澳洲
ou3 zau1
The Cantonese word for 'Australia' is 澳洲 (ou3 zau1).
澳洲 refers to the country and continent located between the Indian and Pacific oceans.
Which one should you use?
While 澳洲 (ou3 zau1) is the common, shorter name used in daily conversation, 澳大利亞 (aa3 lit6 daai6 aa3) is the full, formal transliteration often used in news reports or official documents.
How do you pronounce it?
The romanization is ou3 zau1.
Did you know?
- The common name 澳洲 is not a phonetic transliteration like many other country names, but rather a semantic construction meaning 'Southern Continent' or 'Southern Vast Land'.
- In Cantonese, the character 澳 in 澳洲 denotes a 'bay' or 'water', which is why it is also used in the name of 'Macau' (澳門).
- The formal name 澳大利亞 is a phonetic approximation where the 'L' sound is mapped to 利, a character that usually means 'profit' or 'benefit'.
Examples in context
- 我想去澳洲旅行。ngo5 soeng2 heoi3 zau1 zau1 lei5 hang4.I want to travel to Australia.
Example conversation
Meiling and Ka Ming are talking about their vacation plans.
- 美玲 Mei Ling家明，你假期去邊度？ga1 ming4, nei5 gaa3 kei4 heoi3 bin1 dou6?Ka Ming, where are you going for the holiday?
- 家明 Ka Ming我想去澳洲睇袋鼠。ngo5 soeng2 heoi3 au3 zau3 tai2 doi2 syu2.I want to go to Australia to see kangaroos.
- 美玲 Mei Ling澳洲好遠，機票好貴。au3 zau3 hou2 jyun5, gei1 piu3 hou2 gwai3.Australia is very far, and the plane tickets are expensive.
- 家明 Ka Ming係，但我好期待。hai6, daan6 ngo5 hou2 kei4 doi6.Yes, but I am really looking forward to it.
