From Wikitravel

Min nan hua or Southern Min is the Chinese dialect of the Southern part of Fujian province, the area around Xiamen and Quanzhou. A variant is widely spoken in Taiwan where it is referred to as Taiwanese. Another variant is also spoken widely in the Philippines where it is referred to as Lan Nang Oe. In Singapore and Malaysian English, the Min dialects are called Hokkien, the Min-nan pronunciation of Fujian.

Note that this list is based on the Xiamen version of Minnan. The dialects spoken in Taiwan, other parts of mainland China, Singapore, Malaysia, Medan and other Chinese communities have some differences, due to borrowing of words from different languages and sometimes language evolution due to relative isolation. Most notable, Minnan spoken in Taiwan has borrowed some words from Japanese, so "uncle" would be known as "ojisan" in Taiwan instead of "Ah Pek" (father's elder brother), "Ah Chek" (father's younger brother) or "Ah Ku" (mother's brother) as in Xiamen. The variant spoken in Zhangzhou, Fujian province has some subtle differences from the Xiamen varient but is largely mutually intelligible (eg. kiam nui instead of kiam neng for salted egg). Yet another well known variant is the Teochew dialect spoken around Chaozhou in Guangdong, and by large foreign Chinese Teochew community around the world including Cambodia, United states of America and France, which is significantly different (eg. tsit kai nang instead of tist e lang) but is still mutually intelligible with the Xiamen variant to a small degree. The variants spoken in Singapore and Malaysia are also known to have extensive borrowing from Malay and to a lesser extent Cantonese, Teochew and English.

[edit] Pronunciation guide

Like all other Chinese dialects, the minnan dialect is tonal and the tones must be correct in order to convey the correct meaning. Tone sandhi is particularly common and not standardised in the minnan dialect, which makes it a little harder to learn than say Mandarin, where tone sandhi is standardised and Cantonese where tone sandhi is used sparingly.

[edit] Vowels

[edit] Consonants

Minnan is full of consonants, even more than standard Mandarin or Cantonese, and pronouncing them correctly is going to be a challenge for English speakers. For instance, there is a difference between the aspirated and unaspirated k and p sounds like in Mandarin, as well as the hard b and hard g sounds of English. The j sound in English is also used along with the j sound in Mandarin hanyu pinyin. However, unlike in Mandarin, there is no "tongue rolling" consonant.

[edit] Common diphthongs

[edit] Phrase list

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Phrases in this section are not consistently transcribed with Pe̍h-ōe-jī and Wikitravel's romanization guidelines. If you are familiar with the language, please help fix them up!

Here are a few very basic phrases:

Hello - li ho 你好 (LEE-HO)

Thank you - kum sia 感謝 (KUM-SHEEAH)

You are beautiful - li chin sui 你真美 (LEE-CHIN-SWEE)

Don't lie to me! - mai ke 甭假 (MY-GAY)

This is delicious (for beverage) - ho lim 好飲

This is delicious (for food) - ho chiah 好吃 (HO JEEYAH)

Have some tea - lim te 飲茶

Make tea - pao te 泡茶

That's OK/You're welcome - m-ben kekki 免客氣

[edit] Basics

Please note that the Chinese tonal inflection is represented as numbers following each syllable.

Hello. 

Lee(1) ho(1) . 你好(Mandarin: Ni(2) hao(3). Literal: You Good?)

Hello. (informal) 

. ( )

How are you? 

Lee(1) ho(1) boh(3) ? 你好無 (Literal: You Good Not?)

Fine, thank you. 

. ( )

What is your name? 

Lee(1) kiu(2) sha(1) mi(2) mya(2)? 你叫甚麽名( ?)

My name is ______ . 

Wah(1) eh(2) mya(2) si(3) ______ . 我的名是______( Guwa (guwa is one syllable) shi _____ .)

Nice to meet you. 

. ( )

Please. 

. ( )

Thank you. 

Kam(1) siah(1). 感謝 ( )

You're welcome. 

. ( )

Yes. 

si(1) . ( )

No. 

mm(3) si(1). ( )

Excuse me. (getting attention) 

. ( )

Excuse me. (begging pardon) 

. ( )

I'm sorry. 

Shi(1) Lei(1) . 失禮( )

Goodbye 

Zhai(4) gen(3) . 再見( )

Goodbye (informal) 

. ( )

I can't speak name of language [well]. 

Wah(1) buay(2) hiao(4) gong(1) name of language. ( [ ])

Do you speak English? 

Lee(1) gum(1) eh(3) hiao(4) gong(1) eng(2) gyi(1)? ( ?)

Is there someone here who speaks English? 

Gum(1) ou(3) lung(2) eh(3) hiao(4) gong(1) eng(2) gyi(1)? ( ?)

Help! 

 ! ( !)

Look out! 

 ! ( !)

Good morning. 

gau cha ( )

Good evening. 

. ( )

Good night. 

. ( )

Good night (to sleep) 

. ( )

I don't understand. 

tianh bo . (hear not )

I don't understand. 

beh meng pek . (do not understand )

Where is the toilet? 

Ben(3) soh(4) di(2) de(1) We(2)? (Literal: bathroom, where is it?)

