Understanding the Language

Hong Kong’s official languages are Chinese and English. The main Chinese dialect is Cantonese, spoken by more than 90 percent of the population and an inseparable part of the sound and rhythm of the city. Mandarin Chinese (Putonghua), the official language of the People’s Republic of China, is increasingly important, reflecting exponential rises in tourist numbers and long-term residents from the mainland. Most Hong Kongers in customer-facing jobs can speak passable Mandarin and some have claimed this has gone hand-in-hand with an equivalent decline in the standards of English.

There are numerous dialects or varieties of Chinese that share grammatical similarities and the same basic writing form, but they are not mutually intelligible in spoken form. Of these, Mandarin and Cantonese are the most important.

Cantonese is spoken in Hong Kong, Macau and most of the neighbouring province of Guangdong, as well as parts of Guangxi. Outside China, Cantonese is the most widely spoken form of Chinese due to the history of worldwide migration from Hong Kong and its neighbouring provinces.

Hong Kong people use a standard form of Chinese when they write, or in a business situation, but speak colloquial Cantonese in everyday conversation. This language is rich in slang, and some spoken words do not have characters.

To confuse the Chinese learner further, Hong Kong (like Taiwan) uses a slightly different style of characters to the rest of China. During reforms initiated by Mao in the 1950s to increase literacy, the PRC simplified its characters. Hence the characters used on the mainland are referred to as Simplified Chinese while Hong Kong’s more complex characters are called Traditional Chinese. Many Chinese can comfortably read both scripts but the way a person writes will tend to depend on which side of the mainland border they were born.

Tones

If all this was not enough to master, many an enthusiastic linguist has been defeated by Cantonese tones. Tone is not used within a sentence to indicate stress as in many European languages; instead, each word has a distinct pitch that goes higher, lower or stays flat within each word. Among the Cantonese there is no real agreement as to how many tones there are – some say as many as nine – but most people use six in daily life (which makes Putonghua’s four tones seem more accessible).

The Jyutping transliteration system devised by the Linguistic Society of Hong Kong classifies the six main tones as: 1, high falling/high flat; 2, high rising; 3, middle; 4, low falling; 5, low rising; 6, low. For the new learner, just hitting three tones to boost their intelligibility is a triumph.

Each word has one syllable, and is represented by one distinct character. A word is made up of three sound elements. An initial eg, “f ”, plus a final sound eg “an”, plus a tone.

Tone is an essential part of each word. A few rare words just have a final sound and a tone, eg “m” in “m goi” (thank you).

Therefore, when combined with a tone, “fan” has seven distinct and contradictory meanings: to divide (high rising 1); flour (high falling 2); to teach (middle flat 3); fragrant (high flat 1); a grave (low falling 4); energetic (low rising 5); and a share (low flat 5).

The wealth of sound-alike words (homonyms) that can be easily mispronounced play a part in many Cantonese traditions and the development of slang. However, for the visitor or new learner tones mean that utter bafflement is a common reaction to your attempt simply to say the name of the road you wish to visit. Persevere and attempt to mimic the way a Cantonese speaker says each part of the phrase.

Pronunciation

j as in the “y” of yap

z is similar to the sound in beige or jar or the zh in Guangzhou

c as in chip

au as in how

ei as in way

ai as in buy

ou as in no

i as in he

Numbers

one jat

two ji

three saam

four sei

five ng

six luk

seven cat

eight baat

nine gau

ten sap

eleven sap jat

twelve sap ji

twenty ji sap

twenty-one ji sap jat

one hundred baak

zero ling

140 jat sei ling

235 ji saam ng

Common words and phrases

Good morning zou san (joe san)

Good afternoon ng on

Good night zou tau

Goodbye bai bai

Hello (on phone) wai!

Thank you (service) m goi

Thank you (gift) do ze

You’re welcome M sai m goi

No problem mou man tai

How are you? Nei hou maa? (neigh ho marr)

Fine, thank you gay ho, yau sum

Have you eaten? sik zou faan mei a?

