'''Cantonese''' (廣東話 Gwóngdūngwáh) is a widely spoken [[Chinese phrasebook|Chinese]] language. It is the local language in current use within the province of [[Guangdong]], [[China]], official language in the Special Administrative Region of [[Hong Kong]], as well as in the Special Administrative Region of [[Macau]], and used in many overseas Chinese communities in South-East Asia and elsewhere, with [[Kuala Lumpur]] and [[Ho Chi Minh City]] (Saigon) being two places where Cantonese is the dominant language in a Chinese community that is in turn huge and influential. Cantonese is also the dominant language in many Chinatowns all over the world, including [[Los Angeles]], [[San Francisco]], [[Seattle]], [[New York City|New York]], [[Chicago]], [[London]], [[Sydney]], [[Melbourne]], [[Perth]], [[Vancouver]], [[Toronto]] and [[Kuala Lumpur]]. The dialect of Chinese spoken by many inhabitants of eastern [[Guangxi]] Province in mainland China, is often referred to a form of Cantonese as well.
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'''Cantonese''' (廣東話 Gwóng dōng wá) is a widely spoken [[Chinese phrasebook|Chinese]] language. It is the local language in current use within the province of [[Guangdong]], [[China]], official language in the Special Administrative Region of [[Hong Kong]], as well as in the Special Administrative Region of [[Macau]], and used in many overseas Chinese communities in South-East Asia and elsewhere, with [[Kuala Lumpur]] and [[Ho Chi Minh City]] (Saigon) being two places where Cantonese is the dominant language in a Chinese community that is in turn huge and influential. Cantonese is also the dominant language in many Chinatowns all over the world, including [[Los Angeles]], [[San Francisco]], [[Seattle]], [[New York City|New York]], [[Chicago]], [[London]], [[Sydney]], [[Melbourne]], [[Perth]], [[Vancouver]], [[Toronto]], [[Singapore]] and [[Kuala Lumpur]]. The dialect of Chinese spoken by many inhabitants of eastern [[Guangxi]] Province in mainland China, is often referred to a form of Cantonese as well.
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Note that "dialect" has a different meaning when applied to Chinese from when it is appied to other languages. Chinese "dialects" have widely diverging pronunciations of the same words and even different words for expressing the same thing and different grammar such as different word order. Chinese "dialects" are mutually unintelligible, as different as say, [[Italian]] and [[French]], which we would call "related languages" rather than "dialects". For all practical purposes, Cantonese is a foreign language for native speakers of Mandarin or other Chinese "dialects".
+
Chinese languages are mutually unintelligible, with difference ranging from that between [[Italian]] and [[French]] to that between English and [[Swedish]], which we would call "related languages" rather than "dialects".
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Meanwhile, there are different variations of the Cantonese dialect that differ greatly from one another. For example, the Cantonese spoken in the far west of Guangdong province (like [[Taishan]]) not very intelligible to a native of Guangzhou City.
+
All Chinese dialects, in general, use the same set of characters in reading and writing in formal settings. A [[Cantonese]] speaker and a Mandarin speaker cannot talk to each other, but either can generally read what the other writes. However, there can be significant differences when the "dialects" are written in colloquial form. For example Cantonese as used in Hong Kong, more informal phrasings are used in everyday speech than what would be written. Thus, there are some extra characters that are sometimes used in addition to the common characters to represent the spoken dialect and other colloquial words.
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Speakers of all Chinese varieties usually use the same characters in reading and writing. Written language is more formal and closer to standard Mandarin ''Póutūngwáh'' (Mandarin [[Chinese]]), even when used by Cantonese speakers. Oral Cantonese contains many words for which there has traditionally not existed a written form. In recent decades, however, characters for many of these words have been created, chiefly by the Hong Kong popular printed media such as newspapers and magazines. It should be noted that the different Cantonese-speaking communities use one of two different forms of writing: in Hong Kong, Macau, Malaysia and many overseas Chinese communities, ''traditional'' Chinese characters are in use, whereas the Cantonese-speaking communities in mainland China's Guangdong province as well as Singapore use ''simplified'' Chinese characters.
