At the checkout: cash, card, Octopus, bags and receipts in Cantonese

現金定信用卡 presents a choice between cash and credit card. 我畀現金 replies that you will pay cash. If you want to use a different method, ask about that method rather than treating every contactless-looking terminal as interchangeable.

可唔可以用八達通 asks about Octopus. Octopus’s own visitor guidance says to use it where the service is accepted and to wait for the transaction to finish. That is a reason to check the merchant and reader in front of you. The phrase does not establish acceptance at every shop, stall or restaurant.

要唔要袋呀 asks whether you need a bag. 要唔要收據呀 asks whether you need a receipt. Both use a yes-or-no pattern, but they concern different objects. Listen for the final noun rather than saying the same answer automatically because the openings sound familiar.

唔使袋，唔該 declines a bag clearly. If you want a receipt, 要，唔該 can answer the receipt question when that topic is already established. Stating the noun again is useful if several questions came quickly or if you are correcting an earlier answer.

付款失敗咗 means the payment failed. That is different from being told that a particular card type is not accepted. In one case a transaction attempt did not succeed; in the other the method itself may be unavailable. Ask what happened if the screen and spoken message are unclear.

The text question 付款成功未呀 asks whether payment has succeeded yet. It helps establish the state before the cashier asks you to try again or choose another method. Follow the actual terminal and cashier instructions rather than assuming every pause means failure or every sound means completion.

After payment, collect the item, receipt if requested and any agreed packaging. If an item is a gift, the existing phrase 我要一張禮物收據 asks for a gift receipt, which is a more specific request than a normal receipt. The example response about hiding the price describes that example; an actual retailer’s document format may differ.

For practice, assign one person the cashier role and choose three questions in an unexpected order. The buyer must identify the topic before responding. In a second round, introduce one failed-payment message and a bag refusal. Success means both people can state the final arrangement, not just that the buyer managed to say “cash.”