A collection of useful phrases in Cantonese, a variety of Chinese spoken in Hong Kong, Macau, southern China, and a number of other places, in traditional characters and Yale Romanization.
Key to abbreviations: frm = formal, inf = informal
See these phrases in any combination of two languages in the Phrase Finder. If you can provide recordings, corrections or additional translations, please contact me.
| English | 廣東話/粵語 (Cantonese) |
|---|---|
| Welcome | 歡迎 (fùnyìhng) |
| Hello (General greeting) | 你好 (néih hóu) 哈囉 (hàaló) |
| Hello (on phone) | 喂 (wái) |
| How are you? | 你好嗎? (néih hóu ma) 點呀? (dím a) |
| Reply to 'How are you?' | 我幾好，你呢？ (ngóh géi hóu, néih nē) 好好 (hóu hóu) 幾好 (géi hóu) |
| Long time no see | 好耐冇見 (hóunoih móuhgin) |
| What's your name? | 你叫(做)乜野名呀？ (néih giu(jouh) mātyéh méng a) 你點稱呼呀？ (néih dím chìngfù a) |
| My name is ... | 我叫做 ... (ngóh giujouh ...) |
| Where are you from? | 你係邊度人呀？ (néih haih bīndouh yàhn a) 你由邊度嚟架？ (néih yàuh bīndouh lèih ga) 你係邊國人呀？ (néih haih bīngwok yàhn a) |
| I'm from ... | 我係 ... 人 (ngóh haih ... yàhn) |
| Pleased to meet you | 好開心認識你
(hóu hòisàm yihngsīk néih) 好開心見到你 (hóu hòisàm gindóu néih) 好高興認識你 (hóu gòuhing yihngsīk néih) |
| Good morning (Morning greeting) |
早晨 (jóusàhn) |
| Good afternoon (Afternoon greeting) |
午安 (ńgh ōn) |
| Good evening (Evening greeting) |
晚安 (máahn ōn) 晚上好 (máahnseuhng hóu) |
| Good night | 早抖 (jóutáu) |
| Goodbye (Parting phrases) |
再見 (joigin) 拜拜 (bāaibaai) |
| Good luck! | 祝你好運 (jūk néih hóuwahn) |
| Cheers! Good Health! (Toasts used when drinking) |
飲勝 (yám sing) 飲杯 (yám bùi) 敬酒 (ging jáu) 幹杯 (gòn bùi) |
| Bon appetit / Have a nice meal |
食飯! (sihk faahn) - eat |
| Bon voyage / Have a good journey |
一路順風 (yāt louh seuhn fùng) 一路平安 (yāt louh pìhng ngòn) |
| Do you understand? | 你明唔明呀? (néih mìhngm̀hmìhng a) |
| I understand | 我明白嘞 (ngóh mìhngbaahk la) |
| I don't understand | 我唔明白 (ngóh m̀h mìhngbaahk) |
| I don't know | 我唔知道 (ngóh m̀ jìdou) 我唔識 (ngóh m̀ sīk) |
| Do you speak English? | 你識唔識講英文呀? (neih sīkm̀hsīk góng yìngmán a?) |
| Do you speak Cantonese? | 你識唔識講廣東話呀 (neih sīkm̀hsīk góng gwóngdùngwá a) |
| Yes, a little (reply to 'Do you speak ...?') |
我識講小小呀 (ngóh sìk góng síusíu a) |
| Please speak more slowly | 你可唔可以講慢小小呀? (néih hóm̀hhóyíh góng maahn síusíu a) 請你講慢啲 (chéng néih góng maahn di) |
| Please say that again | 唔該你講多一次吖? (m̀hgòi néih góng dō yātchi a) 唔該再講 (m̀hgòi joi góng) |
| Please write it down | 唔該你寫低吖? (m̀hgòi néih sédài a?) 唔該筆記 (m̀hgòi bātgei) |
| Speak to me in Cantonese | 同我講廣東話 (tùhng ngóh góng gwóngdùngwá) |
| How do you say ... in Cantonese? | ... 廣東話點講呀？ (... gwóngdùngwá dím góng a) |
| Excuse me | 請問 (chéngmahn) - to get attention 唔該 (m̀hgòi) - to get past 失陪 (sàtpùih) - used when leaving for a while |
| How much is this? | 呢個幾多錢呀? (Nīgo géidō chín a?) |
| Sorry | 對唔住 (deuim̀hjyuh) 抱歉 (póuhhip) 疏利 (sòleih) / 唆哩 (sòlì) 疏 (sò) |
