The 10 Words/Phrases I Know In Cantonese

I once read in an excerpt from a book by Stuart Berg Flexner called I Hear America Talking that the ten most common words in the English language are “the”, “of”, “and”, “a”, “to”, “in”, “is”, “you”, “that”, and “it”. According to Flexner, these ten simple words make up over 25% percent of our conversations! It is astounding to think that somebody could learn only 10 words and understand over a quarter of what we say!

Obviously the English language is extremely complicated and there is a distinct difference between understanding words and communicating. Learning 25% percent of the words doesn’t mean someone will be able to decipher and understand 25% of the ideas being transferred. However, if we really do speak these words so frequently I’m sure that if a new English speaker learned at least the pronouns, prepositions, and auxiliary verbs in this list they would hear them frequently enough and quickly learn to identify and understand them. This would give the listener a vague idea of what or who the English speakers were talking about and be a great first step in building their vocabulary.

As a person living in a country where I don’t understand the common language, this information was especially interesting to me. Are there words or phrases in Cantonese people in my situation could learn that would be so prominent in conversations? Over the last three months I’ve been listening to the people around me and have put together a list of what I, as a non-speaker, think the 10 most common phrases and words are in Hong Kong. I will also provide what I think each one means based on my limited experience. I invite native Cantonese speakers to review this list and let me know what they think.

The words, in order of frequency, are “la”, “mmm goy”, “Ngo”, “iPhone”, “nay”, “hi”, “ting mut cow gun tam on”, “ho”, “iPad”, and “dim ah”.

1. La (spoken with a flat tone)– A few weeks ago I had a primary school student ask me if I knew how to speak “chinglish”. I told him no and asked him to explain to me what this was. He told me “you just speak English but say “la” at the end of every sentence. Where’s your homework la? I am tired la. I don’t understand la. See? It’s easy la!”

La is easily the word I hear the most in Hong Kong, but it is also the only one in the list I have not been able to figure out a meaning for. From what I’ve learned, it is usually used to dictate emotion or feeling. “Hurry up la” would be a more irritated version of “hurry up”. However, in other cases it is used to make a phrase or words sound softer or more polite. I honestly have no clue when or why it should be used when speaking. Very often the “la” at the end of sentences will be drawn out and exaggerated, one of the many aspects of Cantonese that makes it so fun to listen to! “ok lllllllllllaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa”

2. Mmm goy (the mmm spoken in a low flat tone . Goy, like boy with a g at the beginning, is spoken in a higher flat tone) – If you plan on traveling to Hong Kong but are too lazy to learn more than 1 word, that word should be mmm goy. It is the single most useful thing you can learn in Cantonese. Want to get a waiter’s attention at a restaurant? “Mmm goy!” Want to order meal number 3? “Number 3 mmm goy.” Want to thank the same waiter when he gives you your change? “Mmm goy!” Need people to move so you can read a sign? “Mmm goy!” Want to get the bus driver’s attention so he knows you need to get off at this stop? “Mmm goy!” Want to thank somebody for holding the door for you? “Mmm goy!” The list goes on and on. I use this constantly in my everyday life, and it is always understood.

3. Ngaw (this is kind of hard to say. It sounds like the “ng” at the end of “song” followed by the “aw” in “paw” and is spoken with a rising tone) – This one is simple and not fun la. It means “I” or “my”. Next word mmm goy!

4. iPhone (sounds like iPhone) – Go stand on any street in Mong Kok and listen to passing conversations. As people walk by you will hear "iPhone" at least once every few seconds. Does this mean something else in Cantonese that I am not aware of or are people in Hong Kong really that obsessed with their iPhones?

5. Nay (like the sound a horse makes, but with a rising tone) – Another boring one. It means “you”. If you want a Cantonese friend to hand you their iPhone you can say “nay iPhone mmm goy”.

6. Hi (spoken with a flat tone) – Hi means is/it is/am/are. This can be used to confirm that something is correct. For example you can go to a store and get the salespersons attention with “mmm goy!” When he walks over you point to the iPhone in the display window and say “iPhone mmm goy.” If he keeps trying to show you a BlackBerry and you get irritated you can say “iPhone la!”. When he finally points to the iPhone say “hi” to confirm that this is correct. When he gives the phone to you make sure you thank him with “mmm goy!”

7. “Ting mut cow gun tam on” – This was the first thing I learned how to say in Cantonese after arriving in Hong Kong. From what I understand, it means, “Please stand back from the doors. Ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding!“

8. Ho (like Santa. Ho ho ho! But with a rising tone) – Ho means good/very/well. When people say “nay ho” I always think of somebody saying “you ho” in a derogatory manner and giggle, but this actually means hello. If we were to continue our conversation with the store clerk in number 6 we can now say “ho ho” to tell him that the iPhone is very good.

9. IPad (sounds like iPad) – I arrive in Hong Kong right before the iPad 2 was release, so the markets and streets were filled with iPad and iPhone chatter. A typical conversation in Mong Kok sounds something like this. “Ngaw Cantonese Cantonese iPhone Cantonese Cantonese iPad Cantonese Cantonese la. Nay hi Cantonese Cantonese ho ho Cantonese iPhone Cantonese mmm goy. Cantonese Cantonese iPad Cantonese iPhone la!”

10. Dim ah (spoken with an irritated tone) – This one took me a while to figure out, but I think it roughly translates to the English slang “whatever”. For example, my friends in Hong Kong will see this post and say, “John is trying to teach Cantonese? Dim ah.”