Cantonese Emotion Words with Jyutping Audio
Practise Hong Kong emotion words—nau1, mou5 jan5, dak1 cik1—plus the Mandarin traps, with instant Jyutping.
Hong Kong speakers do not convert Mandarin emotion words syllable by syllable. Angry is 嬲. Crying is 喊. Colloquial 得意 is usually cute or interesting; if you look too pleased with yourself, people call you 得戚.
Each entry has Jyutping playback. These are everyday words, not a psychology list. For feeling unwell, see clinic speech. To annotate your own sentences, use the Jyutping converter.
Pairing table
| Hong Kong speech | Jyutping | Mandarin often says |
|---|---|---|
| 開心 | hoi1 sam1 | 開心, 高興 |
| 唔開心 | m4 hoi1 sam1 | 不開心, 不高興 |
| 過癮 | gwo3 jan5 | 過癮 |
| 得意 | dak1 ji3 | 可愛, 有趣 |
| 得戚 | dak1 cik1 | 得意洋洋, 自以為是 |
| 淡定 | daam6 ding6 | 冷靜, 鎮定 |
| 嬲 | nau1 | 生氣 |
| 發嬲 | faat3 nau1 | 發火, 發脾氣 |
| 火滾 | fo2 gwan2 | 非常生氣, 惱火 |
| 冇癮 | mou5 jan5 | 沒勁, 掃興, 無聊 |
| 悶 | mun6 | 悶, 無聊 |
| 心淡 | sam1 taam5 | 心灰, 灰心 |
| 驚 | geng1 | 怕, 害怕, 擔心 |
| 怕醜 | paa3 cau2 | 害羞 |
| 喊 | haam3 | 哭 |
| 心急 | sam1 gap1 | 著急, 等不及 |
Mandarin 得意 means smug. Colloquial Cantonese 得意 usually means cute or interesting. For smug, Hong Kong speakers say 得戚.
1. 開心 (hoi1 sam1)
Meaning: Happy. Words.hk: hoi1 sam1.
The characters match Mandarin; the reading is Cantonese. The negative is not 不開心. Add 唔 in front.
開心
hoi1 sam1
開心返
hoi1 sam1 faan2
2. 唔開心 (m4 hoi1 sam1)
Meaning: Unhappy.
唔 is the Cantonese negator. Do not swap in 不.
唔開心
m4 hoi1 sam1
3. 過癮 (gwo3 jan5)
Meaning: Fun; satisfying; done to your heart's content. Words.hk: gwo3 jan5.
Mandarin also says 過癮. Hong Kong speakers say it too. What you need to train is the opposite, 冇癮, and not treating 癮 as drug addiction only.
過癮
gwo3 jan5
4. 得意 (dak1 ji3)
Meaning: In speech, usually cute, interesting, or a bit odd. Words.hk: dak1 ji3.
The biggest trap. Do not import Mandarin 得意 as “smug”. Words.hk marks that sense as written. Speech uses 得戚.
得意
dak1 ji3
5. 得戚 (dak1 cik1)
Meaning: Smug, show-off, full of yourself. Words.hk: dak1 cik1.
Also written 得敕, same sound. Playback uses 得戚. Come first in class or win, and people will say you are 得戚. That is not the colloquial sense of 得意.
得戚
dak1 cik1
6. 淡定 (daam6 ding6)
Meaning: Calm; unflustered.
淡 here is daam6. In 心淡 it is taam5. Same character, two readings.
淡定
daam6 ding6
7. 嬲 (nau1)
Meaning: Angry; upset with someone. Words.hk: nau1. Verb or adjective.
Mandarin 嬲 is niǎo: literary “tease, pester”, not “angry”. Do not use the Mandarin reading, and do not convert 生氣 syllable by syllable.
嬲
nau1
嬲爆爆
nau1 baau3 baau3
唔好嬲
m4 hou2 nau1
8. 發嬲 (faat3 nau1)
Meaning: To get angry; to fly off. Words.hk: faat3 nau1.
This is not 發脾氣 converted syllable by syllable. People say faat3 nau1.
發嬲
faat3 nau1
9. 火滾 (fo2 gwan2)
Meaning: Furious. Words.hk: fo2 gwan2.
Stronger than 嬲. 滾 is boiling water; in speech a person can be 火滾.
