鳳凰城 / 凤凰城
fung⁶ wong⁴ sing⁶
The phrase phoenix refers to the capital city of Arizona, United States, in Cantonese. The default form is 鳳凰城 / 凤凰城 (fung⁶ wong⁴ sing⁶). Wiktionary also lists 斐匿 (fei¹ nik⁶).
Meaning: capital city of Arizona, United States (noun)
Ways to say it
| Cantonese | Romanization (Wiktionary) | Note |
|---|---|---|
| 鳳凰城 / 凤凰城 | fung⁶ wong⁴ sing⁶ | |
| 斐匿 | fei¹ nik⁶ | dated |
What does it mean word for word?
The character 鳳 means phoenix and the character 凰 means female phoenix.
Which one should you use?
The standard name for the city is 鳳凰城 / 凤凰城. You may encounter the form 斐匿, but this is a dated way of transliterating the name.
How do you pronounce it?
fung⁶ wong⁴ sing⁶
Did you know?
- In Cantonese culture, the 'phoenix' is not a single creature that rises from ashes, but a pair of birds representing a cosmic balance. Using the full term 鳳凰 instead of just one character invokes the idea of a perfect union.
- In Cantonese, the mythical 'phoenix' is often paired with the 'dragon' 龍 to symbolize the perfect marriage of a husband and wife.
- The phrase 鳳凰 is used in the Cantonese idiom 鳳凰之姿 to describe someone with an elegant and noble bearing.
Example sentences for Cantonese are not verified yet.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “phoenix” translations, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
