This paper takes a subset of the semantic primitives currently proposed in the Natural Semantic Metalanguage theory (Wierzbicka, 1996) and addresses two questions: Do these meanings have lexical equivalents in Cantonese? If so, does their combinatorial syntax conform to Wierzbicka's hypotheses? The temporal primitives () are all found to have clear Cantonese exponents which can be combined as predicted with other metalanguage elements--but for two exceptions: the combinations and are apparently not possible in Cantonese. We also argue that the Cantonese evidence suggests that `when-time' (as in the phrase ) and `frequency time' (as in ) may be distinct semantic primes. As for the spatial primitives (), they all appear to have Cantonese exponents with the predicted syntax, but the tentative proposal that may be a universal primitive is challenged by the apparent lack of an equivalent expression in Cantonese.