Hong Kong Cantonese Explained

Hong Kong Cantonese
Nativename:	Chinese: 香港粵語; 港式廣東話
States:	Hong Kong and some Overseas Communities
Ethnicity:	Hongkongers
Region:	Pearl River Delta
Speakers:	?
Familycolor:	Sino-Tibetan
Fam2:	Sinitic
Fam3:	Chinese
Fam4:	Yue
Fam5:	Yuehai
Fam6:	Cantonese
Script:	Traditional Chinese
Isoexception:	dialect
Iso6:	xgng
Linglist:	yue-yue
Linglist2:	yue-can
Glotto:	xian1255
Lingua:	79-AAA-mac
Module:	Child: yes Headercolor: T: 香港粵語 S: 香港粤语 Bpmf: ㄒㄧㄤ ㄍㄤˇ ㄩㄝˋ ㄩˇ J: hoeng1 gong2 jyut6 jyu5 Y: Hēung góng yuht yúh Tp: Sianggǎng yuè-yǔ P: Xiānggǎng yuèyǔ Also Known As: Hong Kong-style Cantonese T2: 港式粵語 J2: gong2 sik1 jyut6 jyu5 Y2: Góng sīk yuht yúh Altname3: Hong Kong-Guangdong dialect T3: 香港廣東話 J3: hoeng1 gong2 gwong2 dung1 waa2 Y3: Hēung góng gwóng dūng wá Altname4: Hong Kong-Guangzhou dialect T4: 香港廣州話 J4: hoeng1 gong2 gwong2 zau1 waa2 Y4: Hēung góng gwóng jāu wá

Hong Kong Cantonese is a dialect of the Cantonese language of the Sino-Tibetan family.

Although Hongkongers refer to the language as "Cantonese" (Chinese: 廣東話), publications in mainland China describe the variant as Hong Kong dialect (Chinese: 香港廣東話), due to the differences between the pronunciation used in Hong Kong Cantonese and that of the Cantonese spoken in neighbouring Guangdong Province where Cantonese (based on the Guangzhou dialect) is a lingua franca.

Over the years, Hong Kong Cantonese has also absorbed foreign terminology and developed a large set of Hong Kong-specific terms. Code-switching with English is also common. These are the result of British rule between 1841 and 1997, as well as the closure of the Hong Kong–mainland China border immediately after the establishment of the People's Republic of China in 1949.

History

Before the arrival of British settlers in 1842, the inhabitants of Hong Kong mainly spoke the Dongguan-Bao'an (Tungkun–Po'on)^[1] and Tanka dialects of Yue, as well as Hakka^[2] and Teochew. These languages and dialects are all remarkably different from Guangzhou Cantonese, and not mutually intelligible.

After the British acquired Hong Kong Island, Kowloon Peninsula and the New Territories from the Qing in 1841 (officially 1842) and 1898, large numbers of merchants and workers came to Hong Kong from the city of Canton, the main centre of Cantonese. Cantonese became the dominant spoken language in Hong Kong. The extensive migration from mainland Cantonese-speaking areas to Hong Kong continued up until 1949, when the Communists took over mainland China.

In 1949, the year that the People's Republic of China was established, Hong Kong saw a large influx of refugees from mainland China, prompting the Hong Kong Government to close its border. Illegal immigration from mainland China into Hong Kong nevertheless continued. During the 1950s, the Cantonese spoken in Hong Kong remained very similar to that in Canton, but the proportion of Cantonese speakers did not surpass 50% of the population in Hong Kong.

Movement, communication and relations between Hong Kong and mainland China became very limited, and consequently the evolution of Cantonese in Hong Kong diverged from that of Guangzhou. In mainland China, the use of Mandarin as the official language and in education was enforced. In Hong Kong, Cantonese is the medium of instruction in schools, along with written English and written Chinese. As such, since the 1970s the percentage of Cantonese speakers in Hong Kong has risen to about 90%.

Because of the long exposure to English during the colonial period, a large number of English words were loaned into Hong Kong Cantonese, e.g. "巴士" (IPA: /páːsǐː/, Cantonese Jyutping: baa¹ si²), from the English "bus"; compare this with the equivalent from Standard Mandarin, 公共汽車 . Consequently, the vocabularies of Cantonese in mainland China and Hong Kong substantially differ. Moreover, the pronunciation of Cantonese changed while the change either did not occur in mainland China or took place much more slowly. For example, merging of initial pronounced as //n// into pronounced as //l// and the deletion of pronounced as //ŋ// were observed.

Phonology

In modern-day Hong Kong, many native speakers no longer distinguish between certain phoneme pairs, leading to instances of sound change through mergers. Although considered non-standard and denounced as "lazy sound" (Chinese: 懶音) by purists, the phenomena are widespread and not restricted to Hong Kong.^[3] Contrary to impressions, some of these changes are not recent. The loss of the velar nasal (pronounced as //ŋ//) was documented by Williams (1856), and the substitution of the liquid nasal (pronounced as //l//) for the nasal initial (pronounced as //n//) was documented by Cowles (1914).

