車厘子 / 车厘子
ce¹ lei⁴ zi²colloquial
The English word cherry is translated into Cantonese as either 車厘子 / 车厘子 (ce¹ lei⁴ zi²) or 櫻桃 / 樱桃.
Meaning: fruit (noun)
Ways to say it
| Cantonese | Romanization (Wiktionary) | Note |
|---|---|---|
| 車厘子 / 车厘子 | ce¹ lei⁴ zi² | colloquial |
| 櫻桃 / 樱桃 | jing¹ tou⁴ |
Both terms refer to the fruit known as a cherry.
What does it mean word for word?
The form 車厘子 / 车厘子 is a phonetic transliteration of the English word 'cherry'.
Which one should you use?
車厘子 / 车厘子 is the most common way to refer to the fruit in daily conversation, whereas 櫻桃 / 樱桃 is the formal or literary name often used in written texts or botanical contexts.
Is there a formal and an informal way to say it?
車厘子 / 车厘子 is a colloquial term. 櫻桃 / 樱桃 is the formal or literary name for cherry, often used in botanical contexts or written texts.
How do you pronounce it?
ce¹ lei⁴ zi²
Did you know?
- In traditional Chinese medicine and poetry, 櫻桃 is often associated with the lips, and the phrase 櫻桃唇 describes a small, red, perfectly shaped mouth.
- While 車厘子 is a loanword from 'cherry', it is specifically used for the large, sweet cherries imported from the US or Chile, rather than the native variety.
- The distinction between the two terms is a reminder of how much Hong Kong Cantonese has been influenced by English through centuries of colonial history.
Example sentences for Cantonese are not verified yet.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “cherry” translations, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
