ziu1朝zou2早
morning / early morning
ziu1朝zou2早faan1返gung1工
I go to work in the morning
Learn
Time of Day
Morning, afternoon, evening, night
Before you reach for a clock, it helps to name the big chunks of the day in Cantonese: 朝早 (morning), 晏晝 (afternoon), and 夜晚 (evening). This lesson pairs those with 今日 (today), 聽日 (tomorrow), and 琴日 (yesterday) so you can pin any event to roughly when it happens.
What you'll learn
- Say “morning” with 朝早 (ziu1 zou2)
- Say “afternoon” with 晏晝 (aan3 zau3)
- Say “evening” or “night” with 夜晚 (je6 maan5)
- Say “today” with 今日 (gam1 jat6)
- Say “tomorrow” with 聽日 (ting1 jat6)
- Say “yesterday” with 琴日 (kam4 jat6)
Let's learn how to talk about different times of day. These are essential for daily conversations!
aan3晏zau3晝
afternoon
aan3晏zau3晝sik6食faan6飯
I have lunch in the afternoon
je6夜maan5晚
evening / night
je6夜maan5晚tung4同uk1屋kei5企jan4人sik6食faan6飯
I have dinner with my family at night
gam1今jat6日
today
gam1今jat6日tin1天hei3氣hou2好hou2好
The weather is great today
ting1聽jat6日
tomorrow
ting1聽jat6日sing1星kei4期luk6六
Tomorrow is Saturday
kam4琴jat6日
yesterday
kam4琴jat6日hou2好dung3凍
Yesterday was very cold
Frequently asked questions
How do you say morning, afternoon, and night in Cantonese?
Morning is 朝早 (ziu1 zou2), afternoon is 晏晝 (aan3 zau3), and evening or night is 夜晚 (je6 maan5). These cover most of the day at a glance.
How do you say today, tomorrow, and yesterday in Cantonese?
Today is 今日 (gam1 jat6), tomorrow is 聽日 (ting1 jat6), and yesterday is 琴日 (kam4 jat6). Notice they all end in 日, the word for day.
Do these time words come before or after the action?
Time words like 今日 usually sit near the start of the sentence, before the verb, so you set the “when” before you say what happens.