List of observed shifts:^[4]

• Merging of pronounced as //n// initial into pronounced as //l// initial.
• Merging of pronounced as //ŋ// initial into null initial.
• Merging of pronounced as //kʷ// and pronounced as //kʷʰ// initials into pronounced as //k// and pronounced as //kʰ// when followed by pronounced as //ɔː//. Note that pronounced as //ʷ// is the only glide (Chinese: 介音) in Cantonese.
• Merging of pronounced as //ŋ// and pronounced as //k// codas into pronounced as //n// and pronounced as //t// codas respectively, eliminating contrast between these pairs of finals (except after pronounced as //e// and pronounced as //o//): pronounced as //aːn//-pronounced as //aːŋ//, pronounced as //aːt//-pronounced as //aːk//, pronounced as //ɐn//-pronounced as //ɐŋ//, pronounced as //ɐt//-pronounced as //ɐk//, pronounced as //ɔːn//-pronounced as //ɔːŋ// and pronounced as //ɔːt//-pronounced as //ɔːk//.
• Merging of the two syllabic nasals, pronounced as //ŋ̩// into pronounced as //m̩//, eliminating the contrast of sounds between Chinese: [[wiktionary:吳|吳]] (surname Ng) and Chinese: [[wiktionary:唔|唔]] (not).
• Merging of the rising tones (Chinese: 陰上 2nd and Chinese: 陽上 5th).^[5]

In educated Hong Kong Cantonese speech, these sound mergers are avoided, and many older speakers still distinguish between those phoneme categories. With the sound changes, the name of Hong Kong's Hang Seng Bank (Chinese: 香港恆生銀行), Jyutping:, pronounced as //hœ́ːŋ kɔ̌ːŋ hɐ̏ŋ sɐ́ŋ ŋɐ̏n hɔ̏ːŋ//, literally Hong Kong Constant Growth Bank, becomes pronounced as //hœ́ːn kɔ̌ːn hɐ̏n sɐ́n ɐ̏n hɔ̏ːn//, sounding like Hon' Kon' itchy body 'un cold (Chinese: '香港'痕身un寒). The name of Cantonese itself (Chinese: 廣東話, "Guangdong speech") would be Jyutping:, IPA: pronounced as //kʷɔ̌ːŋ tʊ́ŋ wǎː// without the merger, whereas pronounced as //kɔ̌ːŋ tʊ́ŋ wǎː// (sounding like "Chinese: 講東話": "say eastern speech") and pronounced as //kɔ̌ːn tʊ́ŋ wǎː// (sounding like "Chinese: 趕東話" : "chase away eastern speech") are overwhelmingly common in Hong Kong.^[6]

The shift affects the way some Hong Kong people speak other languages as well. This is especially evident in the pronunciation of certain English names: "Nicole" pronounce pronounced as /[lekˈkou̯]/, "Nancy" pronounce pronounced as /[ˈlɛnsi]/ etc. A very common example of the mixing of pronounced as //n// and pronounced as //l// is that of the word Chinese: [[wiktionary:你|你]], meaning "you". Even though the standard pronunciation should be pronounced as //nei//, the word is often pronounced pronounced as //lei//, which is the surname Chinese: [[wiktionary:李|李]], or the word Chinese: [[wiktionary:理|理]], meaning theory. The merger of pronounced as //n// and pronounced as //l// also affects the choice of characters when the Cantonese media transliterates foreign names.

Prescriptivists who try to correct these "lazy sounds" often end up introducing hypercorrections. For instance, while attempting to ensure that people pronounce the initial pronounced as //ŋ//, they may introduce it into words which have historically had a null-initial. One common example is that of the word Chinese: [[wiktionary:愛|愛]], meaning "love", where even though the standard pronunciation is Jyutping:, IPA: pronounced as //ɔ̄ːi//, the word is often pronounced Jyutping:, pronounced as //ŋɔ̄ːi//. A similar phenomenon occurs in various Mandarin dialects (e.g. Southwestern Mandarin).^[7]

Unique phrases and expressions

Hong Kong Cantonese has developed a number of phrases and expressions that are unique to the context of Hong Kong. Examples are:

