我憎你
ngo5 zang1 nei5
我憎你 (ngo5 zang1 nei5) is the Cantonese way to say "I hate you".
我憎你 is used to express an intense, visceral dislike of someone. In colloquial speech, you can use the hyperbolic expression 我憎死你 (meaning "I hate you to death" or "I hate you so much") by adding 死 after the verb to intensify the emotion.
Meaning: expression of intense dislike (phrase)
Which one should you use?
While 我唔鍾意你 means "I don't like you", 我憎你 is much stronger and conveys a much deeper level of hatred.
How do you pronounce it?
ngo5 zang1 nei5
Did you know?
- In Cantonese culture, expressing intense hatred can sometimes be seen as a form of 'aggressive flirting'. If said with a certain playful tone or a smile, it can actually function as a teasing way to show affection or endearment.
- The intensifier 死 (sei2) in 我憎死你 literally means 'death'. It is a common linguistic pattern in Cantonese to use 'death' to mean 'extremely' or 'to the limit' in many emotional expressions.
- In older Cantonese literature or more formal settings, the word 恨 (han6) might be used for 'hatred'. However, in daily spoken Cantonese, 恨 often carries a sense of 'regret' or 'feeling a sense of loss', making 憎 the better choice for pure dislike.
Examples in context
- 我憎你！ngo5 zang1 nei5!I hate you!
- 你唔好再嚟，我憎你。nei5 m4 hou2 zoi3 lai4, ngo5 zang1 nei5.Don't come back, I hate you.
Example conversation
Two siblings are arguing over a broken toy.
- 曉彤 Hiu Tung你整爛咗我件玩具！nei2 zing2 laan6 zo2 ngo5 gin6 wan2 geoi6!You broke my toy!
- 家明 Ka Ming我唔係專登嘅。ngo5 m4 hai6 zyun1 dang1 ge3.I didn't do it on purpose.
- 曉彤 Hiu Tung我唔理，我憎你！ngo5 m4 lei5, ngo5 zang1 nei2!I don't care, I hate you!
- 家明 Ka Ming好啦，我幫你整返好。hou2 laa1, ngo5 bong1 nei2 zing2 faan1 hou2.Fine, I'll help you fix it.
