三藩市
saam¹ faan⁴ si⁵
In Cantonese, San Francisco is referred to as 三藩市 (saam¹ faan⁴ si⁵) or 舊金山. Wiktionary also lists 舊金山 / 旧金山 (gau⁶ gam¹ saan¹).
Meaning: city in California (name)
Ways to say it
| Cantonese | Romanization (Wiktionary) |
|---|---|
| 三藩市 | saam¹ faan⁴ si⁵ |
| 舊金山 / 旧金山 | gau⁶ gam¹ saan¹ |
The name of this city in California can be expressed using a phonetic transliteration or a name influenced by Mandarin.
What does it mean word for word?
In the term 三藩市, the characters provide a phonetic approximation of the name, while 市 means 'city' and is appended to the end.
Which one should you use?
三藩市 is the phonetic transliteration commonly used in spoken Cantonese. In contrast, 舊金山 is the standard name used in Mandarin and is often encountered in formal Cantonese contexts or news reporting.
How does it change in a sentence?
When naming foreign cities, it is common in Cantonese to append the word for 'city' (市) to the phonetic transliteration.
How do you pronounce it?
saam¹ faan⁴ si⁵
Did you know?
- The term 舊金山 literally translates to 'Old Gold Mountain'. This name dates back to the California Gold Rush when Chinese migrants viewed the city as a place to seek fortune.
- While 三藩市 is a phonetic approximation, it does not sound like the Spanish 'San Francisco' but rather mimics the English pronunciation of the city.
- The character 三 in 三藩市 means 'three', which can make the phonetic name look like a mathematical expression to an untrained eye.
Examples in context
- 我哋上嘅嗰架飛機係去三藩市嘅。The plane we boarded was bound for San Francisco.The sentence is useful for describing a plane's destination using 三藩市.Tatoeba #10645881 by clowergen, translation #247285 by CN
- 你鍾唔鍾意三藩市呀？Do you like San Francisco?The sentence is useful for asking about someone's preference for 三藩市.Tatoeba #2219195 by aruhito, translation #70049 by CK
- 三藩市嘅天氣好涼。saam1 faan1 si5 ge3 tin1 hei3 hou2 loeng4.The weather in San Francisco is very cool.
Example conversation
Two friends are talking about their future travel plans.
- 嘉欣 Ka Yan你假期打算去邊度？nei5 gaa3 kei4 da2 syun3 heoi3 bin1 dou6?Where are you planning to go for the holiday?
- 俊傑 Chun Kit我諗住去三藩市睇下。ngo5 nam2 zyu6 heoi3 saam1 faan1 si5 tai2 haa5.I'm thinking of visiting San Francisco.
- 嘉欣 Ka Yan三藩市好靚，好值得去。saam1 faan1 si5 hou2 leng3, hou2 zik1 dak1 heoi3.San Francisco is beautiful and well worth visiting.
- 俊傑 Chun Kit係呀，所以我好期待。hai6 aa3, so2 ji5 ngo5 hou2 kei4 doi6.Yes, that's why I'm looking forward to it.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “san francisco” translations, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