Table of Colloquial Cantonese Expressions

Colloquial Cantonese Expressions(pronunciation)	Literally	Colloquially	Explanation
離譜 (lei^4 pou^2)Example:佢遲咗成粒鐘，真係離譜! English: He's an hour late. So outrageous!	depart from the score	absurd/outrageous/ridiculous/illogical	music score
撞板 (zong^6 baan^2)Example:成日都咁衝動，抵佢今次撞板。 English:He is always so impulsive, no wonder he's got into trouble this time.	conflicting beat	make mistakes/get into trouble	beat in Cantonese Opera
串 (cyun3)Example:你洗唔洗咁串呀! English:Do you have to be so harsh?	skewer/to string/vulgar	harsh/extreme bluntness, lack of tact	colloquial usage for police handcuffing, broadened to incorporate harsh expression generally; alternatively, by modification of the tone value for "vulgar"
是但 (si^6 daan^6)Example:A: 你想去邊度食飯？B: 是但啦! English:A: Where do you want to go to eat?B: Anything will do!	is/yes but	whatever/anything will do/I'm easy	derived from Chinese: 肆無忌憚 (si^3 mo^4 gei^6 daan^6, disregard of constraints)
冬瓜豆腐 (dung^1 gwaa^1 dau^6 fu^6)Example:你有乜冬瓜豆腐，我會好傷心㗎! English:I would be miserable if you died.	winter melon tofu	to die	votive food offerings at funerals

Loanwords

Life in Hong Kong is characterised by the blending of southern Chinese with other Asian and Western cultures, as well as the city's position as a major international business centre. In turn, Hong Kong influences have spread widely into other cultures. As a result, a large number of loanwords are created in Hong Kong and then exported to mainland China, Taiwan, Singapore, and Japan. Some of the loanwords have become even more popular than their Chinese counterparts, in Hong Kong as well as in their destination cultures. Note that some of the loanwords are being used much more frequently in Cantonese-speaking areas in mainland China (e.g. Guangzhou), than in areas speaking other Chinese varieties.

Imported loanwords

Selected loanwords^[8] are shown below.

