Experiential 過 in Cantonese

In Brief

Put 過 gwo3 directly after a verb to say that someone has had an experience before: 我去過日本 means “I have been to Japan.” Ask about experience with V + 過 + … + 未？ and say “never” with 未 + V + 過. Unlike 咗 zo2, 過 presents an event as part of someone’s experience rather than reporting one particular completed event.

Overview

Cantonese verbs do not change form for a tense in the way English verbs do: 去 heoi3 can mean “go,” “goes,” or “went,” depending on the sentence. Instead, Cantonese often uses an aspect marker (a short word that shows how an action is viewed). 過 gwo3 is the experiential aspect marker. It tells the listener that an event happened at least once before the relevant point in time and therefore counts as an experience.

This A2 pattern is especially useful for talking about travel, food, films, work, study, and people you have met. English often uses have/has + past participle with ever, never, or before: “Have you ever tried it?” and “I have never seen it.” That resemblance is helpful, but it is not exact. English also uses the present perfect for recent results and unfinished periods; Cantonese 過 has the narrower job of presenting something as prior experience.

The beginner rule is simple: attach 過 to the verb, put 未 before the verb for “never,” and use 未 at the end to ask “ever?” Once that is comfortable, the later sections explain time phrases, quantities, states that were once true, and the important contrast with 咗.

How It Works

The basic statement

The core pattern is:

subject + verb + 過 + object

Pattern	Cantonese	Jyutping	Meaning
subject + V + 過 + object	我去過日本。	ngo5 heoi3 gwo3 jat6 bun2.	I have been to Japan.
subject + V + 過 + object	佢學過廣東話。	keoi5 hok6 gwo3 gwong2 dung1 waa2.	He/She has studied Cantonese before.
subject + V + 過	我聽過。	ngo5 teng1 gwo3.	I have heard it before.

過 comes immediately after the verb it marks: 去過, 食過, 見過, 聽過. If an object follows, the usual order is verb + 過 + object, not verb + object + 過.

A sentence with 過 normally concerns a period that is already behind us. Words such as 以前 ji5 cin4 “before/in the past” or 曾經 cang4 ging1 “once, at some point” can make that meaning explicit, but they are not required:

• 我以前喺嗰度做過嘢。 “I worked there before.”
• 我曾經學過法文。 “I once studied French.”

Asking whether someone has ever done something

A very common spoken question ends in 未 mei6:

subject + verb + 過 + object + 未？

• 你食過榴槤未？ “Have you ever eaten durian?”
• 你睇過呢套戲未？ “Have you seen this film before?”

Here, final 未 asks whether the experience has occurred yet. A short answer can be:

• 食過。 “Yes, I have.”
• 未食過。 “No, I haven’t / I never have.”

Another widespread question pattern is 有冇 + verb + 過 …？:

• 你有冇去過澳門？ “Have you ever been to Macau?”
• 佢有冇坐過船？ “Has he/she ever travelled by boat?”

Both patterns ask about experience. Do not combine every available question marker in one sentence; choose a natural frame such as 去過未？ or 有冇去過？.

Saying “never” or “not yet experienced”

For the central negative pattern, put 未 before the verb and keep 過 after it:

subject + 未 + verb + 過 + object

• 我未見過佢。 “I have never seen him/her.”
• 我未去過韓國。 “I have never been to Korea.”

未 often carries the idea “not up to now.” Context determines whether natural English uses “have never” or “haven’t … yet.” With a once-in-a-lifetime experience, “never” is often best; with an expected task or event, “not yet” may fit better.

Colloquial Cantonese also uses 冇 + verb + 過 to deny that an experience occurred, especially when discussing a defined past setting: 我細個冇學過琴 “I didn’t learn piano when I was young.” For a beginner answering a general “Have you ever …?” question, 未 + V + 過 is the clearest pattern to learn first.

