cung4 mei6從未从未
Jyutpingcung4 mei6
Yalechùhng meih
Definition
Never; to have never experienced something up to the present.
colloquialtimedescriptions
How it's used
从未 carries a slightly more formal or emphatic tone compared to the more common spoken expression 冇試過. It is frequently used in narratives or when stressing the absolute absence of an experience over a long period. While perfectly acceptable in speech, it often signals that the speaker is making a deliberate point about the rarity or uniqueness of the situation.
Examples
I have never been to that restaurant to eat.
Have you really never tried talking to me like that before?
Related words
Common mistake
Learners often mistakenly use 從未 with future tense or hypothetical situations, but it strictly refers to the period leading up to the present moment. It cannot be used to mean never in the sense of a future prohibition, where 唔好 or 永遠唔好 would be required instead.
Grammar color guide
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Grammar guides
- In 30 secondsThe whole language at a glance. No tenses, no plurals, six tones, sentence particles. Read this before you dive into any specific topic.
- ParticlesSentence particles add tone, emotion, and nuance. Learn the most common particles in Cantonese and how to use them.
- Possession (嘅)How to say my, your, and his, and how to link a describing word to a noun, all with the little word 嘅 (ge3).
