Drinking, Sports and Transportation
Chapter
4
The aim of this guide is to teach you the basic Cantonese words you need to make yourself understood. Please read this section in conjunction with our website: About China / General Information - where sections about: Food, Restaurants, and Etiquette are fully detailed
http://www.china-expats.com/AboutFood.htm
|
|
Drink |
yuaam |
General,
non-specific word for fluids & drinking |
飲 |
|
|
Would you
like to drink …? |
lAi yuaam
mmm yuaam …? (… specify the drink) Means:
‘You drink, not drink …?’ |
|
|
|
|
Would you
like something to drink? |
lAi yuaam
mAer? |
Would you
like something to drink? This often infers warm water or tea, but remains a
general question |
|
|
|
Female or
Waitress |
leun(g) loi |
(g) is
pronounced 10% only. Zhi as in ‘Zion’. leun(g) means beautiful. Mandarin =
lang liU |
靚女 |
|
|
Male or
Waiter |
leun(g)
zhi |
|
靚子 |
|
|
The bill |
mai dan |
Saying:
‘My Dan’ is fine. ‘mai dan-na’ is local speaking. Same in Mandarin |
埋單 |
|
|
Beer /
alcohol |
bAi
d’zhao |
‘bAi’ as
in Bay leaf; Zh = J as in jowel Mandarin
‘Pee jew’ (Versions: ‘Bee jew’) |
啤酒 |
|
|
Water |
soi |
Mandarin:
‘shwAy’ |
水 |
|
301 |
Tea |
cha |
Any
Chinese type of tea |
茶 |
|
302 |
Herbal Tea |
loeng cha |
General
word for medicinal teas and tonics |
涼茶 |
|
303 |
Indian
Tea |
lIe cha |
Milky tea
(Only Indian teas are mixed with milk) |
奶茶 |
|
304 |
Green Tea |
lok cha |
General
fresh tea. Best used fresh, does not keep well |
綠茶 |
|
305 |
Red Tea |
hong cha |
Often
interchangeable terms. Red tea is a type of black tea; and vice versa. These
teas keep for years |
紅茶 |
|
306 |
Black Tea |
haak cha |
黑茶 |
|
|
307 |
Coffee |
ga-fey |
Cantonese
swap ‘c’ and ‘g’ = Cafe |
咖啡 |
|
308 |
Cafe au
lait |
lIe ga-fe |
Milky
coffee |
牛奶咖啡 |
|
309 |
Milk |
lIe |
As in
‘lie’ down |
奶 |
|
310 |
Sugar |
tong |
10% ‘g’.
Nasal ‘on’ like a seal |
糖 |
|
311 |
Hot water |
hoi soi |
‘soi’ is
the general, specific pre/suffix for any definite fluids; including:
snow, & inter-personal relationships |
開水 |
|
312 |
Cola |
hO-la |
Coke =
‘hO how hO-la’, Pepsi = ‘bah t’zhi hO-la’ |
可樂 |
|
313 |
7 Up |
t’chyut
hAy |
|
七汽 |
|
314 |
Sprite |
syut bik |
|
雪碧 |
|
315 |
Red Bull |
hong ngau |
Nasal version
of ‘now’ Alt : maan ngau 蠻牛 |
紅牛 |
|
316 |
Orange
Juice |
chaang
jup |
|
橙汁 |
|
317 |
Lemonade |
ning mun
soi |
|
檸檬水 |
|
318 |
Fruit
juice |
gwor jup |
|
果汁 |
|
319 |
Slushie |
bing saa |
smoothie;
crushed ice drink; frappucino |
冰沙 |
|
320 |
Milkshake |
lIe sic |
|
奶昔 |
|
321 |
Beer |
bAi
d’zhao |
|
啤酒 |
|
322 |
Draught
beer |
se’ong saang |
Sold in a
bottle |
常生 |
|
|
|
saang be |
Draught
beer, unpasturised |
生啤酒 |
|
323 |
Common
beer |
po tong
ger |
Ordinary
cheap beer, not the expensive stuff |
普通 |
|
324 |
Wine |
hong
d’zhao |
Most
Chinese wine is red and very sweet |
紅酒 |
|
325 |
Dry Wine |
gon hung
pou tau d’zhao |
Normally
red wine |
乾紅葡萄酒 |
|
326 |
Rice Wine |
baak
d’zhao |
10% ‘k’.