| Please | 唔該 (m̀hgòi) |
| Thank you | 多謝 (dòjeh) - for something given 唔該 (m̀hgòi) - for a service |
| Reply to thank you | 唔駛 (m̀hsái) 唔駛客氣 (m̀hsái haakhei) 冇問題 (móuh mahntàih) |
| Where's the toilet / bathroom? | 廁所喺邊度呀？ (chisó hái bīndouh a?) 洗手間喺邊度呀？ (sáisáugāan hái bīndouh a?) |
| Would you like to dance with me? | 你要唔要同我跳舞？ (néih yium̀hyiu tùhng ngóh tiumóuh) - inf 賞面同我跳隻舞嗎？ (séungmíhn tùhng ngóh tiujek móuh ma) - frm |
| I miss you | 我掛住你 (ngóh gwaajyuh néih) 我好掛住你 (ngóh hóu gwaajyuh néih) |
| I love you | 我愛你 (ngóh oi néih) |
| Get well soon | 早日康復 (jóuyaht hòngfuhk) 快啲好番呀 (faaidi hóufàan a) |
| Leave me alone! | 唔好搞我! (m̀hhóu gáau ngóh!) |
| Help! | 救命呀! (gau mehng a!) |
| Fire! | 火燭呀! (fóh jūk a!) |
| Stop! | 停低! (tìhng dài!) |
| Call the police! | 叫警察! (giu gíngchaat) 報警! (bou gíng) |
| Christmas greetings | 聖誕節快樂 (singdaanjit faailohk) |
| New Year greetings | 新年快樂 (sànnìhn faailohk) 恭喜發財 (gùng héi faat chōi) - used at Chinese New Year |
| Easter greetings | 復活節快樂 (fuhkwuhtjit faailohk) |
| Birthday greetings | 生日快樂 [生日快乐] (sàangyaht faailohk) |
| My hovercraft is full of eels | 我隻氣墊船裝滿晒鱔 (ngóh jek heidínsyùhn jòngmúhnsaai síhn) 我隻氣墊船裝滿晒鰻 (ngóh jek heidínsyùhn jòngmúhnsaai màahn) |
| One language is never enough | 一種語言永遠不夠 (yātjúng yúhyìhn wíhngyyúhn bātgau) 一種語言永遠唔夠 (yātjúng yúhyìhn wíhngyyúhn m̀gau) |
Note: the word 鱔 (síhn) can be translated as eel, but refers specifically to the Asian swamp eel (monopterus albus), an eel-like fish found in China and other parts of Asia. 鰻 (màahn) refers eels, that is any fish belonging to the order Anguilliformes. [Thanks to Ge Tianyu for pointing this out]
| I don't speak Cantonese | 我唔識講廣東話 (ngóh m̀hsìk góng gwóngdùngwá) |
| Does anyone speak English? | 有冇人識講英文呀? (yáuhmóuh yàhn sīk góng yìngmán a?) |
| Sorry, I didn't get that | 對唔住,我唔明白 (deuim̀hjyuh, ngóh m̀h mìhngbaahk) |
| What did you say? | 你講乜嘢話? (néih góng mātyéh wá?) |
| Can you translate it for me? | 你可唔可以幫我翻譯呀? (néih hóm̀hhóyíh bòng ngóh fáanyihk a?) |
| What does this mean? | 呢個點解呀? (nīgo dímgáai a?) |
| How do you pronounce that? | 呢個點讀呀? (nīgo dím duhk a?) |
| There's a problem in the room | 間房有啲問題 (gàanfóng yáuhdī mahntàih) |
| There's no hot water | 冇熱水 (móuh yihtséui) |
| The tap/faucet is leaking | 水龍頭漏水 (séuilùhngtàuh lauhséui) |
| The drain is blocked | 坑渠塞咗呀 (hàangkèuih sākjó a) |
| The air conditioner is too noisy | 冷氣好嘈呀 (láahnghei hóu chòuh a) |
| I would like to move to another room | 我想換過間房 (ngóh séung wuhngwo gàanfóng) |
| When should I vacate the room? | 我幾時要退房呀? (ngóh géisìh yiu teuifóng a) |
| I'd like to check out | 唔該, 埋單 (m̀hgòi màaihdāan) |
| I'd check out on this date | 我個日會走 (ngóh goyaht wúih jáu) |
| Please call a taxi for me | 唔該幫我叫架的士吖 (m̀hgòi bòng ngóh giuga dīksí a) |
| May I see the bill please? | 我可唔可以睇吓賬單呀? (ngóh hóm̀hhóyíh táihá jeungdàan a) |
