的士
The English word taxi is said in Cantonese as 的士. Wiktionary also lists 計程車 / 计程车 (gai³ cing⁴ ce¹) and 出租車 / 出租车 (ceot¹ zou¹ ce¹).
Meaning: vehicle available for public hire (noun)
Ways to say it
| Cantonese | Romanization (Wiktionary) |
|---|---|
| 的士 | |
| 計程車 / 计程车 | gai³ cing⁴ ce¹ |
| 出租車 / 出租车 | ceot¹ zou¹ ce¹ |
| 老的 | lou⁵ dik¹ |
The term refers to a vehicle available for public hire. To say you are taking a taxi, you can use the verb 搭 (daap3) with 的士 to form 搭的士. If you are physically hailing or signaling a taxi on the street, use the verb 攔 (laan4) with 的士 to form 攔的士.
What does it mean word for word?
的士 is a phonetic loanword from the English word 'taxi'.
Which one should you use?
計程車 is a formal term for a taxi, but it is much more common in Mandarin-speaking regions like Taiwan than in daily Hong Kong Cantonese speech. 出租車 is another term for a taxi. 老的 is a way to refer to a taxi.
Is there a formal and an informal way to say it?
的士 is the standard colloquial way to say taxi in Hong Kong Cantonese. 計程車 is a formal way to say taxi.
Did you know?
- In Hong Kong, the color of a 的士 tells you where it can go. Red taxis can travel anywhere, while green ones are restricted to the New Territories and blue ones only serve Lantau Island.
- When talking about the price of a 的士 ride, Cantonese speakers often refer to the 'meter' as 跳錶 (tziu3 biu2), which literally means 'jumping clock'.
- While 的士 sounds like 'taxi', the individual characters used are 的 and 士, which translates to 'the' and 'soldier' or 'scholar' if read separately.
Examples in context
- 我等緊的士。I was waiting for a taxi.This sentence shows how to express waiting for a taxi using 的士.Tatoeba #5221162 by kaenif, translation #254932 by CK
- 佢係咪的士司機嚟㗎？Is she a taxi driver?This sentence uses 的士 to ask about a taxi driver.Tatoeba #575550 by nickyeow, translation #311544 by CK
- 我舉高咗隻手嚟截的士。I held up my hand to stop a taxi.This sentence demonstrates the action of hailing a taxi using 的士.Tatoeba #612060 by nickyeow, translation #40936 by CK
- 我要叫車去機場。I want to call a taxi to the airport.
- 5 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
A couple is standing on a busy street corner at night.
- 子健 Tsz Kin等呢度好難搵到的士。dang2 ni1 dou6 hou2 naan4 wan2 dou2 dik1 si2.It is very hard to find a taxi here.
- 曉彤 Hiu Tung不如我哋行去條大街度？bat1 jyu4 ngo5 dei6 haang4 heoi3 tiu4 daai6 gaai1 dou6?Why don't we walk to the main street?
- 子健 Tsz Kin好呀，睇下嗰邊有無的士。hou2 aa3, tai2 haa5 go2 bin1 jau5 mou5 dik1 si2.Okay, let's see if there are any taxis over there.
- 曉彤 Hiu Tung子健，快啲啦，好夜呀。zi2 gin3, faai3 di1 laa1, hou2 je6 aa3.Zi Kin, hurry up, it is very late.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “taxi” translations, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
