你愛唔愛我？
nei5 oi3 m4 oi3 ngo5?
To say "do you love me?" in Cantonese, use 你愛唔愛我？ (nei5 oi3 m4 oi3 ngo5?)
This phrase is a direct question used to ask if someone has romantic feelings for you.
What does it mean word for word?
The phrase is constructed using an 'A-not-A' question pattern. The structure 愛唔愛 functions as the verb phrase, literally translating to "love or not love".
Which one should you use?
The standard form is 你愛唔愛我？ An informal variant is 你愛唔愛我呀？, while 你係咪愛我呀？ can be used to ask "Are you in love with me?" informally.
How does it change in a sentence?
The particle 唔 (m4) means "not". It is inserted between the verb and its repetition to form a polar question.
How do you pronounce it?
nei5 oi3 m4 oi3 ngo5?
Did you know?
- In traditional Cantonese culture, love is often expressed through 'food love' rather than words. Asking 你食咗飯未？ meaning 'have you eaten yet?' can carry the same emotional weight as asking if someone loves you.
- While 'love' in English is often a verb, in Cantonese, expressing intense romantic devotion sometimes involves the phrase 心入面有你 (sam1 jap6 min6 jau5 nei5), which means 'you are in my heart'.
- In Cantonese culture, expressing romantic love often uses the word 鍾意 (zung1 ji1) instead of 愛 (oi3). While 愛 sounds poetic and grand, it can feel overly dramatic or even heavy in daily conversation.
Examples in context
- 我想問你，你愛唔愛我？ngo5 soeng2 man6 nei5, nei5 oi3 m4 oi3 ngo5?I want to ask you, do you love me?
Example conversation
A romantic evening at a quiet park.
- 志強 Chi Keung你愛唔愛我？nei5 oi3 m4 oi3 ngo5?Do you love me?
- 雅婷 Nga Ting我當然愛你呀。ngo5 daany1 jin4 oi3 nei5 aa3.Of course I love you.
- 志強 Chi Keung你真係咁講？nei5 zan1 hai6 gam2 gong2?Are you really saying that?
- 雅婷 Nga Ting我係真心愛你。ngo5 hai6 zan1 sam1 oi3 nei5.I love you sincerely.
