Indigenous Cantonese Words
Vocabulary differences between Mandarin and Cantonese
 
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Most Cantonese words are written just as in Mandarin,they are only pronounced differently. Once you ear is used to Cantonese speech, you can even guess the drift of any not too fast conversation. However, a part of Cantonese vocabulary is strictly indigenous -- some words even have Cantonese-only characters invented specifically to write them.
 
Mandarin
Cantonese
English
 ª×«Ç wo4 shi4
ºÎ©Ð soey6 fong4
 bedroom
³Ã¨ã jia1 ju4
³ÃÍï ga1 si1
furniture
¨Fµo sha1 fa1
®Þ¤Æ so1 fa3
sofa
®ÉÄÁ shi2 zhong1
ÄÁ tsung1
clock
·Ó¬Û¾÷ zhao4 xiang4 ji1
¬M¬Û¾÷ ying2 soeng3 gei1
camera
¦B½c bing1 xiang1
³·Âd syut8 gwai6
refrigerator
¨T¨®¶¡ qi4 che1 jian1
¨®©Ð tse1 fong4
garage

Some Cantonese names for means of transportation (most notably ¤Ú¤h and ªº¤h) have recently made their way into Mandarin. However, most of them are endemic to Cantonese.
 
Mandarin
Cantonese
English
¤½¦@¨T¨® gong1 gong4 qi4 che1
¤Ú¤h ba1 si6
bus
¥X¯²¨T¨® chu1 zu4 qi1 che1
ªº¤h dik7 si6
taxi
¥d¨® ka3 che1
³f¨® fo3 tse1
truck / lorry
¦Û¦æ¨® zi4 xing4 che1
³æ¨® dan1 tse1
bycicle
¤p²î xiao3 chuan2
¸¥¥J teng5 tsai2
boat

Many basic and frequently used words are very different too.
 
Mandarin
Cantonese
English
¤u¤H gong1 ren2
ÂÅ»â lam4 ling5
worker
©±­û dian4 yuan2
¥ë°O fo2 gei3 
shop asssistant
 ¤ôªG shui3 guo3
 ¥ÍªG sang1 gwo3
 fruits
  ­»·Ï xiang1 yan1
 ·Ï¥J yin1 tsai2
 cigarette
»ñ±ù feng li2
µÔù bo1 lo4
 pineapple

Word expressing time are very different in the 2 dialects. Does it have anything to do with different concepts of time in the socialist and capitalist societies?
 
Mandarin
Cantonese
English
²{¦b xian4 zai4
 ¦Ó®a yi4 ga1
now
¦­¤W zao3 shang4
´ÂÀY¦­ tsiu1 tau4 tsou2
morning
¥¿¤È zheng4 wu3
®Ë±Þ an3 tsau3
noon
¤U¤È xia4 wu3
¤U±Þ ha3 tsau3
afternoon
±ß¤W wan3 shang4
©]±ß¶Âye6 man5 hak7
night
¬Q¤Ñ zuo4 tian1
µ^¤é kam4 yat9
yesterday
¤µ¤Ñ jin1 tian1
¤µ¤é gam1 yat9
today
©ú¤Ñ ming2 tian1
 Å¥¤é ting1 yat9
tomorrow
¬K¤Ñ chun1 tian1
¬K©u tsoen1 gwai3
spring
®L¤Ñ xia4 tian1
®L©u ha6 gwai4
summer
¬î¤Ñ qiu1 tian1
¬î©u tsau1 gwai3
fall
¥V¤Ñ dong1 tian1
¥V©u dung1 gwai3
winter

Question words are different from Mandarin as can be. As many other Cantonese auxiliary words, they are often written with Cantonese-only characters.
 
Mandarin
Cantonese
English
½Ö shui2
Ãä­Ó bin1 go3
who?
¤°»ò shen2 me
ÉA³¥ mat7 ye5
what?
¬°¤°»ò wei2 shen2 me
ÂI¸Ñ dim2 gai2
why?
¤°»ò®É­Ô shen2 me shi2 hou
´X®É gei2 si4
when?
­þ¨à nar2
Ãä«× bin1 dou6
where?

If you have any word pairs to add to this list please send me an E-mail.
Rae-Arthur Mitski
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