Thank you in Cantonese

Imagine if someone just threw you a big party for your birthday, and you really want to thank them. But how do you say thank you without simply just saying thank you? Isn’t there a better or more sincere way than simply saying thank you? By now you should know 2 different ways of saying thank you in Cantonese, one is 唔該 (Dummy PY: Um Goy) and the other is 多謝 (Dummy PY: Door Je) . It’s super confusing because both mean exactly thank you. So when should we use which?

We will first debunk these 2 terms 唔該 (Dummy PY: Um Goy) &多謝 (Dummy PY: Door Je).

唔該 (Dummy PY: Um Goy) is used when someone did you a favour, usually smaller favours. Say for example, you are buying groceries at the wet market, and after they handed you the grocery, and you paid, then you will say 唔該 (Dummy PY: Um Goy). Or when you go to a restaurant to get someone to take your order, you will say 唔該 (Dummy PY: Um Goy) , and when they bring you your food you will also say 唔該 (Dummy PY: Um Goy). But it is not entirely right to say 多謝 (Dummy PY: Door Je), not that it is wrong but just doesn’t sound natural.

多謝 (Dummy PY: Door Je) is used when someone is giving you a gift or when they are doing you a big favour. Say if your neighbour baked some cookies and they brought some for you, then you will say 多謝 (Dummy PY: Door Je), because they are gifting you. Or say you are having challenges with for example your application to grad school, and someone looked it over and spotted out a couple of things you would want to adjust in your application and now you got accepted into a program. This is considered a bigger favour, at least it has definitely benefited you in a big way, then in this situation you will say 多謝 (Dummy PY: Door Je).

Is that making sense? Now there are different degrees of thank you in Cantonese for both 唔該 (Dummy PY: Um Goy) & 多謝 (Dummy PY: Door Je). Now you might think, in 唔該 (Dummy PY: Um Goy) & 多謝 (Dummy PY: Door Je) there is already a distinction in terms of the degree in thank you, how come there are still different levels of thank yous? Of course, sometimes you are simply saying 唔該 (Dummy PY: Um Goy) & 多謝 (Dummy PY: Door Je) out of politeness, and you don’t really mean it. But when you do mean it, you wouldn’t want to just say 唔該 (Dummy PY: Um Goy) & 多謝 (Dummy PY: Door Je) and have the other person feel that you are not being sincere. It can be seen as a little indifferent or short depending on the context. Therefore it is often better to know other ways of expanding on the 唔該 (Dummy PY: Um Goy) & 多謝 (Dummy PY: Door Je) the thank yous. You can use some of these variations:

唔該你(Dummy PY: Um Goy Neigh)

- Thank you you (literal translation)/ Polite way of saying thank you/ would you please

唔該你(Dummy PY: Um Goy Neigh) is literally thank you you. Sounds a little funky in English but this is helpful, and a little more polite. So pretty much the same usage for the simple 唔該 (Dummy PY: Um Goy). But there is another time when you might need to use it, that’s when you are using 唔該 (Dummy PY: Um Goy) or 唔該你(Dummy PY: Um Goy Neigh) as a would you please kind of question. Say, you need to have the other person pass your cell phone to you. Then you will say 唔該俾我個電話我 (Dummy PY: Um Goy Bay Ngo Gor Deen Wah Ngo) or 唔該你俾我個電話我(Dummy PY: Um Goy Neigh Bay Ngo Gor Deen Wah Ngo) meaning thank you please or would you please give me my phone.

多謝你 (Dummy PY: Door Je Neigh) - Thank you you (literal translation)/ Polite way of saying thank you

​多謝你 (Dummy PY: Door Je Neigh) is very similar to 唔該你(Dummy PY: Um Goy Neigh) literally thank you you. Also a little more polite. But unlike 唔該你(Dummy PY: Um Goy Neigh) you cannot use 多謝你 (Dummy PY: Door Je Neigh) as would you please at all. So you can definitely interchange with 多謝 (Dummy PY: Door Je) depending on how sincere you want to sound.

唔該哂 (Dummy PY: Um Goy Sigh) - thank you a lot ​

多謝哂 (Dummy PY: Door Je Sigh) - thank you a lot

多謝哂 (Dummy PY: Door Je Sigh) also means thank you a lot. Again the difference is in whether someone is gifting you something or doing you a big favour. An example would be, if someone gives you a really nice red wine that you will enjoy, then you will say 多謝哂 (Dummy PY: Door Je Sigh). Or if let’s say you are seeing a counsellor and they help you get through a big mental block for example, then you will say 多謝哂 (Dummy PY: Door Je Sigh). Because it really benefited you in a personal way.

