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.
Words
2 sectionsThe words a fable is made of
- Fewer than thirty words carry almost every sentence in a short animal story.
- Cantonese says 細sai3 for “small”, not the Mandarin word, and 屋企uk1 kei2 for “home”.
- 仔zai2 on the end of a word makes it small: 雀仔zoek3 zai2 is the everyday word for a bird.
- 阿aa3 in front of a name is the friendly form — the three animals in the closing stories are named that way.
- Six joining words hold a paragraph together: and, also, but, because, then, now.
The cast and the scenery
- 貓catmaau1一隻貓jat1 zek3 maau1“a cat”
- 狗doggau2兩隻狗loeng5 zek3 gau2“two dogs”
- 雀仔birdzoek3 zai2仔 zai2 is a “little one” ending — 男仔 is a boy, 貓仔 a kitten.
- 朋友friendpang4 jau5
- 屋企homeuk1 kei2Literally “house” plus “stand” — the Cantonese word, where Mandarin says 家.
- 樹treesyu6嗰棵樹go2 po1 syu6“that tree”
- 山hill, mountainsaan1山上saan1 soeng6“on the hill”
- 路roadlou6路上lou6 soeng6“on the road”
- 風windfung1好大風hou2 daai6 fung1“very windy”
- 名namemeng2佢嘅名keoi5 ge3 meng2“his name”
- 嘢thingje5食嘢sik6 je5“eat something”
- 上on top of; abovesoeng6A line with a mark above it. Its opposite 下 haa6 is the same line with the mark below.
Every one of these turns up in the two closing stories, or in the sentences that lead into them.
Describing words, and the ones Cantonese does differently
- 大bigdaai6
- 細smallsai3Cantonese uses this where Mandarin uses 小 — a swap worth remembering, because 小 still turns up inside longer words.
- 好good; veryhou2好朋友hou2 pang4 jau5“a good friend”
- 靚pretty, good-lookingleng3
- 開心happyhoi1 sam1Literally “open heart”.
- 攰tiredgui6
- 多many, muchdo1It is also the 多 of 多謝 do1 ze6 “thank you” — literally “many thanks”.好多水hou2 do1 seoi2“a lot of water”
These need no “is” in front of them, and 好hou2 before one of them means “very”.
The words that hold a paragraph together
| Cantonese | How it is used |
|---|---|
| 同tung4“and; with” | joins two nouns, and is “together with” in front of a person |
| 都dou1“also” | goes before the verb, never at the end |
| 但係daan6 hai6“but” | starts the next sentence |
| 因為jan1 wai6“because” | starts the reason, as in English |
| 然後jin4 hau6“and then” | starts the next thing that happened |
| 而家ji4 gaa1“now” | sits before the verb |
A Cantonese paragraph tends to be a row of short sentences, each starting fresh, rather than clauses chained with “and”.
Three animals you will meet at the end of this path
| Name | Who | What the character means alone |
|---|---|---|
| 阿福aa3 fuk1 | a small cat | good fortune |
| 阿黑aa3 hak1 | a dog | black |
| 阿寶aa3 bou2 | a bird | treasure |
阿aa3 in front of a name is warm and informal. It carries no meaning of its own, so read past it to the character that follows.
Recall before you read
- 細
The Cantonese one, not the Mandarin one.
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細sai3“small” - 屋企
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屋企uk1 kei2“home” - 雀仔
The ending makes it small and friendly.
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雀仔zoek3 zai2“bird”