Cantonese degree words: 好, 太, 幾, and 咁

A Cantonese quality almost always takes a degree word in front. 好 is the everyday very, 太 is too, 幾 is quite, and 咁 is so. They all sit in the same slot, before the adjective, never after it.

The short versionPut the degree word in front of the adjective. 好 is the default for a plain statement (今日好凍). 太 means the degree has gone too far (呢件太貴). 幾 keeps it mild. 咁 points at a degree you can see or have just been told, which is why it is at home in 點解咁慢.

The four at a glance

WordUseRough English
hou2
好		Default degree in a statementvery, quite
taai3
太		Past the line you wanted, often a complainttoo
gei2
幾		Milder than 好quite, fairly
gam3
咁		Points at a degree in view or just mentionedso, this much

好 is the everyday setting

A bare adjective can sound unfinished as a statement, which is why 好 sits in front so often. 今日好凍 is how you say it is cold today. 好 here is not the adjective good. It is a degree word. The adjectives page is the reason this slot exists at all: the quality is the verb, and the degree word is what lets it stand as a full sentence.

gam1 jat6 hou2 dung3
今日好凍
Today is very cold
default degree
keoi5 hou2 gui6
佢好攰
They are very tired
好 in front of the adjective

太, 幾, and 咁

太 says the degree has gone past what you wanted, so 太貴 is a reason not to buy it. 幾 pulls the other way, closer to fairly. 咁 is how you react to a degree you can see or have just been told.

ni1 gin6 taai3 gwai3
呢件太貴
This one is too expensive
too, a complaint
di1 coi3 gei2 hou2 sik6
啲菜幾好食
The dishes are quite tasty
milder than 好
dim2 gaai2 gam3 maan6
點解咁慢
Why so slow
咁 pointing at the degree
In front, never after

English can say too expensive or expensive too in different jobs. Cantonese keeps the degree word in front of the adjective. 呢件貴太 is not a sentence. Comparisons with 啲 and 過 are a different pattern, on the comparisons page.

Common mistakes

Putting the degree word after the adjective

貴太, 凍好, 慢咁 all fall apart. The slot is in front: 太貴, 好凍, 咁慢.

Using 係 instead of a degree word

今日係凍 tries to borrow identity 係 to do the job of is. A quality wants 好, 太, 幾, or 咁, not 係.

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