me1咩
Jyutpingme1
Yalemē
Definition
What; a contraction of the interrogative pronoun 乜嘢 (mat1 je5).
colloquialcommunicationparticle
How it's used
This contraction is extremely common in spoken Cantonese and often sounds more natural than the full form 乜嘢. It functions as a versatile interrogative that can replace what, who, or which depending on the context. Using it frequently makes speech sound more fluid and less formal.
Examples
Related words
Common mistake
Beginners often confuse 咩 with 嗎. While 嗎 is a yes or no question particle in Mandarin, 咩 is an interrogative pronoun or a particle used to express surprise or skepticism in a rhetorical question.
Grammar color guide
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Grammar guides
- Directional complementsThe small words added after a verb to show direction of movement, like up, down, out, in, and back. Common in everyday Cantonese.
- DemonstrativesThis and that with 呢 and 嗰, the personal pronouns, and how 哋 turns I, you, and he into we, you all, and they.
- Resultative complementsSticking a result word onto a verb to show how it turned out, like eat until full or look and find. A productive everyday pattern.
