Cantonese for family and heritage learners

For British-born Hong Kongers, heritage learners who understand more than they can say, and anyone joining a Cantonese-speaking family. Family terms, festival greetings and the words that help you talk to the people who matter most.

Four torn paper squares in a row on cream paper, holding black-and-white cut-outs of a horse, a horse, a tiger and a tiger, underlined in red.

Language

11 min read

Chinese idioms in Cantonese: the four-character sayings Hong Kongers actually use

Language

11 min read

Chinese idioms in Cantonese: the four-character sayings Hong Kongers actually use

Language

11 min read

Chinese idioms in Cantonese: the four-character sayings Hong Kongers actually use

A black-and-white cut-out of a smiling young girl in a puffy jacket, holding a red packet against her cheek with both hands, in front of a torn-paper photograph of fireworks over Victoria Harbour, on cream paper.

Family & heritage

10 min read

Chinese New Year greetings in Cantonese: what to say, and to whom

Family & heritage

10 min read

Chinese New Year greetings in Cantonese: what to say, and to whom

Family & heritage

10 min read

Chinese New Year greetings in Cantonese: what to say, and to whom

Black and white cut-out of a Hong Kong grandmother and her granddaughter talking and laughing across a small café table over cups of tea, with a thin dark red line looping between them, on red paper.

Language

8 min read

Is Cantonese a dialect? Five Cantonese language myths, busted

Language

8 min read

Is Cantonese a dialect? Five Cantonese language myths, busted

Language

8 min read

Is Cantonese a dialect? Five Cantonese language myths, busted

A young couple in dark wool coats stand forehead to forehead, eyes closed and smiling, her hand resting on his chest. A black-and-white cut-out on cream paper over a torn blush patch, with a thin red thread curling away to the right.

Language

8 min read

I love you in Cantonese: romantic phrases, pet names and meeting the parents

Language

8 min read

I love you in Cantonese: romantic phrases, pet names and meeting the parents

Language

8 min read

I love you in Cantonese: romantic phrases, pet names and meeting the parents

A young woman with long, sleek dark hair cups one hand beside her mouth as if whispering a secret, smiling knowingly at the camera. A black-and-white portrait on deep red paper.

Language

8 min read

Cantonese expressions and idioms: funny sayings Hong Kongers actually use

Language

8 min read

Cantonese expressions and idioms: funny sayings Hong Kongers actually use

Language

8 min read

Cantonese expressions and idioms: funny sayings Hong Kongers actually use

An overhead black-and-white cut-out of a round family dinner table on cream paper. Hands of every age, from an elderly grandparent’s to a small child’s, reach in with chopsticks over shared dishes of steamed fish, greens and prawns, beside small bowls of rice, one of them red.

Family & heritage

6 min read

Cantonese family terms: who is who, and what to call them

Family & heritage

6 min read

Cantonese family terms: who is who, and what to call them

Family & heritage

6 min read

Cantonese family terms: who is who, and what to call them

Family & heritage

7 min read

I understand Cantonese but can’t speak it: a guide for heritage learners

Family & heritage

7 min read

I understand Cantonese but can’t speak it: a guide for heritage learners

Family & heritage

7 min read