How to Say "City" in Cantonese

城市

The Cantonese word for "city" is 城市.

城市 is a noun used to refer to a large settlement.

Meaning: large settlement (noun)

What does it mean word for word?

The word is composed of 城 (sing4), meaning 'city wall' or 'fortress' and 市 (si5), meaning 'market'.

In traditional Chinese culture, the layout of a 城市 was often designed based on geomancy and the alignment of walls to ward off evil spirits.
In historical contexts, the character 城 specifically referred to the defensive walls that surrounded a settlement, as ancient Chinese cities were defined by their fortifications rather than their population.
Hong Kong is often referred to as a 大都市, which translates to 'great metropolis', to emphasize its global financial status and extreme density.

橫濱係日本第二大嘅城市。
Yokohama is the second largest city in Japan.
This sentence is useful for identifying the size of a city within a country using 城市.
Tatoeba #385338 by nickyeow, translation #25661 by CN
我可以做啲咩嚟減低呢個城市嘅空氣污染呢？
What can I do to reduce the air pollution in this city?
This sentence shows how to use 城市 when discussing urban environmental issues like air pollution.
Tatoeba #6108425 by nickyeow, translation #6104416 by mailohilohi
所以佢喺田野度收集到夜晚；佢將佢所搜集到嘅嘢打出嚟，大約係一以法嘅大麥。佢拎起佢，然後入咗個城市。然後佢婆婆見到佢收集咗啲咩；佢帶咗出嚟，畀咗佢食夠之後剩低嘅嘢畀佢。
So she gleaned in the field until evening, and she beat out that which she had gleaned, and it was about an ephah of barley. She took it up, and went into the city. Then her mother-in-law saw what she had gleaned, and she brought out and gave to her that which she had left after she had enough.
This sentence illustrates the use of 城市 in a narrative context describing someone entering a settlement.
Tatoeba #13493183 by Davidgo5867, translation #7965841 by shekitten
香港係一個繁忙嘅城市。
Hong Kong is a busy city.
10 more sentences on Tatoeba

Two friends are discussing where they want to live.

志強 Chi Keung

你鍾意住喺邊個城市？
nei5 zung1 ji3 zyu6 hai2 bin1 go3 cheng2 si5?
Which city do you like living in?
美玲 Mei Ling

我最鍾意喺繁華嘅城市住。
ngo5 zeoi3 zung1 ji3 hai2 faan4 waa4 ge3 cheng2 si5 zyu6.
I like living in a bustling city the most.
志強 Chi Keung

但係城市生活壓力好大。
daan6 si6 cheng2 si5 sang1 wut6 aaat3 lik6 hou2 daai6.
But city life is very stressful.
美玲 Mei Ling

係，但我鍾意城市嘅方便。
hai6, daan6 ngo5 zung1 ji3 cheng2 si5 ge3 fong1 bin1.
Yes, but I love the convenience of the city.

Sources

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