圖書館 / 图书馆
tou⁴ syu¹ gun²
The Cantonese word for library is 圖書館 / 图书馆 (tou⁴ syu¹ gun²).
圖書館 / 图书馆 refers to an institution that holds books, etc.
Meaning: institution which holds books, etc. (noun)
What does it mean word for word?
The term is composed of 圖 (map/diagram/drawing), 書 (book) and 館 (building/establishment/hall).
How do you pronounce it?
tou⁴ syu¹ gun²
Did you know?
- The character 圖 can mean 'map' or 'picture', reflecting an ancient tradition where libraries were primarily repositories for scrolls of maps and drawings rather than just text.
- The character 館 (gun²) is used in many Cantonese words for specific types of buildings, such as 'hotel' or 'restaurant', treating a library as a specialized service establishment.
- In some formal Cantonese contexts, a library may be called a 藏書樓, which translates to 'book collection building' and evokes the architecture of traditional Chinese tower libraries.
Examples in context
- 請問圖書館喺邊度？Excuse me, where is the library?
- 我好鍾意去圖書館喎！I love going to the library
Sources
- Wiktionary, “library” translations, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
