ngo5 dei6我地
Jyutpingngo5 dei6
Yalengóh deih
Definition
We or us.
colloquialpeople
How it's used
Pronunciation often shifts to 'ngo5 dei6' or even 'ngo5 de1' in rapid speech, reflecting the casual nature of the pronoun. It functions as both the subject and the object of a sentence without changing form. Unlike formal written Chinese, it is the standard way to refer to a group including the speaker in any spoken context.
Examples
Shall we go for dim sum tomorrow?
They asked us to go hang out together.
Related words
Common phrases
all of us
Common mistake
Avoid using 咱們, which is a northern Mandarin form that sounds unnatural and out of place in Hong Kong Cantonese.
Grammar color guide
Noun
Verb
Adjective
Adverb
Pronoun
Classifier
Particle
Connector
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).
