1

Introduction

About Cantonese
Cantonese (or Yue) is one of the five major Chinese languages. These are often called
"dialects", but in actuality their differences are great enough to consider them separate
languages.
Cantonese is spoken by about 100 million people in the southern provinces of
Guangdong and Guangxi and in neighboring areas such as Hong Kong and Macao, as
well as throughout South-East Asia in such places as Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand
and Vietnam. Due to the migration of Cantonese speakers from Hong Kong and the
Guangdong area, Cantonese is the dominant form of Chinese spoken in the
Chinatowns of many major cities in the United States, Canada, Australia and
elsewhere.
The word Cantonese comes from Canton, the former English name of Guangzhou,
capital of Guangdong, which was once considered the home of the purest form of
Cantonese. However, through years of mass media and pop culture influence, Hong
Kong has now truly become the cultural centre of Cantonese.
Although Mandarin (or putonghua) is the standard and official language in mainland
China, it has only been around for about 700 or 800 years, compared to the 2000-year
history of Cantonese. Cantonese, not Mandarin, is the dominant language in overseas
Chinese communities. This comes from the fact that, around the world, the largest
flow of Chinese immigrants originates from Hong Kong.
Cantonese is mainly an oral language. People in Hong Kong use standard Chinese
(putonghua) when they read and write. They speak Cantonese in their daily
interactions with people. As a colloquial language, Cantonese is full of slang and non-
standard usage. The language of youth is rapidly evolving, and new slang and trendy
expressions are constantly emerging.
The standard written language in Hong Kong is essentially the same Chinese as
everywhere else in China. The only difference is that Hong Kong and overseas
communities, like Taiwan, have kept what are called traditional characters, whereas
mainland China uses simplified characters. In an attempt to increase litteracy in
2

China, thousands of characters were "simplified" in a 1950 spelling reform initiated
by chairman Mao Zedong.


Tones
There are 6 different tones in Cantonese. You must rise, maintain or lower the relative
pitch of your voice to "sing" each word. For example, in English we naturally use a
falling tone at the end of a statement (You came.) and a rising tone at the end of a
question (You came?).
To be understood in Cantonese, it is essential that you master the six tones. If you use
the wrong tone, you are probably saying a completely different word.


Tone Pitch Contour Example
1 High Level dzUng Chinese
2 Low-Mid to High Rising gon speak
3 Mid Level ou bay
4 Low-Mid to Low Falling ts m sink
5 Low to Low-Mid Rising mai buy
6 Low-Mid Level mai sell
Click here to hear the six tones!
Tones can be rising, falling or level. In level tones, your voice stays flat at a certain
level and maintains the same pitch throughout.
Unlike musical tones, linguistic tones are not set at specific, absolute pitches
like do or C flat. Instead, they are relative. If you start your voice high-pitched and
keep it high like that during the entire syllable, that's the tone. If you then start your
3

voice at a mid-lower pitch and then rise it to the same higher pitch, that's . If you
start with a low tone of voice and let it drop a bit, that's . And so on.
Instead of numbering the tones from 1 to 6, this website displays user-friendly
symbols to visually represent the tones of Cantonese. Simply rise, drop or
maintain your voice according to the relative pitches and contours of the tone lines.
Although English has no tones per se, our intonation naturally rises and falls with the
rhythm of various words. Here are some English words whose intonations resemble
Cantonese tones.

na tion
you ?! (surprised emotion)
in ter na tion al
king dom
con di tion
yes ... (asking the speaker to carry on)
Tone Number Mnemonics
Because many Cantonese textbooks or dictionaries use tone numbers instead
of symbols, it is sometimes useful to convert between the two, e.g. 4 = , 6 = . The
following mnemonics should help create visual associations between the two systems.


Pronunciation Guide
Consonants
o p, b, t, d, ts, dz, k, g, kw and gw
o f, h, l, m, n, ng, s, y and w
o Clipped p, t and k
o Syllabic m and ng
Vowels
o Long vowels
o Short vowels
Diphthongs
4

o Long diphthongs
o Short diphthongs
Young or old speakers

Consonants
Cantonese has 20 consonant sounds: p, b, t, d, ts, dz, k, g, kw, gw, f, h, l, m, n, ng, s, y
and w.
The first 10 come in pairs.