[edit] Problems

[edit] Numbers

Please note that the Chinese tonal inflection is represented as numbers following each syllable.

One 

一 yit(1) or chit(1)

Two 

两/二 nng(2) or li/ji(2) (Please note rules to use nng(2) or li(2) when counting.)

Three 

三 sa(1)

Four 

四 si(3)

Five 

五 go(2)

Six 

六 lak(2)

Seven 

七 chit(2)

Eight 

八 pui(2)

Nine 

九 kau(4)

Ten  

十 chap(2)

Eleven 

十一 chap(2)-it(1)

Twelve 

十二 chap(2)-li(2) ( Notice change from nng(2) to li/ji(2) when describe unit of one)

Thirteen 

十三 chap(2)-sa(1)

Fourteen 

十四 chap(2)-si(1)

Fifteen 

十五 chap(2)-go(2)

Sixteen 

十六 chap(2)-lak(2)

Seventeen 

十七 chap(2)-chit(2)

Eighteen 

十八 chap(2)-peh(2)

Nineteen 

十九 chap(2)-kau(2)

Twenty 

二十 li/ji(3)-chap(3) ( Notice use li/ji(2) to modify units of ten)

Twenty-One 

二十一 li/ji(3)-chap(3)-it(3)

Twenty-two 

二十二 li/ji(3)-chap(3)-Li/ji(3)

One Hundred 

一百 chit(1)-pah(1) (pah = 100)

Two hundred 

两百 nng(2)-pah(1) ( Notice use of nng(2) to modify multiples of 100)

Two hundred twenty-two

两百二十二 nng(2)-pah(4)-li/ji(2)-chap(2)-li/ji(2)

One thousand 

一千 chit(3)-chien(1) (chien = 1000)

Two thousand 

两千 nng(2)-chien(1)

Ten thousand 

一萬 chit(3)-ban(2) (ban(2) = 10000)

Twenty thousand 

两萬 nng(2)-ban(2)

One hundred thousand 

十萬 chap(2)-ban(2)

One million 

一百萬 chit(3)-pah(2)-ban(2)

Note: the following uses unconventional romanization and does not describe tones, but just tries to be phonetically accurate from an (American) English speaking standpoint. Goal is to have an English speaker's first try be fairly close, without reading a bunch of rules for phonetization nor trying to distinguish between the 7 tones in Taiwanese. Unfortunately, it is difficult to cover all tones this way, especially nasal and breath differences, and thus cannot be completely accurate. Also to note is the author learned Taiwanese from one parent from the south, and one parent from the north.

• Asterisk precedes words that are very hard to phonetize. It would be nice to get some audio on here for these.

• Also to note is the phoneme for "L" used below. Linguists call this sound a "flap" - it is similar to the "tt" sound in Standard American pronunciation of "butter". It is also similar to the Japanese "r" and the Spanish "single-r" sounds.

[edit] Basic Phrases

Hello - Li huh -- literally, "you good?"

How are you - Li ho-bo; OR Jia bah bo -- literally, "eat full?"

Not bad - Buay pai

Good, Thank you - Informal: Huh, duh shiah. Formal: Huh, gahm shiah

What is your name - Li-ay myah shee sa?

My name is - Wah-ay mya shee

Please - Pbai toh

That's OK / Your Welcome - Me-en Kayki

Excuse me - Pai say

Sorry - Informal: Pai say. Formal: shit leh

Goodbye - tzai chien

I don't know how to speak English - Wah mbay hyow gong eng-yee

Do you know how to speak English? - Li gah-ay hyow gong eng-yee

Is there someone here who speaks English? - Jiah gah oo lahng ay hyow gong eng-yee

I don't understand - Wah tyah bo

Where's the bathroom? - Ben so dee-da

[edit] Problems

Go Away - Tzow

Don't touch me! - Mai gah-wah mbong

I'll call the police. - Informal: Wah kah gien tsah. Formal: Wah ay kah hoh gien tsah.

Police! - Gien tsah

Stop! - Dohng

I need your help. - Wah soo-yow * dee-ay bahm-mahng

I'm lost. - Wah mbo-key

I lost my purse/wallet. - Wah pahng-key wah-ay pay bow

I'm sick. - Wah pwah bee or Wah gahng koh

I've been injured. - Wah dyuh shohng

I need a doctor. - Wah dah-ai ee-sheng

Can I use your phone? - Wah gah-ay sai yen * li-ay dyeng-way

[edit] Ordinal Numbers

first - day-eet

second - day-ji

third - day-sa

fourth - day-si

fifth - day-go

...

twentieth

...

hundredth - day chit-pah

...