Yes hai

no m hai

OK hou aa

so-so ma ma

My name is… ngor geeu

yesterday kum yut

today gum yut

tomorrow ting yut

Nouns

hotel zau dim

key so si

manager ging lei

room haak fong

telephone din wa

toilet ci so

bank ngan hong

post office yau jing guk

passport wu ziu

restaurant zaan teng

bar zau ba

bus ba si

taxi dik si

train fo ze

Questions

Questions are often followed by “a”

Who? bin go a?

Where? bin do a?

When? gei si a?

Why? dim gaai a?

How many? gei do a?

How much does that cost? gei dor chin a?

Do you have…? yau mo … a?

What time is the train to Guangzhou…? Guangzhou ge for che, gay dim hoy a?

People

mother maa maa

father baa baa

son zai

daughter neoi

baby be be

friend pang jau

boyfriend naam pang jau

girlfriend neoi pang jau

husband lou gung

wife lou po

Adjectives

small sui

big dai

good ho

bad mm ho

expensive gwai

cheap peng

thin sau

fat fei

slow maan

fast faai

pretty/beautiful leng

hot jit

cold dung

very… hou …

very cold hou dung

delicious ho sick

Taxis

taxi dik si

Please take me to m goy chey ngor hur-ee.

straight on jick hur-ee

left hai jor bin

right hai yau bin

Health and Emergencies

I have (a) … ngo…

headache tau tung

stomach ache tou tung

toothache nga tung

cough kau sau

fever faat sui

flu gam mou

I have a headache ngo tau tung

I am sick ngo jau beng

doctor ji sang

nurse wu si

ambulance gau surng che

police ging chaat

Food and drink

breakfast zou caan

lunch ng caan

dinner maan caan

eat sik faan

rice faan

boiled rice baak faan

fried rice cau faan

noodles min

vegetables coi

meat juk

beef ngau juk

pork zyut juk

lamb joeng juk

chicken gai

prawn ha

fish jyu

tea ca

coffee gaa fei

water sur-ee

beer be zau

white/red wine baak/hung zau

I am a vegetarian ngo sik zaai

My bill, please! maai daan, m goi!

a little seeu seeu

enough gau la

Glossary

Amah bag – large blue, red and white bag favoured by elderly women who can carry more than their body weight inside one stripy bag, also popular with migrant workers and those moving house.

Astronaut – a person who lives, works or studies in a different continent to their immediate family members. A common phenomenon in Hong Kong.

Cha Chaan Teng – aka Hong Kong Café. Serves up comfort food that includes the local take on foreign cuisines. Milk is always of the condensed or evaporated variety.

Chinese Tea - green or black tea without milk.

Chop – self-inked stamp used for signing documents.

Dai Pai Dong – literally means “big licence place”, a reference to the size of the licence required by these outdoor food stalls. Outdoor seating expands simply by adding more plastic stools and fold-up tables. Serves inexpensive Cantonese fare from enormous woks in a no-frills environment.

F.I.L.T.H. – “Failed In London, Try Hong Kong,” a derogatory reference to Britons in Hong Kong

Godown – a warehouse.

Gweilo – white devil, foreigner.

Hawker – someone selling goods from a stall, sometimes licensed sometimes not.

Helper – always means a domestic helper or maid. The term “amah” is rarely used except in reference to holdalls.

Lai See – “lucky money,” given at weddings and Lunar New Year.

Junk – traditional square-sailed Chinese vessel. The term is also used for any vessel hired for a “junk party”.

Kaido (Gaido) – small cargo boat or ferry.

Kowloon taxi – a taxi whose driver claims no knowledge of streets or major buildings on Hong Kong Island.

Legco – Hong Kong’s governing body, only partially elected.

Lunchbox – not filled with a packed lunch from home, but a polystyrene box of food delivered to the workplace.

Mark 6 – the lottery, a chance to win millions for just HK$20.

MTR – mass transit railway – Hong Kong’s train system.

Octopus card – pre-paid transport card, also used as a debit card.

Sampan – small boat, with motor at the back, usually driven by an elderly man.

SAR – Special Administrative Region (of China).

Tai Tai – housewife, a married woman, especially ladies who lunch.