+
There are different local languages in Guangdong that are sometimes considered Cantonese dialects but in fact are separate languages, such as Taishanese, spoken in [[Taishan]] in the far west of Guangdong. However, most people throughout Guangdong know how to speak standard Cantonese (Guangzhou dialect) and Hongkongers and Macanese speak standard Cantonese with slight influences from Western languages, especially from English in Hong Kong Cantonese. The Cantonese spoken in Singapore and Malaysia also differ slightly due to [[Malay]] influences.
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In many cases, the regional varieties are not clearly regionalised but vary gradually across a region. Thus, linguists can identify anywhere between seven and seventeen separate Chinese languages where the speakers of different dialects are mutually unintelligible. This list is based on the Cantonese spoken in [[Guangzhou]]. Note that the Cantonese spoken in [[Hong Kong]] and [[Macau]] differ slightly due to Western influences, though standard Cantonese as spoken in Guangzhou would be understood by everyone. The Cantonese spoken in Singapore and Malaysia also differ slightly due to [[Malay]] influences.
+
Some of the phrases in the list are difficult to translate from English to Cantonese.
Some of the phrases in the list are difficult to translate from English to Cantonese.
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|-
|-
|b
|b
−
|'''b''' in "'''b'''all"
+
|'''p''' in "s'''p'''ort"
|-
|-
|p
|p
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|-
|-
|d
|d
−
|'''d''' in "'''d'''og"
+
|'''t''' in "s'''t'''op"
|-
|-
|t
|t
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|-
|-
|l
|l
−
|'''l''' as in "'''l'''ap". This is more like a rolling "r" sound, as in "ladder" or "butter", but it's a slide between d, t, l, and/or r.
+
|'''l''' as in "'''l'''ap"
|-
|-
|g
|g
−
|'''g''' in "'''g'''ood"
+
|'''k''' in "s'''k'''y"
|-
|-
|k
|k
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|-
|-
|j
|j
−
|blend of the '''z''' in "Mo'''z'''art" and the '''j''' in "'''j'''udge"
+
|'''zz''' as in "pi'''zz'''a"
|-
|-
|ch
|ch
−
|blend of the '''ts''' in "ca'''ts'''" and the '''ch''' in "'''ch'''urch"
+
|'''ts''' as in "'''ts'''unami"
|-
|-
|s
|s
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|-
|-
|gw
|gw
−
|'''gw''' as in "ho'''gw'''ash"
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|'''qu''' as in "s'''qu'''are"
|-
|-
|kw
|kw
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|-
|-
|w
|w
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|'''w''' as in "'''w'''ant"; otherwise, like English "v" in "victory"
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|'''w''' as in "'''w'''ant"
|}
|}
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|-
|-
|aan
|aan
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|'''awn''' as in "p'''awn'''"
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|'''an''' as in "Taiw'''an'''"
|-
|-
|aang
|aang
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|-
|-
|aap
|aap
−
|'''op''' as in "'''op'''t"
+
|'''ap''' as in "t'''ap'''"
|-
|-
|aat
|aat
−
|'''ought''' as in "'''ought'''"
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|'''at''' as in "h'''at'''"
|-
|-
|aak
|aak
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|'''alk''' as in "t'''alk'''"
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|'''ack''' as in "b'''ack'''"
|-
|-
|ai
|ai
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|-
|-
|am
|am
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|'''ome''' as in "s'''ome'''"; otherwise, like '''"am"''' in '''"ham"'''.
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|'''ome''' as in "s'''ome'''"
|-
|-
|an
|an
−
|'''un''' as in "s'''un'''". This can be pronounced like '''"an"''' in '''"man"'''
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|'''un''' as in "s'''un'''"
|-
|-
|ang
|ang
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|'''ung''' as in "l'''ung'''". This may sound like '''"ang"''' in '''"rang"'''.
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|'''ung''' as in "l'''ung'''"
|-
|-
|ap
|ap
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|'''up''' as in "c'''up'''". This can be pronounced like '''"ap"''' in '''"map"'''.
