好夢
hou2 mung6
The Cantonese phrase for "sweet dreams" is 好夢 (hou2 mung6).
The phrase 好夢 is used to wish someone good dreams. You can also use the more complete expression 做個好夢 to mean "have a good dream".
Meaning: sweet dreams (phrase)
What does it mean word for word?
好夢 is composed of 好 (hou2) meaning 'good' and 夢 (mung6) meaning 'dream'.
Which one should you use?
While 好夢 translates to "good dreams", the phrase 做個好夢 (zou6 go3 hou2 mung6) is a more complete way to express the sentiment, literally meaning "have a good dream".
How do you pronounce it?
hou2 mung6
Did you know?
- In Cantonese culture, discussing dreams can be superstitious, as certain types of dreams are believed to be omens of future events rather than just subconscious thoughts.
- The character 好 in 好夢 is a compound of the characters for 'woman' and 'child', visually representing the idea of 'goodness' through the image of a mother and her baby.
- The verb used in the full expression, 做 (zou6), literally means 'to do' or 'to make', which makes the phrase 'have a dream' sound more like an active task in Cantonese.
Examples in context
- 祝你做個好夢。zuk1 nei5 zou6 go3 hou2 mung6.I wish you sweet dreams.
- 聽日見，做個好夢。ting1 jat6 gin3, zou6 go3 hou2 mung6.See you tomorrow, sweet dreams.
Example conversation
A father says goodnight to his daughter.
- 俊傑 Chun Kit嘉欣，到時間瞓覺喇。gaa1 hei1, dou3 si4 gaan1 fan3 gaau3 laa3.Ka Yan, it's time to go to sleep.
- 嘉欣 Ka Yan好嘅，爸爸早娑。hou2 ge3, baa6 baa1 zou2 maan4.Okay, goodnight daddy.
- 俊傑 Chun Kit好夢，聽日見。hou2 mung6, ting1 jat6 gin3.Sweet dreams, see you tomorrow.
- 嘉欣 Ka Yan你都係一樣，早娑！nei5 dou1 si6 jat1 joeng6, zou2 maan4!You too, goodnight!