Aspirated Unaspirated
p as in pill, IPA [p
h
]

b as in bill, IPA [p]
[hear it] bui cup

t as in tick, IPA [t
h
]
[hear it] teng y t
tomorrow
d as in dick, IPA [t]
[hear it] dou road

ts as in tsetse fly or lots, IPA
[ts
h
]
[hear it] tseng please
dz as in Godzilla or red zit IPA
[ts]
[hear it] dzou to do
(Unlike
English, ts and dz occ
ur at the beginning of
words in Cantonese.)
k as in con, IPA [k
h
] g as in gone, IPA [k]
[hear it] ga add

k
w
as in quack, IPA [k
wh
] g
w
as in Spanish agua, IPA [k
w
]
[hear it] gw i expensive

The consonants in the first column (p, t, ts, k and kw) are pronounced with a heavy
puff of air, called aspiration. This is what distinguishes them from their unaspirated
counterparts in the second column (b, d, dz, g, gw). Younger Cantonese-speakers
use k and g instead of kw and gw for many words.
The remaining 10 consonants are pronounced more or less the same as in English.
f as in fall, IPA [f]
[hear it] fai fast

h as in hit, IPA [h]
[hear it] h i to be

l as in lick, IPA [l]
[hear it] lng two

m as in mom, IPA [m]
5

[hear it] mai to buy
[hear it] y m to drink
n as in noon, IPA [n]
[hear it] na here you
are
[hear it] dan h i but
(For younger speakers, the n sound hardly exists in the beginning of
a syllable. They use l instead.)
ng
as in long, IPA [ ]
[hear it] ngo I
[hear it] tseng please
(Unlike English, this sound can appear in the beginning of a syllable.
Younger speakers of Cantonese, however, tend to drop the ng in this
position.)
s as in sissy, IPA [s]
[hear it] s water

y as in yet, IPA [j]
[hear it] y t one

w as in wet, IPA [w]
[hear it] wong yellow

Clipped Consonants
Syllables ending in p, t and k are pronounced faster, with a much shorter vowel. The
consonant is "clipped", almost as if you were cutting your breath suddenly in the
middle of the consonant at the end of the word, with no audible release (IPA [p ] [t ]
[k ]).
p [hear it] s p ten
t [hear it] y t one
k [hear it] d k adverb particle
Syllabic consonants
In Cantonese, the sounds m and ng can form a syllable of their own. For example, the
word for no, m , sounds just like like mmh.


Vowels
Long Vowels
a a long, open ah as in father or as the a used in French, German or Spanish, IPA [a ]
[hear it] sam three
e as in English fed or French , IPA [ ]
6

[hear it] tse car
i as the ee sound in machine, IPA [i ]
[hear it] yi ga now
o similar to the English vowel in paw, but a bit more closed, IPA [ ]
[hear it] ngo I
similar to British English murder, French neuf or German ffnen, IPA [ ]
[hear it] sng to want to
u an oo sound like in cool, IPA [u ]
a rounded ee sound as in French tu or German ber, IPA [y ]
(Here's the trick: Carefully place your lips as if to say "oo" but then say "ee", keeping your
lips in this puckered position.)
[hear it] dz to live
Short Vowels


a short, near-open uh, as in English what or come, IPA [ ]
[hear it] y m to drink
I
as in lick, IPA [ ]
[hear it] sIk to eat
as in Swedish full, somewhat like British English hurt or French le, IPA [ ]
U
as in book, IPA [ ]
[hear it] lUk six
The short vowels I and U (written with a small capital letter) are variants
of i and u that occur before k, g and ng.
Diphthongs
A diphthong is when you glide from one vowel to another within the same syllable.
Long Diphthongs
In the following diphthongs, the first vowel is long and the second is short.
ai as in wide, IPA [a i]
[hear it] fai fast
au as in loud, IPA [a u]
eu as in Portuguese cu or Esperanto e, IPA [ u]
iu as in Portuguese ouviu, IPA [i u]
[hear it] yiu to want
oi IPA [ i]
7

ui like the word gooey or the French word nouille, IPA [u i]
[hear it] bui cup
Short Diphthongs
In the following diphthongs, both vowels are short.
i a short, near-open uh, as in English what, followed by a short y sound, IPA [ i]
(as in Canadian English white)
[hear it] h i to be
u a short, near-open uh, as in English what, followed by a short w sound, IPA [ u]
(as in Canadian English about)
[hear it] y u to have
ei as in day, IPA [ei]
[hear it] nei you
ou as in American English low, IPA [ou]
[hear it] hou good
somewhat like the diphthong in French il or Dutch ui, IPA [ y]
[hear it] s water