唔該哂先 (Dummy PY: Um Goy Sigh Seen) - Thank you a lot in advance

唔該你先 (Dummy PY: Um Goy Neigh Seen) - Thank you in advance

Now when you when you say thank you in advance, you can expand on the previous 唔該哂 (Dummy PY: Um Goy Sigh) - thank you a lot & 唔該你(Dummy PY: Um Goy Neigh) thank you you and add the word 先 (Dummy PY: Seen), 先 (Dummy PY: Seen) means first or in advance. So say, someone promised they would do something for you in the future, for example when someone says that they will keep an eye out for you if there are any future discounts or promotions on let’s say phone plans, then you will say 唔該哂先 (Dummy PY: Um Goy Sigh Seen) or 唔該你先 (Dummy PY: Um Goy Neigh Seen) thank you in advance.

多謝哂先 (Dummy PY: Door Je Sigh Seen) - thank you a lot in advance

多謝你先 (Dummy PY: Door Je Neigh Seen) - Thank you in advance

​Again super similar to 唔該哂先 (Dummy PY: Um Goy Sigh Seen) or 唔該你先 (Dummy PY: Um Goy Neigh Seen), you add the word 先 (Dummy PY: Seen) to mean in advance. So for example, if someone says to you, I will bring you the cookies I bake next time, then you will say 多謝哂先 (Dummy PY: Door Je Sigh Seen) or 多謝你先 (Dummy PY: Door Je Neigh Seen), because they are gifting you something. Or if let’s say your grad school application earlier did not go through, and your friend says, “Ok, if you want to apply for next year then I will look through the application for you.” then now you can properly say 多謝哂先 (Dummy PY: Door Je Sigh Seen) or 多謝你先 (Dummy PY: Door Je Neigh Seen) because it’s a big favour they are promising you. But if you don’t think it is such a huge help, then you can of course choose to say 唔該哂先 (Dummy PY: Um Goy Sigh Seen) or 唔該你先 (Dummy PY: Um Goy Neigh Seen).

Now to really express the different degrees of thank yous 唔該 (Dummy PY: Um Goy) &多謝 (Dummy PY: Door Je) you will need to use some adverbs, meaning like very, really etc. You can see if any of these variations will help you with showing how sincere you are. But depending on the context, sometimes when people are saying the below phrases I am going to teach you, they mean it sarcastically or ironically. Much like in English.

真係唔該你(Dummy PY: Jan Hi Um Goy Neigh)

真係唔該哂 (Dummy PY: Jan Hi Um Goy Sigh) - Really thank you

​First to say really thank you. You can add 真係(Dummy PY: Jan Hi). 真係(Dummy PY: Jan Hi) means really, 真(Dummy PY: Jan) means real or true.

真係多謝你 (Dummy PY: Jan Hi Door Je Neigh)

真係多謝哂 (Dummy PY: Jan Hi Door Je Sigh)- Really thank you

​On the other hand, if you want to say really thank (for doing me a huge favour/ giving something to me) then you will say 真係多謝你 (Dummy PY: Jan Hi Door Je Neigh)/ 真係多謝哂 (Dummy PY: Jan Hi Door Je Sigh).

好多謝你 (Dummy PY: Ho Door Je Neigh) - Thank you so much

​You can also say 好多謝你 (Dummy PY: Ho Door Je Neigh), 好 (Dummy PY: Ho) like I mentioned many times now, as an adjective it means good, but as an adverb it means like very, or so. But pay attention, we won’t say 好唔該你(Dummy PY: Ho Um Goy Neigh), not quite sure why, I have never heard people say that before as well.

真係好多謝你 (Dummy PY: Jan Hi Ho Door Je Neigh) - “really thank you so much”

Now if you want to even kick it up a notch and say “really thank you so much” then you can mix and match and say 真係好多謝你 (Dummy PY: Jan Hi Ho Door Je Neigh).

非常多謝你 (Dummy PY: Fay Sheung Door Je Neigh) - thank you very much

​To say “Thank you very much” you can say 非常多謝你 (Dummy PY: Fay Sheung Door Je Neigh), 非常(Dummy PY: Fay Sheung) means very or like exceedingly. You can use this adverb 非常(Dummy PY: Fay Sheung) with other adjectives as well, for example very good 非常好(Dummy PY: Fay Sheung Ho).