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|'''up''' as in "c'''up'''"
|-
|-
|at
|at
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|'''ut''' as in "c'''ut'''"; otherwise, like '''"at"''' in '''"cat"'''.
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|'''ut''' as in "c'''ut'''"
|-
|-
|ak
|ak
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|'''uc''' as in "s'''uc'''k"; otherwise, like '''"ack"''' in '''"back"'''.
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|'''uc''' as in "s'''uc'''k"
|-
|-
|e
|e
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|-
|-
|eng
|eng
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|'''eng''' as in "p'''eng'''uin"
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|'''eng''' as in "l'''eng'''th"
|-
|-
|ek
|ek
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|-
|-
|o
|o
−
|'''aw''' as in "p'''aw'''" (British English)
+
|'''aw''' as in "p'''aw'''"
|-
|-
|oi
|oi
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|-
|-
|on
|on
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|'''orn''' as in "sc'''orn'''" (British English)
+
|'''awn''' as in "p'''awn'''"
|-
|-
|ong
|ong
−
|'''ong''' as in "s'''ong'''" (British English)
+
|'''ong''' as in "s'''ong'''"
|-
|-
|ot
|ot
−
|'''ot''' as in "h'''ot'''" (British English)
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|'''aught''' as in "c'''aught'''"
|-
|-
|ok
|ok
−
|'''ock''' as in "st'''ock'''" (British English)
+
|'''alk''' as in "w'''alk'''"
|-
|-
|u
|u
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|-
|-
|ung
|ung
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|combination of '''ou''' and '''ng'''
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|'''ung''' as in "Band'''u'''ng"
|-
|-
|ut
|ut
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|-
|-
|uk
|uk
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|'''oke''' as in "j'''oke'''"
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|'''ook''' as in "b'''ook'''"
|-
|-
|eu
|eu
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|-
|-
|eui
|eui
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|'''eui''' as in "d'''eui'''l" (French)
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|'''o''' as in "n'''o'''" (British English)
|-
|-
|eun
|eun
−
|'''ine''' as in "eng'''ine'''"
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|'''on''' as in "pers'''on'''"
|-
|-
|eut
|eut
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|'''ut''' as in "p'''ut'''"
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|'''ot''' as in "carr'''ot'''"
|-
|-
|yu
|yu
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|'''u''' as in "t'''u'''" (French)
+
|Somewhat like '''ew''' as in "f'''ew'''"
|-
|-
|yun
|yun
−
|'''un''' as in "'''un'''ion"
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|Somewhat like '''une''' as in "t'''une'''"
|-
|-
|yut
|yut
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|'''Ut''' as in "'''Ut'''ah"
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|Somewhat like '''ute''' as in "c'''ute'''"
|-
|-
|m
|m
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; Hello. : 你好. Néih hóu.
; Hello. : 你好. Néih hóu.
; How are you? : 你好嗎? Néih hóu ma?
; How are you? : 你好嗎? Néih hóu ma?
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; How are you recently? (''more popular in daily usage''): 近排點呀 Gahnpàaih dím a? (''informal'')
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; How are you recently? (''more popular in daily usage''): 近排點呀? Gahnpàaih dím a? (''informal'')
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; Fine. : 幾好. Géi hóu. (''No need to say "thank you" after answering "fine" in Cantonese'')
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; Fine. : 好. Hóu. (''No need to say "thank you" after answering "fine" in Cantonese'')
; What is your name? : 你叫乜嘢名呀? Néih giu māt'yéh mèhng a?
; What is your name? : 你叫乜嘢名呀? Néih giu māt'yéh mèhng a?
; What is your name (''formal, literally means "How do I address you"'')? : 請問點稱呼? Chíngmahn dím chīngfū?
; What is your name (''formal, literally means "How do I address you"'')? : 請問點稱呼? Chíngmahn dím chīngfū?
−
; My name is ______ . : 我個名叫______. Ngóh go mèhng giu ______ .
+
; My name is ______ . : 我個名叫______. Ngóh go méng giu ______ .
