唔該

See also: 唔该

Chinese

		hold in mouth; bite; (Cant.) no/not	that; the above-mentioned; most likely that; the above-mentioned; most likely; to deserve; should; ought to; owe
trad. (唔該)		唔	該
simp. (唔该)		唔	该

Etymology

From the negation particle 唔 (m4) and the character 該／该 (goi1, “should”), literally meaning "[this] should not [be done]", saying that what the other had done was not necessary or it was very kind of them to have done this.

Pronunciation

• Cantonese

  (Guangzhou–Hong Kong, Jyutping): m⁴ goi¹

  (Taishan, Wiktionary): m³ goi¹

---

• Cantonese
  • (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)⁺
    • Jyutping: m⁴ goi¹
    • Yale: m̀h gōi
    • Cantonese Pinyin: m⁴ goi¹
    • Guangdong Romanization: m⁴ goi¹
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /m̩²¹ kɔːi̯⁵⁵/
  • (Taishanese, Taicheng)
    • Wiktionary: m³ goi¹
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /m̩²² kᵘɔi³³/

Phrase

唔該 (Cantonese)

1. excuse me (to get attention)

   唔該，可唔可以要杯冰水呀？ [Cantonese, trad.]
   唔该，可唔可以要杯冰水呀？ [Cantonese, simp.]

   m⁴ goi¹, ho² m⁴ ho² ji⁵ jiu³ bui¹ bing¹ seoi² aa³? [Jyutping]

   Excuse me, can I have a glass of ice water?

2. please

   唔該你同我睇住啲嘢。 [Cantonese, trad.]
   唔该你同我睇住啲嘢。 [Cantonese, simp.]

   m⁴ goi¹ nei⁵ tung⁴ ngo⁵ tai² zyu⁶ di¹ je⁵. [Jyutping]

   Please keep an eye on my stuff.

   • 2019, 紙情, 《有些愛　錯過了就回不去》, Hong Kong: 孤泣工作室, →ISBN, page 69:

     […]佢想玩玩吓就唔該另覓目標。 [Cantonese, trad.]
     […]佢想玩玩吓就唔该另觅目标。 [Cantonese, simp.]

     […] keoi⁵ soeng² waan^4-2 waan^4-2 haa⁵ zau⁶ m⁴ goi¹ ling⁶ mik⁶ muk⁶ biu¹. [Jyutping]

     […] if he wants to play around, he should please find another target.

3. thank you

   唔該嗮！／唔该嗮！ [Cantonese]  ―  m⁴ goi¹ saai³! [Jyutping]  ―  Thank you very much!

Usage notes

When 唔該／唔该 is used to mean "thank you," only use it to thank someone for something that you have requested or for small favors. Using it to thank someone for a greater favor such as a (gift, patronage, or applause) may be offensive. See 多謝／多谢 (do1 ze6).

Synonyms

• (thank you):

Dialectal synonyms of 謝謝 (“thank you”) [map]

