紙巾 / 纸巾
zi² gan¹
The English phrase 'tissue' is 紙巾 / 纸巾 (zi² gan¹) in Cantonese.
The term 紙巾 / 纸巾 is used generally to refer to any sheet of absorbent paper, such as a paper towel or a tissue.
Meaning: sheet of absorbent paper (noun)
What does it mean word for word?
The word 紙巾 / 纸巾 is composed of 紙 (paper) and 巾 (towel/cloth).
Which one should you use?
While 紙巾 / 纸巾 is a general term for any paper tissue, 面紙 (literally 'face paper') specifically refers to facial tissues found in boxes. Additionally, you can specify a wet wipe by adding 濕 (wet) to the front of the phrase to make it 濕紙巾.
How do you pronounce it?
zi² gan¹
Did you know?
- The character 巾 in 紙巾 originally referred to a piece of cloth or a headscarf, showing how the concept of a 'towel' evolved from fabric to paper.
- While 紙巾 means 'paper towel', if you ask for a 'towel' in a restaurant using the word 巾, they might actually bring you a reusable cloth towel instead of paper.
- While 紙巾 is the standard term, people often use the word 紙 ('paper') alone when asking for a tissue in casual settings.
Examples in context
- 唔該，我要買一包面紙。Excuse me, I'd like to buy a pack of facial tissue.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “tissue” translations, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