; Excuse me, do you speak English? : 請問你識唔識講英文呀? Chíngmahn néih sīk-m̀h-sīk góng Yīngmán a?
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; Do you speak English? : 你識唔識講英文呀? Néih sīk-m̀h-sīk góng Yīngmán a?
−
; Is there someone here who speaks English? : 請問有冇人識講英文呀? Chíngmahn yáuhmóh yàhn sīk góng Yīngmán a?
+
; Is there someone here who speaks English? : 呢度有冇人識講英文呀? nī douh yáuh móuh yàhn sīk góng Yīngmán a?
; Help! : 救命呀! Gau mehng ā!
; Help! : 救命呀! Gau mehng ā!
; Look out! : 小心! Síusām!
; Look out! : 小心! Síusām!
; Good morning. : 早晨. Jóusàhn.
; Good morning. : 早晨. Jóusàhn.
; I don't understand. : 我唔明. Ngóh m̀h'mìhng.
; I don't understand. : 我唔明. Ngóh m̀h'mìhng.
−
; Where is the toilet? : 邊度有廁所? Bīndouh yáuh chi só?
+
; Where is the toilet? : 廁所喺邊度呀? Chi só hái bīn douh a?
===Problems===
===Problems===
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; number _____ (train, bus, etc.) : _____號 houh
; number _____ (train, bus, etc.) : _____號 houh
; half : 半 bun
; half : 半 bun
−
; less : 少 síu
+
; less : 小 síu
; more : 多 dō
; more : 多 dō
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;purple : 紫色 jí sīk
;purple : 紫色 jí sīk
;brown : 啡色 fē sīk
;brown : 啡色 fē sīk
+
;pink : 粉紅色 fán hùhng sīk
===Transportation===
===Transportation===
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; the youth hostel? : 青年旅舍 chīngnìhn léuihséh
; the youth hostel? : 青年旅舍 chīngnìhn léuihséh
; the _____ hotel? : _____ 酒店 _____ jáudim
; the _____ hotel? : _____ 酒店 _____ jáudim
−
; the American/Canadian/Australian/British consulate : 美國/加拿大/澳州/英國 領事館? Méihgwok/Oujāu/Yīng'gwok/Gānàhdaaih líhngsihgún
+
; the American/Canadian/Australian/British consulate : 美國/加拿大/澳州/英國 領事館? Méihgwok/Gānàhdaaih/Oujāu/Yīng'gwok líhngsihgún
; Where are there a lot of_____ ? : 邊度可以搵到好多_____呀? Bīndouh hó'yi wándou hóudō _____ a?
; Where are there a lot of_____ ? : 邊度可以搵到好多_____呀? Bīndouh hó'yi wándou hóudō _____ a?
; restaurants : 餐廳 chāantēng
; restaurants : 餐廳 chāantēng
; bars : 酒吧 jáubā
; bars : 酒吧 jáubā
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; sites to see : 境點 gíngdím
+
; sites to see : 景點 gíngdím
; Can you show me on the map? : 可唔可以喺張地圖度指俾我睇呀? Hó-m̀h-hó'yi hái jēung deihtòuh douh jí béi ngóh tái a?
; Can you show me on the map? : 可唔可以喺張地圖度指俾我睇呀? Hó-m̀h-hó'yi hái jēung deihtòuh douh jí béi ngóh tái a?
; street : 街 gāai
; street : 街 gāai
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; I don't eat pork. : 我唔食豬. Ngóh m̀h'sihk jyū.
; I don't eat pork. : 我唔食豬. Ngóh m̀h'sihk jyū.
; I don't eat beef. : 我唔食牛. Ngóh m̀h'sihk ngàuh.
; I don't eat beef. : 我唔食牛. Ngóh m̀h'sihk ngàuh.
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; I only eat kosher food. : 我淨係食清真嘢. Ngóh jihnghaih sihk chīngjān yéh.
+
; I only eat halal food. : 我淨係食清真嘢. Ngóh jihnghaih sihk chīngjān yéh.
; Can you make it "lite", please? : 嘢食清啲, 唔該. yéhsihk chīngdī, m̀h'gōi.