| How much is the total bill? | 帳單總數係幾多錢呀? (jeungdàan jóngsou haih géidō chín a) |
| Can I have an itemised bill? | 唔該,俾張詳細賬單我吖? (m̀hgòi, béi jèung chèuhngsai jeungdàan ngóh a) |
| I think there's a mistake on this bill | 我覺得呢張單有一度錯咗 (ngóh gokdāk ni jèungdàan yáuh yātdouh cho jó) |
| Are you free for lunch? | 我地一齊食晏晝飯好嘛? (ngóhdeih yātchàih sihk ngaanjaufaahn hóu ma?) |
| Are you free this evening? | 你今晚得唔得閒呀? (néih gàmmáahn dākm̀hdākhàahn a?) |
| Can you suggest a place for lunch? | 可以介紹個食晏嘅地方嗎? (hóyíh gaaisiuh go sihk ngaan ge deihfòng ma?) |
| Can you suggest a place for dinner? | 可以介紹個食晚飯嘅地方嗎? (hóyíh gaaisiuh go sihk máahnfaahn ge deihfòng ma?) |
| I'll meet you there | 我地喺個度見 (ngóhdeih hái gódouh gin) |
| I'll meet you then | 你地到時見 (néihdeih dousìh gin) |
| Can I have your phone number? | 可以講你個電話號碼我知嗎? (hóyíh góng néih go dihnwá houhmáh ngóh jì ma) |
| Can I have your address? | 可以講你個地址我知嗎? (hóyíh góng néih go deihjí ngóh jì ma) |
| This is my phone number | 呢個係我嘅電話號碼 (nīgo haih ngóh ge dihnwá houhmáh) |
| This is my address | 呢個係我嘅地址 (nīgo haih ngóh ge deihjí) |
| Is there a restaurant near here? | 附近有冇餐館呀? (fuhgahn yáuhmóuh chāangún a?) |
| I'd like to reserve a table | 我想訂一張枱 (ngóh séung dehng yātjèung tói) |
| We have a reservation | 我地訂咗張枱嘠嘞 (ngóhdeih dehng jó juèng tói ge la) |
| Do you have an English menu? | 你地有冇英文餐牌呀? (néihdeih yáuhmóuh yìngmán chāanpáai a?) |
| Can I see the wine list? | 我可唔可以睇吓個酒單呀? (ngóh hóm̀hhóyíh táiháa go jáudāan a?) |
| I am a vegetarian | 我食齋 (ngóh sihk jāai) |
Cantonese audio files and translations provided by Shirley Lam (沯靟埈) and HNHSoft, with corrections by Kenneth Ngan and John Ng
Download the audio files (Zip format, 2MB)
If you would like to make any corrections or additions to this page, or if you can provide recordings, please contact me.
Other collections of Cantonese phrases
http://linguanaut.com/english_cantonese.htm
https://ilovelanguages.org/cantonese_phrases.php
https://wikitravel.org/en/Cantonese_phrasebook
Information about Cantonese | Phrases | Numbers | Family words | Time expressions | Tower of Babel | Cantonese courses on: Amazon.com and Amazon.co.uk [affilate links]
- Learn Cantonese online with CantoneseClass101
- Cantonese Conversations - Understand real Cantonese
- Learn Cantonese with Glossika
Learn Cantonese with Ling
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Written Chinese: Oracle Bone Script, Simplified characters, Bopomofo, Types of characters, Structure of written Chinese, Evolution of characters, How the Chinese script works, Xiao'erjing, General Chinese
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Other Chinese pages: Chinese numbers (數碼) | Chinese classifiers (量詞) | Electronic dictionaries | Chinese links | Books: Chinese characters and calligraphy | Cantonese | Mandarin, Shanghainese, Hokkien and Taiwanese
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