mou5 waa6冇話冇话
Jyutpingmou5 waa6
Yalemóuh wah
Definition
To not say, or to have nothing to say.
colloquialcommunicationdaily actions
How it's used
Functions as a colloquial way to express that someone did not state or mention something. It often implies a subtle nuance that the speaker expected a confirmation or an update that never arrived. It is frequently used to soften a negative statement or to report a lack of communication.
Examples
He didn't say he wasn't going, he just said he'd arrive later.
Why didn't you tell me you were off today?
Common mistake
Learners often confuse this with 冇講, but 冇話 specifically refers to the act of stating or declaring an intention or fact, whereas 冇講 is more general for the act of speaking.
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).