From English

Chinese Characters	Jyutping	English & Other Definitions	Mainland Chinese Mandarin	Taiwanese Mandarin
戶口	wu^6 hau^2	account	Chinese: 户口	Chinese: 戶口
Chinese: 拗撬	aau^3 giu^6	argue arguments (fights)	Chinese: 吵架	Chinese: 吵架
Chinese: 百家樂	baak^3 gaa^1 lok^6	Baccarat (card game)	Chinese: 百家乐	Chinese: 百家樂
Chinese: 波	bo^1	ball	Chinese: 球	Chinese: 球
Chinese: (跳)芭蕾(舞)	baa^1 leoi^4	ballet	Chinese: (跳)芭蕾(舞)	Chinese: (跳)芭蕾(舞)
Chinese: 繃帶	bang^1 daai^2	bandage	Chinese: 绷带	Chinese: 繃帶
Chinese: (酒)吧	baa^1	bar barrister	Chinese: (酒)吧<br>大律师	Chinese: (酒)吧<br>大律師
Chinese: 啤酒	be^1 zau^2	beer	Chinese: 啤酒	Chinese: 啤酒
Chinese: 比堅尼	bei^2 gin^1 nei^4	bikini	Chinese: 比基尼	Chinese: 比基尼
Chinese: 煲呔	bou^1 taai^1	bow tie	Chinese: 领结	Chinese: 領結
Chinese: 保齡球	bou^2 ling^4	bowling	Chinese: 保龄球	Chinese: 保齡球
Chinese: 杯葛	bui^1 got^3	boycott	Chinese: 抵制	Chinese: 抵制
Chinese: 百家利	baak^3 gaa^1 lei^6	broccoli	Chinese: 西兰花	Chinese: 花椰菜
Chinese: 巴打	baa^1 daa^2	brother	Chinese: 兄弟	Chinese: 兄弟
Chinese: 蒲飛	pou^6 fei^1	buffet	Chinese: 自助餐	Chinese: 自助餐
Chinese: 笨豬跳	ban^6 zyu^1 tiu^3	bungee jumping	Chinese: 蹦极	Chinese: 高空彈跳
Chinese: 巴士	baa^1 si^2	bus	Chinese: 公交/Chinese: 公交车/Chinese: 公共汽车	Chinese: 公車/Chinese: 公共汽車
Chinese: 拜拜	baai^1 baai^3	bye	Chinese: 再见	Chinese: 再見
Chinese: 卡路里	kaa^1 lou^6 lei^5	calorie	Chinese: 卡路里	Chinese: 卡路里
Chinese: 咖啡因	gaa^3 fe^1 jan^1	caffeine	Chinese: 咖啡因	Chinese: 咖啡因
Chinese: 咭	kaat^1	card	Chinese: 卡	Chinese: 卡
Chinese: 卡通	kaa^1 tung^1	cartoon	Chinese: 卡通	Chinese: 卡通
Chinese: 哥士的(梳打)	go^1 si^2 dik^1	caustic soda	Chinese: 氢氧化钠	Chinese: 氫氧化鈉/Chinese: 小蘇打
Chinese: 芝士	zi^1 si^2	cheese	Chinese: 奶酪	Chinese: 起司
Chinese: 車厘子	ce^1 lei^4 zi^2	cherry	Chinese: 樱桃	Chinese: 櫻桃
Chinese: 朱古力	zyu^1 gu^1 lik^1	chocolate	Chinese: 巧克力	Chinese: 巧克力
Chinese: 西打酒	sai^1 daa^2	cider	Chinese: 果酒	Chinese: (蘋)果酒
Chinese: 雪茄	syut^3 gaa^1	cigar	Chinese: 雪茄	Chinese: 雪茄
Chinese: 打咭	daa^2 kat^1	clock in literally: (to) punch card	Chinese: 打卡	Chinese: 打卡
Chinese: 俱樂部	keoi^1 lok^6 bou^6	club	Chinese: 俱乐部	Chinese: 俱樂部
Chinese: 甘屎(架)/屎皮/論盡	gam^1 si^4	clumsy	Chinese: 笨拙/笨手笨脚	Chinese: 笨拙/笨手笨腳
Chinese: 可可	ho^2 ho^2	cocoa	Chinese: 可可	Chinese: 可可
Chinese: 可卡	ho^2 kaa^1	coca	Chinese: 古柯	Chinese: 古柯
Chinese: 可卡因	ho^2 kaa^1 jan^1	cocaine	Chinese: 可卡因/Chinese: 古柯碱	Chinese: 古柯鹼
Chinese: 咖啡	gaa^3 fe^1	coffee	Chinese: 咖啡	Chinese: 咖啡
Chinese: 曲奇	kuk^1 kei^4	cookie	Chinese: 曲奇	Chinese: 餅乾
Chinese: 咕喱	gu^1 lei^1	coolie	Chinese: 苦力	Chinese: 苦力
Chinese: 酷哥	huk^6 go^1	cougar	Chinese: 美洲狮	Chinese: 美洲獅
Chinese: 忌廉	gei^6 lim^4	cream	Chinese: 奶油	Chinese: 鮮奶油
Chinese: 曲(既)	kuk^1	crooked (bent) bend your knees winding road ahead zig-zag	Chinese: 弯曲	Chinese: 彎曲
Chinese: 咖喱	gaa^3 lei^1	curry	Chinese: 咖喱	Chinese: 咖喱
Chinese: 山埃	saan^1 aai^1	cyanide	Chinese: 氰化物	Chinese: 氰化物
Chinese: 打令	daa^1 ling^2	darling	Chinese: 亲爱的	Chinese: 親愛的
Chinese: (一)碟(餸)	dip^6	dish	Chinese: 一道菜	Chinese: 一道菜
Chinese: 都甩/冬甩	dou^1 lat^1/dung^1 lat^1	doughnut	Chinese: 甜甜圈	Chinese: 甜甜圈
(Chinese: 揼垃圾)	dam^2	dump (garbage) (In the dump/dumpster) database dump pile dump dumped by boy-/girl-friend	Chinese: 倒掉(垃圾)	Chinese: 倒掉(垃圾)
Chinese: 肥佬	fei^4 lou^2	fail (failure)	Chinese: 失败	Chinese: 失敗
Chinese: 菲林	fei^1 lam^2	film	Chinese: 㬵卷	Chinese: 膠卷
Chinese: 揮/爭取	fai^1	fight fight for	Chinese: 打架/争取	Chinese: 打架/爭取
FanChinese: 士	fen^1 si^2	fan (fanatic) fan (machine)	Chinese: 粉丝	Chinese: 粉絲
Chinese: 爹地/花打	de^1 di^4	daddy (father)	Chinese: 爸爸	Chinese: 爸爸
Chinese: 發騰	faat^3 tang^4	frightened	Chinese: (被)吓到	Chinese: (被)嚇到
Chinese: 高爾夫球	gou^1 ji^5 fu^1 kau^4	golf	Chinese: 高尔夫球	Chinese: 高爾夫球
Chinese: 結他	git^3 taa^1	guitar	Chinese: 吉他	Chinese: 吉他
Chinese: 吉士	gat^1 si^2	guts (courage) encourage felt like someone just punched you in the gut	Chinese: 胆子/勇气 Chinese: 鼓励	Chinese: 膽子/勇氣 Chinese: 鼓勵
Chinese: 哈佬/哈囉	haa^1 lou^3	Hello Halloween	Chinese: 哈喽	Chinese: 哈囉
Chinese: 漢堡包	hon^3 bou^2 baau^1	hamburger	Chinese: 汉堡（包）	Chinese: 漢堡
Chinese: 阿頭 [calque]	aa^3 tau^2	the head of	Chinese: 领导	Chinese: 領導
Chinese: 亨里	hang^1 lei^5	honey	Chinese: 甜心	Chinese: 甜心
