HKDictionary

Your Daily Routine in Cantonese

The fastest way to make new vocabulary stick is to attach it to things you already do every day. Narrate your own morning in Cantonese with the verbs below — each one links to a full entry with audio and example sentences.

heiˊ²起sanˉ¹身
(Cant.) To wake up, to waken, to arise in the morning. If you do this bleary eyed and feeling suicidally awful then you have something in common with this editor. | Mand.: 起床
saiˊ²洗minˍ₆面
to wash one's face. Mand.: 洗臉
caat˗₃刷ngaaˎ₄牙
to brush one's teeth
cungˉ¹沖loengˎ₄涼
(Cant. & PRC) to take a cold shower
saiˊ²洗tauˎ₄頭
to shampoo, to have a shampoo, to wash one's hair [Syn.]: 洗髮
sikˍ₆食faanˍ₆飯
Can be used by overly enthusiastic relatives to urge you to fill your belly.
faanˉ¹返gungˉ¹工
redo a job that has been poorly done
fong˗₃放gungˉ¹工
to come off work; to get off work; to stop work for the day; to knock off work | Syn.: 收工 | Std. Chin.: 下班
faanˉ¹返hokˍ₆學
to go to school | Std. Chin.: 去學校; 上課
zyuˊ²煮faanˍ₆飯
to cook rice; to cook [華]: 做飯
瞓覺
to sleep

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Frequently asked questions

How do you say to take a shower in Cantonese?

沖涼 (cung1 loeng4), literally rinse cool. Standard Mandarin uses 洗澡 instead.

What is the difference between 起身 and 起床?

Both mean getting up. 起身 (hei2 san1) is the everyday spoken Cantonese form; 起床 (hei2 cong4) is the written-standard one.

How do you say to go to work in Cantonese?

返工 (faan1 gung1). Knocking off at the end of the day is 放工 (fong3 gung1).

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