冠狀病毒 / 冠状病毒
gun¹ zong⁶ beng⁶ duk⁶
The Cantonese phrase for coronavirus is 冠狀病毒 / 冠状病毒 (gun¹ zong⁶ beng⁶ duk⁶).
The term is used to refer to members of the Coronaviridae family. To specifically refer to the SARS-CoV-2 virus (COVID-19), speakers frequently use the term 新冠病毒.
Meaning: member of the family Coronaviridae (noun)
What does it mean word for word?
The term 冠狀病毒 is composed of 冠狀 (gun1 zong6), meaning 'crown-shaped' and 病毒 (beng6 duk6), meaning 'virus'.
Which one should you use?
While 冠狀病毒 refers to the general family of coronaviruses, 新冠病毒 is used to specifically name the novel coronavirus responsible for COVID-19.
How do you pronounce it?
gun¹ zong⁶ beng⁶ duk⁶
Did you know?
- The character 冠 in 冠狀病毒 also means 'champion' or 'first place' in sports and competitions.
- In Cantonese, the word for 'virus', 病毒 (beng6 duk6), combines the characters for 'illness' and 'poison'.
- The character 冠 (gun1) in this phrase is the same character used to describe a 'hat' or 'crown' worn by officials in ancient history.
Examples in context
- 最近好似有啲人患埋新冠肺炎喎。Lately, it seems like some people have contracted the new coronavirus.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “coronavirus” translations, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
