THE SHORT ANSWER
In an ordinary Cantonese information question, the question word often stays where the missing information would appear in the answer. 邊個 bin1 go3 asks who; 咩 me1 or 乜嘢 mat1 je5 can ask what. 做乜 zou6 mat1 can ask what someone is doing or why, depending on the sentence.
Replace one unknown part of a statement
Take the statement 我埋單: I will pay the bill. If the unknown part is the person paying, replace 我 with 邊個. You get 邊個埋單呀. The action remains in place; you have changed the person slot into a question.
This is a practice method for simple sentences, not a rule that explains every Cantonese question. CUHK’s question examples include both ordinary in-place questions and more complex fronted structures. Master the straightforward pattern before trying to imitate every variation in fast conversation.
我埋單。
ngo5 maai4 daan1
I will pay the bill.
Text practice statement.
邊個埋單呀
bin1 go3 maai4 daan1 aa3
Who is paying the bill?
Who did it, or who did someone act on?
Compare asking who is paying with asking who someone knows. In the first, the unknown person does the action. In the second, the unknown person is the object of knowing. Tracking those roles is more useful than assuming who must always come first.
邊個問你呀 is grammatically a who-question, but the catalogue hook is Who asked? It can be dismissive rather than a sincere request to identify a person. Recognising the structure does not make the line a neutral conversation starter.
邊個問你呀？
bin1 go3 man6 nei5 aa3
Who asked you?
你識邊個？
nei5 sik1 bin1 go3
Who do you know?
Text practice question; the unknown person follows 識.
What is happening, and why is it happening?
In 你做乜走呀, the speaker is asking why the other person is leaving or running away, not requesting a list of things they manufacture. In 做乜咁認真呀, the question challenges the seriousness of the situation. Learn the entire expression around 做乜.
For a neutral exercise, imagine two cards: one shows an unknown activity and one shows a known activity with an unknown reason. Decide which information is missing before choosing wording. This prevents an English word-by-word translation of do and what from taking over your interpretation.
你做乜走呀？
nei5 zou6 mat1 zau2 aa3
Why are you running away?
做乜咁認真呀？
zou6 mat1 gam3 jing6 zan1 aa3
Why are you being so serious?
A question word can sit inside a statement
我完全明白要做啲咩 says that the speaker understands what needs doing. It contains 咩, but the whole utterance is a statement. Listen for the larger frame: 我明白 introduces the information that is understood.
For practice, sort lines into three boxes: a genuine information request, a challenging or rhetorical question, and a statement containing an unknown-information expression. Then write the answer a genuine question requires. If your response supplies an unrelated detail, revisit which part of the original sentence was actually unknown.
我完全明白要做啲咩
ngo5 jyun4 cyun4 ming4 baak6 jiu3 zou6 di1 me1
I know exactly what to do.
HEAR THE LINE IN CONTEXT
Watch with Auntie
I know exactly what to do.
This clip illustrates one expression connected with the topic. The written examples above extend the lesson.
Open the full phrase lesson ↗Read the Cantonese line
- Cantonese
- 我完全明白要做啲咩
- Jyutping
- ngo5 jyun4 cyun4 ming4 baak6 jiu3 zou6 di1 me1
- English
- I know exactly what to do.
YOUR TURN
Try it yourself
Change 我埋單 into a question asking who will pay. Then explain why 我完全明白要做啲咩 does not need a question answer.
See one possible answer
邊個埋單呀 bin1 go3 maai4 daan1 aa3 asks for the payer. 我完全明白要做啲咩 is framed by I completely understand, so what to do is the content of that understanding rather than a direct question to the listener.
Keep these in mind
- Identify the unknown person, thing, action or reason.
- Keep the ordinary sentence structure in view.
- A question-shaped line may be rhetorical or dismissive.