Young or Old Speakers?
The pronunciation on this site is based on the modern colloquial dialect. Older
speakers may still retain initial ng- in words like ngo (I), where most youth
nowadays would simply say o . Initial n has also disappeared, merging with l. A few
speakers may still distinguish between l (travel) and n (female), but young
people generally pronounce both as l . A final feature of "proper", older Cantonese
is keeping gw and kw in words like gwok (country), whereas today gok is more
commonly heard.
On this website, we always show the "younger" pronunciation first. We then show the
"older" pronunciation using a book symbol.
Abbreviations Used
pronunciation used by older speakers (more info)

mnemonic (memory learning trick)
Lit.
literal translation

8


Basic vocabulary

Common Phrases
Click on any Chinese phrase with a beige background to hear it pronounced.
what's up? dim a
thank you!

m goi (for a service)
do dze (for a gift) Lit. many thanks
you're welcome m s i (hat hei )
how are you? lei hou ma
have you eaten yet?

lei sIk dzo fan mei a ?

how have you been lately? dz g n dim a Lit. most near how
bon apptit! sIk fan
bye! bai bai
hello? w i (answering the telephone)
I'm from...

o (h i ) h i (country) l i ga
I'm... years old
... o (number) s
see you tomorrow! tIng y t gin
good morning dzou s n
bill, please m goi mai dan (in a restaurant)
here you go
la
I love you o oi lei
how do you say (this) in
Cantonese?
(li go ) h i gon dUng wa dim gon
a ?
could you speak slower please? tsen lei gon man di
Personal Pronouns
Click on any Chinese word with a beige background to hear an audio sample.
I o
you lei
9

he, she, it k
we o dei
you (plural) lei dei
they k dei
Numbers
Click on any Chinese word with a beige background to hear an audio sample. See
also Quantity.
zero lIng
one y t
two

yi
lng (used when a noun follows)
three sam
four sei
five m
six lUk
seven ts t
eight bat
nine g u
ten s p ; (short form) a
11 s p y t Lit. ten and one
12 s p yi Lit. ten and two
20

yi s p Lit. two tens
ya or ye (short form)
30 sam s p ; sa1 a6 (short form)
100 y t bat
1,000 y t tsin
10,000 y t man
-th d i + (number)
half bun
Numbers from 10 to 99 are formed by multiplying tens, e.g. 52 = 5 10 + 2.
10

52 m s p yi
Short forms
(20) is commonly pronounced ya (or ye ) instead of yi s p , provided it is
followed by another number, a measure word, or a noun.
(10) s p can be shortened to a in numbers from 31 to 99, when it is followed by
another number, a measure word, or a noun.
41

sei s p y t , or
sei a y t
Similarly, you can say sa for sam , when it is followed by another number, a
measure word, or a noun.
38
sam s p bat , or
sa a bat
Basic Nouns
Click on any Chinese word with a beige background to hear an audio sample.
See also Household Items.
book s (MW: bun )
chair

d n
car tse (MW: ga )
home Uk kei
moon yt ; full moon mun yt
person y n (MW: go )
plant dzIk m t (MW: po )
something ye
star sIng
sun tai yng
table toi
telephone din wa
TV din si
11

tree s (MW: po )
water s (MW: glass bui )
Verbs
Click on any Chinese word with a beige background to hear an audio sample.
verb dUng tsi
negation m + (verb)
completed (verb) + dzo
-ing
(verb) + g n
(verb) + dz
will, would wui + (verb)
be h i


(locative) h i


(with adjective) hou Lit. very
not be m h i ; (in questions) m i
have y u
not have mou
go h
come

l i
can, may ho yi
want, need yiu
want to, would like to sng
do, make dzIng

dzou
eat sIk
drink y m
like dzUng yi
ask m n
buy mai
have enough g u
know dzi dou
know how to sIk
learn hok
12

leave dz u
listen ten
live, reside dz h i
look for w n
love oi
return, back, re- fan
come back fan l i
go back fan h
say, speak gon
see t i
translate fan yIk
understand mIng bat

(language) sIk ten
wait for d n
Adverbs
The word d@k1 is used to introduce adverbs of manner that reflect personal
impressions, e.g. You speak very well!
Click on any Chinese word with a beige background to hear an audio sample.
a bit y t di
a lot do
again dzoi
enough g u
maybe

hou l n
wat dze
quite, rather gei
together y t ts i
too, as well (noun) + dou
too, excessively
not too
...

