海豹
hoi² paau³
In Cantonese, 'seal' (the pinniped animal) is referred to as 海豹 (hoi² paau³). Wiktionary also lists 海狗 (hoi² gau²).
Meaning: pinniped (noun)
Ways to say it
| Cantonese | Romanization (Wiktionary) |
|---|---|
| 海豹 | hoi² paau³ |
| 海狗 | hoi² gau² |
When referring to the animal, you can use two different terms depending on whether you are being general or specific. 海豹 is the standard term for the general category of seals, while 海狗 is frequently used to refer to sea lions or fur seals.
What does it mean word for word?
The term 海豹 is a compound of 海 (sea) and 豹 (leopard), literally meaning 'sea leopard'. The term 海狗 is a compound of 海 (sea) and 狗 (dog), literally meaning 'sea dog'.
Which one should you use?
海豹 is the more common and formal term for the general category of seals. In contrast, 海狗 is often used colloquially or to specifically describe sea lions and fur seals.
How do you pronounce it?
hoi² paau³
Did you know?
- In Cantonese, the word 豹 is used in the phrase 豹頭豹面 to describe someone with a fierce or intimidating facial expression.
- The word 海 (sea) is shared with Japanese and Korean in these animal names, as all three languages used the same Chinese characters to categorize marine mammals.
- While English uses 'seal' for both the animal and the stamp, Cantonese uses entirely different characters for the pinniped 海豹 and a legal seal 印章.
Examples in context
- 那隻海豹好可愛。no5 zek3 hoi2 baau3 hou2 ho2 oi3.That seal is so cute.
- 海豹喺水入面游。hoi2 baau3 hai2 seoi2 jap6 min6 jau4.The seal is swimming in the water.
- 我喺水族館見到海豹。ngo5 hai2 seoi2 zuk6 gun2 gin3 dou2 hoi2 baau3.I saw a seal at the aquarium.
Example conversation
Two friends are visiting an aquarium.
- 志強 Chi Keung雅婷，你睇下嗰隻海豹！aa2 ting4, nei5 tai2 haa6 go2 zek3 hoi2 bou3!Ya Ting, look at that seal!
- 雅婷 Nga Ting佢游得好快呀。keoi5 jau4 dak1 hou2 faai3 aa3.It swims very fast.
- 志強 Chi Keung海豹真係好聰明。hoi2 bou3 zan1 hai6 hou2 cung1 ming4.Seals are really smart.
- 雅婷 Nga Ting係呀，我好鍾意佢哋。hai6 aa3, ngo5 hou2 zung1 ji3 keoi5 dei6.Yes, I like them very much.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “seal” translations, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
