Question
Updated on
13 May 2019
- English (US)
-
Japanese
-
Traditional Chinese (Hong Kong)
Closed question
Question about Traditional Chinese (Hong Kong)
How do you say this in Traditional Chinese (Hong Kong)? "What did you eat?" in Cantonese/粵
How do you say this in Traditional Chinese (Hong Kong)? "What did you eat?" in Cantonese/粵
Bing translator gives me "你食左咩?"..
From my limited knowledge, 左 (left) should be 咗 (particle for completion), although I see in wiktionary 'internet use' that 左 is a substitute or even "o左". Is that too lazy?
I just found out that 咩 is perhaps a slur of 乜嘢 (mat+ye=me).. so I wonder if 咩 would be impolite to use in less-casual situations (such as people I do not know, or a waitress, or friends' families etc)
What is your opinion on what Bing gives me? Should I stick to one way or does it really not matter?
From my limited knowledge, 左 (left) should be 咗 (particle for completion), although I see in wiktionary 'internet use' that 左 is a substitute or even "o左". Is that too lazy?
I just found out that 咩 is perhaps a slur of 乜嘢 (mat+ye=me).. so I wonder if 咩 would be impolite to use in less-casual situations (such as people I do not know, or a waitress, or friends' families etc)
What is your opinion on what Bing gives me? Should I stick to one way or does it really not matter?
Answers
When you "disagree" with an answer
The owner of it will not be notified.
Only the user who asked this question will see who disagreed with this answer.
17 May 2019
Featured answer
- Traditional Chinese (Hong Kong)
- English (UK) Near fluent
咩 is perfectly fine and not impolite when substituting 乜嘢.
for 咗, it is somehow ok to ues 左 instead because of historical reason. 咗 is a Cantonese character not used in standard Chinese and cannot be properly rendered in computer systems back in the days, so people use 左 or o左 or 口左 instead. but 吾系甘牙 are not acceptable because 唔係咁呀 are in the standard character set.
Highly-rated answerer
Was this answer helpful?
Obviously wrong
Explanation is not enough
Written in a language I can't understand
Answer is not related to the question
Other reason
Read more comments
- Traditional Chinese (Hong Kong)
- Traditional Chinese (Hong Kong)
@mazumazutora 左and咗is the same in term of pronunciation. But 咗is a more common writing. 咩and乜嘢is the same in term of politeness and meaning.
Was this answer helpful?
- Traditional Chinese (Hong Kong)
咩=乜野use in talking only. It would not be impolite. When you writing. You should use 什麼.
Was this answer helpful?
- Traditional Chinese (Hong Kong)
- English (UK) Near fluent
咩 is perfectly fine and not impolite when substituting 乜嘢.
for 咗, it is somehow ok to ues 左 instead because of historical reason. 咗 is a Cantonese character not used in standard Chinese and cannot be properly rendered in computer systems back in the days, so people use 左 or o左 or 口左 instead. but 吾系甘牙 are not acceptable because 唔係咁呀 are in the standard character set.
Highly-rated answerer
Was this answer helpful?
[News] Hey you! The one learning a language!
Do you know how to improve your language skills❓ All you have to do is have your writing corrected by a native speaker!
With HiNative, you can have your writing corrected by native speakers for free ✍️✨.
With HiNative, you can have your writing corrected by native speakers for free ✍️✨.
Sign up
Related questions
Recommended Questions
- How do you say this in Traditional Chinese (Hong Kong)? how to say how are you in Chinese?
- How do you say this in Traditional Chinese (Hong Kong)? oi
- How do you say this in Traditional Chinese (Hong Kong)? привет
- How do you say this in Traditional Chinese (Hong Kong)? 我在學廣東話 （用廣東話怎麼說？）
- How do you say this in Traditional Chinese (Hong Kong)? how can tell how are you in Chinese?
Topic Questions
- How do you say this in English (US)? Без понятия
- How do you say this in English (US)? Como se les llama a las tiendas de ropa de segunda mano?
- How do you say this in English (US)? 私は日本式トイレは最近では見かけることがなくなった。 でもたまに見かけることがある。 もし幸運にもあなたがそれに出会った...
- How do you say this in English (US)? The usage of your kanji is unnatural Sounds natural?
- How do you say this in English (US)? 電車よりもバスの方がよく利用します。
Newest Questions
- How do you say this in English (US)? Se me antojó la pizza
- How do you say this in English (US)? 食べていいかお母さんに聞いた？
- How do you say this in English (US)? قطه
- How do you say this in English (US)? Vuela la mosca
- How do you say this in English (US)? 牡蠣は海の味がして好きです。
Previous question/ Next question
What’s this symbol?
The Language Level symbol shows a user's proficiency in the languages they're interested in. Setting your Language Level helps other users provide you with answers that aren't too complex or too simple.
-
Beginner
Has difficulty understanding even short answers in this language.
-
Beginner-Intermediate
Can ask simple questions and can understand simple answers.
-
Intermediate
Can ask all types of general questions and can understand longer answers.
-
Advanced
Can understand long, complex answers.
Sign up for premium, and you can play other user's audio/video answers.
What are gifts?
Show your appreciation in a way that likes and stamps can't.
By sending a gift to someone, they will be more likely to answer your questions again!
If you post a question after sending a gift to someone, your question will be displayed in a special section on that person’s feed.
Tired of searching? HiNative can help you find that answer you're looking for.
Thank you! Rest assured your feedback will not be shown to other users.
Thank you very much! Your feedback is greatly appreciated.