; Can you make it "lite", please? : 嘢食清啲, 唔該. yéhsihk chīngdī, m̀h'gōi.
; fixed-price meal : 套餐 touchāan
; fixed-price meal : 套餐 touchāan
Revision as of 21:35, 13 February 2013
Cantonese (廣東話 Gwóng dōng wá) is a widely spoken Chinese language. It is the local language in current use within the province of Guangdong, China, official language in the Special Administrative Region of Hong Kong, as well as in the Special Administrative Region of Macau, and used in many overseas Chinese communities in South-East Asia and elsewhere, with Kuala Lumpur and Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) being two places where Cantonese is the dominant language in a Chinese community that is in turn huge and influential. Cantonese is also the dominant language in many Chinatowns all over the world, including Los Angeles, San Francisco, Seattle, New York, Chicago, London, Sydney, Melbourne, Perth, Vancouver, Toronto, Singapore and Kuala Lumpur. The dialect of Chinese spoken by many inhabitants of eastern Guangxi Province in mainland China, is often referred to a form of Cantonese as well.
Chinese languages are mutually unintelligible, with difference ranging from that between Italian and French to that between English and Swedish, which we would call "related languages" rather than "dialects".
All Chinese dialects, in general, use the same set of characters in reading and writing in formal settings. A Cantonese speaker and a Mandarin speaker cannot talk to each other, but either can generally read what the other writes. However, there can be significant differences when the "dialects" are written in colloquial form. For example Cantonese as used in Hong Kong, more informal phrasings are used in everyday speech than what would be written. Thus, there are some extra characters that are sometimes used in addition to the common characters to represent the spoken dialect and other colloquial words.
There are different local languages in Guangdong that are sometimes considered Cantonese dialects but in fact are separate languages, such as Taishanese, spoken in Taishan in the far west of Guangdong. However, most people throughout Guangdong know how to speak standard Cantonese (Guangzhou dialect) and Hongkongers and Macanese speak standard Cantonese with slight influences from Western languages, especially from English in Hong Kong Cantonese. The Cantonese spoken in Singapore and Malaysia also differ slightly due to Malay influences.
Some of the phrases in the list are difficult to translate from English to Cantonese.
The pronunciations given in this guidebook use the Yale Romanization system. Sounds can only be approximated at best. This guide gives a general indication of the correct sound to make, but the best way to be completely accurate is to listen closely to native speakers and to mimic the sounds they make.
Consonants
Yale
Pronunciation
b
p in "sport"
p
p as in "pat"
m
m as in "mom"
f
f as in "foot"
d
t in "stop"
t
t as in "top"
n
n as in "not"
l
l as in "lap"
g
k in "sky"
k
k as in "kite"
ng
ng as in "singer"
h
h as in "hot"
j
zz as in "pizza"
ch
ts as in "tsunami"
s
s as in "sleep"
gw
qu as in "square"
kw
qu as in "quark"
y
y as in "yard"
w
w as in "want"
Finals
The final consonants p, t, and k are unreleased. This means that they are virtually silent and you hear no "puff of air" at the end of the syllable.
