湯 / 汤
tong¹
The English word "soup" is 湯 / 汤 (tong¹) in Cantonese.
In Cantonese, the word for soup refers specifically to liquid-based dishes, often including slow-cooked medicinal or meat-based broths.
Meaning: dish (noun)
Is it said differently in some regions?
In Hong Kong, the term 上湯 (soeng tōng) is commonly used to refer to a clear soup or broth. In Guangzhou, the term 糖水 (tòng séui) is often used to refer to a sweet soup, such as a dessert soup.
How do you pronounce it?
tong¹
Did you know?
- Many Cantonese soups are designed to be 'cooling' or 'heating' to balance the body's internal temperature according to traditional medicine.
- Because 湯 is so central to the diet, some Hong Kong residents visit specialized 'sweet soup' shops specifically as a late-night social activity.
- The word for sweet soup, 糖水 (tòng séui), literally translates to 'sugar water', though it refers to complex, cooked desserts.
Examples in context
- 飲湯 / 饮汤to drink soup
Sources
- Wiktionary, “soup” translations, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