Chinese: 熱狗 [calque]	jit^6 gau^2	hotdog	Chinese: 热狗	Chinese: 熱狗
Chinese: 呼啦圈	fu^1 laa^1 hyun^1	hula hoop	Chinese: 呼啦圈	Chinese: 呼啦圈
Chinese: 雪糕	syut^3 gou^1	ice-cream	Chinese: 冰淇淋/Chinese: 雪糕	Chinese: 冰淇淋
Chinese: 燕梳	jin^1 so^1	insure (insurance)	Chinese: 保险	Chinese: 保險
Chinese: 奇異果	kei^4 ji^6 gwo^2	kiwifruit	Chinese: 奇异果/Chinese: 猕猴桃	Chinese: 奇異果
Chinese:	lip^1	lift (elevator)	Chinese: 电梯	Chinese: 電梯
Chinese: 檸檬	ning^4 mung^1	lemon	Chinese: 柠檬	Chinese: 檸檬
Chinese: 芒果	mong^1 gwo^2	mango	Chinese: 芒果	Chinese: 芒果
Chinese: 咪	mai^1	microphone	Chinese: 麦克风/麦/Chinese: 话筒	Chinese: 麥克風
Chinese: 模特兒	mou^4 dak^6 ji^4	model	Chinese: 模特	Chinese: 模特/模特兒
Chinese: 摩登	mo^1 dang^1	modern	Chinese: 摩登/Chinese: 现代	Chinese: 摩登/現代
Chinese: 摩打	mo^1 daa^2	motor	Chinese: 马达/Chinese: 电（动）机	Chinese: 馬達
Chinese: 慕絲	mou^1 si^2	mousse	Chinese: 慕丝	Chinese: 慕絲
Chinese: 媽咪/媽打	maa^1 mi^4	mummy (mother)	Chinese: 妈妈	Chinese: 媽媽
Chinese: 尼龍	nei^4 lung^4	nylon	Chinese: 尼龙	Chinese: 尼龍
Chinese: 鴉片	aa^1 pin^3	opium	Chinese: 鸦片	Chinese: 鴉片
Chinese: 班戟	baan^1 gik^1	pancake	Chinese: 薄煎饼	Chinese: （美式）鬆餅
Chinese: 泊車	paak^3 ce^1	parking a vehicle	Chinese: 停车	Chinese: 停車
Chinese: 啤梨	be^1 lei^2	pear	Chinese: 梨子	Chinese: 梨子
Chinese: 批	pai^1	pie	Chinese: 馅饼/派	Chinese: 餡餅/派
Chinese: 乒乓波	bing^1 bam^1 bo^1	ping-pong	Chinese: 乒乓球	Chinese: 乒乓球/桌球
Chinese: 布冧	bou^3 lam^1	plum	Chinese: 李子	Chinese: 李子
Chinese: 爆谷	baau^3 guk^1	popcorn	Chinese: 爆米花	Chinese: 爆米花
Chinese: 布甸	bou^3 din^1	pudding	Chinese: 布丁	Chinese: 布丁
Chinese: 泵	bam^1	pump	Chinese: 泵	Chinese: 泵/幫浦
Chinese: 沙律	saa^1 leot^2	salad	Chinese: 沙拉	Chinese: 沙拉
Chinese: 三文魚	saam^1 man^4 jyu^2	salmon	Chinese: 鲑鱼/三文鱼	Chinese: 鮭魚
Chinese: 沙林	saa^3 lam^1	salute	Chinese: 敬礼	Chinese: 敬禮
Chinese: 三文治	saam^1 man^4 zi^6	sandwich	Chinese: 三明治	Chinese: 三明治
Chinese: 沙甸魚	saa^1 din^1 jyu^2	sardine	Chinese: 沙丁鱼	Chinese: 沙丁魚
Chinese: 沙士	saa^1 si^2	Sarsaparilla (soft drink) SARS	root beer: Chinese: 根啤酒 SARS: Chinese: 萨斯/非典	root beer: Chinese: 沙士 SARS: Chinese: (非典型肺炎)沙士
Chinese: 桑拿	song^1 naa^4	sauna	Chinese: 桑拿	Chinese: 桑拿/三溫暖
Chinese: 私家褲	si^6 gaa^1 fu^4	scarf	Chinese: 围巾	Chinese: 圍巾
Chinese: 薯乜	syu^4 mat^1	schmuck	Chinese: 笨蛋	Chinese: 笨蛋
Chinese: 雪利酒	syut^3 lei^6 zau^2	sherry	Chinese: 雪利酒	Chinese: 雪利酒
Chinese: (表演)騷	sou^1	show (performance)	Chinese: (表演)秀	Chinese: (表演)秀
Chinese: 絲打	si^1 daa^2	sister	Chinese: 姐妹	Chinese: 姐妹
Chinese: 梳打水	so^1 daa^2 seoi^2	soda	Chinese: 苏打水	Chinese: 蘇打水
Chinese: 梳化	so^1 faa^2	sofa	Chinese: 沙发	Chinese: 沙發
Chinese: (幾)梳乎	so^1 fu^4	relaxing (chilling) ("soft", antonym of "firm")	Chinese: 舒适/舒服	Chinese: 舒適/舒服
Chinese: 士巴拿	si^6 baa^1 naa^4	spanner (wrench)	Chinese: 扳手	Chinese: 扳手
Chinese: 士啤	si^6 be^1	spare	Chinese: 备用	Chinese: 備用
Chinese: 士的	si^6 dik^1	stick	Chinese: 拐杖	Chinese: 拐杖
Chinese: 士多(店鋪)	si^6 do^1	store	Chinese: 店铺	Chinese: 店鋪
Chinese: 士多啤梨	si^6 do^1 be^1 lei^2	strawberry	Chinese: 草莓	Chinese: 草莓
Chinese: 新地	san^1 dei^2	sundae	Chinese: 圣代	Chinese: 聖代
Chinese: 十卜	sap^6 buk^1	support	Chinese: 支持	Chinese: 支持
T-Chinese: 恤	ti^1 seot^1	T-shirt	Chinese: T-恤	Chinese: T-恤
Chinese: 塔羅牌	taap^3 lo^4 paai^2	tarot	Chinese: 塔罗牌	Chinese: 塔羅牌
Chinese: 的士	dik^1 si^2	taxi	Chinese: 出租车 ("Chinese: 租车" = rental car)	Chinese: 計程車
Chinese: 呔	taai^1	tie	Chinese: 领带	Chinese: 領帶
Chinese: (車)軚	taai^1	tire (tyre)	Chinese: 轮胎	Chinese: 輪胎
Chinese: 多士	do^1 si^2	toast	Chinese: 吐司	Chinese: 吐司
Chinese: 拖肥糖	to^1 fei^2 tong^2	toffee	Chinese: 太妃糖	Chinese: 太妃糖
Chinese: 吞拿魚	tan^1 naa^4 jyu^2	tuna	Chinese: 金枪鱼	Chinese: 鮪魚
Chinese: 維他命	wai^4 taa^1 ming^6	vitamin	Chinese: 维生素	Chinese: 維他命
Chinese: 威化(餅)	wai^1 faa^3 (beng^2)	wafer biscuit wafer (electronics)	wafer biscuit: Chinese: 威化饼 wafer (electronics): Chinese: 晶圆	wafer biscuit: Chinese: 餅乾 wafer (electronics): Chinese: 晶圓
Chinese: 威士忌	wai^1 si^6 gei^2	whisky	Chinese: 威士忌	Chinese: 威士忌
Chinese: 遊艇	jau^4 teng^5	yachting (yacht)	Chinese: 游艇	Chinese: 遊艇
Chinese: 瑜伽	jyu^4 gaa^1	yoga	Chinese: 瑜伽	Chinese: 瑜迦
Chinese: 乳酪	jyu^5 lok^6	yogurt	Chinese: 酸奶 ("Chinese: 乳酪" = cheese)	Chinese: 優格

