Questions tagged [cantonese]
The Chinese dialect spoken in and around Guangzhou city (formerly Canton), and central and western Guangdong province.
332
questions
6
votes
3
answers
25k
views
How can I get a Cantonese keyboard on an iPhone?
Like Pinyin, but I need something that can recognize Cantonese instead of Mandarin. The only Chinese keyboards recognize Mandarin.
- 2,121
11
votes
9
answers
12k
views
Is 師奶 (see lai) strictly a Cantonese word? Is it a neutral word or does it have a negative connotation?
I had heard a husband refer to his wife in Cantonese as 師奶 (pronounced "see lai"). The way he said it sounded like an insult but I was told it's not a bad word.
How would 師奶 be described in English? ...
- 1,058
5
votes
5
answers
1k
views
How to start learning Cantonese?
How can I learn Cantonese on my own? What resources can I use and what is the right way to do it?
I have friends who are from Hong Kong so I have people to "talk at" I guess who will honestly ...
- 151
3
votes
3
answers
1k
views
How to write "bei wu long" in Chinese and what is its origin?
Bei Wu Long in Cantonese means to make a big mistake.
What are the Chinese characters for this?
Is there a story for this?
user3414
1
vote
1
answer
9k
views
What does the word pronounced as "ma" in cantonese chinese mean in English? [closed]
What does the word pronounced as "ma" in Cantonese Chinese mean in English? I understand that this syllable has five different meanings according to how it is inflected. What are the five different ...
- 19
-2
votes
2
answers
2k
views
Which Chinese dialect is it rewarding to learn? [closed]
A dialect or rather a language. Of course, Mandarin is the most popular one. But nonetheless, in Hong Kong, for instance, Cantonese is more popular, it's almost the one Chinese language there and ...
- 105
2
votes
3
answers
684
views
Japanese 気分転換 in Cantonese?
Is there an expression in Cantonese with roughly the same meaning as the Japanese 気分転換 (I guess it's 氣分轉換 in Chinese characters)?
I would include an English translation but something might get lost in ...
- 263
2
votes
1
answer
340
views
Using 變音 when reading Classical Chinese poetry in Cantonese
The poem 《登鸛雀樓》 (Climbing Stork Tower) has the final line 更上一層樓.
If I were to read this in Cantonese, would I pronounce the final character as lau4 (without 變音), or lau2 (with 變音)?
My guess would be ...
- 1,921
3
votes
3
answers
576
views
Cantonese jyutping Tone 4 question "throat should be vibrating"
I was wondering whether anyone could help me distinguish how to pronounce tone 4 (mostly low flat) and tone 3 (mid flat).
I read in tone 4, you should feel your throat vibrate. Honestly, I have my ...
- 131
19
votes
9
answers
8k
views
Why Cantonese is considered as a dialect of Chinese?
Can someone explain why Cantonese is considered as a dialect of Chinese, instead of a language? It is also for any language exist in China, both land and Taiwan (Cantonese, Hunanese, Fujianese, ...
- 477
6
votes
1
answer
228
views
馅饼 in Cantonese
In the Dim Sum place I usually go to (in the U.S), they call the pan-fried bun stuffed with Chinese chive and shrimp 韭菜馅饼.
I came from Northern China and the shape and size of that bun are, by any ...
- 14.9k
14
votes
9
answers
2k
views
Resources for learning Cantonese
I'd like to learn Cantonese. Does anyone know some good resources (books, websites) that provide a thorough introduction into the language? I know that the pronunciation is a lot harder than in ...
4
votes
3
answers
2k
views
Where can I find Cantonese poetry?
I would like to identify some Cantonese poetry to study, and I'm looking for the kind of poetry that follows a recognized style and is bound by certain rules (even Cantonese haiku or limericks would ...
- 263
15
votes
3
answers
1k
views
How does foreign word transliteration work in the context of Cantonese vs Mandarin?
If I understand correctly, Cantonese sounds very different from Mandarin, despite being written in the same way (omitting some small differences, which are irrelevant for the question).
If it is the ...
- 253
8
votes
2
answers
436
views
Are there more special numerals like 廿?
In Hong Kong herbal tea shops, you will see a tea called "廿四味" (24 flavours)
(you will also hear "廿蚊" to mean "20 dollars" in small shops)
In this case 廿 (niàn or pán) has the meaning "20".
Are ...
- 2,091
5
votes
1
answer
448
views
Tone of 竟 and 境 in Mandarin and Cantonese
竟 and 境 are both read ging2 in Cantonese, which usually corresponds to a third tone syllable in Mandarin (as is the case for 警, which is ging2 in Cantonese and jing3 in Mandarin).
