粥
zuk¹
In Cantonese, porridge can be translated as 粥 (zuk¹) or 麥片 / 麦片 depending on the type of grain.
Meaning: breakfast cereal dish (noun)
Ways to say it
| Cantonese | Romanization (Wiktionary) |
|---|---|
| 粥 | zuk¹ |
| 麥片 / 麦片 |
The term 粥 is used for rice-based congee. When describing the act of eating this dish, the verb 食 is used with 粥 to form the phrase 食粥 (to eat congee).
Which one should you use?
The two terms are not interchangeable. 粥 refers specifically to a rice-based congee. In contrast, 麥片 / 麦片 refers to grain-based cereals, such as oatmeal.
How do you pronounce it?
The pronunciation is zuk¹.
Did you know?
- The word 粥 is also the root of the Cantonese term for 'slop' or 'mush' used to describe something of poor quality or texture.
- In Hong Kong, 粥 (congee) is often served in 'tea restaurants' (Cha Chaan Tengs) with a side of 'youtiao', which are deep-fried dough sticks used for dipping.
- The character for 粥 contains the 'rice' radical 米 on the left, visually indicating that the dish is grain-based.
Examples in context
- 你有冇生滾粥？nei5 jau5 mou5 saang1 gat2 zaau1?Do you have any freshly cooked porridge?
Example conversation
A man and a woman are deciding what to eat for breakfast at a local shop.
- 雅婷 Nga Ting志強，你想食咩早餐？zi3 koeng4, nei5 soeng2 sik6 me1 zou2 caan1?Chi Keung, what do you want for breakfast?
- 志強 Chi Keung我想食魚粥。ngo5 soeng2 sik6 jyu2 zaau1.I want to eat fish porridge.
- 雅婷 Nga Ting好呀，一齊食粥啦。hou2 aa3, jat1 cai4 sik6 zaau1 laa1.Okay, let's eat porridge together.
- 志強 Chi Keung雅婷，等陣我請你。nga5 ting4, dang2 zan6 ngo5 cing2 nei5.Ya Ting, I will treat you later.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “porridge” translations, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
