唔 meaning and stroke order
To hold in the mouth; bite
How to write 唔, stroke by stroke
10 strokes in order. Each box adds the next stroke in red. Write top to bottom and left to right, and finish enclosing strokes last.
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Meaning of 唔
Definitions from CC-CEDICT, grouped by pronunciation.
- oh (expression of agreement or surprise)
- (Cantonese) not
How 唔 is built
Phono-semantic (sound + meaning) character. Mouth.
口 gives the meaning and 吾 hints at the sound.
Radical: 口 (mouth), shared by 428 characters on this site.
How to remember 唔
唔 is a mouth 口 next to 吾 (wú), which gives the sound. Picture a mouth making a soft "wu" or "mm" noise, the sound you make to agree or show surprise.
In Mandarin, 唔 (wú) is mostly an interjection for agreement or mild surprise, a bit like "mm" or "oh" in English. Its best-known use is in Cantonese, where it means "not": 我唔知 (ngo4 m4 zi1 in Cantonese; read wǒ wú zhī in Mandarin), "I don't know."
Common mistake: Learners often confuse 唔 with its phonetic part 吾 (wú, "I" in classical Chinese) and leave off the 口 on the left. Also, do not use 唔 for "not" in standard Mandarin writing. Mandarin uses 不 (bù).
唔 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Questions about 唔
How many strokes are in 唔?
唔 is written with 10 strokes. The diagrams on this page number every stroke in the order it is written, with the new stroke shown in red.
What does 唔 mean?
唔 (wú) means to hold in the mouth; bite.
How do you pronounce 唔?
唔 is pronounced wú, in the second tone (rising).
What is the radical of 唔?
The radical of 唔 is 口, which carries the idea of "mouth". Dictionaries list 唔 under this radical.
Why do I see 唔 so often in Hong Kong subtitles and signs?
Written Cantonese uses 唔 as its everyday word for "not," so it shows up constantly, as in 唔該 (thank you / excuse me) and 唔好 (don't). In Cantonese it is pronounced m4, not wú.
Is 唔 the same as 嗯 when typing "mm" in a chat?
Both can stand for a murmured "mm." In Mandarin chat, 嗯 (ńg) is far more common for "yes" or "okay." 唔 mostly reads as Cantonese.