0 to 10
| Digit | Cantonese | Jyutping | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0 | 零 | ling4 | |
| 1 | 一 | jat1 | checked tone (-t) |
| 2 | 二 | ji6 | but see 兩 below! |
| 3 | 三 | saam1 | |
| 4 | 四 | sei3 | |
| 5 | 五 | ng5 | |
| 6 | 六 | luk6 | |
| 7 | 七 | cat1 | checked tone (-t) |
| 8 | 八 | baat3 | checked tone (-t) |
| 9 | 九 | gau2 | |
| 10 | 十 | sap6 | checked tone (-p) |
二 vs 兩 — the two "twos"
二 (ji6) is the digit "2" — used in counting, ordinals, and compound numbers (二十 = twenty). 兩 (loeng5) means "a couple of / two (items)" — used before classifiers when counting things:
| Cantonese | Jyutping | English | Why |
|---|---|---|---|
| 二十 | ji6 sap6 | twenty | digit in a number → 二 |
| 第二 | dai6 ji6 | second / number two | ordinal → 二 |
| 二樓 | ji6 lau4 | second floor | ordinal-ish → 二 |
| 兩個人 | loeng5 go3 jan4 | two people | counting items → 兩 |
| 兩杯茶 | loeng5 bui1 caa4 | two cups of tea | before classifier → 兩 |
| 兩點 | loeng5 dim2 | two o'clock | telling time → 兩 |
Compound numbers: 十一 to 一萬
| Number | Cantonese | Jyutping | Pattern |
|---|---|---|---|
| 11 | 十一 | sap6 jat1 | ten-one |
| 15 | 十五 | sap6 ng5 | ten-five |
| 20 | 二十 | ji6 sap6 | two-ten |
| 25 | 廿五 | jaa6 ng5 | 廿 jaa6 = fast "twenty"! |
| 30 | 三十 | saam1 sap6 | three-ten |
| 99 | 九十九 | gau2 sap6 gau2 | nine-ten-nine |
| 100 | 一百 | jat1 baak3 | one-hundred |
| 150 | 一百五(十) | jat1 baak3 ng5 (sap6) | hundred-five-(ten) |
| 1,000 | 一千 | jat1 cin1 | one-thousand |
| 10,000 | 一萬 | jat1 maan6 | ten-thousand is ONE unit (萬), not "ten thousand" |
Two HK shorthand forms you'll hear at shops:
- 廿 (jaa6) = twenty: 廿一 = 21, 廿五 = 25. Written on menus everywhere.
- 卅 (saa1) = thirty: 卅五 = 35.
Spoken shortcut: when 廿/卅 is followed by another digit, speakers often insert a little 呀 (aa3) glide — 廿呀五 sounds like "jaa6-aa3-ng5". Just recognize it; you can still say plain 廿五.
Telling time
The pattern: number + 點 (+ 分) — hours in 點 dim2, minutes in 分 fan1:
| Cantonese | Jyutping | English | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| 三點 | saam1 dim2 | 3 o'clock | |
| 兩點半 | loeng5 dim2 bun3 | half past two | 半 = half |
| 四點一刻 | sei3 dim2 jat1 hak1 | quarter past four | 一刻 = quarter (also 骨 gwat1 colloq.) |
| 五點三個字 | ng5 dim2 saam1 go3 zi6 | 5:15 | 個字 = 5-min marks on clock |
| 六點四十五分 | luk6 dim2 sei3 sap6 ng5 fan1 | 6:45 | |
| 而家幾點? | ji4 gaa1 gei2 dim2 | what time is it now? |
Days, dates, months
| Cantonese | Jyutping | English | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| 星期一 | sing1 kei4 jat1 | Monday | 星期 + number; Sunday = 星期日/星期天 |
| 星期日 | sing1 kei4 jat6 | Sunday | |
| 一月 | jat1 jyut6 | January | number + 月 |
| 三月五號 | saam1 jyut6 ng5 hou6 | March 5th | spoken date: month + 月 + day + 號 |
| 聽日 | ting1 jat6 | tomorrow | colloquial |
| 後日 | hau6 jat6 | day after tomorrow | |
| 上星期 | soeng6 sing1 kei4 | last week | 下星期 = next week |
| 今日幾號? | gam1 jat6 gei2 hou6 | what's today's date? | |
| 二樓 / 2/F | ji6 lau4 | second floor (HK style) | HK floors count British-style: 1/F = US 2nd floor, 2/F = US 3rd |
Prices and money
HK currency: 蚊 (man1) = dollar(s) in speech — 一百蚊 = HK$100. The formal unit is 圓/港元 but everyone says 蚊:
幾多錢?
Pronunciation gei2 do1 cin2
how much is it? (literally "how-much money")
五十蚊
Pronunciation ng5 sap6 man1
50 dollars
兩百五十蚊
Pronunciation loeng5 baak3 ng5 sap6 man1
250 dollars
before 百/千/萬, spoken Cantonese prefers 兩
貴
Pronunciation gwai3
expensive
平
Pronunciation peng4
cheap
免費
Pronunciation min5 fai3
free (no charge)
Mini practice
"Two cups of tea" — 二杯 or 兩杯?
兩杯 (loeng5 bui1) — counting items before a classifier takes 兩. 二 is the digit (twenty = 二十).
What does 廿 mean on a menu?
Twenty: 廿五 = 25, 廿蚊 = 20 dollars. A HK shorthand everywhere in prices.
How do you say "what time is it now?"
而家幾點? (ji4 gaa1 gei2 dim2).
一萬 = how much?
10,000 — Chinese counts in 萬 (ten-thousand units), not thousands. 三萬 = 30,000.
蚊 in 五十蚊 means…?
Dollar(s) — the spoken HK dollar unit. 一百蚊 = HK$100.
