廣東話 / 广东话
gwong² dung¹ waa²
Cantonese is the language referred to in Cantonese as 廣東話 / 广东话 (gwong² dung¹ waa²). Wiktionary also lists 粵語 / 粤语 (jyut⁶ jyu⁵) and 廣府話 / 广府话 (gwong² fu² waa²).
Meaning: language (noun)
Ways to say it
| Cantonese | Romanization (Wiktionary) |
|---|---|
| 廣東話 / 广东话 | gwong² dung¹ waa² |
| 粵語 / 粤语 | jyut⁶ jyu⁵ |
| 廣府話 / 广府话 | gwong² fu² waa² |
| 白話 / 白话 |
To say 'speak Cantonese', you use the verb 講 (gong2) followed by the language name.
What does it mean word for word?
The term 廣東話 / 广东话 literally means 'Guangdong language', referring to the language of Guangdong province. The term 粵語 / 粤语 literally means 'Yue language', referring to the Yue linguistic group.
Which one should you use?
廣東話 / 广东话 is the most common way to refer to the Cantonese language in daily conversation. In contrast, 粵語 / 粤语 is the more formal or academic term, often used in news, literature or official contexts.
Related words
How do you pronounce it?
gwong² dung¹ waa²
Did you know?
- The word 粵 / 粤 in 粵語 / 粤语 is actually the name of an ancient state from the Zhou Dynasty, which gives the language a much deeper historical pedigree than its modern regional name suggests.
- The term 白話, which is one way to say 'Cantonese', literally means 'plain speech' or 'vernacular'. Historically, it was used to distinguish the spoken language of the people from the formal 'literary' language used in writing.
- The term 廣府話 refers specifically to the dialect of the 'Guangfu' people, highlighting that what English speakers call 'Cantonese' is actually a cluster of closely related regional varieties.
Examples in context
- 我會講廣東話。I can speak Cantonese.
- 佢識唔識講廣州話？Does he/she know how to speak Cantonese?
- 佢好鐘意講粵語。He/she really likes speaking Cantonese.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “cantonese” translations, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
