香港 (hoeng gong) Hong Kongliterally: fragrant harbour
正宗 (ching chung) authentic, of true origin
零 (ling) zeroEquivalently 〇 or 0 can be used.
一 (yat) oneFor the associated gesture the index finger is extended.
二 (yi) twoFor the associated gesture the index finger and middle finger is extended.
三 (saam) threeFor the associated gesture the index finger and thumb are closed the other three fingers are extended.
四 (sei) fourFor the associated gesture all four fingers are extended.
五 (ng) fiveFor the associated gesture is all fingers and the thumb are extended.
六 (luk) sixFor the associated gesture the thumb and little finger are extended.
七 (chat) sevenFor the associated gesture all fingertips are touching.
八 (baat) eightFor the associated gesture the thumb and index finger are extended.
九 (gau) nineFor the associated gesture the index finger is forming a hook and all other fingers are closed.
十 (sup) tenFor the associated gesture the middle finger crosses over the extended index finger forming an X. The numbers from 11 to 99 are written x*10+y, in example: 81 = 八十一 .
百 (baak) hundredThe numbers from 101 to 999 are written similarly x*100+y*10+z. In case of no decade a zero is written, in example: 108 = 一百〇八 .
千 (tsin) thousandThe scheme for hundred equally applies to thousand.
萬 (maan) ten thousandConsequently one hundred thousand is 十萬, one million is 百萬 and ten million is 千萬 .
億 (jik) hundred millionChinese orders of magnitude are grouped by ten thousand (104) as opposed to the western thousand (103).
第 (dai) -th {ordinal numbering}The ordinal degree is placed before the number, in example: 9th = 第九 .
個 (go) {classifier}In most cases a noun is preceded by a classifier, 個 is the most common.
兩 (loeng) two, pair, both兩 is used when it is followed by (a classifier and) a noun instead of 二.
廿 (yaa) twentyIn example: 廿一 (21), for twenty itself 二十 (yi sup) is used.
半 (bun) half
係 (hai) Yes.
唔係 (m hai) No.Literally: not yes
未 (mei) not yet, not
得 (dak) OK.
好 (hou) good, very
好好 (hou hou) very good
幾好 (gei hou) quite well
你好 (nei hou) Hello.
你好嗎 (nei hou ma?) How are you?
点啊 (Dim a?) How are you?(Informal)
喂 (waai) Hello, HeyMainly used on the phone
早晨 (jou san) Good Morning.
歡迎 (fun ying) Welcome!
拜拜 (baai baai) Bye Bye.
再見 (zoi jin) Goodbye.
唔該 (m goi) Thanks, Please, Excuse meThis phrase is used in many contexts.
唔該晒 (m goi sai) Thank you very much.
多謝 (do ze) Thank you.As reply to gifts or congratulations
唔使 (m sai) You are welcome.
有心 (yau sam) That's kind of you.Literally: (you) have heart
唔客氣 (m haak hei) Please!, Don't mention it.
對唔住 (doi m jyu) Sorry.
請問 (ceng man) May I ask (,...) ?To introduce a question or getting attention.
醫生 (yi sang) doctor, medic
救命! (Gau Meng!) Help!
小心! (Siu Sam!) Be careful!
報警! (Bou Ging!) Call the police!
唔好! (M Hou!) Don't {do}!Literally: It's not good to
唔要! (M Yiu!) {I} don't want!
走開! (Zau Hoi!) Go away!
火! (Fo!) Fire!
停! (Ting!) Stop!
廁所邊度呀 (Ci Sou Bin Dou A?) Where is the toilet?
點心 (Dim Sam) Dim SumTraditional cantonese breakfast; literally: little heart.
飲茶 (Yam Tsa) Drink TeaA typical HK past time
伙記 (Fo Gei) WaiterAlso used for shop clerks.
筷子 (Faai Ji) Chopsticks
食飯 (Sik Fan) Enjoy!Literally: Eat Rice
乾杯 (Gan Bei) Cheers!
好食 (Hou Sik) Yummy!
水 (Soi) Water
茶 (Tsa) Tea
可樂 (Hou Lo) ColaLiterally: Can Music
啤酒 (Bei Zau) Beer
飽 (Bao) fullUsed for "being full".
