Learn to read Cantonese
A short, active path into reading Cantonese: see how a character is built out of a meaning half and a sound half, learn the sixty characters a fable runs on, meet the grammar words 係 唔 嘅 咗 that mark written Cantonese out from Mandarin, and read a short story before opening your first book.
The script
3 sectionsTen characters you can already read
- Some characters are simply pictures, and you can guess what they mean before anyone tells you.
- A character is one syllable and usually one meaning — not one letter and not one word.
- These ten are also the parts other characters are built out of, so they pay twice.
- Guess the meaning first. The sound is the part you cannot guess, and that is normal.
- Most of them come back in the closing stories, or hidden inside larger characters.
Chinese characters started as drawings, and the oldest ones still look like what they mean. Try to read the meaning off the shape before you look at the answer. You will get most of these, and the habit you are building — read the picture, then take the sound from the app — is exactly the habit that gets you through a real page.
Ten pictures
- 人personjan4Two legs walking, seen from the side.好人hou2 jan4“a good person”
- 山mountain, hillsaan1Three peaks on a ridge.山上saan1 soeng6“on the hill”
- 日sun, dayjat6The sun, drawn square because a brush cannot easily draw a circle.有一日jau5 jat1 jat6“one day”
- 月moon, monthjyut6A crescent moon with two clouds crossing it.月光jyut6 gwong1“moonlight”
- 木tree, woodmuk6A trunk, two branches, two roots.木屋muk6 uk1“a wooden hut”
- 水waterseoi2A stream down the middle with droplets flying off either side.飲水jam2 seoi2“drink water”
- 火firefo2A person with sparks flying off both shoulders.大火daai6 fo2“a big fire”
- 口mouthhau2An open mouth.門口mun4 hau2“a doorway”
- 心heartsam1A heart with three drops beside it.開心hoi1 sam1“happy”
- 雨rainjyu5A roof with four drops falling underneath it.落雨lok6 jyu5“it is raining”
These are among the most common characters in the language, and all ten turn up again as building blocks inside bigger characters.
Read the picture
Say the meaning out loud before revealing. The sound can wait.
- 山
How many peaks?
Show answer +Hide answer −
山saan1“mountain, hill” - 水
It runs downhill.
Show answer +Hide answer −
水seoi2“water” - 日
Show answer +Hide answer −
日jat6“sun; day” - 心
Show answer +Hide answer −
心sam1“heart” - 木
Branches at the top, roots at the bottom.
Show answer +Hide answer −
木muk6“tree, wood”