火滾
fo2 gwan2
10. 冇癮 (mou5 jan5)
Meaning: Boring; no fun; or disappointed because something you looked forward to fell through. Words.hk: mou5 jan5.
Not “no drug addiction”. The light opposite is 有癮, “this is fun / I'm into it”. The character 癮 on its own can still mean addiction.
Do not type 好冇癮. 好冇 reads as hou2 mou2, a different tag. Practise 冇癮 and 真係冇癮.
冇癮
mou5 jan5
真係冇癮
zan1 hai6 mou5 jan5
11. 悶 (mun6)
Meaning: A thing is boring, or a person is bored. Words.hk: mun6.
悶 leans “can't be bothered”. 冇癮 can also mean a spoiled mood or a missed treat. Both are common. They do not fully overlap.
悶
mun6
12. 心淡 (sam1 taam5)
Meaning: Enthusiasm or hope is gone; disheartened. Words.hk: sam1 taam5.
This 淡 is not the daam6 in 淡定. CUHK's Mandarin–Cantonese list also marks 心1淡5. Playback uses taam5.
心淡
sam1 taam5
13. 驚 (geng1)
Meaning: To fear; to worry. Words.hk spoken reading: geng1.
This is not 害怕 converted syllable by syllable. Compounds such as 震驚, 驚訝, 驚喜 use the literary reading ging1. Playing 驚 gives the spoken geng1.
驚
geng1
14. 怕醜 (paa3 cau2)
Meaning: Shy. Words.hk: paa3 cau2.
Also written 怕羞, same sound. Not a Cantonese transplant of 害羞.
怕醜
paa3 cau2
唔好怕醜
m4 hou2 paa3 cau2
15. 喊 (haam3)
Meaning: To cry. Words.hk: haam3.
Mandarin 喊 is mainly “to shout”. Spoken Cantonese 喊 is mainly “to cry”. Shouting belongs in 吶喊 and 喊打喊殺.
喊
haam3
16. 心急 (sam1 gap1)
Meaning: Impatient; on edge. Words.hk: sam1 gap1.
This is not 著急 converted syllable by syllable. After waiting too long, people say 好心急.
心急
sam1 gap1
Shadow lines
我好嬲。
ngo5 hou2 nau1
你唔好得戚。
nei5 m4 hou2 dak1 cik1
個仔好得意。
go3 zai2 hou2 dak1 ji3
套戲好過癮。
tou3 hei3 hou2 gwo3 jan5
真係冇癮。
zan1 hai6 mou5 jan5
淡定啲。
daam6 ding6 di1
唔好喊喇。
m4 hou2 haam3 laa3
What these words train
| Type | Examples | What you practise |
|---|---|---|
| Angry is not Mandarin 嬲 | 嬲, 發嬲, 火滾 | nau1, not niǎo, and not 生氣 converted syllable by syllable |
| 得意 is not smug | 得意 vs 得戚 | Speech 得意 = cute / interesting; smug is 得戚 |
| 喊 is not shout | 喊 | Speech = cry |
| Two readings of 驚 | 驚 geng1 | Spoken “fear”; literary 震驚 is ging1 |
| Two readings of 淡 | 淡定 daam6; 心淡 taam5 | Same character, follow the word |
| 冇癮 playback | 冇癮, 真係冇癮 | Do not play 好冇癮; it becomes mou2 |
FAQ
Which is right: 得戚 or 得敕?
Both are dak1 cik1. Words.hk lists both. The player uses 得戚.
Is 冇癮 sometimes jan2?
Some sources mark that. Words.hk examples use jan5, same as 過癮.
Can I say 生氣, 哭, or 害羞?
People will understand. Hong Kong speakers usually do not say those.
How do I read 氹返?
Words.hk's verb reading is tam3: cheer someone up, or coax them out of 嬲. As a noun, 氹 is tam5, the puddle.
What about 唔忿氣?
Close to “won't swallow it / not having it”. Words.hk gives m4 fan6 hei3. Not a basic emotion word. Annotate it with the Jyutping converter.
Are 唔舒服 and 攰 emotion words?
See clinic speech.
What next?
Annotate your own sentences with the Jyutping converter. Time words: 而家, 聽日. Addressing relatives: kinship terms.