CANTONESE ↔ ENGLISH · CC-CANTO

咩

Cantonese · source Jyutpingme1#

(adverb) what?

Cantonese · source Jyutpingme1#

the bleating of sheep
final particle which transforms statements into questions that indicate doubt or surprise (Cantonese)
what
whatever

About these definitions

Source definition segments, in their original order. Characters a definition cites are shown without their Mandarin pinyin; classifier lists that CC-Canto copied from CC-CEDICT are marked Mandarin. The community dictionary is not independently verified by zimai.

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Reading & tones

me11 · high level

Schematic citation-tone diagrams from the source numbers. These are not recordings or predictions of connected speech.

Same syllable, six tones

me咩me1final particle which transforms statements into…me2—me3—me4—me5—me6—

Characters whose customary Unihan reading (kCantonese) is this syllable in each tone, chosen as in the tone atlas (2013 standard level, then the number of CC-CEDICT words they form), with CC-Canto 2017's meaning for that reading; a dash means no catalogue character has that reading. Checked syllables (-p, -t, -k) normally carry tones 1, 3 and 6. Character readings, not word readings; no frequency implied.

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Written characters

咩

Both source spellings are represented. Written membership is not an etymological or semantic claim.

Cantonese characters and the Mandarin bridge ↗

Mandarin comparison · separate source entries

CC-CEDICT, the Mandarin–English dictionary, lists the same written form:

咩 miē CC-CEDICT · Mandarinthe bleating of sheep; final particle which transforms statements into questions that indicate doubt or surprise (Cantonese)

A separate source entry, shown for comparison. The same characters can carry different senses in Mandarin and in Cantonese; zimai does not align these senses.

CC-Canto includes this pinyin reference: mie1. It does not establish a Mandarin word with the same meaning.

Look up this spelling in the Mandarin dictionary ↗

Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 9 senses · 1 Cantonese reading

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

me1

Cantonese word readings for 咩. This lexicon supplies readings, not definitions.

CanCLID contributors · CC BY 4.0 · source & license · Data pack

Wiktionary English definitions · Chinese section

Independent source senses for this spelling, with usage labels retained. Not matched to the pronunciation above.

character · Etymology 1

(onomatopoeia) the bleating of a sheep: baa!

character · Etymology 2

(Cantonese) what
(Cantonese) which
(Cantonese) why; how come
(Cantonese) Used as a dummy subject or object when it can be deduced from context.

character · Etymology 3

(Cantonese, obsolete) A sentence-final particle used to make unbiased yes/no questions.
(Cantonese) A sentence-final particle used to make yes/no questions, often with a doubtful or surprising tone.
(Cantonese) A sentence-final particle used in yes/no rhetorical questions to express negation.

character · Etymology 4

(Teochew) A sentence-final particle used to make unbiased yes/no questions.

Source page · dump 2026-09-02 · Contributors & history

Wiktionary contributors · CC BY-SA 4.0 · source & license · Data pack