Cantonese Nouns

Welcome to the third Cantonese lesson about nouns. This time we will first learn about fruits and vegetables, followed by grammar rules, then food items, finally a conversation in Cantonese to help you practice your daily phrases. To hear the pronunciation, just click on the sound icon.

potatoes 薯仔 [syu4 zai2]

tomatoes 蕃茄 [faan4 gaa1]

onions 洋葱 [joeng4 cung1]

carrots 紅蘿蔔 [gung1 lo4 baak6]

fruits 生果 [saang1 gu2]

apples 蘋果 [pan4 gu2]

bananas 香蕉 [hoeng1 ziu1]

oranges 橙 [caang2]

Nouns Grammar Rules

In general nouns refer to a person, an object, or abstract ideas. For example: a fast runner the noun is [runner] because it refers to a person. The examples below use nouns in different ways and places to demonstrate how they behave in a sentence.

Grammar + Rules - Cantonese + Pronunciation
do you have milk? [verb + noun] 你有沒有牛奶 [nei5 jau5 mut6 jau5 ngau4 naai1]
I have milk and coffee [preposition + noun] 我有牛奶和咖啡 [ngo5 jau5 ngau4 naai1 wo4 gaa1 fe1]
he has three apples [number + plural noun] 他有三個蘋果 [taa1 jau5 saam1 go3 pan4 gu2]
she only has one apple [number + singular noun] 她有一個蘋果 [ji1 jau5 jat1 go3 pan4 gu2]
we live in a small house [adjective + noun] 我們住有一所小房子 [ngo5 mun4 zyu6 jau5 jat1 so2 siu2 fong2 zi2]
I like our breakfast [pronoun + noun] 我喜歡我們的早餐 [ngo5 hei2 fun1 ngo5 mun4 di1 zou2 caan1]

The following are nouns of food items that you might be interested in learning and memorizing.

bread 麵包 [min6 baau1]

milk 牛奶 [ngau4 naai1]

butter 牛油 [ngau4 jau4]

cheese 芝士 [zi1 si6]

coffee 咖啡 [gaa1 fe1]

sandwich 三文治 [saam1 man4 ci4]

meat 肉 [juk6]

chicken 雞 [gai1]

fish 魚 [jyu4]

breakfast 早餐 [zou2 caan1]

lunch 午餐 [ng5 caan1]

dinner 晚餐 [maan5 caan1]

Conversation in Cantonese

Now we finally reach the fun part, the practice of the daily conversations. These phrases are used to get to know new people, and break the ice.

English - Cantonese - Pronunciation
Do you speak (English/ Cantonese)? 你會不會講（英語 / 廣府(東)話）？ [nei5 kui2 bat1 kui2 gong2  ( jing1 jyu5 /gwong2 fu2  ( dung1) waa2)]
Just a little 識小小 [sik1 siu2 siu2]
I like Cantonese 我喜歡廣府(東)話 [ngo5 hei2 fun1 gwong2 fu2  ( dung1 )waa2]
Can I practice with you? 我可以跟你的練習嗎？ [ngo5 ho2 ji5 gan1 nei5 lin6 zaap6 maa1]
How old are you? 請問你貴庚？ [ceng2 man6 nei5 gwai3 gang1]
I'm thirty three years old 我是今年(33）歲 [ngo5 si6 gam1 nin4 ( ) seoi3]
It was nice talking to you 很高興跟你聊天! [han2 gou1 hing1 gan1 nei5 liu4 tin1]

I hope you enjoyed this lesson about the nouns in Cantonese. Please check out our main menu here for more lessons: homepage. Now check the next lesson below.