Help:IPA/Cantonese

The charts below show the way in which the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) represents Cantonese pronunciations in Wikipedia articles. For a guide to adding IPA characters to Wikipedia articles, see {{IPA-yue}}, {{IPAc-yue}} and Wikipedia:Manual of Style/Pronunciation § Entering IPA characters.

This is the pronunciation key for IPA transcriptions of Cantonese on Wikipedia.

It provides a set of symbols to represent the pronunciation of Cantonese in Wikipedia articles, and example words that illustrate the sounds that correspond to them. Integrity must be maintained between the key and the transcriptions that link here; do not change any symbol or value without establishing consensus on the talk page first.

For an introductory guide on IPA symbols, see Help:IPA. For the distinction between [ ], / / and ⟨ ⟩, see IPA § Brackets and transcription delimiters.

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See Cantonese phonology for a more thorough look at the sounds of Cantonese.

Table info: IPA, Yale, Jyutping, Character, English appro... ▼

IPA	Yale	Jyutping	Character	English approximation
Nonsyllabic consonants
p	syllable-initial b		幫	span
pʰ	syllable-initial p		滂	pan
m	m		明	moon
f	f		非	fan
t	syllable-initial d		端	stand
tʰ	syllable-initial t		透	tan
n	n		泥	noon
l	l		來	leaf
ts[1]	j	z	精	cats
tsʰ[2]	ch	c	清	cats hissing
s	s		心	saw
k	syllable-initial g		見	scan
kʰ	syllable-initial k		溪	can
kʷ	gw[3]		古	squeak
kʷʰ	kw[4]		困	quick
ŋ	ng		我	singing
h	h		曉	house
j	y	j	以	you
w	w		云	water
p̚	syllable-final p		濕	apt
t̚	syllable-final t		失	Atkins
k̚	syllable-final k		識	doctor
Syllabic consonants
m̩	m		唔	rhythm
ŋ̩ ŋ̍	ng[5]		五	(syllabic ng)

All non-syllabic consonants except [p̚, t̚, k̚] may begin a
syllable, but some speakers don't have initial [n, ŋ].[6]
The six non-syllabic consonants [p̚, t̚, k̚, m, n, ŋ] may end a syllable.[7]

IPA	Yale	Jyutping	Character	English approximation
Vowels
aː	aa, syllable-final a	aa	亞	father (Australian English)
aːi	aai		界	time
aːu	aau		交	how
ɐ	non-syllable-final a	a	甩	cut
ɐi	ai		矮	Canadian price (see Canadian Raising)
ɐu	au		歐	Canadian clout (see Canadian Raising)
ɛː	e		些	yes
ei	ei		悲	hey
ɛːu	—	eu	掉[8]	roughly like yeah well
e/ɪ	i before k or ng		色	sick
œː	eu before k or ng or syllable-finally	oe	靴	roughly like fur in British English; fleuve in French
ɵy	eui	eoi	去	No English equivalent; like Japanese koi but rounded even at the end
ɵ	eu before n or t	eo	出	roughly like again but rounded
ɔː	o		我	law
ɔːy	oi		哀	roughly like boy
ou	ou		奧	hoe (American English)
o/ʊ	u before k or ng		福	look
iː	i		意	see
iːu	iu		橋	roughly like few
yː	non-syllable-initial yu[9]	yu	於	No English equivalent; menu in French
uː	u		烏	food
uːy	ui		回	roughly like phooey

IPA			Yale	Jyutping	Tone number	Character	Description
Tones
siː˥	55	síː	sī	si1[10]	1	詩	high level
siː˥˧	53	sîː	sì	si1[10]	1b (7)	絲	high falling
siː˧˥	35	sǐː	sí	si2	2	史	mid rising
siː˧	33	sīː	si	si3	3	試	mid level
siː˨˩ siː˩	21 11	si̭ː sȉː	sìh	si4	4	時	low falling or very low
siː˨˧ siː˩˧	23 13	si̬ː	síh	si5	5	市	low rising or very low risinɡ
siː˨	22	sìː	sih	si6	6	是	low level
piːt̚˥	5	píːt̚	bīt	bit1	7 (1)	必	high checked
siːt̚˧	3	sīːt̚	sit	sit3	8 (3)	薛	mid checked
siːt̚˨	2	sìːt̚	siht	sit6	9 (6)	蝕	low checked