Thank You

To say thank you in Cantonese to someone who has rendered you a service, you say m goi. This is exactly the same word for 'excuse me'.

Why use the same word (or rather, phrase)? The key seems to be this: when you say excuse me, you are asking someone to render you a service (such as making way for you to get off a lift). When a service has been rendered you say m goi (thank you for the service).

You don't need to have requested the service to say m goi (thank you). After you have been served at the post office, for example, it is simply good manners to say m goi to the person who served you.

Sometimes people say m goi saih, which seems to be the equivalent of thank you very much (as opposed to a simple thank you). The saih rhymes with the English word 'high'. If someone rendered you a service that went beyond mere courtesy, such as offering you their seat in a bus, it is appropriate to say m goi saih.

Just to clarify -- the goi rhymes with 'toy'. Don't read it as 'gwah'. This is not French.

Armed with our knowledge of amounts, we can now venture out a little and make some small conversation.

At a shop:
A: (Pointing to an item) M goi! Gei chin ah? (Excuse me, how much?)
B: M sap man ($50.00)
A: (Pointing to another item) Gei chin ah? (How much?)
B: Chat sap say man ($74.00)
A: (Pointing to another item) Gei chin ah? (How much?)
B: Yat baak sam sap go baht ($130.80)
A: M goi saih (Thank you)
B: @**%&#$! (Cheapskate)

Another word for thank you is to che. You use this version of thank you to thank someone who has given you something. If a friend gives you a gift, you say to che. To rhymes with the the 'to' in the English word 'toxic'. It does not rhyme with 'two' or with 'dough'. Che rhymes with the "cze" in Czechoslovakia.

Typically, after you buy something from a vendor, the final pleasantries will see you saying m goi (thank you for the service) and the vendor saying to che (thank you for the money). You can also say to che saih to mean 'thank you very much'.

To summarize, to say thank you:

• m goi (saih) - thank you (for a service you did for me)

• to che (saih) - thank you (for this thing you gave me)

Although generally one version is not a substitute for the other, there is no harm if you confuse them.


Next: He asked me to marry him, and I couldn't say no because Cantonese has no word for no.