17.7 The Adjective 得 dak1 (‘okay’)

The adjective 得 dak1 can mean ‘okay’ (as in I am okay on Friday). We can use it to indicate that something works for us (e.g., the time or the location). When 得 dak1 means ‘okay’, we usually don’t add the default adverb 好 hou2 or adverbs that increase intensity (e.g., 勁 ging6 ‘strongly’, 超 ciu1 ‘super’). Note that 得 dak1 has other meanings. We may need to add an adverb in other situations.

To mean ‘not okay’, we can add the adverbs 唔 m4 (‘not’), 唔係好 m4 hai6 hou2 (‘not very’) or 唔係幾 m4 hai6 gei2 (‘not quite’) before 得 dak1.