拎走 (Ling Jauh) Take Out
買單 (Maai Dahn) The bill please.
我 (ngoh) I
你 (neih) you
佢 (keuih) he,she,it
我哋 (ngoh-deih) we
你哋 (neih-deih) you(plural)
佢哋 (keuih-deih) they
我嘅 (ngoh ge) my
你嘅 (neih ge) your
佢嘅 (keuih ge) his,her,its
我哋嘅 (ngoh-deih ge) our
你哋嘅 (neih-deih ge) your(plural)
佢哋嘅 (keuih-deih ge) their
顏色 (ngaan sik) color
白色 (pak sik) white
黑色 (hak sik) black
紅色 (hung sik) red
綠色 (luk sik) green
藍色 (laam sik) blue
啡色 (fe sik) brown
黃色 (wong sik) yellow
多色 (do sik) multicolor
呢個 (ni-go) this
呢啲 (ni-di) these
嗰個 (go-go) that
嗰啲 (go-di) those
呢度 (ni-dou) here
嗰度 (go-dou) there
錢 (cin) money
文 (man) dollar
毫 (hou) dimeTen cents
分錢 (fan cin) cent
幾錢 (gei cin) how much
個 (go) {spoken} decimal point
歐元 (ou jyun) euro
利市 (lai si) red packet, lucky money
搇機 (gam gei) ATM
八達通 (ba daa tung) octopus cardHong Kong's payment system for public transport and small purchases.
喺 (hai) at, on, in
近 (gan) near
左 (zo) left
右 (jau) right
中 (dzung) middle, center
上 (soeng) up
下 (haa) down
東 (dung) east
南 (naan) south
西 (sai) west
北 (bak) north
東南 (dung naan) south-east
西南 (sai naan) south-west
西北 (sai bak) north-west
東北 (dung bak) north-east
對面 (doi min) opposite, across
日 (yat) day, sun
今日 (kam yat) today
昨日 (tsok yat) yesterday
聽日 (ting yat) tomorrow
前日 (cin yat) day before yesterday
後日 (hau yat) day after tomorrow
日日 (yat yat) every day
星期 (sing kei) week
星期日 (sing kei yaat) sunday
星期一 (sing kei yat) monday
星期二 (sing kei yi) tuesday
星期三 (sing kei sam) wednesday
星期四 (sing kei sei) thursday
星期五 (sing kei ng) friday
星期六 (sing kei lok) saturday
禮拜 (lai pai) week(alternative, less formal)
禮拜日 (lai pai yaat) sunday
禮拜一 (lai pai yat) monday
禮拜二 (lai pai yi) tuesday
禮拜三 (lai pai sam) wednesday
禮拜四 (lai pai sei) thursday
禮拜五 (lai pai ng) friday
禮拜六 (lai pai lok) saturday
呢個禮拜 (ni go lai pai) this week
上個禮拜 (soeng go lai pai) last week
下個禮拜 (haa go lai pai) next week
個個禮拜 (go go lai pai) every week
月 (uet) month, moon
一月 (yat uet) january
二月 (yi uet) february
三月 (sam uet) march
四月 (sei uet) april
五月 (ng uet) may
六月 (lok uet) june
七月 (chat uet) july
八月 (baat uet) august
九月 (gao uet) september
十月 (sub uet) october
十一月 (sub yat uet) november
十二月 (sub yi uet) december
呢個月 (ni go uet) this month
上個月 (soeng go uet) last month
下個月 (haa go uet) next month
個個月 (go go uet) every month
年 (nin) year
今年 (kam nin) this year
舊年 (gau nin) last year
明年 (ming nin) next year
前年 (cin nin) year before last year
後年 (hau nin) year after next year
年年 (nin nin) every year
年前 (nin cin) years agoThe number is placed in front.
歲 (seoi) years oldThe number is placed in front.
秒 (miu) second
分 (fan) minute
字 (zi) five minutes一個字 (yat go zi) for 5 minutes, 兩個字 (loeng go zi) for 10 minutes and so on
鐘 (zung) hour
點鐘 (dim zung) o'clockThe number goes in front.
