How to Say "Bus" in Cantonese

巴士

The English word bus is translated into Cantonese as 巴士. Wiktionary also lists 公共汽車 / 公共汽车 (gung¹ gung⁶ hei³ ce¹) and 公交車 / 公交车 (gung¹ gaau¹ ce¹).

Meaning: vehicle (noun)

Ways to say it

All forms refer to a bus as a vehicle.

公共汽車 is a more formal, technical term for a public bus often used in written contexts or official announcements.

公共汽車 and 公交車 are formal options. 公共汽車 is specifically noted as a technical term for a public bus in formal or written settings.

The classifier used for a bus is 架 (gaa3).

The Cantonese word 巴士 is a phonetic loanword from English, specifically from the word 'bus'.
The term 公交車 (gung1 gaau1 ce1) is more commonly used in mainland China than in Hong Kong, where Cantonese speakers prefer different terminology.
In Hong Kong, you will often hear the term 小巴 (siu2 baa1) used for 'minibuses', which are a ubiquitous and distinct part of the transport culture.

架巴士仲未嚟。
The bus hasn't come yet.
This sentence is useful for saying that the 巴士 has not arrived.
Tatoeba #401658 by nickyeow, translation #35310 by CK
我上錯咗巴士。
I got on the wrong bus.
This sentence is useful for expressing that you boarded the wrong 巴士.
Tatoeba #759695 by nickyeow, translation #479979 by CK
巴士站喺邊呀？
Where's the bus stop?
This sentence is useful for asking for the location of a 巴士 stop.
Tatoeba #6106582 by nickyeow, translation #35234 by CK
我搭巴去中環。
I took a bus to Central.
29 more sentences on Tatoeba

Zhiqiang and Jiaxin are deciding how to get home.

志強 Chi Keung

我哋搭巴士返屋企好唔好？
ngo5 dei6 daap3 baa1 si2 faan1 uk1 kei2 hou2 m4 hou2?
How about we take the bus home?
嘉欣 Ka Yan

好呀，但係巴士站好遠。
hou2 aa3, daan6 sik1 baa1 si2 zaam6 hou2 jyun5.
Sure, but the bus stop is very far.
志強 Chi Keung

唔緊要，行兩分鐘就到。
m4 gan2 jiu3, haang4 loeng2 fan1 zung1 zau6 dou3.
It's okay, it only takes two minutes to walk.
嘉欣 Ka Yan

好啦，我哋快啲行啦。
hou2 laa1, ngo5 dei6 faai3 di1 haang4 laa1.
Alright, let's walk quickly.

Sources

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