祈禱 / 祈祷
kei⁴ tou²
The Cantonese word for pray is 祈禱 / 祈祷 (kei⁴ tou²).
The term 祈禱 is a formal verb used specifically in religious contexts to describe the act of praying to a deity.
Meaning: to talk to God (verb)
Is it said differently in some regions?
In Guangzhou, the phrase 祈福 is often used in religious contexts to mean "to pray for blessings".
How does it change in a sentence?
To express the continuous action of praying, you can add the aspect marker 緊 after the verb.
How do you pronounce it?
The romanization is kei⁴ tou².
Did you know?
- In many Cantonese-speaking communities, 'praying' is often expressed through the act of 'burning incense' or 燒香, which is a physical ritual that serves as the functional equivalent of prayer in Taoist or Buddhist practices.
- The word 祈 is shared with Japanese 'ki' in certain religious contexts, showing how ancient written scripts influenced prayer terminology across East Asia.
- A person might say they are 拜神 to mean they are praying, but this literally translates to 'worshipping a god', making it the most common way to describe the activity in daily life.
Example sentences for Cantonese are not verified yet.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “pray” translations, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
