No, the Cantonese level of mainland friends, regardless of the north and south, is definitely proportional to the number of years they have lived in Hong Kong. Especially after work, you will make rapid progress. Hong Kong people around you, whether colleagues, friends or community security guards, will kindly help you correct and guide you. The important thing is that you dare to say it. Let's say northerners My northern female friend who has been in Hong Kong for more than 4 years basically has no accent in Cantonese. In Hong Kong 1 year or above, it is not standard, but it basically does not affect the daily basic communication. Male friends in the north don't have such samples. In fact, Cantonese is very easy to learn compared with Shanghai dialect. People who have stayed in Shanghai for decades may not even be able to say "My brain is running out". Interestingly, many Hong Kong colleagues around me will deliberately imitate Beijing dialect when learning Mandarin, but every word has a sense of tongue curl that makes people laugh and cry. If they laugh at your Cantonese on weekdays, you can also laugh at their Mandarin at this time!