好感激你(Dummy PY: Ho Gum Gig Neigh) - appreciate you so much

非常感激你(Dummy PY: Fay Sheung Gum Gig Neigh) - Appreciate you very much

Finally, to not use 唔該 (Dummy PY: Um Goy) &多謝 (Dummy PY: Door Je) like so repeatedly, you can choose to use other phrases like 好感激你(Dummy PY: Ho Gum Gig Neigh) or 非常感激你(Dummy PY: Fay Sheung Gum Gig Neigh). 感激 (Dummy PY: Gum Gig) means to appreciate.

麻煩你 (Dummy PY: Ma Farn Neigh) - (literal) bother you/ Thank you/ would you please

麻煩哂你 (Dummy PY: Ma Farn Sigh Neigh) (literal) bother you/ Thank you a lot

Finally, you can also choose to say 麻煩你 (Dummy PY: Ma Farn Neigh) or 麻煩哂你 (Dummy PY: Ma Farn Sigh Neigh) to mean Thank you as well. 麻煩你 (Dummy PY: Ma Farn Neigh) or 麻煩哂你 (Dummy PY: Ma Farn Sigh Neigh) literally means bother you, basically saying sorry to have troubled or bothered you, in other words thank you. Also 麻煩你 (Dummy PY: Ma Farn Neigh) can also be used to mean would you please. Much like 唔該你(Dummy PY: Um Goy Neigh) using the earlier example of asking someone to pass your cell phone to you. Then you will say 麻煩俾我個電話我 (Dummy PY: Um Goy Bay Ngo Gor Deen Wah Ngo) or 麻煩你俾我個電話我(Dummy PY: Um Goy Neigh Bay Ngo Gor Deen Wah Ngo) meaning bother you or would you please give me my phone.

Now let’s talk about how you can answer thank yous in Cantonese. The first three I am going to talk about are the most versatile and if you don’t remember the rest of the phrases at least remember the first three. You can use them whenever people say thank you, if the other person says any of the 19 phrases I just talked about you can still use them.

唔駛客氣(Dummy PY: Um Sigh Hack Hey) - (Literal: No need to be polite)/ you are welcome.

唔好客氣(Dummy PY: Um Ho Hack Hey) - (Literal: No politeness) / you are welcome

唔駛客氣(Dummy PY: Um Sigh Hack Hey) literally means No need to be polite. 唔好客氣(Dummy PY: Um Ho Hack Hey)literally means No politeness. Both mean you are welcome. The best way I can describe 客氣(Dummy PY: Hack Hey) in English is like the politeness in your hospitality, if we have to breakdown the word, 客(Dummy PY: Hack) it would be short for 客人 (Dummy PY: Hack Yan) meaning guests, 氣 (Dummy PY: Hey) is like Chi, your inner energy, or sometimes means breath or air, but here you can understand it as like your core energy. So when you are being 客氣(Dummy PY: Hack Hey) is like the gestures that you have made to show the person, whether they be a guest or whoever, to show there hospitality even when you are not the host, or you are in your own home. It’s like politeness of your gestures but it’s not necessarily your real trait, if that makes any sense at all. So basically you are saying you are welcome, you don’t have to be so polite. Another word for polite which is describing someone’s character or trait of them being polite is 禮貌(Dummy PY: Lie Mou), meaning like politeness or etiquette.

唔駛(Dummy PY: Um Sigh) - No need. You are fine.

For the simplest and shortest version you can say 唔駛(Dummy PY: Um Sigh). Of course if you use 唔駛(Dummy PY: Um Sigh) you are just saying no need. But it’s not rude at all, it’s just not as polite as 唔駛客氣(Dummy PY: Um Sigh Hack Hey) and 唔好客氣(Dummy PY: Um Ho Hack Hey).

唔駛唔該 (Dummy PY: Um Sigh Um Goy) - (Literal: No need to thank)/ you are welcome

If they say anything with 唔該 (Dummy PY: Um Goy) as thank yous, not when they use it as would you please, then you can say 唔駛唔該 (Dummy PY: Um Sigh Um Goy), essentially saying 唔駛(Dummy PY: Um Sigh)thank you, no need to thank. But don’t confuse 唔駛唔該 (Dummy PY: Um Sigh Um Goy) with 唔駛啦，唔該 (Dummy PY: Um Sigh La, Um Goy). Because 唔駛啦，唔該 (Dummy PY: Um Sigh La, Um Goy) means, “No, thank you” like when you are turning someone down, or refusing something. Make sure you don’t accidentally slipped in the emotion word 啦 (Dummy PY: La), the meaning will be completely different.

