你喺邊度嚟㗎？
nei5 hai2 bin1 dou6 lai4 gaa3?
The Cantonese phrase for "where are you from?" is 你喺邊度嚟㗎？ (nei5 hai2 bin1 dou6 lai4 gaa3?)
Use 你喺邊度嚟㗎？ to ask someone about their place of origin.
What does it mean word for word?
The phrase is composed of 你 (you), 喺 (at), 邊度 (where), 嚟 (come) and the sentence-final particle 㗎.
Which one should you use?
While 你喺邊度嚟㗎？ asks for a general place of origin, the phrase 你係邊國人？ is used specifically to ask which nationality someone has.
How does it change in a sentence?
The particle 㗎 at the end of the sentence is used to soften the tone and indicates a question about a past or established state.
How do you pronounce it?
nei5 hai2 bin1 dou6 lai4 gaa3?
Did you know?
- In Hong Kong, asking 你喺邊度嚟㗎？ can sometimes be interpreted as a subtle way to probe whether someone is a local or a newcomer from mainland China.
- If you are asked 你喺邊度嚟㗎？ and you are from a place well-known for a specific food, it is common for the conversation to immediately shift to that delicacy.
- The character 嚟 (lai4) used in this phrase is the same word for 'to come', but in many written contexts, people use the standard Chinese character 來 instead.
Examples in context
- 你喺邊度嚟㗎？nei5 hai2 bin1 dou6 lei4 ga3?Where are you from?
- 請問你喺邊度嚟㗎？cing2 man6 nei5 hai2 bin1 dou6 lei4 ga3?May I ask where you are from?
Example conversation
Two people are chatting at a social gathering.
- 曉彤 Hiu Tung你好，你喺邊度嚟㗎？nei5 hou2, nei5 hai2 bin1 dou6 lei4 ga3?Hello, where are you from?
- 俊傑 Chun Kit我喺美國嚟㗎。ngo5 hai2 mei6 gwok3 lei4 ga3.I am from America.
- 曉彤 Hiu Tung原來係噉呀！jyun4 lei6 hai6 gam2 aa3!I see!
- 俊傑 Chun Kit你呢？nei5 ne1?And you?