Variety	Location	Words edit
Classical Chinese		有勞, 感謝, 感恩
Formal (Written Standard Chinese)		謝謝, 多謝
Mandarin	Taiwan	謝謝, 謝謝你
	Chengdu	謝謝, 感謝
	Malaysia	謝謝
	Singapore	謝謝
	Sokuluk (Gansu Dungan)	多謝, рахмат
Cantonese	Guangzhou	唔該 †, 多謝 §
	Hong Kong	唔該 †, 多謝 §
	Taishan	唔該 †, 多謝 §
	Yangjiang	無該, 多謝
	Kuala Lumpur (Guangfu)	唔該 †, 多謝 §
	Penang (Guangfu)	唔該 †, 多謝 §
	Singapore (Guangfu)	唔該 †, 多謝 §
Gan	Nanchang	多謝
Hakka	Meixian	多謝, 恁仔細 §
	Xingning	多謝
	Miaoli (N. Sixian)	恁仔細
	Miaoli (Zaoqiao; N. Sixian)	恁仔細
	Miaoli (Touwu; N. Sixian)	恁仔細
	Miaoli (Nanzhuang; N. Sixian)	承蒙, 恁仔細
	Miaoli (Shitan; N. Sixian)	承蒙
	Miaoli (Sanwan; N. Sixian)	承蒙
	Miaoli (Toufen; N. Sixian)	承蒙
	Miaoli (Gongguan; N. Sixian)	承蒙你, 恁仔細, 感謝, 多謝
	Miaoli (Zhuolan; N. Sixian)	承蒙你, 恁仔細, 感謝, 多謝
	Pingtung (Neipu; S. Sixian)	多謝
	Pingtung (Wuluo, Ligang; S. Sixian)	多謝
	Kaohsiung (Meinong; S. Sixian)	多謝
	Kaohsiung (Shanlin; S. Sixian)	感謝, 多謝, 承蒙
	Hsinchu County (Zhudong; Hailu)	承蒙, 承蒙你, 阿里加多
	Taichung (Dongshi; Dabu)	勞瀝, 恁勞瀝, 承蒙, 承蒙你, 阿里加多
	Hsinchu County (Qionglin; Raoping)	承蒙, 承蒙你, 恁仔細, 勞力, 阿里加多
	Miaoli (Zhuolan; Raoping)	感謝
	Yunlin (Lunbei; Zhao'an)	勞力, 阿里加多
	Hong Kong	多謝
	Singapore (Dabu)	多謝
Jin	Taiyuan	謝謝
Northern Min	Jian'ou	多謝
Eastern Min	Fuzhou	謝謝, 起動
	Fuqing	多謝
	Matsu	謝謝, 多謝
	Singapore (Fuqing)	謝謝, 起動
Southern Min	Xiamen	感謝, 多謝, 費神, 勞力
	Quanzhou	道謝, 感謝, 費神, 勞力
	Zhangzhou	多謝, 費神, 勞力
	Zhao'an	多謝, 感謝
	Taipei	多謝, 勞力
	New Taipei (Tamsui)	勞力, 多謝, 阿里加多
	New Taipei (Sanxia)	勞力
	New Taipei (Pingxi)	勞力
	Kaohsiung	多謝, 勞力, 感恩
	Kaohsiung (Cijin)	勞力, 多謝, 感恩
	Kaohsiung (Hongmaogang, Siaogang)	勞力, 謝謝, 感恩
	Kaohsiung (Dalinpu, Siaogang)	勞力, 多謝, 感恩
	Kaohsiung (Tianliao)	勞力, 多謝, 感恩
	Yilan	多謝, 勞力, 感恩
	Yilan (Luodong)	勞力, 多謝, 感恩
	Yilan (Toucheng)	勞力, 多謝
	Changhua (Lukang)	多謝, 勞力
	Taichung	勞力, 多謝
	Tainan	多謝, 勞力, 感恩
	Tainan (Anping)	勞力, 多謝, 感恩
	Hsinchu	勞力, 多謝
	Kinmen	勞力, 多謝
	Penghu (Magong)	勞力, 多謝
	Penghu (Xiyu)	勞力, 多謝
	Penang (Hokkien)	感謝
	Singapore (Hokkien)	感謝, 費神, 多謝
	Manila (Hokkien)	多謝, 感謝
	Medan (Hokkien)	感謝
	Chaozhou	㩼謝
	Shantou	㩼謝
	Jieyang	㩼謝
	Haifeng	感謝
	Bangkok (Teochew)	㩼謝
	Singapore (Teochew)	㩼謝, 感謝
	Leizhou	無該
	Wenchang	無該, 謝謝
	Haikou	無該, 謝謝
	Singapore (Hainanese)	無該
Zhongshan Min	Shaxi (Longdu)	唔該 †, 多謝 §
	Sanxiang	唔該, 多謝
Wu	Shanghai	謝謝, 謝謝儂, 多謝
	Ningbo	謝謝儂, 交關感謝
	Wenzhou	謝謝你
Xiang	Changsha	多謝
Note	† - when someone does you a favour; § - when someone gives you a gift