From French

Chinese Characters	Jyutping	French	English	Mainland Chinese Mandarin	Taiwanese Mandarin
Chinese: 梳乎厘	so^1 fu^4 lei^2	soufflé	soufflé	Chinese: 梳芙厘	Chinese: 舒芙蕾
Chinese: 古龍水	gu^2 lung^4 (seoi^2)	cologne	perfume	Chinese: 香水	Chinese: 香水
Chinese: 冷(衫)	laang^1 (saam^1)	laine	yarn	Chinese: 纱线	Chinese: 紗線

From Japanese

Chinese Characters	Jyutping	Japanese	Japanese Rōmaji	English	Mainland Chinese Mandarin	Taiwanese Mandarin
Chinese: 卡拉OK	kaa^1 laa^1 ou^1 kei^1	Japanese: カラオケ	karaoke		Chinese: 卡拉OK	Chinese: 卡拉OK
Chinese: 老世	lou^5 sai^3	Japanese: 世帯主	setainushi	chief (CEO) the Head (of a company) boss	Chinese: 老板	Chinese: 老闆
Chinese: 奸爸爹	gaan^1 baa^1 de^1	Japanese: 頑張って/がんばって	ganbatte	Keep up! (studying) Come on	(cheering)	Chinese: 加油	Chinese: 加油
Chinese: 放題	fong^3 tai^4	Japanese: 食べ放題	tabe hōdai	buffet	Chinese: 布斐	Chinese: 自助餐
Chinese: 浪漫	long^6 maan^6	Japanese: 浪漫/ロマンチック	rōman	romantic	Chinese: 浪漫	Chinese: 浪漫

Exported loanwords

Into English

English	Chinese Characters	Jyutping
add oil	Chinese: 加油	gaa^1 jau^2
chop chop (hurry up)	Chinese: 速速	cuk^1 cuk^1
kowtow	Chinese: 叩頭	kau^3 tau^4
typhoon	Chinese: 颱風	toi^4 fung^1
ketchup	Chinese: 茄汁	ke^2 zap^1

