Cantonese Gender

Welcome to the fifth Cantonese lesson about gender. This time we will view a list of people, feminine and masculine, followed by grammar rules, finally a list of expressions in Cantonese to help you practice your daily phrases. To hear the pronunciation, just click on the sound icon.

man 男人 [naam4 jan4]

woman 女人 [jyu5 jan4]

husband 丈夫 [zoeng6 fu1]

wife 妻子 [cai1 zi2]

boy 男孩 [naam4 haai4]

girl 女孩 [jyu5 haai4]

father 爸爸 [baa1 baa1]

mother 媽媽 [maa1 maa1]

Gender Grammar Rules

In general, gender is used to distinguish between male and female, sometimes referred to as masculine and feminine. For example: my son and daughter are students the noun [son] is masculine, while [daughter] is feminine. The following examples use gender in different ways and places to demonstrate their behavior.

Grammar + Rules - Cantonese + Pronunciation
my son is a student [masculine + noun] 我的兒子是個學生 [ngo5 di1 ji4 zi2 si6 go3 hok6 saang1]
her daughter is a student [feminine + noun] 我的女兒是個學生 [ngo5 di1 jyu5 ji4 si6 go3 hok6 saang1]
he has a tall brother [adjective + masculine] 他有一個很高的哥哥/弟弟 [taa1 jau5 jat1 go3 han2 gou1 di1 go1 go1 dai6 dai6]
she has a tall sister [adjective + feminine] 她有一個很高的姊姊/妹妹 [ji1 jau5 jat1 go3 han2 gou1 di1 ze2 ze2 mui6 mui6]
his brothers are young [plural masculine + adjective] 他的兄弟很年青 [taa1 di1 hing1 dai6 han2 nin4 ceng1]
his sisters are young [plural feminine + adjective] 他的姊妹很年青 [taa1 di1 ze2 mui6 han2 nin4 ceng1]

The list below will probably provide more clarification. These are family members (males and females). I think it would be wise to memorize them as part of your important vocabulary list.

son 兒子 [ji4 zi2]

daughter 女兒 [jyu5 ji4]

brother 兄弟 [hing1 dai6]

sister 姐姊妹 [ze2 mui6]

grandfather 祖父, 外祖父 [zou2 fu2 ngoi6 zou2 fu2]

grandmother 祖母, 外祖母 [zou2 mou5 ngoi6 zou2 mou5]

child 孩子 [haai4 zi2]

children 孩子們 [haai4 zi2 mun4]

Expressions in Cantonese

Now it's time to practice expressions used in daily conversations. If you're a beginner in learning Cantonese, then the phrases below are something you would want to know.

English - Cantonese - Pronunciation
What do you mean? 你是什麼意思? [nei5 si6 sam6 maa1 ji3 si1]
I don't understand 我不明白！ [ngo5 bat1 ming4 baak6]
I don't know 我不知道！ [ngo5 bat1 zi1 dou3]
What is that called in Cantonese? 那個用廣府(東)話怎麼說？ [na6 go3 jung6 gwong2 fu2 dung1 waa2 zam2 maa1 jyut6]
What is this? 這是什麼？ [ze2 si6 sam6 maa1]
What does that word mean in English? 那個字英文是什麼意思？ [na6 go3 zi6 jing1 man4 si6 sam6 maa1 ji3 si1]
Sorry (if you made a mistake) 對不起（一個錯誤） [deoi3 bat1 hei2 jat1 go3 co3 ng6]

I hope you enjoyed this lesson about the gender in Cantonese. Please check out our main menu here for more lessons: homepage. To see the full menu, you can also click on the "Menu" icon on the left side.