ALPHABET MATCHING GAME VOCABULARY FLASHCARDS
Why Learn Cantonese?
International travel is made easier and more pleasant when you know Cantonese. Your marketable skills in the global economy are improved when you master Cantonese. Analytical skills improve when you study Cantonese. The study of Cantonese teaches and encourages respect for other people.
How Long Does it Take to Learn Cantonese?
Cantonese is rated as a category 4 language by the Foreign Service Institute. It is considered exceptionally difficult for English speakers to learn and takes an average of 88 weeks (or 2200 class hours) to gain professional working proficiency.
Cantonese Alphabet & Pronunciation
Jyutping was created by the Linguistic Society of Hong Kong in 1993 and is a popular romanization scheme for Cantonese. Each syllable is represented by an initial (b, p, m, f, d, t, n, l, g, k, ng, h, gw, kw, w, c, s or j), a final, and a number from 1-6 that represents the tone.
(巴)
(怕)
(媽)
(花)
(打)
(他)
(那)
(啦)
(家)
(卡)
(牙)
(蝦)
(瓜)
(誇)
(蛙)
(渣)
(叉)
(沙)
(也)
(沙)
(徙)
(梢)
(三)
(山)
(坑)
(圾)
(剎)
(客)
(㗎)
(西)
(收)
(心)
(新)
(笙)
(濕)
(失)
(塞)
(些)
(四)
(掉[)
(舐)
(鄭)
(夾)
(石)
(詩)
(消)
(閃)
(先)
(星)
(攝)
(洩)
(識)
(疏)
(開)
(蘇)
(看)
(康)
(喝)
(索)
(夫)
(灰)
(寬)
(鬆)
(闊)
(叔)
(需)
(詢)
(鋸)
(商)
(削)
(書)
(孫)
(雪)
(唔)
(吳)
Basic Phrases in Cantonese
| Hello | 你好 (Néih hóu) |
|---|---|
| Goodbye | 再見 (Joigin) |
| Yes | 係 (haih) |
| No | 唔係 (mh'haih) |
| Excuse me | 唔好意思 (M̀h'hóu yisi) |
| Please | 請 (Chíng) |
| Thank you | 唔該 (M̀h'gōi) |
| You are welcome | |
| Do you speak english | |
| Do you understand | |
| I understand | |
| I do not understand | |
| How are you | |
| Fine thanks | |
| What is your name | |
| My name is | |
| Pleased to meet you |
Cantonese Grammar
Cantonese Nouns
| Man | |
|---|---|
| Woman | |
| Boy | |
| Girl | |
| Cat | |
| Dog | |
| Fish | |
| Water | |
| Milk | |
| Egg | |
| House | |
| Flower | |
| Tree | |
| Shirt | |
| Pants |
Cantonese Adjectives
Colors in Cantonese
| Black | 黑色 (hāk sīk) |
|---|---|
| White | 白色 (baahk sīk) |
| Red | 紅色 (hùhng sīk) |
| Orange | 橙色 (chàahng sīk) |
| Yellow | 黃色 (wòhng sīk) |
| Green | 綠色 (luhk sīk) |
| Blue | 藍色 (làahm̀ sīk) |
| Purple | 紫色 (jí sīk) |
| Pink | 粉紅色 (fán hùhng sīk) |
| Gray | 灰色 (fūi sīk) |
| Brown | 啡色 (fē sīk) |
Numbers in Cantonese
| Zero | 零 (lìhng) |
|---|---|
| One | 一 (yāt) |
| Two | 二 (yih) |
| Three | 三 (sāam) |
| Four | 四 (sei) |
| Five | 五 (ńgh) |
| Six | 六 (luhk) |
| Seven | 七 (chāt) |
| Eight | 八 (baat) |
| Nine | 九 (gáu) |
| Ten | 十 (sahp) |
| Eleven | 十一 |
| Twelve | 十二 |
| Twenty | 二十 (yihsahp) |
| Thirty | 三十 (sāamsahp ) |
| Forty | 四十 (seisahp ) |
| Fifty | 五十 (ńghsahp ) |
| Sixty | 六十 (luhksahp ) |
| Seventy | 七十 (chātsahp) |
| Eighty | 八十 (baatsahp) |
| Ninety | 九十 (gáusahp ) |
| Hundred | 一百 (yātbaak) |
| Thousand | 一千 (yātchīn) |
Cantonese Verbs
| To be | |
|---|---|
| To have | |
| To want | |
| To need | |
| To help | |
| To go | |
| To come | |
| To eat | |
| To drink | |
| To speak |
Building Simple Sentences
More Complex Cantonese Sentences
| And | |
|---|---|
| Or | |
| But | |
| Because | |
| With | |
| Also | |
| However | |
| Neither | |
| Nor | |
| If | |
| Then |
Useful Cantonese Vocabulary
Cantonese Questions
| Who | |
|---|---|
| What | |
| When | |
| Where | |
| Why | |
| How | |
| How many | |
| How much |
Days of the Week in Cantonese
| Monday | 禮拜一 (láihbaai yāt) |
|---|---|
| Tuesday | 禮拜二 (láihbaai yih ) |
| Wednesday | 禮拜三 (láihbaai sāam) |
| Thursday | 禮拜四 (láihbaai sei) |
| Friday | 禮拜五 (láihbaai ńgh) |
| Saturday | 星期六 (Xīngqíliù) |
| Sunday | 禮拜日 (láihbaai yaht) |
| Yesterday | 尋日 (chàhm'yaht) |
| Today | 今日 (gām'yaht) |
| Tomorrow | 聽日 (tīngyaht) |
Months in Cantonese
| January | 一月 (yāt'yuht) |
|---|---|
| February | 二月 (yih'yuht) |
| March | 三月 (sāam'yuht) |
| April | 四月 (seiyuht) |
| May | 五月 (ńgh'yuht) |
| June | 六月 (luhk'yuht) |
| July | 七月 (chāt'yuht) |
| August | 八月 (baat'yuht) |
| September | 九月 (gáuyuht) |
| October | 十月 (sahpyuht) |
| November | 十一月 (sahpyāt'yuht) |
| December | 十二月 (sahpyih'yuht) |
Seasons in Cantonese
| Winter | 冬天 (doong teen) |
|---|---|
| Spring | 春天 (chun teen) |
| Summer | 夏天 (ha teen) |
| Autumn | 秋天 (chow teen) |
Telling Time in Cantonese
| What time is it | |
|---|---|
| Hours | |
| Minutes | |
| Seconds | |
| O clock | |
| Half | |
| Quarter past | |
| Before | |
| After |