How to Say "Bye" in Cantonese

拜拜

In Cantonese, bye is expressed as 拜拜. Wiktionary also lists 再見 / 再见 (zoi³ gin³).

Meaning: short for goodbye (intj)

Ways to say it

“bye” in Cantonese
Cantonese	Romanization (Wiktionary)
拜拜
再見 / 再见	zoi³ gin³

The term 拜拜 is a loanword from English and is used almost exclusively in spoken Cantonese.

The phrase 再見 literally means 'again' (再) and 'see/meet' (見).

While 拜拜 is used among friends and family, 再見 is more formal and is often used in professional settings or public announcements.

The transliterated form 拜拜 is the common informal way to say 'bye' in daily conversation.

The characters used for 拜拜 actually mean 'to worship' or 'to bow'. This creates a humorous coincidence where a casual 'bye' is written using a word for a formal religious act.
While 拜拜 sounds like 'bye', it is actually a double-character reduplication. In Cantonese, repeating a word often makes the tone softer and more affectionate, which is why it feels more casual than 再見.
The phrase 再見 is used much less frequently in spoken Cantonese than in Mandarin. In Hong Kong, 拜拜 or English 'bye' is so dominant that 再見 can sometimes sound overly dramatic or final.

我要同你講拜拜喇。
I must say good-bye to you.
This sentence shows how to use the form 拜拜 when telling someone you must say goodbye.
Tatoeba #461509 by nickyeow, translation #54006 by U2FS
拜拜！
Bye!
This sentence shows a simple use of the form 拜拜.
Tatoeba #1746536 by kaenif, translation #647456 by Hans07

Two friends are leaving a coffee shop after meeting up.

雅婷 Nga Ting

俊傑，我而家要走喇。
zeon3 kit3, ngo5 ji4 gaa1 jiu3 zau2 laa3.
Chun Kit, I have to go now.
俊傑 Chun Kit

好呀，雅婷，拜拜！
hou2 aa3, ngaa5 ting4, baai1 baai1!
Okay, Ah Ting, bye!
雅婷 Nga Ting

拜拜，下次見！
baai1 baai1, haa6 ci3 gin3!
Bye, see you next time!
俊傑 Chun Kit

下次見。
haa6 ci3 gin3.
See you next time.

Sources

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