24.5 The Expression 唔該 m4 goi1 (‘please’)
In Lesson 0, we learned to use 唔該 m4 goi1 (‘thank you’) to thank someone who has helped us to do something or offered us some service.
The expression 唔該 m4 goi1 can also mean ‘please’. We often use 唔該 m4 goi1 to make a request more polite. We put 唔該 m4 goi1 at the beginning of a sentence.
| A: | 你想book幾點嘅？ nei5 soeng2 buk1 gei2 dim2 ge2? What time do you want to book for? |
| B: | 唔該你幫我book六點半吖。 m4 goi1 nei5 bong1 ngo5 buk1 luk6 dim2 bun3 aa1. Please book for 6:30 for me. |
We can also use 唔該 m4 goi1 when we make requests indirectly.
| A: | 喂，壽司人。 wai2, sau6 si1 jan4. Hello, Sushiet [a fictional restaurant]. |
| B: | 唔該我想book位嘅。 m4 goi1 ngo5 soeng2 buk1 wai2 ge3. I want to book seats, please. |
We can optionally omit the subject of the sentence if it is obvious in the context.
唔該你幫我book六點半吖。
m4 goi1 nei5 bong1 ngo5 buk1 luk6 dim2 bun3 aa1.
Please book for 6:30 for me.
唔該我想book位嘅。
m4 goi1 ngo5 soeng2 buk1 wai2 ge3.
I want to book seats, please.
We can also put 唔該 m4 goi1 at the end of a sentence, usually when the sentence has a sentence particle.
唔該幫我book六點半吖。
m4 goi1 bong1 ngo5 buk1 luk6 dim2 bun3 aa1.
↓
幫我book六點半吖唔該。
bong1 ngo5 buk1 luk6 dim2 bun3 aa1 m4 goi1.
Please book for 6:30 for me.
唔該我想book位嘅。
m4 goi1 ngo5 soeng2 buk1 wai2 ge3.
↓
我想book位嘅唔該。
ngo5 soeng2 buk1 wai2 ge3 m4 goi1.
I want to book seats, please.
Note that we can also use 唔該 m4 goi1 when talking to people we know (e.g., friends, colleagues and family members). We should be polite to everyone!