冇用
mou⁵ jung⁶
The English word "useless" is translated into Cantonese as 冇用 (mou⁵ jung⁶).
冇用 is an adjective used to describe something that is without use or lacks any possibility of being used.
Meaning: without use or possibility to be used (adj)
What does it mean word for word?
The phrase is composed of the verb 冇 (mou5), meaning 'to not have' and the noun 用 (jung6), meaning 'use'. Literally, it translates to 'no use'.
Which one should you use?
冇用 (mou5 jung6) is the standard form used in spoken Cantonese, whereas 無用 (mou4 jung6) is a more formal version used in written-style contexts.
How do you pronounce it?
mou⁵ jung⁶
Did you know?
- While 冇用 means 'useless', if you say someone is 冇用 to their face, you are not just criticizing their skills, but essentially saying they possess no value to society or the group.
- While 冇用 sounds like a casual complaint, its formal counterpart 無用 is a staple of classical Chinese poetry, often conveying a sense of tragic or philosophical futility.
- The distinction between the spoken 冇用 and the written 無用 is a classic example of the diglossia in Cantonese, where spoken and written forms diverge significantly.
Examples in context
- 呢件嘢真係冇用。nei1 gin6 je5 zan1 hai6 mou5 jung6.This thing is really useless.
- 我而家好似自己好冇用噉。ngo5 ji4 gaa1 hou2 ci5 zi6 gei2 hou2 mou5 jung6 gam2.I feel so useless right now.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “useless” translations, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
