Different Vocabulary List of Chinese Mandarin vs Cantonese
Cantonese is spoken in Hong Kong, Macau, Guangdong province in China and also widely spoken in Southeast Asia by overseas Chinese. Although Cantonese shares some vocabulary with Mandarin, there are a lot of words which are completely different. Especially there are many words borrowed from English in Cantonese.
Here you will find 40 examples of differences in vocabulary.
| English | Mandarin | Cantonese |
| tomato | 西红柿 | 蕃茄 |
| potato | 土豆 | 薯仔 |
| carrot | 胡萝卜 | 紅蘿蔔 |
| aubergine | 茄子 | 矮瓜 |
| cabbage | 圆白菜 | 椰菜 |
| corn | 玉米 | 粟米 |
| grape | 葡萄 | 提子 |
| kiwi | 猕猴桃 | 奇異果 |
| french fries | 土豆条 | 薯條 |
| yogurt | 酸奶 | 乳酪 |
| butter | 黃油 | 牛油 |
| restaurant | 饭馆 | 餐廳 |
| bird | 鸟 | 雀仔 |
| monkey | 猴子 | 馬騮 |
| octopus | 章鱼 | 八爪魚 |
| squid | 乌贼 | 魷魚 |
| jellyfish | 海蜇 | 水母 |
| ladybug | 瓢虫 | 金龜 |
| grasshopper | 蚱蜢 | 草蜢 |
| yesterday | 昨天 | 尋日 |
| tomorrow | 明天 | 聽日 |
| week | 星期 | 禮拜 |
| cold | 冷 | 凍 |
| face | 脸 | 面 |
| shoulder | 肩 | 膊頭 |
| leg | 腿 | 大脾 |
| hotel | 旅馆 | 酒店 |
| blanket | 毛毯 | 被 |
| hair dryer | 吹风机 | 風筒 |
| bag | 包 | 手袋 |
| umbrella | 雨伞 | 遮 |
| small | 小 | 細 |
Cantonese Words borrowed from English
| English | Mandarin | Cantonese |
| cheese | 乳酪 | 芝士 |
| strawberry | 草莓 | 士多啤梨 |
| cherry | 樱桃 | 車厘子 |
| chocolate | 巧克力 | 朱古力 |
| bus | 公车 | 巴士 |
| taxi | 出租车 | 的士 |
Cantonese Words Mixed with English
| English | Mandarin | Cantonese |
| mayonnaise | 蛋黄酱 | 沙律醬 |
| brown | 棕色 | 啡色 |
You can learn more in our app, LingoCards!
