豆腐
dau⁶ fu⁶
The English phrase "tofu" is 豆腐 (dau⁶ fu⁶) in Cantonese.
豆腐 refers to the protein-rich food made from curdled soy milk. To specify a preparation method, such as "fried tofu", you can add the verb 炸 (zaa3, to fry) before the word, resulting in 炸豆腐.
Meaning: protein-rich food made from curdled soy milk (noun)
What does it mean word for word?
The word is composed of the characters for 豆 (dau⁶), meaning soybean and 腐 (fu⁶), meaning rotten or decayed.
How do you pronounce it?
dau⁶ fu⁶
Did you know?
- The word 豆腐腦 (dau⁶ fu⁶ nou²), meaning 'tofu brain', refers to a soft, custard-like tofu pudding eaten as a snack or breakfast.
- The character 腐 (fu6) is also used in the word for 'corrupt' or 'decaying' in a moral sense, linking the physical state of the food to a person's character in certain formal contexts.
- The character 豆 (dau⁶) in 豆腐 originally depicted a vessel for cooking beans, not the bean itself.
Examples in context
Example conversation
Two friends are deciding what to cook for dinner.
- 雅婷 Nga Ting我想煮豆腐，你鍾唔鍾意食？ngo5 soeng2 zyu2 dau3 fu3, nei5 zung1 m4 zung1 ji3 sik6?I want to cook tofu, do you like eating it?
- 子健 Tsz Kin我好鍾意，用煎嘅方法會更好味。ngo5 hou2 zung1 ji3, jung6 zin1 ge3 fang1 faat3 wui5 gang3 hou2 mei6.I love it, it will taste better if it's pan-fried.
- 雅婷 Nga Ting好，咁我而家去買豆腐。hou2, gam2 ngo5 ji4 gaa1 heoi3 maai5 dau3 fu3.Okay, I'll go buy the tofu now.
- 子健 Tsz Kin唔該你，記得買嫩啲嗰隻。m4 goi1 nei5, gik3 zing6 maai5 nan6 di1 go3 zak1.Thanks, remember to buy the softer kind.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “tofu” translations, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