Yale
Pronunciation
aa
a as in "spa"
aai
igh as in "sigh"
aau
ow as in "how"
aam
am as in "Vietnam"
aan
an as in "Taiwan"
aang
combination of aa and ng
aap
ap as in "tap"
aat
at as in "hat"
aak
ack as in "back"
ai
i as in "kite"
au
ou as in "scout"
am
ome as in "some"
an
un as in "sun"
ang
ung as in "lung"
ap
up as in "cup"
at
ut as in "cut"
ak
uc as in "suck"
e
e as in "bet"
ei
ay as in "say"
em
em as in "temple"
eng
eng as in "length"
ek
eck as in "peck"
i
ee as in "tee"
iu
ew as in "few"
im
eem as in "seem"
in
een as in "seen"
ing
ing as in "sing"
ip
eep as in "sleep"
it
eet as in "meet"
ik
ick as in "sick"
o
aw as in "paw"
oi
oy as in "boy"
ou
oe as in "toe"
on
awn as in "pawn"
ong
ong as in "song"
ot
aught as in "caught"
ok
alk as in "walk"
u
oo as in "coo"
ui
ooey as in "gooey"
un
oon as in "soon"
ung
ung as in "Bandung"
ut
oot as in "boot"
uk
ook as in "book"
eu
er as in "her" (Britsh English, with rounded lips)
eung
combination of eu and ng
euk
ork as in "work" (British English)
eui
o as in "no" (British English)
eun
on as in "person"
eut
ot as in "carrot"
yu
Somewhat like ew as in "few"
yun
Somewhat like une as in "tune"
yut
Somewhat like ute as in "cute"
m
mm as in "hmm"
ng
ng as in "sing"
Tones
Cantonese is a tonal language. This means that the same syllable, pronounced in a different tone, has a different meaning. To complicate this, there may be more than one character pronounced as the same syllable with the same tone (though this is uncommon). In this case, context usually helps resolve the ambiguity. This may sound daunting, but is in fact is better than say, English, where there are a great deal of words that are spoken identically (eg. their, there, they're) and have nothing but context to help determine which one it is. Cantonese has context and tone to help distinguish words.
Different variations of the Cantonese dialect have a different number of tones, from as few as six to as many as ten or more. Most speakers, however, and all modern linguistic interpretations get by with being able to distinguish (both in spoken and heard Cantonese) between the following six tones:
Yale
Description
Start-to-end pitch
Yale
Description
Start-to-end pitch
1
ā
High Level
4
àh
Low Falling
2
á
Mid Rising
5
áh
Low Rising
3
a
Mid Level
6
ah
Low Level
The tonal pronunciation of Cantonese is by far the most difficult aspect of the often daunting language. The very minor initial difficulty in learning the tones is sometimes more than made up for by simple grammar, and absence of almost all plurals, genders, tenses and forms that make many other world languages seem difficult by comparison.
Phrase list
Basics
To be or not to be?
Cantonese, as in Chinese, does not have words for "yes" and "no" as such; instead, questions are typically answered by repeating the verb. Common ones include:
To be or not to be
係 haih, 唔係 mh'haih
To have or not have / there is or is not
有 yáuh, 冇 móuh
To be right or wrong
啱 āam, 唔啱 mh'āam
Hello.
你好. Néih hóu.
How are you?
你好嗎? Néih hóu ma?
How are you recently? (more popular in daily usage)
近排點呀? Gahnpàaih dím a? (informal)
Fine.
好. Hóu. (No need to say "thank you" after answering "fine" in Cantonese)
What is your name?
你叫乜嘢名呀? Néih giu māt'yéh mèhng a?
What is your name (formal, literally means "How do I address you")?
請問點稱呼? Chíngmahn dím chīngfū?
My name is ______ .
我個名叫______. Ngóh go méng giu ______ .
Nice to meet you.
幸會. Hahng'wúih.
Please.
請. Chíng.
Thank you. (when someone helps you)
唔該. M̀h'gōi.
Thank you. (when someone gives you a gift)
多謝 Dōjeh.
You're welcome.
唔使客氣. M̀h'sái haak-hei.
Excuse me. (getting attention)
唔好意思. M̀h'hóu yisi
Excuse me. (to get past)
唔該. M̀h'gōi or 唔該借借 M̀h'gōi jeje.
Sorry.
對唔住. Deui-m̀h-jyuh. (In Hong Kong, it's more common to use the English word "sorry" instead)
In Cantonese, "train" is translated into 火車 (fóchē) and "bus" is 巴士 (bāsí). The language uses measure words or numeral classifiers before the actual nouns. In context of the following examples, the respective Cantonese measure words for 火車 and 巴士 are 班 (bāan) and 架 (ga).
Reading a Chinese Menu
Look for these characters to get an idea of how your food's cooked. With help from The Eater's Guide to Chinese Characters (J. McCawley).
This is a guide phrasebook. It covers all the major topics for traveling without resorting to English. But please Plunge forward and help us make it a star!
