How to Say "Mouse" in Cantonese

老鼠

lou⁵ syu²

The English word mouse is 老鼠 (lou⁵ syu²) in Cantonese.

老鼠 refers to a rodent of the genus Mus.

Meaning: rodent of the genus Mus (noun)

What does it mean word for word?

The term 老鼠 is composed of 老 (old) and 鼠 (rodent/mouse).

When counting mice, the standard classifier used is 隻.

The romanization is lou⁵ syu².

In traditional Cantonese culture, seeing a 老鼠 in the house is sometimes interpreted as a sign of coming wealth, as mice only stay where there is food.
When referring to a computer mouse, Cantonese speakers use 滑鼠, which literally translates to 'sliding mouse'.
The character 鼠 is a pictograph that originally looked like a rodent with a long tail and whiskers.

隻貓食咗隻老鼠。
The cat ate the mouse.
The sentence is useful for showing a cat eating a 老鼠.
Tatoeba #4826809 by kaenif, translation #1078048 by keira_n
佢依家成隻老鼠咁匿埋。
Now, he's hiding like a mouse.
The sentence shows someone hiding like a 老鼠.
Tatoeba #5221232 by kaenif, translation #1805350 by Amastan
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.
The sentence uses 老鼠 in the context of a scientific study regarding mice.
Tatoeba #12908323 by Matthewyau1367, translation #12257840 by Cangarejo
你有冇見過呢隻老鼠？好可愛架！
Have you ever seen this mouse? It's so adorable!

A man and a woman are talking in their kitchen.

家明 Ka Ming

廚房有一隻老鼠。
cyu4 fong4 jau5 jat1 zek3 lou5 syu2.
There is a mouse in the kitchen.
雅婷 Nga Ting

係咪真㗎？
hai6 mai6 zan1 gaa3?
Are you serious?
家明 Ka Ming

係呀，我啱啱見到佢。
hai6 aa3, ngo5 ngaam1 ngaam1 gin3 dou2 keoi5.
Yes, I just saw it.
雅婷 Nga Ting

真係好驚呀。
zan1 hai6 hou2 geng1 aa3.
I am really scared.

Sources

⭐Share⭐ to appreciate human effort 🙏