Characters and Written Cantonese
Peek at how characters are built, and how everyday Cantonese is written.
Characters & Radicals
Cantonese is written with characters, and characters are often built from smaller parts called radicals. Put a few together and a brand-new word appears!
木Tree+木Tree=林Woods
Sound Radicals
Some radicals even hint at the sound. In maa1 (, mom), the horse () gives the sound and the woman () gives the meaning.
Cantonese Has Its Own Words
The Cantonese in this app is written the way people really speak it. Standard written Chinese uses different characters for these same everyday words.
Cantonese · Mandarin
is是
not不
he, she他
You Can Start Reading!
You did it! You know how jyutping spells sounds, how the six tones shape words, and how characters are built. Now the real fun begins.