tai (adjective) la
m h i tai (adjective)
Grammar
13

Comparisons
-er, more (adjective) + di1
-est, most dz + (adjective)
-er than go
A is better than B A hou go B Lit. A good-er than B
he is taller than me k gou go o
Similes
as... as...; ... like... hou tsi (noun) g m (adjective)
fast like an airplane hou tsi fei gei g m fai Lit. like airplane so fast
she's as strong as me

Conjunctions and Other Pronouns
Conjunctions
although

b t go
and

tUng
but dan h i
or
wat dze
yIk wat (in questions)
in that case, so, then g m
Other Pronouns
Also see the section on basic Personal Pronouns.
this

li
that

go
Dual Conjunctions
because/therefore
because

y n w i
therefore, so

so yi
14

Cantonese:
y n w i yi ga lok g n y , so yi o m tst gai .
y n w i yi ga lok g n y , o m tst gai .
yi ga lok g n y , so yi o m tst gai .
English:
It's raining now, therefore I'm not going out.
I'm not going out because it's raining.
if/then
if y go
then dz u
although/still
although, though s yin
still, yet, but dan h i Lit. but
Cantonese:
k s yin h i fat gok dz dzo m lin , dan h i (k ) m sIk gon fat m
n .
English:
Although he stayed in France for five years, yet he doesn't speak French.
He stayed in France for five years, but he doesn't speak French.
He can't speak any French though he's stayed in France for five years.
even though
even though, even if dz u sn
(also) dou

Measure Words
Measure words are also called classifiers.
See also Numbers.
15

go
(the most common of all measure words) for people; for medium-sized, round objects
like fruit, bowls, plates and buns; for countries and regions; for abstract nouns like
questions, ideas and decisions; for many things that are not easily categorized like
drawers and screw drivers
bou for books and magazines
bui glass, cup
bun for books and magazines
d pair, couple
dzek
for mammals, birds and insects; for utensils; for some parts of the body like hands
and legs; for boats
dzi
for slender, long and stiff objects such as pens, pencils, flowers, sticks; for songs,
music; for armies, navies
dzn bottle
dzng


for flat things like papers, documents, dollar bills, swords, knives, CDs and records;
for furniture like tables and chairs
fai slice, piece, lump
ga for cars, vehicles, planes; for devices like computers, TVs and stereos
l p

for very small things like grains of cereal, sand, cloves of garlic, diamonds, beads,
stars
po

for plants, trees and vegetables
s u for songs
tiu
for long objects like ribbons, tapes, strings, ties, loaves of bread; for hair, feathers,
bones; for keys, roads, fish and reptiles; rude or slang for people
tst for movies and plays
w i for people in polite speech
What is a measure word?
In English, there are some words we must count in units:
two pieces of news
four loaves of bread
eight head of cattle
three pairs of pants
five bottles of water
Note that it is impossible or ungrammatical to say something like "two news" or "four
breads".
16

In Cantonese, nearly all words work this way. We must use a special counting unit
before them. For example:
three people

sam go y n
four dogs

sei dzek g u
two loaves of bread

lng tiu min bau
Whenever you learn new vocabulary, it is a good idea to also learn the associated
measure word (MW) with it. For example:
person y n (MW: go )
Noun Prefixes
a used with names and family members, denoting familiarity
fan anti-, counter-
hou -able, good to, -worthy
lan un...able, hard to, un...worthy
lou familiar term of address Lit. old
m un-, non-, not
mou -less, without, not having
y u having
yi easy to
Noun Suffixes
dei plural pronoun
dou degree, level, -ness
fat way, method, manner
ga -ist, specialist, professional, expert
gau religion, -ism
gei machine
hok field of study, -ology
dz i male or genderless diminutive, little; boy's intimate names
dze -er, one who..., person who performs an action
dz yi
-ism, ideology, principle
l female diminutive, little; girl's intimate name
17

lou guy
po girl, lady
se organization, company
si -ist, -er, person who practices a profession (less specialized expertise than ga1)
sIng nature, quality, -ness
Verb Suffixes
fa
-ize, -ify, creates a causative verb from a noun or adjective
Questions
The word a is added at the end of most questions.
(question word) a
who? bin go a
what? m t ye a
what about ...? (word) + le
when? gei si a
where? bin dou a
how much? gei do a
which? bin + (MW) + a
Basic yes-or-no questions are formed by repeating the verb in the positive and
negative and adding a at the end.
Resources