Hong Kong English Loanwords with Jyutping Audio
Practise Hong Kong English loanwords—baa si, dik si, si do, fei lam—with instant Jyutping. The characters record the English sound.
Hong Kong speech writes English sounds with Chinese characters. 巴士 is bus. 的士 is taxi. Do not split the characters and read them as Chinese. Mandarin often uses a different word; even the same characters take different sounds.
Each line has Jyutping playback. Listen first.
Pairing table
| Hong Kong speech | English | Mandarin often says |
|---|---|---|
| 巴士 | bus | 公交車 (same characters, different sounds) |
| 的士 | taxi | 出租車, 計程車 |
| 小巴 | minibus | 小型巴士 |
| 𨋢 | lift | 電梯 |
| 士多 | store | a grocery / kiosk |
| 士巴拿 | spanner | 扳手 |
| 菲林 | film | 膠卷 |
| 恤衫 | shirt | 襯衫 |
| 呔 | tie / tyre | 領帶, 輪胎 |
| 波 | ball | 球 |
| 芝士 | cheese | 奶酪, 起司 |
| 朱古力 | chocolate | 巧克力 |
| 士多啤梨 | strawberry | 草莓 |
| 忌廉 | cream | 奶油 |
| 梳化 | sofa | 沙發 |
梳化 and 沙發, 朱古力 and 巧克力, are two spellings of the same English words.
1. 巴士 (baa1 si2)
Meaning: A public bus. From English bus.
士 alone is si6. Here it changes to si2. Do not read Mandarin ba shi.
巴士
baa1 si2
2. 的士 (dik1 si2)
Meaning: A taxi. From English taxi.
的 here is dik1, not the Mandarin particle de. Taiwan says 計程車. The mainland says 出租車. Hong Kong says 的士.
的士
dik1 si2
3. 小巴 (siu2 baa1)
Meaning: A public light bus. From English minibus.
小 is Chinese. 巴 comes from bus. Green minibuses and red minibuses are both 小巴.
小巴
siu2 baa1
4. 𨋢 (lip1)
Meaning: A lift. From English lift.
Entering tone lip1. Also written 䢂. 電梯 is understood. Speech in a building still wants 𨋢.
𨋢
lip1
5. 士多 (si6 do1)
Meaning: A street grocery, mostly drinks, beer, and snacks. From English store.
Not a 7-Eleven. 士 stays si6. words.hk reads si6 do1.
士多
si6 do1
6. 士巴拿 (si6 baa1 naa2)
Meaning: A spanner / wrench. From English spanner.
Hardware-shop speech. 拿 alone is naa4. Here it changes to naa2. Mandarin says 扳手.
士巴拿
si6 baa1 naa2
7. 菲林 (fei1 lam2)
Meaning: Camera film. From English film.
林 alone is lam4. Here it changes to lam2. Not the Philippines. Still used for old rolls.
菲林
fei1 lam2
8. 恤衫 (seot1 saam1)
Meaning: A collared, button-front shirt. From English shirt. words.hk also lists 裇衫, same reading.
恤 is entering tone seot1. The T in T 恤 has no Jyutping. Mouth the letter.
恤衫
seot1 saam1
9. 呔 (taai1)
Meaning: A necktie; with 車, a tyre. English tie and tyre collapse into one syllable.
The strip at the neck is 呔. The ring on the car is 車呔.
呔
taai1
車呔
ce1 taai1
10. 波 (bo1)
Meaning: A ball. From English ball.
打波 and 踢波 use this word. 波鞋 is trainers. The Mong Kok nickname is in street nicknames.
波
bo1
11. 芝士 (zi1 si2)
Meaning: Cheese. From English cheese.
Hong Kong says 芝士. Mandarin often says 奶酪 or 起司. 士 changes to si2, same rule as 巴士.
芝士
zi1 si2
12. 朱古力 (zyu1 gu1 lik1)
Meaning: Chocolate. From English chocolate.
Mandarin writes 巧克力—another phonetic spelling. Connected playback is zyu1 gu1 lik1.
朱古力
zyu1 gu1 lik1
13. 士多啤梨 (si6 do1 be1 lei2)
Meaning: A strawberry. From English strawberry.
Hong Kong says 士多啤梨. Mandarin says 草莓. Shadow the whole string.
士多啤梨
si6 do1 be1 lei2
14. 忌廉 (gei6 lim1)
Meaning: Cream. From English cream.
Fresh cream and cream soup both use this word. 廉 alone is lim4. Here it changes to lim1.
忌廉
gei6 lim1
15. 梳化 (so1 faa2)
Meaning: A sofa. From English sofa.
Mandarin says 沙發—another spelling. 化 alone is faa3. Here it changes to faa2.
梳化
so1 faa2
Shadow lines
唔該，巴士站喺邊？
m4 goi1 baa1 si2 zaam6 hai2 bin1
搭的士去士多。
daap3 dik1 si2 heoi3 si6 do1
一件恤衫，加條呔。
jat1 gin6 seot1 saam1 gaa1 tiu4 taai1
芝士朱古力，唔要忌廉。
zi1 si2 zyu1 gu1 lik1 m4 jiu3 gei6 lim1
What these words train
| Type | Examples | What you practise |
|---|---|---|
| Same English, two spellings | 梳化 / 沙發; 朱古力 / 巧克力 | Hong Kong phonetic spelling |
| 士 tone change | 巴士, 的士, 芝士 si2; 士多, 士巴拿 si6 | Connected speech, not citation tones |
| Entering tones | 恤 seot1, 𨋢 lip1 | Short cutoff |
| One sound, two jobs | 呔 = tie and tyre | Context picks the meaning |
FAQ
Are 多士 and 三文治 the same kind of word?
Yes. Characters record English sound. Those two are already in cha chaan teng slang.
Will people understand 公交車 and 出租車?
Yes. They will not sound local. This page locks 巴士 and 的士.
Why is 士 sometimes si6 and sometimes si2?
Alone it is si6. After 巴, 的, and 芝 it changes to si2. In 士多 and 士巴拿 it stays si6. Follow playback.
Can I say 電梯 instead of 𨋢?
People will understand 電梯. In the building, speech uses 𨋢. This page locks lip1.
What next?
Transliterated road names: street nicknames. Or annotate your own list with the Jyutping converter.