mou5 jau5冇有
Jyutpingmou5 jau5
Yalemóuh yáuh
Definition
To not have; to be without.
colloquialdaily actions
How it's used
While 冇 is the standard way to express negation of possession or existence, 冇有 is a variant that emphasizes the absence or lack of something more strongly. It is often used in negative questions or emphatic statements to stress that something has absolutely not occurred or does not exist. You will hear it more frequently in older generations or specific regional dialects within Hong Kong.
Examples
Related words
Common phrases
nothing to fear
Common mistake
Learners often confuse 冇有 with the slang expression 冇有怕, which means 'nothing to fear' or 'no problem at all'. Using 冇有 in a standard sentence where 冇 would suffice can sound slightly archaic or overly emphatic to a native speaker.
Grammar color guide
Noun
Verb
Adjective
Adverb
Pronoun
Classifier
Particle
Connector
Grammar guides
- QuestionsFrom yes or no questions to asking who, what, where, and when. The patterns you need to ask questions naturally in Cantonese.
- ClassifiersCantonese puts a classifier between a number and a noun, and a bare classifier on its own can mean the. Learn the common ones and how to use them.
- ComparisonsHow to say bigger than, the most, the same as, and not as good as. Cantonese uses 過 where Mandarin uses 比, and that catches a lot of learners out.