Adding frequency and duration

Because 過 means “at least once before,” it combines naturally with a number of occasions:

• 我去過兩次台北。 “I have been to Taipei twice.”
• 佢睇過三次呢套戲。 “He/She has seen this film three times.”

The frequency expression normally follows 過: V + 過 + number + 次 ci3. A duration can describe how long the past experience lasted:

• 我喺香港住過三年。 “I lived in Hong Kong for three years.”

This does not by itself say that the situation continues now. In fact, 過 often suggests that the episode is over or contrasts it with the present.

過 versus 咗

Both markers can refer to events in the past, but they answer different questions.

Focus	Cantonese	English	What it presents
Experience: 過	我去過日本。	I have been to Japan.	Japan is part of my life experience.
Specific completion: 咗	我上年去咗日本。	I went to Japan last year.	A particular trip was completed.
Experience question	你睇過呢套戲未？	Have you seen this film before?	Whether the experience exists.
Completion question	你睇咗呢套戲未？	Have you watched this film yet?	Whether the expected viewing is complete.

Think of 過 as “this has happened before” and 咗 as “this particular action became complete.” English have seen can translate either idea, so decide what you mean rather than translating word for word.

Examples in Context

Cantonese	Jyutping	English	Note
我去過日本。	ngo5 heoi3 gwo3 jat6 bun2.	I have been to Japan.	Basic travel experience
你食過榴槤未？	nei5 sik6 gwo3 lau4 lin4 mei6?	Have you ever eaten durian?	Question with final 未
我未見過佢。	ngo5 mei6 gin3 gwo3 keoi5.	I have never seen him/her.	Negative experience
佢學過廣東話。	keoi5 hok6 gwo3 gwong2 dung1 waa2.	He/She has studied Cantonese before.	Prior study experience
你有冇去過澳門？	nei5 jau5 mou5 heoi3 gwo3 ou3 mun4?	Have you ever been to Macau?	Question with 有冇
呢首歌我聽過。	ni1 sau2 go1 ngo5 teng1 gwo3.	I have heard this song before.	The song is placed first as the topic
我哋喺嗰間餐廳食過飯。	ngo5 dei6 hai2 go2 gaan1 caan1 teng1 sik6 gwo3 faan6.	We have eaten at that restaurant before.	Shared experience
佢睇過三次呢套戲。	keoi5 tai2 gwo3 saam1 ci3 ni1 tou3 hei3.	He/She has seen this film three times.	Number of occasions
我以前喺廣州住過兩年。	ngo5 ji5 cin4 hai2 gwong2 zau1 zyu6 gwo3 loeng5 nin4.	I lived in Guangzhou for two years.	A completed period in one’s past
我未坐過飛機。	ngo5 mei6 co5 gwo3 fei1 gei1.	I have never flown in a plane.	No experience up to now
你以前做過老師㗎？	nei5 ji5 cin4 zou6 gwo3 lou5 si1 gaa3?	You used to be a teacher?	Surprise about a former role
我細個肥過，而家瘦咗。	ngo5 sai3 go3 fei4 gwo3, ji4 gaa1 sau3 zo2.	I was once heavier, but now I have become thin.	A former state contrasted with the present

Common Mistakes

Putting 過 after the object

• Wrong: 我去日本過。
• Right: 我去過日本。
• Why: Experiential 過 is attached directly to the verb: 去過, then the object 日本 follows.

Using 咗 when you mean “ever before”

• Wrong for the intended meaning: 你食咗榴槤未？ when asking about lifetime experience
• Right: 你食過榴槤未？
• Why: The sentence with 咗 asks whether eating the durian—perhaps the one already served—has been completed. The sentence with 過 asks whether durian has ever been part of the listener’s experience.

Dropping 過 from the negative experiential pattern

• Wrong for “I have never seen him/her”: 我未見佢。
• Right: 我未見過佢。
• Why: 未見佢 can mean “I haven’t seen him/her yet” in a current situation. 未見過佢 clearly denies any previous experience of seeing or meeting that person.

