美國
mei5 gwok3
In Cantonese, America is called 美國 (mei5 gwok3).
美國 is the name used to refer to the country known as the United States of America.
What does it mean word for word?
The term is composed of 美, meaning beautiful and 國, meaning country or nation.
Which one should you use?
While 美國 refers specifically to the USA, the abbreviation 美加 is often used in Cantonese to refer to North America, specifically the US and Canada, in economic or geopolitical contexts.
How do you pronounce it?
mei5 gwok3
Did you know?
- While 美國 means 'beautiful country', Cantonese speakers often use the single character 美 as a shorthand prefix for anything American, such as 美金 for US dollars.
- In some older Cantonese transliterations, you might find 'America' represented by the sounds 亞美利加, though 美國 is much more common in speech.
- The use of 美 to represent 'America' is a convention that dates back to early 20th-century translations, choosing aesthetic qualities over phonetic accuracy.
Examples in context
- 我阿爸去咗美國。My father has gone to America.This sentence shows how to express that someone has gone to 美國.Tatoeba #1401736 by nickyeow, translation #318921 by CN
- 你覺得你喺美國每日淨係用一美金生唔生活到？Do you think you can live on a dollar a day in America?This sentence illustrates a question about the cost of living in 美國.Tatoeba #422044 by nickyeow, translation #73089 by CN
- 如果你諗住去美國嘅話，你最好練好你啲英文先。You'd better brush up on your English if you 're going to go to America.This sentence provides advice regarding preparation before traveling to 美國.Tatoeba #1083800 by nickyeow, translation #16801 by CN
- 我喜歡去 美國 旅遊。I enjoy traveling to America.
- 那個學生來自 美國 。That student is from America.
- 10 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Two friends are talking about their future study plans.
- 曉彤 Hiu Tung你之後想去邊個國家讀書？nei5 zi3 hau6 soeng2 heoi3 bin2 go3 gwok3 gaa1 duk6 syu1?Which country do you want to go to for your studies later?
- 家明 Ka Ming我想去美國讀書。ngo5 soeng2 heoi3 mei5 gwok3 duk6 syu1.I want to go to America to study.
- 曉彤 Hiu Tung美國好大，你想去邊個城市？mei5 gwok3 hou2 daai6, nei5 soeng2 heoi3 bin2 go3 sing4 si5?America is very big, which city do you want to go to?
- 家明 Ka Ming我仲諗緊，可能係紐約。ngo5 zung6 nam2 gan2, ho2 nang4 hai6 jau1 jyuet6.I'm still thinking, maybe New York.
Sources
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
