提子
tai⁴ zi²colloquial
In Cantonese, grape is said as 提子 (tai⁴ zi²). Wiktionary also lists 葡提子 (pou⁴ tai⁴ zi²) and 葡萄 (pou⁴ tou⁴).
Meaning: fruit (noun)
Ways to say it
| Cantonese | Romanization (Wiktionary) | Note |
|---|---|---|
| 提子 | tai⁴ zi² | colloquial |
| 葡提子 | pou⁴ tai⁴ zi² | |
| 葡萄 | pou⁴ tou⁴ | formal |
The word refers to the fruit known as a grape.
Which one should you use?
While 提子 is the everyday term used in conversation, 葡萄 is a formal version. Additionally, 葡提子 is another form of the word.
Is there a formal and an informal way to say it?
提子 is the colloquial form and is much more common in daily spoken Cantonese. 葡萄 is the formal way to say grape.
How do you pronounce it?
tai⁴ zi²
Did you know?
- If you are looking for grapes in a Hong Kong supermarket, you will find that 提子 usually refers to seedless table grapes, while 葡萄 may refer to wine grapes.
- The character 葡 in 葡萄 is a phonetic transcription from ancient times, used specifically to mimic the sound of the foreign word for the plant.
- The character 提 in 提子 can also mean 'to lift' or 'to carry', creating a visual but unrelated connection in the written form.
Examples in context
- 我最鍾意食提子啫喱。I like grape jelly best.This sentence shows how to use 提子 when talking about grape jelly.Tatoeba #510833 by nickyeow, translation #261563 by CK
- 我喺超市買咗啲葡萄。I bought some grapes at the supermarket.
Example conversation
At a supermarket, 子健 and 雅婷 are picking out fruit.
- 子健 Tsz Kin呢啲提子好唔好食呀？ni1 di1 tai4 zi2 hou2 m4 hou2 sik6 aa3?Are these grapes tasty?
- 雅婷 Nga Ting睇落好似幾新鮮，買一串啦。tai2 lok6 hou2 ci5 gei3 san1 sin1, maai5 jat1 cyun4 laa1.They look quite fresh, let's buy a bunch.
- 子健 Tsz Kin好呀，我鍾意食甜啲嘅提子。hou2 aa3, ngo5 zung1 ji3 sik6 tim4 di1 ge3 tai4 zi2.Okay, I like eating sweet grapes.
- 雅婷 Nga Ting咁我哋買紫色嗰款啦。gam2 ngo5 dei6 maai5 zi2 sik1 go2 fun1 laa1.Then let's buy the purple ones.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “grape” translations, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