Copying English tense structure

• Wrong: trying to add a separate Cantonese equivalent of English have before every experiential verb
• Right: 我睇過呢本書。
• Why: In this pattern, 過 carries the experiential meaning. Cantonese does not build it from “have” plus a changed verb form. 有 appears in the question frame 有冇 … 過？, but that does not make it a word-for-word copy of English have.

Treating 過 as a general past-tense ending

• Wrong idea: adding 過 to every sentence about yesterday
• Right: 我琴日買咗本書。 “I bought a book yesterday.”
• Why: 過 highlights experience, not past time alone. A specific completed event commonly takes 咗 or is understood from its time phrase and context.

Usage Notes

In everyday speech, both V 過 … 未？ and 有冇 V 過 …？ are natural. The first is compact and often has the flavour of “have you done it yet/ever?” The second explicitly frames a yes-or-no contrast. Choice varies with context and speaker; learners should be able to recognise and use both.

Cantonese commonly makes the object the topic (what the sentence is about) and comments on it afterward: 呢本書我睇過 “This book, I’ve read it.” This does not change the bond between the verb and 過. Topic-first order is especially natural when the object is already known in the conversation.

English translations need care. 我喺香港住過三年 is usually “I lived in Hong Kong for three years” or “I have lived in Hong Kong before,” not necessarily “I have lived in Hong Kong for three years” if that English sentence implies that I still live there. Cantonese 過 often presents the stay as a bounded former experience.

Do not confuse the aspect marker with every other use of the same written character. 過 can also function as a verb meaning “to pass/cross” in words and phrases such as 過馬路 “cross the road.” Position and meaning tell you which use is intended: 我過過馬路 is theoretically two separate instances of 過—verb plus aspect marker—but naturally occurring examples are best learned in their full context.

Beyond the Basics / Advanced Use

You do not need to master this section at A2, but these patterns explain many sentences you will meet later.

Experiential 過 can mark not only deliberate actions but also former states—conditions that were true at some earlier point. 我細個肥過 means “I was once fat/heavier as a child.” This frequently creates a contrast with now, whether the contrast is stated or merely suggested. Similarly, 佢以前做過老師 means “He/She used to be a teacher” or “He/She has worked as a teacher before.”

A past-time setting can narrow the experience to an earlier reference point. For example, 嗰陣我未去過日本 means “At that time, I had never been to Japan.” English switches to the past perfect had never been; Cantonese can keep 未 … 過 and let 嗰陣 “at that time” establish the viewpoint.

With exact dates and one-off events, 過 is possible only when the speaker still frames the event as experience, but it is often less natural than a plain event report with 咗. Compare:

• 我上年去咗日本。 A report about the particular trip last year.
• 我去過日本，係上年去嘅。 First establishes the experience; then identifies when it happened.

This is a useful discourse distinction: 過 answers “Has this ever happened?”, while the following conversation can supply when, where, how often, and what happened on a specific occasion.

Finally, 過 does not guarantee expertise or lasting ability. 我學過廣東話 says that studying Cantonese occurred in the person’s past; it does not promise that the person speaks it well now. Context or an added clause must provide that information.

Practice Tips

1. Build three-line sets. For each useful verb, say a statement, a question, and a negative: 我食過 / 你食過未？ / 我未食過. Repeat with 去、睇、聽、見、坐.
2. Sort experiences from events. Take five English past sentences and ask whether each one reports a particular completed event or describes prior experience. Choose 咗 for the first focus and 過 for the second, then add a time phrase if needed.
3. Keep an experience list. Write short true sentences about places, foods, jobs, and films. Add 一次、兩次、三次 where appropriate, and practise asking a partner the corresponding 有冇 … 過？ questions.

Related Concepts

• Prerequisite: Completed Action 咗 — compare a specific completed event with an experience that has happened before.