies a level of intimacy or trust between the speaker and the listener.

Measure word

go3個go

Examples

ngo5我jau5有jat1一go3個bei3秘mat6密soeng2想waa6話bei2俾nei5你zi1知。

I have a secret I want to tell you.

nei5你m4唔hou2好zoeng3將ngo5我ge3嘅bei3秘mat6密gong2講ceot1出heoi3去aa3呀。

Don't go telling my secret to others.

Common phrases

sau2守bei3秘mat6密

to keep a secret

gung1公hoi1開bei3秘mat6密

an open secret

Common mistake

Learners sometimes confuse this with the adjective form in Mandarin, but in Cantonese, it is almost exclusively used as a noun. Avoid using it as a verb directly; always use a verb like 守 before it to express the action of keeping a secret.