你
nei⁵
The Cantonese word for 'you' is 你 (nei⁵).
你 is used as a subject pronoun to address the person being spoken to. Unlike English, the form of 你 does not change whether it is functioning as the subject or the object of a sentence.
Meaning: subject pronoun: the person being addressed (pron)
How does it change in a sentence?
To address a group of people, or to say 'you all', add the plural suffix 哋 to the pronoun to form 你哋. To express possession and say 'your', add the possessive particle 嘅 after the pronoun, resulting in 你嘅.
How do you pronounce it?
nei⁵
Did you know?
- The word 你 is part of the common phrase 你好, but in Cantonese, this is rarely used as a greeting between friends, who prefer asking about eating or drinking.
- In Cantonese, it is common to avoid using 你 when speaking to a superior or an elder by using their title or relationship, such as 'Uncle' or 'Teacher', instead.
- The character 你 itself is a compound of 'person' and 'you', which is a common way for many Chinese characters to build meaning from fundamental radicals.
Examples in context
- 你唔使擔心。You don't need to worry about it.This sentence shows how to use 你 when expressing that someone does not need to worry.Tatoeba #403461 by nickyeow, translation #50471 by CK
- 我好掛住你。I miss you very much.This sentence demonstrates using 你 to express that you miss someone.Tatoeba #417798 by nickyeow, translation #18053 by CK
- 你做咩喊呀？Why are you crying?This sentence illustrates the use of 你 when asking why someone is crying.Tatoeba #422964 by nickyeow, translation #36405 by CK
- 1219 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Two friends are meeting at a cafe.
- 家明 Ka Ming曉彤，你今日好靚呀！hiu2 tung4, nei5 gam1 jat6 hou2 leng3 aa3!Hiu Tung, you look beautiful today!
- 曉彤 Hiu Tung多謝你，家明。do1 ze6 nei5, kaa1 ming4.Thank you, Ka Ming.
- 家明 Ka Ming你想飲咩嘢？nei5 soeng2 jam2 me1 je5?What do you want to drink?
- 曉彤 Hiu Tung我想飲凍奶茶。ngo5 soeng2 jam2 dung3 naai5 caa4.I want to drink iced milk tea.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “you” translations, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
