Hong Kong & Macau - The Rough Guide to Southeast Asia on a Budget - page 125

CANTONESE
Cantonese is the o cial language of Hong Kong, with Mandarin a fast-growing second.
English is widely spoken among the well educated and many in the tourist trade (although
not many taxi drivers), otherwise, people speak only basic English. The vast majority of people
in Macau speak Cantonese and some also speak Portuguese and English. Cantonese is a tonal
language, which means that the tone a speaker gives to a word will determine its meaning. As
a simple two-letter word can have up to nine different meanings depending on the pitch of
the voice, the Romanized word is really only an approximation of the Chinese sound.
PRONUNCIATION
oy as in b oy
ai as in f i ne
i as in s ee
er as in ur n

o as in p o t
ow as in n ow
oe as in oh
or as in l aw

WORDS AND PHRASES

3

Good morning Joe sun
Hello/how are you? Lay hoe ma?
Thank you/excuse me M goy
Goodnight Joe tow
Goodbye Joy geen
I'm sorry Doy m joot
Can you speak English? Lay sik m sik gong

I am from England/ Ngor haiying may
America gwok yan
Where are these places? Ching mun, leedi
(while pointing to the day fong hai been

place name or map) do ah?

Train For chair

Bus Ba-see

ying man? Ferry Do lun schoon

Yes Yow Taxi Dik-see

No Mo Airport Fay gay cherng

I don't understand Ngor m ming Hotel Jow deem

bat Hostel Loy gwun

What is your name? Lay gew mut yeh Restaurant Charn Teng

meng? Toilets Chee saw

My name is … Ngor gew … Police Ging chat

NUMBERS
The number two changes when asking for two of something - lerng wei (a table for two) - or
stating something other than counting - lerng mun (two dollars).

1 yat 7 chat

2 yee 8 bat

3 saam 9 gow

4 say 10 sap

5 mm 11, 12, 13, etc sap yat, sap yee,

6 lok sap aam

celebrations. For now, the following
public holidays are observed. Sundays are
also classed as public holidays.
Macau observes all of the holidays listed
below with the exception of the HKSAR
Establishment Day.

April 4 Ching Ming
May 1 Labour Day
May 25, 2015; May 14, 2015 Buddha's birthday
June 20, 2015; June 9, 2016 Tuen Ng (Dragon Boat)
Festival
July 1 Hong Kong SAR Establishment Day
September 27, 2015; September 15, 2016 Mid-
Autumn Festival
October 1 China National Day
October 2, 2014; October 21, 2015; October 10,
2016 Chung Yeung
December 25 Christmas Day
December 26 Boxing Day

HONG KONG AND MACAU
January 1 New Year
February 19, 2015; February 8, 2016 Chinese New
Year
April 3-5, 2015; March 25-27, 2016 Easter (holidays
on Good Friday, Easter Saturday and Easter Monday)