無問題(Dummy PY: Mo Men Tie) - No problem

If the person you are a little closer to, for when people are thanking you for doing them a favour, whether it be 唔該 (Dummy PY: Um Goy) or 多謝 (Dummy PY: Door Je) you can say 無問題(Dummy PY: Mo Men Tie) meaning no problem. 問題(Dummy PY: Men Tie) also means question, so you are basically saying no questions asked, for sure, of course, of sorts.

OK 啦 (Dummy PY: Okay La) - no problem/ it’s okay.

You can use OK 啦 (Dummy PY: Okay La) to respond to thank you when you and the other person are quite close, like friends or closer acquaintances. This OK here means no problem or it’s okay.

得啦 (Dummy PY: Duck La) - no problem/ it’s okay

As well you can say 得啦 (Dummy PY: Duck La), similar as OK 啦 (Dummy PY: Okay La), because 得(Dummy PY: Duck) means OK or the word Can.

講呢啲(Dummy PY: Gong Lay Dee) - (Literal: talk about this stuff)/ don’t have to be polite

If you are really close, you might hear people in Hong Kong say 講呢啲(Dummy PY: Gong Lay Dee) which means literally talk this stuff, meaning you don’t have to be talking about thank yous and all that and be so polite if we are such good friends or so close. Of course, I would do it for you. You got it. Also because Hong Kongers are not overly polite, maybe sometimes also be considered rude compared to other cultures, we don’t like to thank people all the time and also don’t want to be thanked all the time because it can be a little embarrassing to be praised. Maybe because how Hong Kongers are raised we don’t get compliments a lot. So sometimes when people say thank you a lot it might seem a little ingenuine. Not sure. But it’s my theory because of course when I moved to Canada, I was also a little like, “Ok, why are people thanking me all the time” but now I am also one of the thankers.

That’s it, let’s get to the vocab:

Thank you

唔該 (Dummy PY: Um Goy)

多謝 (Dummy PY: Door Je)

唔該你(Dummy PY: Um Goy Neigh)

多謝你 (Dummy PY: Door Je Neigh)

Thank you in advance

唔該哂先 (Dummy PY: Um Goy Sigh Seen)

唔該你先 (Dummy PY: Um Goy Neigh Seen)

多謝哂先 (Dummy PY: Door Je Sigh Seen)

多謝你先 (Dummy PY: Door Je Neigh Seen)

Really thank you 真係唔該你(Dummy PY: Jan Hi Um Goy Neigh)

真係唔該哂 (Dummy PY: Jan Hi Um Goy Sigh)

真係多謝你 (Dummy PY: Jan Hi Door Je Neigh)

真係多謝哂 (Dummy PY: Jan Hi Door Je Sigh)

Thank you so much

好多謝你 (Dummy PY: Ho Door Je Neigh)

Really thank you so much

真係好多謝你 (Dummy PY: Jan Hi Ho Door Je Neigh)

Thank you very much

非常多謝你 (Dummy PY: Fay Sheung Door Je Neigh)

麻煩你 (Dummy PY: Ma Farn Neigh)

麻煩哂你 (Dummy PY: Ma Farn Sigh Neigh)

Appreciate it a lot

好感激你(Dummy PY: Ho Gum Gig Neigh)

非常感激你(Dummy PY: Fay Sheung Gum Gig Neigh)

You are welcome

唔好客氣(Dummy PY: Um Ho Hack Hey)

唔駛客氣(Dummy PY: Um Sigh Hack Hey)

唔駛(Dummy PY: Um Sigh)

唔駛唔該 (Dummy PY: Um Sigh Um Goy)

No problem

無問題(Dummy PY: Mo Men Tie)

OK 啦 (Dummy PY: Okay La) 得

啦 (Dummy PY: Duck La)

You got it

講呢啲(Dummy PY: Gong Lay Dee)

No, Thank you

唔駛啦，唔該 (Dummy PY: Um Sigh La, Um Goy)

Phone

電話(Dummy PY: Deen Wah)