羊
joeng⁴
The English word sheep is translated into Cantonese as 羊 (joeng⁴). Wiktionary also lists 綿羊 / 绵羊 and 羊咩 (joeng⁴ me¹).
Meaning: animal (noun)
Ways to say it
| Cantonese | Romanization (Wiktionary) |
|---|---|
| 羊 | joeng⁴ |
| 綿羊 / 绵羊 | |
| 羊咩 | joeng⁴ me¹ |
羊 is a generic term that can refer to sheep, goats or rams depending on context.
Which one should you use?
The term 綿羊 specifically refers to sheep that produce wool, distinguishing them from goats. 羊咩 is another way to express the concept of a sheep.
How do you pronounce it?
joeng⁴
Did you know?
- The term 羊咩 is an example of an onomatopoeia. The 咩 part mimics the sound a sheep makes, which is similar to the 'baa' sound in English.
- The character 羊 is a pictograph that originally looked like a drawing of a horned animal. Over centuries, the drawing was stylized into the current character used in Cantonese.
- While 綿羊 refers to woolly sheep, the word 綿 also means 'soft' or 'cotton'. The name literally describes the animal as having 'cotton-like' hair.
Examples in context
- 嗰隻羊好可愛。go2 zek3 joeng4 hou2 ho2 oi3.That sheep is very cute.
Example conversation
A young man and woman are looking at a picture book in a library.
- 俊傑 Chun Kit雅婷，你睇呢隻羊。aa5 ting4, nei5 tai2 ni1 zek3 joeng4.雅婷, look at this sheep.
- 雅婷 Nga Ting真係好白呀。zan1 hai6 hou2 baak6 aa3.It really is very white.
- 俊傑 Chun Kit佢啲毛好軟。keoi5 di1 mou4 hou2 jyun5.Its fur is very soft.
- 雅婷 Nga Ting俊傑，我想養一隻。zeon3 kit6, ngo5 soeng2 joeng5 jat1 zek3.俊傑, I want to raise one.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “sheep” translations, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
