Very easy Cantonese loan words to learn when you have low energy
We all have those days. you open your notebook and words merge together, nothing makes sense, and you get frustrated with yourself.
Truth is, we don’t wake up the same person every day, with the same level of energy and motivation every single day, and that’s okay. Instead of cursing yourself for not being disciplined enough, why not choose an easier task that you will enjoy more, and get more out of your study session?
Loan words are words adopted from a foreign language with little or no modification. That said, they should be relatively easy and fun to learn. Below are 15 Cantonese English loan words commonly used in Hong Kong for you to learn when it’s ‘one of those days’.
𨋢 (lip1) - lift / elevator
我哋搭𨋢落去 (ngo5 dei6 daap3 lip1 lok6 heoi3) - We take the lift/elevator down
巴士 (baa1 si2) - bus
香港有雙層同單層巴士 (Hoeng1 Gong2 yau5 soeng1 cang4 tung4 daan1 cang4 baa1 si2) - Hong Kong has double-decker and single-decker buses
的士 (dik1 si2) - taxi
的士司機揸車好快 (dik1 si2 si1 gei1 zaa1 ce1 hou2 faai3) - Taxi drivers drive very fast
士多啤梨 (si6 do1 be1 lei2) - strawberry
街市嘅士多啤梨平過超級市場嘅士多啤梨 (gaai1 si5 ge3 si6 do1 be1 lei2 peng4 gwo3 ciu1 kap1 si5 coeng4 ge3 si6 do1 be1 lei2) - Strawberries at the wet market are cheaper than strawberries at the supermarket
車厘子 (ce1 lei4 zi2) - cherries
我屋企人唔鍾意食車厘子 (ngo5 uk1 kei2 yan4 m4 zung1 yi3 sik6 ce1 lei4 zi2) - My family doesn’t like eating cherries
三文魚 (saam1 man4 jyu2) - salmon
三文魚係好健康嘅食物 (saam1 man4 yu2 hai6 hou2 gin6 hong1 ge3 sik6 mat6) - Salmon is a very healthy food
咖啡 (gaa3 fe1) - coffee
我每朝早飲一杯咖啡 (ngo5 mui5 ziu1 zou2 yam2 yat1 bui1 gaa3 fe1) - I drink a cup of coffee every morning
芝士 (zi1 si2) - cheese
我食太多芝士嗰陣會肚痛 (ngo5 sik6 taai3 do1 zi1 si2 go2 zan6 wui5 tou5 tung3) - When I eat too much cheese, I get a stomachache
朱古力 (zyu1 gu1 lik1) - chocolate
我鍾意食黑朱古力多過牛奶朱古力 (ngo5 zung1 yi3 sik6 hak1 zyu1 gu1 lik1 do1 gwo3 ngau4 naai5 zyu1 gu1 lik1) - I like dark chocolate more than milk chocolate
沙律 (saa1 leot2) - salad
最近我減緊肥，所以午餐淨係食沙律 (zeoi3 gan6 ngo5 gaam2 gan2 fei4, so2 yi5 ng5 caan1 zing6 hai6 sik6 saa1 leot2) - Lately I’m trying to lose weight, so for lunch I only eat salad
梳化 (so1 faa1) - sofa
屋企嘅梳化太舒服，我成日喺梳化瞓着 (uk1 kei2 ge3 so1 faa1 taai3 syu1 fuk6, ngo5 seng4 jat6 hai2 so1 faa1 fan3 zoek6) - The sofa at home is too comfortable; I often fall asleep on the sofa
波 (bo1) - ball
我星期六日鍾意同朋友踢波 (ngo5 sing1 kei4 luk6 jat6 zung1 yi3 tung4 pang4 yau5 tek3 bo1) - On weekends I like playing football/soccer with friends
泊車 (paak3 ce1) - to park (a car) / parking
香港泊車好難，因為地方細 (Hoeng1 Gong2 paak3 ce1 hou2 naan4, yan1 wai6 dei6 fong1 sai3) - Parking in Hong Kong is hard because there isn’t much space
吧 (baa1) - bar
琴晚去咗酒吧飲酒，所以依家好攰 (kam4 maan5 heoi3 zo2 zau2 baa1 yam2 zau2, so2 yi5 yi1 gaa1 hou2 gui6) - I went to a bar to drink last night, so I’m very tired now
桑拿 (song1 naa4) - sauna
我每次焗桑拿淨係可以焗三分鐘 (ngo5 mui5 ci3 guk6 song1 naa4 zing6 hai6 ho2 yi5 guk6 saam1 fan1 zung1) - Each time I do a sauna, I can only stay in for three minutes
Good job! Today you took time to learn some new Cantonese words. See? Cantonese can be easy too. Notice how, in the examples above, I used a variety of sentence structures? If you feel more energised later, you can use those structures and create more sentences with different contexts!