Into Mainland Chinese Mandarin

Mandarin	Cantonese	Jyutping	English	Mandarin synonyms
Chinese: 买单	Chinese: 埋單	maai^4 daan^1	(Can we please have the) bill?	Chinese: 结账
Chinese: 搭档	Chinese: 拍檔	paak^3 dong^3	partner	Chinese: 伙伴 (in ownership and business) Chinese: 舞伴 (in dancing)
Chinese: 打的	Chinese: 搭的士	daap^3 dik^1 si^2	to ride a taxi	Chinese: 乘出租车
Chinese: 无厘头	Chinese: 無釐頭, corruption of Chinese: 無來頭	mou^4 lei^4 tau^4	nonsensical humour (see mo lei tau) newbie who knows nothing	Chinese: 莫名其妙
Chinese: 亮仔/Chinese: 靓仔	Chinese: 靚仔	leng^3 zai^2	handsome boy	Chinese: 帅哥儿 Chinese: 俊男 Chinese: 哥们 (in China only)
Chinese: 拍拖	Chinese: 拍拖	paak^3 to^1	dating	Chinese: 追求 Chinese: 求爱
Chinese: 很正	Chinese: 好正	hou^2 zeng^3	(colloquial) awesome; perfect; just right	Chinese: 很棒
Chinese: 搞掂/Chinese: 搞定	Chinese: 搞掂	gaau^2 dim^6	Is it done yet? (It's) Done! It has been taken care of		Chinese: 办妥 Chinese: 做完 Chinese: 做好 Chinese: 弄完

Into Taiwanese Mandarin

Taiwanese Mandarin	Hanyu Pinyin	Cantonese	Jyutping	English
Chinese: (猴)塞雷	(hóu) sāiléi	Chinese: (好)犀利	hou^2 sai^1 lei^6	(very) impressive
Chinese: Hold住^[9]	hòu zhù	Chinese: Hold住	hou^1 zyu^6	hold on hang tight (hang in there)

Into Japanese

Japanese Kana (Kanji)	Japanese Rōmaji	Chinese Characters	Jyutping	English
Japanese: ヤムチャ (Japanese: 飲茶)	yamucha	Chinese: 飲茶	jam^2 caa^4	yum cha
Japanese: チャーシュー (Japanese: 叉焼)	chāshū	Chinese: 叉燒	caa^1 siu^1	char siu
Japanese: チャーハン (Japanese: 炒飯)	chāhan	Chinese: 炒飯	caau^2 faan^6	fried rice

Code-switching and loanword adaptation

See main article: Code-switching in Hong Kong. Hong Kong Cantonese has a high number of foreign loanwords. Sometimes, the parts of speech of the incorporated words are changed. In some examples, some new meanings of English words are even created. For example, "至yeah", literally "the most yeah", means "the trendiest". Originally, "yeah" means "yes/okay" in English, but it means "trendy" when being incorporated into Hong Kong Cantonese (Cf. "yeah baby" and French "yé-yé").

Semantic change is common in loanwords; when foreign words are borrowed into Cantonese, polysyllabic words and monosyllabic words tend to become disyllabic, and the second syllable is in the Upper Rising tone (the second tone). For example, "kon₁ si₂" (coins), "sek⁶ kiu¹" (security) and "ka¹ si²" (cast). A few polysyllabic words become monosyllabic though, like "mon¹" (monitor), literally means computer monitor. And some new Cantonese lexical items are created according to the morphology of Cantonese. For example, "laai¹ 記" from the word "library". Most of the disyllabic words and some of the monosyllabic words are incorporated as their original pronunciation, with some minor changes according to the Cantonese phonotactics.

Incorporating words from foreign languages into Cantonese is acceptable to most Cantonese speakers. Hong Kong Cantonese speakers frequently code-mix although they can distinguish foreign words from Cantonese ones. For instance, "噉都唔 make sense", literally means "that doesn't make sense". After a Cantonese speaker decides to code-mix a foreign word in a Cantonese sentence, syntactical rules of Cantonese will be followed. For instance, "sure" (肯定) can be used like "你 su¹ 唔 su¹ aa³?" (are you sure?) as if it were its Cantonese counterpart "你肯唔肯定?", using the A-not-A question construction.

In some circumstances, code-mixing is preferable because it can simplify sentences. An excellent example (though dated) of the convenience and efficiency of such mixing is "打 collect call" replacing "打一個由對方付款嘅長途電話", i.e. 13 syllables reduced to four.^[10]

Short-text adaptations

Abbreviation

Abbreviations are commonly used in Hong Kong and have flourished with the use of short messaging over the Internet. Some examples:

