糖尿病
tong⁴ niu⁶ beng⁶
The Cantonese word for diabetes is 糖尿病 (tong⁴ niu⁶ beng⁶).
糖尿病 is used to refer to the group of metabolic diseases known as diabetes.
Meaning: A group of metabolic diseases (noun)
Which one should you use?
糖尿病 is the full medical term, while 糖病 is an informal way to refer to it by meaning 'sugar illness'. In casual spoken Cantonese, you may also hear the term shortened to 糖尿.
How does it change in a sentence?
In casual spoken Cantonese, the full medical term 糖尿病 is often shortened to just 糖尿.
How do you pronounce it?
tong⁴ niu⁶ beng⁶
Did you know?
- In traditional Chinese medicine contexts, the concept of 'sugar' is often linked to 熱 or 'heat', leading some to describe the feeling of diabetes using terms related to internal heat.
- The character 糖 also appears in the term 糖水, which refers to a traditional category of Cantonese sweet dessert soups served in specialized shops.
- In Hong Kong, you might hear the English word 'diabetes' or 'sugar' mixed directly into a Cantonese sentence, as medical terminology often blends with English in professional settings.
Examples in context
- 研究糖尿病小鼠模型嘅研究人員指出，呢啲動物用嚟修復骨折嘅骨骼幹細胞數量明顯少咗，當骨骼終於癒合嗰陣，佢哋低過非糖尿病老鼠仔嘅骨骼弱啲嘅密度。Researchers studying a mouse model of diabetes noted that the animals had significantly lower numbers of skeletal stem cells to repair bone fractures. When the bones did finally heal, they were weaker and less dense than those of non-diabetic mice.This sentence is useful for seeing how 糖尿病 is used in a scientific context regarding research on mice.Tatoeba #12908323 by Matthewyau1367, translation #12257840 by Cangarejo
- 我朋友最近被診斷出糖尿病My friend was recently diagnosed with diabetes.
- 我爸爸有糖尿病。My dad has diabetes.
- 喺家族入面，有冇人有糖尿病？In your family, does anyone have diabetes?
Example conversation
Two friends are talking about health at a cafe.
- 美玲 Mei Ling子健，你點解唔飲甜嘢？zi2 gin6, nei5 dim2 gaai2 m4 jam2 tim4 je5?Tsz Kin, why aren't you drinking something sweet?
- 子健 Tsz Kin因為我最近被診斷出有糖尿病。jan1 wai6 ngo5 zeoi3 gan6 bei6 zan2 dyun3 ceot1 jau5 tong4 niu2 bong1.Because I was recently diagnosed with diabetes.
- 美玲 Mei Ling真係咩？你要小心飲食呀。zan1 hai6 me1? nei5 jiu3 siu2 sam1 jam2 sik6 aa3.Really? You need to be careful with your diet.
- 子健 Tsz Kin係，我而家要戒糖。hai6, ngo5 ji4 gaa3 jiu3 gaai3 tong2.Yes, I have to quit sugar now.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “diabetes” translations, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