However, both of ...
- 1,921
2
votes
2
answers
1k
views
Cantonese 咩 (me1) vs. 嗎 (maa1)
What is the difference between 咩 (me1) and 嗎 (maa1) in Cantonese? Are they always interchangeable? Example:
m4 sai2 faan1 gung1 me1? (You don't have to go to work)
- 297
7
votes
7
answers
2k
views
Written Cantonese Pronunciation
I recently attended a Cantonese reading class in Hong Kong and discovered that pronunciation of the spoken form of written Cantonese can be very different from normal speech.
The teacher was not able ...
- 201
2
votes
1
answer
8k
views
What website will speak Cantonese to me? [closed]
My parents are born in Hong Kong so I can speak Cantonese semi-fluently, although I cannot write.
I've been learning Mandarin and I find that my cantonese has been useful because if the word is used ...
- 883
5
votes
2
answers
592
views
In Cantonese, what does 多到 (do1 dou3) mean?
In Cantonese, what does 多到 (do1 dou3) mean in this context?
你可以想像罪案多到幾咁嚴重嘞!
nei5 ho2-ji5 soeng2-zoeng6 zeoi6-on3 do1 dou3 gei2-gam3 jim4-zung6 laak3!
My guess is that the sentence translates to ...
- 297
4
votes
2
answers
2k
views
Are Cantonese and Lao related?
I have a friend who is Lao and I've noticed that a lot of the same words in Lao and Cantonese sound the same. The grammar itself seem different, but the numbers are similar.
Is there much ...
- 883
1
vote
3
answers
259
views
Is 菜心 used in Mandarin?
Is the vegetable 菜心 (Choy Sum - English rendering of Cantonese) called 菜心 in Mandarin? Is it pronounced "cài xīn" or is it pronounced as it would be in Cantonese?
- 3,435
5
votes
2
answers
5k
views
Characteristics of Northern and Southern accents
My first language is Cantonese. I learned Mandarin as a second language. Native speakers of Mandarin often understand me with no major issues. Of course, they recognize the Southern accents right ...
user382
12
votes
2
answers
4k
views
What's the difference between 咁 (gam3) and 噉 (gam2)?
What does "gam" mean in these two contexts, and why is a different character used in each?
Note 咁 used in this sentence
我睇見你坐喺梳化椅處， 唔停咁同張太太，何太太，王小姐佢哋傾偈。
(ngo5 tai2 gin3 nei5 co5 hai2 so1 ...
- 297
2
votes
1
answer
1k
views
Is the cantonese expression 五福臨門 present in Mandarin too?
A recent question prompted me to look for expressions related to the Chinese New Year and, among them, I found one that particularly stroke me as interesting:
五福臨門 = according to the poster it means:...
- 6,445
5
votes
1
answer
3k
views
What is the Cantonese equivalent for 你怎么样？
Colloquial Cantonese phrases often differ significantly from Mandarin, so I would be nervous to use 你怎么样 pronounced in Cantonese.
Is there a greeting of identical (or nearly identical) meaning in ...
- 706
7
votes
3
answers
593
views
What is the difference between 做番 vs. 做返?
A friend (Mainland Chinese, living in Hong Kong) recently posted the following sentence on Facebook:
聖誕節買禮物?做番中國人啦!
As I had never seen the "做番" construction before, I asked if perhaps she had ...
- 706
1
vote
1
answer
837
views
Typing Yale Romanization
I learned Cantonese using Yale Romanization, but I'm unable to type it easily because of the accent marks representing the tones. Is there a quick and easy way to do this without using a special ...
- 739
3
votes
2
answers
2k
views
Cantonese Romanization schemes
The Cantonese romanization scheme that I know is Yale Romanization, which to me makes the most sense and is the easiest to read of any that I've seen. It seems to give a very good idea of how to ...
- 739
5
votes
4
answers
2k
views
Written Cantonese input?
Although traditionally Cantonese speakers just use standard Chinese (mostly Traditional in my experience) for writing and reading, written Cantonese does exist as you can read about in this Wikipedia ...
- 739
12
votes
3
answers
9k
views
Is there an equivalent for the Cantonese phrase "M Goi"
The Cantonese phrase "M Goi" has many meanings:
"Excuse me"
"Thanks" (casual)
"Hey"
Does it have a 普通话 equivalent? And how can I write it in pinyin? Is it even possible?
- 2,091
30
votes
12
answers
108k
views
How to describe differences between Cantonese and Mandarin?
When I tell people I speak Cantonese I'm often asked, "What's the difference between that and Mandarin?". This inevitably leads to a very poor explanation that includes references to the differences ...
- 739