Taiwanese Hokkien grammar

Every grammar guide of Lingora’s Taiwanese Hokkien A1 course, with examples you can listen to.

01The Linking Verb 是 (sī)是 (sī) links a subject to a noun that says what it is. Word order is the same as English: subject, then 是 (sī), then the noun. 這是我的朋友Anna。 This is my…
02Yes/No Questions with 敢 (kám)To turn a statement into a yes/no question, put 敢 (kám) directly in front of the verb. Nothing else changes — no word is moved, and no extra verb is…
03Inclusive and Exclusive 'We': 咱 and 阮Taiwanese has two words for we, and choosing between them is not optional. 咱 (lán) includes the person you are talking to. 阮 (guán) leaves them out.
04Negation: 無, 毋, 袂 and 免There is no single word for not in Taiwanese. Which negator you reach for depends on what you are denying — a fact, a wish, an ability, or an obligation.…
05ClassifiersA number can never sit straight next to a noun. Between them goes a classifier — a small word chosen to suit the kind of thing being counted. English…
06Possession with 的 (ê)的 (ê) joins an owner to the thing owned, in that order: owner first, 的 (ê), then the thing. It is the same little word English writes as 's — and, when…
07Adjectives as Attributes with 的To put a describing word in front of a noun, close it off with 的 (ê): modifier, then 的 (ê), then the noun. The modifier can be a single adjective or a…
08Noun Phrases with 的 (Nominaliser)The third job of 的 (ê) is to take a whole phrase and make a noun out of it. Whatever comes before 的 (ê) becomes the one that …, and the noun itself is…
09Change of State with 矣 (--ah)矣 (--ah) closes a sentence to say that the situation has CHANGED — that something is now the case which was not before. It is not a past tense, and it is…
10The Progressive: 佇咧, 當咧 and 咧To say an action is under way, put 佇咧 (tī-leh) in front of the verb. Unlike the sentence-final aspect particles, this one goes BEFORE the verb, exactly…
11Affirming an Event with 有 (ū)有 (ū) does two related jobs. As a full verb it means to have and there is. Placed before another verb it asserts that the action really did take place.
12Experience with 過 (--kuè)過 (--kuè) after a verb says the action has been experienced at least once. It is about your life history, not about a particular occasion: I have been to…
13Result Complements with 著 (--tio̍h)Taiwanese separates trying from succeeding. A bare verb names the activity; adding 著 (--tio̍h) after it says the activity ACHIEVED something. 看 (khuànn)…
14Modal Verbs: 會, 袂, 會當 and 會使Modals go straight in front of the main verb and never change their form. Taiwanese draws finer distinctions here than English, which makes one word —…
15Wanting, Needing and the Near Future: 欲 and 愛Two very common verbs carry a plain meaning and a grammatical one side by side. The two uses behave differently enough that it is worth learning each…
16The Object Marker 共 (kā)Normal word order is subject, verb, object. 共 (kā) rearranges it: the object moves in FRONT of the verb, marked by 共 (kā). The pattern is SUBJECT + 共…
17予 (hōo): Give, Let and the Passive予 (hōo) starts as the verb to give, and from that one meaning grow two grammatical jobs that look very different in English.
18Comparison with 較 and 上Adjectives never change shape in Taiwanese. There is no -er or -est ending — comparison is done entirely with small words placed in front of the…
19Location and Time with 佇 (tī)佇 (tī) is the general-purpose locative, covering English at, in and on in one word. Taiwanese has few prepositions, and this one does a great deal of the…
20Question WordsThe single most useful fact about Taiwanese questions: the question word stays exactly where the answer would go. Nothing is moved to the front, and the…
21Demonstratives: 這 and 彼Taiwanese splits this and that the way English does — near the speaker against away from the speaker — and extends the same pair to places and to manner.
22Tone SandhiSay 看 (khuànn) to look on its own — it sits low. Now say 看冊 (khuànn-tsheh) to read a book. Same syllable, spelt the same way both times, and this time it…
23The Neutral Tone and the '--' MarkerSome syllables carry no tone at all. They are said quickly and lightly, leaning on the word in front of them. This course marks them with a DOUBLE HYPHEN…
24Yes/No Questions with Sentence-Final 無The second way to ask a yes/no question: say the statement exactly as it is, and add 無 (--bô) at the end. Nothing inside the sentence moves. 你好無？ How are…
25Personal Pronouns and Their PluralsThe singular pronouns are 我 (guá) I, 你 (lí) you and 伊 (i) he, she, it. One form does subject and object alike — there is no I/me split, so the same word…
26Counting: 兩 and 二Taiwanese has two words for two and they are not interchangeable. Which one you need depends on whether you are counting things or reciting a number.
27Conjunctions: 佮, 毋過, 抑是 and 若…就佮 (kah) means and — but only between nouns. This is the mistake English speakers make most: you cannot use it to join two statements the way English uses…
28Degree Adverbs: 真, 足, 誠 and 傷An adjective standing as a predicate normally needs a degree word in front of it. A bare adjective on its own tends to sound like the start of a…
29攏 (lóng) and 逐 (ta̍k): All and Every攏 (lóng) means all, both, entirely — and the thing to learn is WHERE it goes. It attaches to the verb, not to the noun it refers to, so it sits after the…
30Directional Complements: 來, 去 and 起來來 (lâi) come and 去 (khì) go are ordinary verbs, but they also attach to other verbs to show which way the action runs relative to the speaker — towards,…
31Sentence-Final Particles: 啦, 喔 and 咧A particle at the very end of a sentence adds no information — it carries the speaker's attitude. Leaving them out is not ungrammatical, but it makes you…