General word for any spirits |
白酒 |
|
327 |
Best rice
wine |
mou tau |
The very
best Chinese rice wine (Expensive) |
茅台 |
|
328 |
Chinese
Brandy |
baak lan
dEE |
Not
really brandy, but a fortified drink popular with girls |
白蘭地 |
|
329 |
Long
Island Iced Tea |
cheurng
doh bin cha |
|
長島冰茶 |
|
330 |
Champagne |
hong ban
d’zhao |
Also
sparkling wine |
香檳酒 |
|
331 |
Cheers! |
yuaam boi |
Lit:
Drink (from) glass’. Mandarin ‘gam bay’ |
|
|
332 |
Drain the
glass |
gum boi |
Alt: ‘gon
boi’. Lit: Bottom’s up. |
乾杯 |
|
333 |
Help
yourself |
lAi zhong
yEE la! |
|
|
|
334 |
Dice |
sic zhI |
|
骰仔 |
|
335 |
One more |
yut t’zhE |
Lit: One
again. ‘sam t’zhE’ = 3 more (Bottles) |
|
|
336 |
Meet by
chance |
gum mm
gaI |
|
|
|
337 |
Ask
somebody to lunch/dinner |
lAi dAi
sic jau fan mAi? |
|
|
|
338 |
Good
conversation |
hoy dow
king gan gaI |
Lit: ‘We
are talking’. Alt: ‘au
dAi EE gah’ |
|
|
339 |
Eat, drink and be merry |
hek hO
wun lok |
(set phrase); to seek pleasure; to idle
away one's time in pleasure-seeking |
|
|
340 |
Good
eating and drinking |
tai xi,
yut xi yuaam |
|
|
We finish our introduction to basic Food and
Drink here.
Note:
Chinese Characters are mainly Traditional Cantonese
Remember
the Basics First…
|
|
Taxi |
dak-CEi |
Mainlanders
usually swap ‘t’ for ‘d’. Hong Kong does not |
得士 |
|
|
Straight
on |
d’zhik
hoi |
Try ‘zik
hoy’ to begin with, then improve this sound |
直去 |
|
|
Turn left |
jin jor |
jin
sounds very like the name Jean, but shorter like ‘jien’. Alt HK: ‘zyun zo’ |
轉左 |
|
|
Turn
right |
jin yaow |
Alt HK ‘zyun jau’ |
轉右 |
|
|
Left |
jor bin |
bin= On
the, too the: + direction Alt HK:
‘zo bin’ / ‘jau bin’ |
左便 |
|
|
Right |
yaow bin |
右便 |
|
|
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Traffic
Lights |
hong lop
dAng |
Lit. red
green light. Alt. ‘dAng wei’ |
紅綠燈 |
|
|
Bus |
baah-CEE |
Cei, Cee
or see |
巴士 |
|
|
Main Bus
Station |
cheir z’zham |
Bus Stop
= baah-CEE z’zham 巴士站 |
車站 |
|
|
Aeroplane |
fAi gAy |
Airport = fAi cheurng |
飛機 |
|
341 |
Skateboard |
waat baan |
|
滑板 |
|
342 |
Bicycle |
daan
cheir |
|
單車 |
|
343 |
Tricycle |
sam leun
che |
|
三輪車 |
|
|
Motor
Tricycle |
sam geok
gAi |
|
三腳雞 |
|
344 |
Motorbike |
mo tok che |
|
摩托車 |
|
345 |
Scooter |
min joeng
zhI |
|
綿羊仔 |
|
346 |
Car |
che |
. +
prefix for type of car |
汽車 |
|
347 |
4-WD Off
Roader |
zhip zhE |
Also: Hummer
= ‘hO-maa |
車 |
|
348 |
Small
lorry |
four che |
As in
‘four’ but 1%’r’. Refers to the tractor unit |
貨車 |
|
|
Large
lorry |
dIe fo che |
Alt.
‘cung zoi fO che’ = heavy loaded truck 重載貨車 |
大貨車 |
|
349 |
Articulated
lorry |
tO tau |
|
拖頭 |
|
|
Trailer |
tO kaa |
|
拖卡 |
|
|
Container |
tO gwIe |
|
貨櫃 |
|
|
Container
trailer |
tO gaa |
|
拖架 |
|
350 |
Tow Truck |
tO che |
|
拖車 |
|
351 |
Minibus |
siU baa CEE |
‘gung
gung siU jing baa CEE’ is the more formal term公共小型巴士 meaning Public Light Bus |
小巴士 |
|
352 |
Town bus |
sing CEi
baa CEE |
|
城市巴士 |
|
353 |
Coach |
dIe baa CEE |
|
大巴士 |
|
354 |
Bus
ticket/fare |
baa CEE
fAi |
|
巴士飛 |
|
355 |
Get off |
lok CEE |
Alt: ‘haa
CEE’ 下車 |
落車 |
1.
Town
buses
a)
Pay
set fare on entry. This will be about 2 RMB regardless of length of journey
b)
Heavily
discounted fares (Ave 1.4 RMB) if you pay by travel card
c)
Cost is usually displayed
on the machine
d)
Get
off from middle doors (If fitted)
2.
Local
intercity buses and coaches
a)
Come
in all shapes and sizes
b)
Pay
the conductor once on board
c)
Some
now have Driver only and you pay cash into the machine. Ask the driver how much
to pay
3.
