Cantonese: spelling → sound
Cantonese syllables are (initial) + final + one of SIX tones, written 1–6 in Jyutping: 1 high ˥, 2 rising ˧˥, 3 mid ˧, 4 low falling ˨˩, 5 low rising ˩˧, 6 low ˨. Unlike Mandarin it keeps the old final stops -p -t -k (unreleased — the syllable just stops: sap6 十) and final -m (saam1 三). Long and short a are different letters: aa is long /aː/ (saam1), a is short /ɐ/ (sam1 心 — different word!). b/d/g are unaspirated /p t k/, p/t/k aspirated; z/c are /t͡s/ /t͡sʰ/ (often toward /t͡ʃ/). Two syllables are just nasals: m4 唔 'not', ng5 五 'five'. The same characters as Mandarin, utterly different sounds: 香港 is xiānggǎng in Mandarin, hoeng1gong2 in Cantonese.
Trace a word
Every box is one rule firing. Hover a box (or open the table) to see why. Rules are applied in order, first match wins — that order is the spelling system. Type Jyutping with tone numbers (nei5 hou2).
Consonants & glides
| IPA | Spelled | Example |
|---|---|---|
| p | b | baa1 爸 paː˥ dad — Unaspirated. |
| pʰ | p | pang4 朋 pʰɐŋ˨˩ friend (in 朋友) |
| m | m | maa1 媽 maː˥ mum |
| m̩ | m (alone) | m4 唔 m̩˨˩ not — A whole syllable with no vowel. |
| f | f | fan3 瞓 fɐn˧ to sleep |
| t | d | daai6 大 taːi˨ big |
| tʰ | t | tung4 同 tʰʊŋ˨˩ same / with |
| n | n | nei5 你 nei˩˧ you — Many speakers say l- instead: lei5. Both heard everywhere. |
| l | l | lei4 嚟 lei˨˩ to come |
| k | g | go3 個 kɔː˧ (classifier) |
| kʰ | k | keoi5 佢 kʰɵy˩˧ he / she |
| kʷ | gw | gwong2 廣 kʷɔːŋ˧˥ Canton (in 廣東) |
| kʷʰ | kw | kwan4 裙 kʷʰɐn˨˩ skirt |
| ŋ | ng | ngo5 我 ŋɔː˩˧ I — Younger speakers often drop it: o5. |
| ŋ̩ | ng (alone) | ng5 五 ŋ̩˩˧ five |
| h | h | hou2 好 hou˧˥ good |
| t͡s | z | zung1 中 t͡sʊŋ˥ middle |
| t͡sʰ | c | ceot1 出 t͡sʰɵt˥ to go out |
| s | s | sik6 食 sɪk˨ to eat |
| j | j | jat1 一 jɐt˥ one — Jyutping j = English y. |
| w | w | wui2 會 wui˧˥ meeting |
Vowels
| IPA | Spelled | Example |
|---|---|---|
| aː | aa | saam1 三 saːm˥ three — LONG a. saam1 三 vs sam1 心 — length changes the word. |
| ɐ | a | sam1 心 sɐm˥ heart — SHORT a. |
| ɛː | e | se2 寫 sɛː˧˥ to write |
| iː | i | si6 是 siː˨ to be (formal) |
| ɪ | i before ng/k | sing1 星 sɪŋ˥ star |
| ɔː | o | ngo5 我 ŋɔː˩˧ I |
| uː | u | fu2 苦 fuː˧˥ bitter |
| ʊ | u before ng/k | tung4 同 tʰʊŋ˨˩ same |
| œː | oe | hoeng1 香 hœːŋ˥ fragrant (Hong Kong's Hong) |
| ɵ | eo | seon3 信 sɵn˧ letter / to believe |
| yː | yu | jyu2 魚 jyː˧˥ fish — French u. |
| aːi | aai | gaai1 街 kaːi˥ street |
| ɐi | ai | sai3 細 sɐi˧ small |
| aːu | aau | gaau3 教 kaːu˧ to teach |
| ɐu | au | gau2 九 kɐu˧˥ nine |
| ei | ei | sei3 四 sei˧ four |
| ou | ou | hou2 好 hou˧˥ good |
| ɵy | eoi | seoi2 水 sɵy˧˥ water |
| iːu | iu | siu2 小 siːu˧˥ small |
| uːi | ui | bui1 杯 puːi˥ cup |
| ɔːi | oi | hoi1 開 hɔːi˥ to open |
The rules, in order
74 rules. The left column is a pattern (regular expression) matched at the current position of the word; (?=…) looks ahead, (?<=…) looks behind, $ is the end of the word.
| # | Pattern | Sound | Why |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | gw | ||
| 2 | kw | ||
| 3 | ng(?=[aeiouy]) | ng as an initial | |
| 4 | ng(?=[1-6]) | ng alone is a whole syllable (五 ng5) | |
| 5 | m(?=[1-6]) | m alone is a whole syllable (唔 m4) | |
| 6 | aai | ||
| 7 | aau | ||
| 8 | aam | ||
| 9 | aan | ||
| 10 | aang | ||
| 11 | aap | ||
| 12 | aat | ||
| 13 | aak | ||
| 14 | aa | aa = long a | |
| 15 | eoi | ||
| 16 | eon | ||
| 17 | eot | ||
| 18 | oeng | ||
| 19 | oek | ||
| 20 | oe | ||
| 21 | yun | ||
| 22 | yut | ||
| 23 | yu | ||
| 24 | ing | i shortens to /ɪ/ before ng/k | |
| 25 | ik | ||
| 26 | ung | u shortens to /ʊ/ before ng/k | |
| 27 | uk | ||
| 28 | ai | single a = short /ɐ/ | |
| 29 | au | ||
| 30 | am | ||
| 31 | an | ||
| 32 | ang | ||
| 33 | ap | ||
| 34 | at | ||
| 35 | ak | ||
| 36 | ei | ||
| 37 | eng | ||
| 38 | ek | ||
| 39 | iu | ||
| 40 | im | ||
| 41 | in | ||
| 42 | ip | ||
| 43 | it | ||
| 44 | oi | ||
| 45 | ou | ||
| 46 | ong | ||
| 47 | on | ||
| 48 | ot | ||
| 49 | ok | ||
| 50 | ui | ||
| 51 | un | ||
| 52 | ut | ||
| 53 | a | ||
| 54 | e | ||
| 55 | i | ||
| 56 | o | ||
| 57 | u | ||
| 58 | b | unaspirated | |
| 59 | p | aspirated | |
| 60 | d | unaspirated | |
| 61 | t | aspirated | |
| 62 | g | unaspirated | |
| 63 | k | aspirated | |
| 64 | z | ||
| 65 | c | ||
| 66 | j | Jyutping j = y | |
| 67 | [fmnlswh] | ||
| 68 | ng | ||
| 69 | 1 | tone 1: high | |
| 70 | 2 | tone 2: rising | |
| 71 | 3 | tone 3: mid level | |
| 72 | 4 | tone 4: low falling | |
| 73 | 5 | tone 5: low rising | |
| 74 | 6 | tone 6: low level |