CANTONESE ↔ ENGLISH · CC-CANTO

唔

Cantonese · source Jyutpingm4#

(verb) don't; doesn't; aren't

Cantonese · source Jyutpingm4#

oh (expression of agreement or surprise)
(Cantonese) not
to hold in mouth
to bite

Cantonese · source Jyutpingng4#

oh (expression of agreement or surprise)
(Cantonese) not
to hold in mouth
to bite

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

m44 · low falling

ng44 · low falling

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

Same syllable, six tones

mm1—呣m2m3—唔m4notm5—m6—

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

唔

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:

唔 wú CC-CEDICT · Mandarinoh (expression of agreement or surprise); (Cantonese) not

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: wu2. It does not establish a Mandarin word with the same meaning.

Look up this spelling in the Mandarin dictionary ↗

Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 11 senses · 2 Cantonese readings

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

m4 · ng4

Cantonese word readings for 唔. 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

(Cantonese, Teochew, Hakka) not (negator)

character · Etymology 2

Used to express agreement or permission: mhm; uh-huh
Used to express surprise.
(alt-of, alternative) alternative form of 嗯: Used to express doubt.
(Cantonese) Used to express hesitation or thinking: hmm

character · Etymology 3

only used in 咿唔 (yīwú, “sound of recitation”)

character · Etymology 4

(obsolete) alternative form of 寤 (wù, “to wake”)

character · Etymology 5

(Hokkien) to lull (a child) to sleep
(Hsinchu Hokkien) to cover; to hide; to conceal; to cover up

character · Etymology 6

(Xiamen and Zhangzhou Hokkien) to utter sounds being unable to speak
(Xiamen and Zhangzhou Hokkien) to be entangled in a dispute; to engage in a prolonged quarrel

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

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