Cantonese(Traditional Chinese: 粵語; Simplified Chinese: 粤语, Cantonese: Yuet6yue5; Mandarin pinyin: Yueyu, lit."Yụet (Guangdong) language") is one of the major dialect groups or languages of the Chinese language or language family. It is mainly spoken in parts of southern Mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau, by Chinese minorities in Southeast Asia and by many overseas Chinese of Guangdong and Hong Kongorigin worldwide. The name is derived from Canton, a former romanized Western name for Guangzhou, the capital of Guangdong province.
Different dialects of Cantonese are spoken depending on area. The most prestigious is the Guangzhoudialect, also referred to simply as "Cantonese". The Guangzhoudialect is the lingua francaof not just Guangdong province, but also the overseas Cantonese diaspora, spoken by about 70 million Cantonese worldwide. The Guangzhoudialect is also spoken in Hong Kong, a financial and cultural capital of southern China. In addition to the Guangzhoudialect, the Taishan dialect, one of the sei yapor siyi(四邑) dialects that come from Guangdong counties where a majority of Exclusion-era Cantonese-Chinese immigrants emigrated, continues to be spoken both by recent immigrants from Southern China and even by third-generation Chinese Americans of Cantonese ancestry alike.
The following table lists English words and their equivalents in Mandarin and Cantonese, using the Pinyin (Chinese) system of spelling.
English
Mandarin
Cantonese
Yes
Dui
Hi
That's not correct
Bu dui
Um hi
No thanks
Bu yao
Um sai
Hello
Ni hao
Lei hou
Goodbye
Zaijian
Zhwai gin
Where is the toilet?
Cesuo zai nar
Tsisuo hi bindou
Thanks
Xie xie
Um guai
I'm sorry
Duibuqi
Um hou yi si
Good
Hao
Hou
It doesn't matter
Mei you guanxi
Um gen you
How much
Duoshuo
Gei duo qian
Go straight ahead
Wang qian zou
Jei han
Turn left
Zuo zhuan
Jun zuo
Turn right
You zhuan
Jun you
Right now
Xianzai
Yi ga
What time is it
Xian zai jidian zhong
Yi ga gei dim
It's delicious
Hen hao chi
Hou sei
White Swan Hotel
Bai tian er jiu dian
Ba tin o zou dim
China Hotel
Zhong guo da jiu dian
Zhong guo dai zou dim
Garden Hotel
Hua yuan jiu dian
Fa yun zou dim
BaiyunAirport
Bai yun ji chang
Ba wen gei chuan
Guangzhou
Guangzhou
Gong zou
Shenzhen
Shenzhen
Sem zan
Hong Kong
Xiang gang
Hong kong
Have tea
He cha
Yam tsa
To "have tea" may mean various things, depending on the context in which it is said. In the morning, it may mean to have breakfast, while taken in the context of an evening affair, it may mean to get together at night and have snacks. Evening tea in particular is a popular pastime in Guangdong and is an opportunity to chat for hours.