thousandth - day chit-chien

[edit] Time

what time is it? - kwee tiam? 幾點

now - jeemah or jeetzoon

later - kah dahng-ay or shuh dahng

before - ee jun

early - dtsah

earlier - kah dtsah

morning - tao dtsah

in the morning - tzai kee

tomorrow morning - miyah tsai kee tao dtsah

afternoon - ay boh

in the afternoon -

evening - ay ahm

in the evening -

night - ahm

in the night - ahm-sheea

tonight - kim mi 今暝

[edit] Clock time

one o'clock AM - tao tza jeet diam

two o'clock AM - tao tza nen diam

noon - dyong dow

one o'clock PM - ay boh jeet diam

two o'clock PM - ay boh nen diam

midnight

[edit] Duration

minute - whhun

2 minutes - nun whhun

hour - diam jun

2 hours - nun diam jun

day - * leet

5 days - go * leet

week - * lay bai

5 weeks - go * lay bai

month - whay * leet

5 months - go whay * leet

year - nee

5 years - go nee

[edit] Days

today - gyah * de * deet

the day before yesterday - tzuh * leet

yesterday - dtsah-ung

tomorrow - miyah tsai

the day after tomorrow - ow * leet

this week - tsi * day bai

last week - den * day bai

the week before last week - jen * lay bai

next week - ow * lay bai

the week after next week - ow ow * lay bai

Monday - bai-eet

Tuesday - bai- * dee

Wednesday - bai-sa

Thursday - bai-shee

Friday - bai-go

Saturday - bai- * lahk

Sunday - * lay-bai

[edit] Writing time and date

[edit] Months

January - ee-gay

February - * lee-gay

March - sa-gay

April - shee-gay

May - go-gay

June - * lahk-gay

July - chee-gay

August - bway-gay

September - gow-gay

October - tsahb-gay

November - tsahb-eet-gay

December - tsahb- *de-gay

[edit] Colors

color - shitd

black - oh shitd

white - bay shitd

grey - whey shitd - literally "ash color"

red - ahng shitd

blue - na shitd

yellow - ung shitd

green - chyee shitd

orange - gahmah shitd

purple - gyuh shitd - literally "eggplant color"

brown - toh-shitd - literally "dirt color"

[edit] Transportation

[edit] Bus and train

ticket - dyu pyuh

on ticket - jeet-pyuh

How much is one ticket? - Jeet-pyuh shee gwee-koh? - literally "one ticket is how many dollars?"

bus - kay-wun

train - whey-chiah

Where does this bus go? - Dze-day kay-wun kee-dah?

Does this train go to ____? - Dze-day whey-chiah gah-oo kee ____?

What time does this train leave? - Dze-day whey-chiah gwee diam tsooh-whaht?

What time will this bus arrive? - Dze-day kay-wun gwee diam ay gow-wee?

Please stop! - Pbai-toh, dong!

[edit] Taxi

Taxi - gay-dyen chiah

Drive me to ____ - dzai wah kee ____

How much to go ____ - mbay kee ____ gwee koh?

[edit] Directions

How do I get to ____? - mbay ahndswah kee ____?

...the train station? - whey chiah dyoo?

...the bus station? - kay-wun dyoo?

...the airport? - whey-deng-gee dyoo?

...downtown? - chee dyong sheemg?

...the hotel? - * lee-guang?

...the restaurant? - bung-diam?

Where are there a lot of ____? - Dway oo jote-tsay ____?

Do you have a map? - * lee gah-oo day-doh?

[edit] Driving

street/road - * loh

left - duh

right - jyah

turn left - duh wah

straight ahead - dee-deet kee or dee-deet gyah

[edit] Lodging

Do you have any rooms available? - Oo bahn-gyun mbo?

How much for one room? - Jeet gyun, wah-tsay gyee?

One person - dzeday lahng

Two persons - nungay lahng

Does it have... - Gah oo

...bathroom? - beng soh?

...phone? - dyung way?

...television? - dyung ah?

May I see it first? - Gah-ay-dahng shung kwah?

Do you have something... - Gah oo kah

...bigger? - dwah-ay

...cheaper? - shohg-ay

Ok I'll sleep here for ____ nights. - Huh, mbay-kuhng ____ ahm.

Is there another hotel? - Gah oo bahg-ay * lee-guang?

What time is breakfast? - Dzah-dun gwee-diam?

Please clean my room - Pbai toh kyeng wah-ay bahn-gyun

Can you wake me at ____ ? - ____ gah-way gyuh kiah, huhbuh?

[edit] Money

credit card - swah kah

Where can I exchange money? - Dway ay-dahng wah gyee?

[edit] Eating

Breakfast - dzah-den

Lunch - dyong-den

Snack - diam-shing

Tea - day

Coffee - gah-bee

Dinner - ahm-den

I want - wah-mbay

Chicken - ga-mbah

Beef - goo-mbah

Fish - hee-ah

Eggs - nun

Vegetables - tsai

Fruit - dzwee-guh

Bread - pahng (For you linguists, this is from Portugese)

Noodles - mee

Rice - buhng

Beer - bee- * doo

Salt - yahm

Pepper - hyahm

Done eating - jyah- * lyow

Good to eat - huh-jyah

[edit] Bars

[edit] Shopping

How much? - Gwee koh/Wah dzay jyee?

Too much - shyoo-gwee

Don't want - mbwai

I need - Wah dah-ai

...toothbrush - kee-mbeeng

...soap - day koh

...shampoo - say tow-mun - literally "wash hair"

...paper - dzwah

...pen - mbeetd

...books - dzoo

[edit] Authority

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