芝士
The Cantonese word for the dairy product cheese is 芝士.
芝士 is the standard noun for the food item. If you are referring to a cheesy filling found in certain pastries or desserts, you might encounter the term 芝心, which literally means "cheese heart".
Meaning: dairy product (noun)
What does it mean word for word?
芝士 is a phonetic loanword from the English word 'cheese'.
Which one should you use?
While 芝士 refers to the edible dairy product, the sequence 一二三 (one, two, three) is used as an interjection when someone is being photographed.
Related words
When do people say it?
In Cantonese, when posing for a photograph, people do not say the word for cheese. Instead, they say the counting sequence 一二三.
Did you know?
- While 芝士 is common in Hong Kong, people in Guangzhou may use the term 奶酪 to describe cheese.
- The first character 芝 refers to a type of fragrant mushroom or fungus in classical Chinese.
- Many Cantonese speakers use the English word 'cheese' directly in casual conversation instead of the written form 芝士.
Examples in context
- 冇芝士剩喇。There is no more cheese left.This sentence demonstrates how to say there is no more 芝士 left.Tatoeba #5921067 by nickyeow, translation #5878893 by CK
- 佢啲口氣聞落好似山羊芝士咁。His breath smells like goat cheese.This sentence uses 芝士 to describe a smell.Tatoeba #722491 by nickyeow, translation #482385 by adjusting
- 我食芝士。I eat cheese.This sentence shows the basic use of 芝士 as an object in a sentence.Tatoeba #4110864 by cantonesespoken, translation #2481696 by abkhaz
- 10 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
A couple is deciding what to order for pizza.
- 嘉欣 Ka Yan你想唔想加芝士？nei5 soeng2 m4 soeng2 gaa1 zi1 si2?Do you want to add cheese?
- 子健 Tsz Kin好呀，我好鍾意芝士。hou2 aa3, ngo5 hou2 zung1 ji3 zi1 si2.Yes, I really like cheese.
- 嘉欣 Ka Yan咁我哋叫一個芝士焗Pizza啦。gam2 ngo5 dei6 giu3 jat1 go3 zi1 si2 guk6 pizza1 laa1.Then let's order a cheesy pizza.
- 子健 Tsz Kin好呀，即刻叫。hou2 aa3, zik1 hak1 giu3.Okay, let's order it now.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “cheese” translations, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
