Cantonese 晒, 埋 and 添: the endings that ride on the verb

Almost everything that changes a Cantonese verb sits in front of it. These three do the opposite and clip onto the back: 晒 for all of it, 埋 for the rest of it, and 添 for one more. None of them has a tidy English equivalent.

The short version晒 and 埋 clip onto the verb, in front of the object: 我做晒功課, I finished all the homework. 晒 says the action covered everything, and 埋 takes in what is still sitting there. 添 asks for another one on top, and it lands further back than the other two, closing the whole sentence. All three are everyday spoken Cantonese with no Mandarin counterpart.

晒: the action covered everything

晒 saai3 says nothing was left out. What exactly it covers depends on the verb it rides. With a verb that takes an object, it is the object: 我做晒功課 is all of the homework. With a verb about people moving, it is the people: 佢哋走晒 is all of them left, not that they left completely.

ngo5 zou6 saai3 gung1 fo3
我做晒功課
I finished all the homework
晒 covers the object
keoi5 dei6 zau2 saai3
佢哋走晒
They all left
晒 covers the subject
ngo5 tai2 saai3 bun2 syu1
我睇晒本書
I read the whole book
verb, then 晒, then the object

埋: the rest of it

埋 maai4 takes in whatever is still in front of you. 你食埋佢 is finish the rest of it, said over a plate someone has given up on. It also does and the other one, so 買埋呢個 is buy this one as well. Both readings share the same idea: bring the leftover thing into what you are already doing.

nei5 sik6 maai4 keoi5
你食埋佢
Finish the rest of it
埋 sweeps up what is left
埋 clears the table, 添 asks for more

These two get mixed up because English says too for both. The difference is whether the thing is already there. 埋 works on what is in front of you: finish it, include it. 添 goes past that and asks for something new: one more cup, another round. That is why 添 belongs at the end of an order and 埋 belongs at the end of a meal.

添: one more

添 tim1 asks for another on top of what you had. 我要多一杯添 is I want one more cup, and the 多 and the 添 are both doing work: 多 adds the quantity, 添 marks it as being on top of what came before. It lands at the very end of the sentence, after the object.

ngo5 jiu3 do1 jat1 bui1 tim1
我要多一杯添
I want one more cup
添 closes the sentence

Common mistakes

Putting the ending in front

我晒睇本書 does not work. These three attach to the back of the verb: 我睇晒本書.

Using 埋 when you want another one

食埋 tells someone to finish what is on the plate. If you want a second serving you want 添.

Expecting 晒 to be an aspect marker

晒 is not a fourth member of the 咗 緊 過 set, which the aspect page covers. It says how much got covered, not when the action sits in time. It also appears inside the can and cannot frame, 食得晒 and 食唔晒, on the potential complements page.

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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.NegationHow to say no, not, didn't, and don't in Cantonese. The four main negation words and when to use each one.Aspect markersCantonese has no tenses, but it does have aspect markers. Learn how zo2, gwo3, gan2, and hai2 dou6 show completion, experience, and ongoing action.QuestionsFrom yes or no questions to asking who, what, where, and when. The patterns you need to ask questions naturally in Cantonese.TonesCantonese has six tones, and the tones can change in certain grammatical contexts. Learn the six tones and the rules for tone change.ClassifiersCantonese puts a classifier between a number and a noun, and a bare classifier on its own can mean the. 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Includes the two words for two and the everyday words for dollars and cents.RequestsHow to ask for things politely with 唔該 and 麻煩, give a gentle command, and soften a request with V 吓.係...嘅 focusA very common spoken pattern that puts the spotlight on one part of a sentence, used for emphasis, identity, and strong statements.ConditionalsHow to say if this, then that, and as soon as. The patterns you need for plans, hypotheticals, and cause and effect.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.QuantifiersThe all purpose word 啲 for some and plural, plus 全部, 每, and 啲啲. How Cantonese marks amount without changing the noun.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.Passive (畀)How to say something was done to someone or something, using 畀. Where Mandarin reaches for 被, spoken Cantonese uses 畀.Relative clausesHow to build phrases like the thing I ate or the person who called, by putting a whole clause in front of a noun with 嘅.Potential complementsHow to say you can or cannot manage a result, by slotting 得 or 唔 into the middle of a verb phrase. A neat Cantonese trick.Serial verbsStringing two or more verbs together without any joining word, like go to the shop buy things. Extremely common in Cantonese.Giving (畀)How to say give someone something, and the word order Cantonese uses for giving, which often surprises learners.將 disposalHow to move the object in front of the verb with 將, to focus on what happens to it. Common in instructions and writing.Emphasis (先至)How to say only then and only if with 至 and 先至, a precise way to link a condition to its result that beginners often miss.ConjunctionsThe conjunctions and linking words that join ideas across a sentence, for reason, contrast, and sequence, in natural spoken Cantonese.DurationHow to ask and answer how long something takes and how often it happens, with 幾耐, 耐, and the common frequency words.Particle clustersReal Cantonese rarely uses one sentence particle at a time. Learn how particles stack and what the common combinations mean.Existential 有How 有 says there is, someone has, and something exists. One of the first verbs you need and a building block for many patterns.Code mixingHow English words slot into everyday Hong Kong speech, from like and OK to book a table, and how they pick up Cantonese tones.ReduplicationRepeating a word to add colour or soften it, like a reddish red or have a quick look. An expressive pattern that makes you sound natural.Reported speechHow to report what someone said using 話 and 講, for retelling conversations and passing on messages.Topic commentCantonese likes to name the thing you are talking about first, even when it is the object. How to front a topic and then comment on it.住 and 開Cantonese has more aspect than 咗 and 緊. Learn 住 for a state that keeps going, like wearing or holding, and 開 for something you do as a habit.Right dislocationIn casual Cantonese the subject or a modifier often comes after the sentence, even after the particle. How afterthought word order works.IdentityHow to say this is that, and this is not that. 係 is the equals sign of a Cantonese sentence, and 唔係 is how you flip it.AdjectivesAn adjective is already the verb, so you say 今日好熱, not 今日係熱. How Cantonese describes things without a copula.Word orderWho, then the action, then the thing. Time and place sit before the verb, not at the end the way English often puts them.DegreeHow strong a quality is. 好 is the everyday very, 太 is too, 幾 is quite, and 咁 is so.How oftenUsually, sometimes, all the time, rarely, never. All five sit in one slot, between the subject and the verb.Also and only都 covers also and all from in front of the verb. 淨係 narrows to only, 又 and 再 split the two kinds of again, and 仲 says still.How you do itFast, slowly, well. Cantonese reuses the adjective and hooks it onto the verb with 得, so 佢行得好快 is they walk very fast.FirstEnglish and Mandarin put first in front of the verb. Cantonese hangs 先 on the end, so 我食飯先 is let me eat first.
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