豉油
si⁶ jau⁴
Soy sauce in Cantonese is 豉油 (si⁶ jau⁴). Wiktionary also lists 抽油 and 白油.
Meaning: a condiment and ingredient made from fermented soybeans (noun)
Ways to say it
| Cantonese | Romanization (Wiktionary) |
|---|---|
| 豉油 | si⁶ jau⁴ |
| 抽油 | |
| 白油 | |
| 醬油 / 酱油 | zoeng³ jau⁴ |
Soy sauce is a condiment and ingredient made from fermented soybeans.
What does it mean word for word?
The term 豉油 is composed of 豉, meaning fermented black beans and 油, meaning oil or liquid.
Which one should you use?
豉油 is the most common colloquial term used in Cantonese. In contrast, 醬油 is a more formal or standard term. If you need to be more specific about the type of soy sauce, you can use 生抽 for light soy sauce or 老抽 for dark soy sauce.
How do you pronounce it?
si⁶ jau⁴
Did you know?
- In Cantonese, the word for 'oil' 油 is used in 豉油 to describe the liquid, even though soy sauce contains no actual oil. This usage extends to other liquid condiments that have a smooth or glossy appearance.
- If you use the term 白油 to mean 'white soy sauce', a Cantonese speaker might think you are asking for industrial petroleum jelly or white grease.
- In Cantonese, the distinction between light soy sauce 生抽 and dark soy sauce 老抽 relies on the character 生, which means 'raw' or 'fresh', and 老, which means 'old'.
Examples in context
- 我想買一樽豉油。ngo5 soeng2 maai5 jat1 zeon1 si2 jau1.I want to buy a bottle of soy sauce.
- 呢個菜唔夠豉油味。ni1 go3 coi3 m4 gau3 si2 jau1 mei6.This dish doesn't have enough soy sauce flavor.
- 喺超市買豉油好方便。hai2 caa1 soeng5 maai5 si2 jau1 hou2 fong1 bin6.It is very convenient to buy soy sauce at the supermarket.
Example conversation
Zhiqiang and Meiling are cooking dinner together.
- 志強 Chi Keung美玲，你見唔見豉油？Mei4 ling4, nei5 gin3 m4 gin3 si3 jau4?Meiling, do you see the soy sauce?
- 美玲 Mei Ling喺個櫃入面呀。hai2 go3 gwai3 jap6 min6 aa3.It's inside the cabinet.
- 志強 Chi Keung我搵唔到，唔知去咗邊。ngo5 wan2 m4 dou2, m4 zi1 heoi3 zo2 bin1.I can't find it, I don't know where it went.
- 美玲 Mei Ling我幫你攞豉油啦。ngo5 bong1 nei5 lo2 si3 jau4 laa1.I will get the soy sauce for you.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “soy sauce” translations, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