點半 (dim bun) half pastThe number goes in front.
骨 (gwat) quarters of an hourA quarter of an hour is 一個骨 (yat go gwat) and three quarters of an hour is 三個骨 (sam go gwat).
啱啱 (aam aam) just now, minutes ago
而家 (yi gah) now
幾點 (Gei dim?) What time?
永不 (wing bat) never
有時 (jau si) sometimesLiterally: (when) having time
通常 (tung soeng) usually
常常 (soeng soeng) often
成日 (seng jat) alwaysLiterally: the whole day
頭 (tau) head
毛 (mou) hair
耳 (ji) ear
目 (muk) eye
口 (hau) mouth
牙 (ngaa) teeth
脖 (but) neck
肩 (gin) shoulder
臂 (bei) arm
肘 (zaau) elbow
手 (sau) hand
指 (zi) finger
拇 (mou) thumb
肚 (tou) stomach
背 (bui) back
股 (gu) hip
腿 (toi) leg
膝 (sat) knee
腳 (goek) foot
趾 (zi) toe
國 (gwok) country
洲 (zau) continent
文 (man) languageDollar, culture
話 (waa) dialect, speech, talk
人 (yan) person
中國 (jung gwok) ChinaLiterally: country of the center; 中文 (jung man) chinese language; 中國人 (jung gwok yan) chinese person
德國 (dak gwok) GermanyLiterally: country of virtue; 德文 (dak man) german; 德國人 (dak gwok yan) german person
日本 (yat bun) JapanLiterally: basis of the sun; 日本文 (yat bun man) japanese; 日本人 (yat bun yan) japanese person
香港 (hoeng gong) Hong KongLiterally: fragrant harbour
澳門 (ou mun) Macao, Macau
港澳 (gong ou) Hong Kong and Macao
歐洲 (au zau) Europe
廣東話 (gwung dong waa) Cantonese
普通話 (pou tung waa) MandarinLiterally: common known dialect
漢語 (hon jyu) Chinese language
圖 (tou) map
煙 (jin) cigarette, smoke
廟 (miu) temple
點香 (dim hoeng) lighting incense
面子 (min zi) honor, face
關係 (gwan hai) relation, connection
唔要 (mh jiu) not wantFor example to decline an offer
地鐵 (dei tit) subway, MTR
有落 (yauh lok) stop please!(To get off a minibus)
港人 (gong yan) Hong KongerLiterally: harbour person
你先 (nei sin) You first.
冇問題 (mouh man tai) No problem!
印章 (jan zoeng) sealUsually a stone block with carved characters for stamping with red ink
陰陽先生 (jam jeong sin saang) geomancerLiterally: Mr Yin Yang
打九九九 (da gau gau gau) dial 999999 is the emergency call in Hong Kong
功夫 (gung fu) kung fu, hard work
師兄 (si hing) senior student
師父 (si fu) master, teacher
套路 (si gung) grandmaster, honorable teacher
館 (gwoon) training hall
套路 (tou lou) form, kata
拳 (kuen) fist
步 (bu) stance
氣 (hei) qi, chi
爪 (jow) claw
門 (mun) school, clan, gate, door
派 (paai) style
家 (gar) family
武術 (mou seot) wushu, martial arts, budo
太極 (taai jik) tai chiAlso: taiji, taikyoku
少林 (siu lam) shaolinLiterally: small forest
空手道 (hung sau do) karateLiterally: way of the empty hand
武林 (mou lam) martial arts community
麻雀 (maa zhoek) sparrow 🀐One of sticks, bamboo
索子 (sok zi) sticks, bamboo suit 🀑 🀒 🀓 🀔 🀕 🀖 🀗 🀘
筒子 (tung zi) circle,ball suit 🀙 🀚 🀛 🀜 🀝 🀞 🀟 🀠 🀡
萬子 (maan zi) characters suit 🀇 🀈 🀉 🀊 🀋 🀌 🀌 🀍 🀎 🀏
紅中 (hung zung) red dragon 🀄Literally: red center
青發 (ceng faat) green dragon 🀅Literally: green hair
白板 (baak baan) white dragon 🀆Literally: white board