Intercity
non-stop coaches
a)
Usually
have WC, air-conditioning, a movie, and free small bottle of water. Morning
versions may also have a free Chinese newspaper
b)
Buy
a ticket at the main bus station
c)
Sometimes
it is better to pay on board before departure (Shenzhen)
|
356 |
Train |
foh che |
As in
‘chair |
火車 |
|
357 |
Railway
Station |
foh cheir
zham |
|
火車站 |
|
358 |
Railway
Coach |
che kaa |
|
車卡 |
|
359 |
Ticket |
foh CEE
fAi |
|
火士飛 |
|
360 |
Seat |
zik |
|
席 |
|
|
Aeroplane |
fAi gAy |
Airport = fAi cheurng |
飛機 |
|
361 |
Helicopter |
zik sing
gAi |
|
直昇機 |
|
362 |
Hang
glider |
waat
CEung yik |
|
滑翔翼 |
|
363 |
Para-glider |
waat
CEung saam |
|
滑翔傘 |
|
364 |
Jet Ski |
soi seong
din daan che |
|
水上電單車 |
|
365 |
Passenger
Ferry |
dou syUen |
|
渡船 |
|
366 |
Ship |
syUen |
steamer,
motor vessel, sailing ship, a fire ship: ‘fO syUen’ 火船 |
船 |
|
367 |
Container
ship |
fO gwai
syUen |
|
貨櫃船 |
|
368 |
Submarine |
cim teng |
|
潛艇 |
|
369 |
Small
Boat |
teng ting |
|
艇 |
|
370 |
Fishing
boat - Work |
yUe syUen |
|
漁船 |
|
371 |
Pleasure
Boat |
yut syUen |
|
娛船 |
|
372 |
Sail Boat |
faan syUen |
|
帆船 |
|
373 |
Canoe |
duk miuk
zhao |
|
獨木舟 |
|
374 |
Kayak |
zhao
zhO syUen |
|
棹船 |
|
375 |
Dragon
Boat |
lo-ung
syUen |
Alt HK: 龍船 |
龙船 |
|
376 |
Bungee
jumping |
zhong pAi
gan tiu |
|
橡皮筋跳 |
|
377 |
Formula 1 |
e-f’uh 1 |
Addaption
of ‘F |
|
|
|
Motor
Race |
coi che |
|
賽車 |
|
378 |
Horse
Riding |
paaU maa |
|
跑馬 |
|
379 |
Kite |
fong
zhang |
|
風箏 |
|
380 |
Mountain
Bike |
san dAi che |
Alt: ‘paa
saan daan cheir’ 爬山單車 |
山地車 |
|
|
Skiing |
waat syUt
wan dung |
|
滑雪運動 |
|
380b |
Swimming |
yau soi |
|
游水 |
|
|
White-water
rafting |
baak soi
piU lau |
|
白水飄流 |
Ok, we
kept finding more sports you may wish to try in China
|
381 |
Athletics |
tien ging |
Track
& Field |
田徑 |
|
382 |
Badminton |
yU mok
kow |
|
羽毛球 |
|
383 |
Basketball |
laam kow |
|
籃球 |
|
384 |
Baseball |
paang kow |
|
棒球 |
|
385 |
Cricket |
muk kow |
‘the
cricket’ is ‘sik seot’ 蟋蟀 |
木球 |
|
386 |
Darts |
ci |
General
word for dart or arrow, not specific game |
矢 |
|
387 |
Football |
juk kow |
Soccer |
足球 |
|
388 |
Golf |
gO GEE fu
kow |
Means
both the game of Golf and a golf ball |
哥爾夫球 |
|
389 |
Gymnastics |
tIe cou |
|
體操 |
|
390 |
Hockey |
kuk gwan
kow |
|
曲棍球 |
|
391 |
Ice
Hockey |
bing kow |
Lit: Icy
ball |
冰球 |
|
392 |
Martial
Arts |
mOu syUt |
Means
Wushu. ‘gongfu’ means Kung Fu 功夫 |
武術 |
|
393 |
Olympics |
Ou wan
wUi |
|
奧運會 |
|
394 |
Ping Pong |
bing bam |
Table
Tennis |
乒乓 |
|
|
Pool |
See Snooker below |
|
|
|
395 |
Rugby |
gaam laam
kow |
Not differentiated
between types of Rugby football |
橄欖球 |
|
396 |
Snooker |
snook |
Snooker,
pool billiards and also table tennis are known as the general term ‘tOi bO’. Those on the left are used
in Foshan and highly localised |
桌球 |
|
397 |
Pool |
poo-eur |
||
|
398 |
Squash |
bik kow |
|
璧球 |
|
399 |
Tennis |
mong kow |
|
網球 |
|
400 |
Volleyball |
paai kow |
|
排球 |