Help:IPA/Cantonese

Wikipedia key to pronunciation of Cantonese / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

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.

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

Table info: IPA, Yale, Jyutping, Character, English appro...
IPAYaleJyutpingCharacterEnglish approximation
Nonsyllabic consonants
p syllable-initial b span
syllable-initial p pan
m m moon
f f fan
t syllable-initial d stand
syllable-initial t tan
n n noon
l l leaf
ts[1] jz cats
tsʰ[2] chc cats hissing
s s saw
k syllable-initial g scan
syllable-initial k can
gw[3] squeak
kʷʰ kw[4] quick
ŋ ng singing
h h house
j yj you
w w water
syllable-final p apt
syllable-final t Atkins
syllable-final k doctor
Syllabic consonants
m rhythm
ŋ̩
ŋ̍
ng[5] (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 YaleJyutpingCharacterEnglish approximation
Vowels
aa,
syllable-final a
aa father (Australian English)
aːi aai time
aːu aau how
ɐ non-syllable-final aa cut
ɐi ai Canadian price (see Canadian Raising)
ɐu au Canadian clout (see Canadian Raising)
ɛː e yes
ei ei hey
ɛːu eu [8] roughly like yeah well
e/ɪ i before k or ng sick
œː eu before k or ng
or syllable-finally
oe roughly like fur in British English; fleuve in French
ɵy euieoi No English equivalent; like Japanese koi but rounded even at the end
ɵ eu before n or teo roughly like again but rounded
ɔː o law
ɔːy oi roughly like boy
ou ou hoe (American English)
o/ʊ u before k or ng look
i see
iːu iu roughly like few
non-syllable-initial yu[9]yu No English equivalent; menu in French
u food
uːy ui roughly like phooey
IPA YaleJyutpingTone numberCharacterDescription
Tones
siː˥ 55 síː si1[10] 1 high level
siː˥˧ 53 sîː 1b (7) high falling
siː˧˥ 35 sǐː si2 2 mid rising
siː˧ 33 sīː sisi3 3 mid level
siː˨˩
siː˩
21
11
si̭ː
sȉː
sìhsi4 4 low falling or very low
siː˨˧
siː˩˧
23
13
si̬ː síhsi5 5 low rising or very low risinɡ
siː˨ 22 sìː sihsi6 6 low level
piːt̚˥ 5 píːt̚ bītbit1 7 (1) high checked
siːt̚˧ 3 sīːt̚ sitsit3 8 (3) mid checked
siːt̚˨ 2 sìːt̚ sihtsit6 9 (6) low checked
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