Name: ‘OK laa’: learn Cantonese ‘tail sounds’ or mei jam to speak like a local with Luisa Tam
Uploaded: 2025-06-29T16:54:06.000Z
Duration: 4 min 41 s
Description: Thousands of YouTube videos with English-Chinese subtitles! Now you can learn to understand native speakers, expand your vocabulary, and improve your pronunciation...

In Cantonese, we have something called "final particles", that are used at the end of a spoken sentence

To-infinitive

to show the attitude and tone of the speaker. Final particles in Cantonese are called mei jam,

Some of the most common ones include aa, me, gaa, laa, and lor.

They may sound simple, but if you get the tone wrong, the results could be disastrous.

The wrong tone could make or break a friendship or upset a loved one;

you might even end up losing your job if you use the wrong tone with your boss.

But don't worry, follow me to find out more about mei jam.

As you may already know, Cantonese is a tonal language. This means changing the tone of a word changes its meaning.

This also applies to final particles, known as mei jam.

These simple words are used to modify the mood or the meaning of a sentence.

There are many different final particles, some say there are at least a hundred of them, but you certainly don't have to know all of them.

You only need to learn a few common ones, but make sure you use the correct tone.

Otherwise, it will sound funny, strange, or worse, rude.

But if you can master a handful of them, it will make your Cantonese sound more fluent; you may even start sounding like a local after enough practice.

Cantonese speakers use "OK" in daily conversation, so let's use it with mei jam to demonstrate how final particles can alter the meaning of a sentence.

If you say "OK laa", it means you are sure it is OK and you are supportive of whatever has been asked of you.

For example, you can say, "OK laa, if you want me to help you move house this weekend, I can do it."

"OK laa" is a very casual way to show you accept or agree with something or someone.

But if you say, "OK geh", it means you are not 100 per cent sure and just agreeing to appease someone.

By saying "OK geh", it gives you some wiggle room to change your mind later.

In a sentence, you can say, "Oh, you want me to help you move house this weekend? OK geh, I think I am free."

But don't confuse it with "OK gaa" as it means, "I am also OK".

For example, you can say, "If you need help this weekend, I am OK gaa, just call me in the morning."

Next, OK ma. This is a question to find out if something is OK.

You can say, "I am moving house this weekend, could you help me out?

Or if you want to check if someone is all right, you can say,

And in response, if the person being asked is feeling alright, they can say, "Thanks for asking, I am OK wor."

And if they are feeling perfectly fine, they can say, "Thanks for asking, I am ho OK".

Ho is a commonly used adjective that means "very".

If you say, "OK me", it means you are in doubt if something or someone is OK.

In a sentence, you can say, "You don't look so well, are you sure you're OK?

OK geh means you are not 100 per cent sure, but just agreeing for now.

OK ma means you are asking if something or someone is OK.

OK me is when you are in doubt if something or someone is OK.

I hope you are still OK after this barrage of final particles and I haven't left you too confused.

Remember, the use of final particles can soften the tone of statements or convey different feelings such as impatience, surprise, disapproval or doubt.

If you can master them, your Cantonese will definitely start sounding more natural and fluent, like me!

Go out and practise your Cantonese loudly and proudly and I am sure everything will be OK laa.

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‘OK laa’: learn Cantonese ‘tail sounds’ or mei jam to speak like a local with Luisa Tam

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