Table of Abbreviation

Original term	Abbreviated term	Explanation
Cantonese: 唔知(m4 zi1) English: do not know	5G (ng5 G)Example:甲: 你知唔知邊個係比德?乙: 我5G English:A: Do you know who is Peter?B: I don't know (5G).	The "5" here is not pronounced as "five" but in Cantonese "ng5", which corresponds to the Chinese word "五" (ng5). Since "五"(ng5) and "唔" (m4), "知" (zi1) and "G" have similar pronunciations, "5G" is used to replace the Cantonese term 唔知, which carries the meaning of "don't know".
Cantonese:鍾意(zung1 ji3) English: Like	中2 (zung3 ji6)Example:我好中2佢呀! English:I like (中2 zung3 ji6) him so much!	Due to similar pronunciation, the "2" here is pronounced as the Chinese "Chinese: 二" (ji6) rather than "two". Combining this number with the Chinese character "Chinese: 中" (zung3), it carries similar pronunciation as "鍾意"(zung1 ji3) but the structure is much simpler.
Cantonese:師奶 (si1 naai1) English: Housewife	C9Example:你著到成個C9咁 English:You dress like a housewife(C9).	The word C9 should be pronounced in English "C nine", which is very similar to Cantonese si1 naai1. It is an easier form of typing the word "師奶" without changing the meaning in Cantonese. The two characters are already on the keyboard so it is much simpler to type.
7-Eleven (7-11)	Se-fun(音:些粉)/ Chat1 Jai2(七仔）Example:去些粉/七仔買野飲先 English : Let's go 7-Eleven (Se-fun 些粉) to buy some drinks.	"Chat1" is the Chinese word of seven and "Jai2" is son or boy
Take Away(外賣)	Haang4 Gai1(行街) (literal: walk on the street)Example:魚蛋粉行街! English: Fish Ball Noodles for take-away! (Haang4 Gai1 行街)	This abbreviation is often used in Hong Kong-style cafés for take-away.
Uh-huh	55Example:甲: 你今日要番學?乙:55 English:A: Do you need to attend school today?B:Yea.(55)	Homophonic for "ng ng" (嗯嗯) which indicates agreement or understanding.
Post (發表／張貼)	poExample: 我po咗相 English: I posted (po) a photo.	example of common omission of final consonant (not naturally occurring in Cantonese)

See also

• Bilingualism in Hong Kong
• Cantonese profanity
• Code-switching in Hong Kong
• Proper Cantonese pronunciation
• Comparison of national standards of Chinese
• Hong Kong English
• The Linguistic Society of Hong Kong, whose Cantonese Romanization Scheme is known as Jyutping
• Varieties of Chinese

Further reading

• Zee, Eric . Chinese (Hong Kong Cantonese) . 1991 June . 21 . 1 . 46-48 . no . 10.1017/S0025100300006058 .

External links

• Learn Cantonese (with Cantonese-English / English-Cantonese Dictionary)
• Learn Chinese with Chinese Lyrics Now with Pinyin and sound files
• Jyutping romanisation of Cantonese reading of Chinese characters using in Hong Kong

Notes and References

1. Book: de Sousa . Hilário . The Palgrave Handbook of Chinese Language Studies . The Expansion of Cantonese over the Last Two Centuries . 2022 . 487 . 10.1007/978-981-13-6844-8_35-2 . 978-981-13-6844-8 . 244518738 . 23 August 2022.
2. 張雙慶 . Chang Song Hing . 萬波 . Wan Bo . 莊初昇 . Zhuang Chusheng . 香港新界方言調查報告 . 中國文化研究所學報 . 1 January 1999 . 新8 . 361–396 . 10.29708/JCS.CUHK.199901_(8).0015 . 23 August 2022 . 1016-4464.
3. Zee . Eric . CHANGE AND VARIATION IN THE SYLLABLE-INITIAL AND SYLLABLE-FINAL CONSONANTS IN HONG KONG CANTONESE / 香港粤语中声母及韵尾辅音之变化与变异 . Journal of Chinese Linguistics . 1999 . 27 . 1 . 120–167 . 23756746 . 20 July 2022 . 0091-3723.
4. Phonetic variations and sound changes in Hong Kong Cantonese: diachronic review, synchronic study and implications for speech sound assessment. . Carol K. S. . To . Sharynne . Mcleod . Pamela S. P. . Cheung . Clinical Linguistics & Phonetics . 2015 . 29 . 5 . 333–353. 10.3109/02699206.2014.1003329 . 25651195 . 10722/214685 . 207449781 . free .
5. Variation and merger of the rising tones in Hong Kong Cantonese . Robert S. . Bauer . Kwan-hin . Cheung . Pak-man . Cheung . Language Variation and Change . 2003 . 15 . 2 . 211–225 . 10.1017/S0954394503152039 . 10397/7632 . 145563867 . free .
6. http://ohai.ca/post/14 Together Learn Cantonese
7. Book: 王文虎 . 张一舟 . 周家筠. 四川方言词典. 1987.
8. Web site: A list compiled by lbsun . 9 August 2006 . https://web.archive.org/web/20060820102916/http://ihome.ust.hk/~lbsun/hkloan.html . 20 August 2006 . dead . dmy-all .
9. Web site: 你"Hold住"没"Hold住"? . 学生导报 中职周刊 . 5 October 2011 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20111023181037/http://www.why.com.cn/epublish/node32923/node32948/userobject7ai285423.html . 23 October 2011 .
10. Web site: Info . www.patrickchu.net .