The Ultimate Guide To Jyutping Pronunciation (For Beginners)
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Unlike English or Spanish, Cantonese uses a logographic writing system.
This means the characters (Hanzi) represent meaning, not sound.
You can’t just “sound it out” by looking at the strokes.
So, how do beginners learn to pronounce words?
We use a system called Jyutping.
If you want to speak clear, understandable Cantonese, mastering Jyutping is your first and most important step. It is the map that tells you exactly how to navigate the complex sounds and tones of the language.
In this guide, I’ll break down exactly what Jyutping is, how to read it, and most importantly, how to master those tricky Cantonese tones.
Table of Contents:
What is Jyutping?
Jyutping (粵拼) stands for Jyutjyu Pinyin (Cantonese Romanization).
It is a system that uses the standard Roman alphabet (A, B, C…) and numbers to represent the sounds of Cantonese. It was developed by the Linguistic Society of Hong Kong (LSHK) in 1993.
Think of it as the Cantonese version of Hanyu Pinyin for Mandarin, but with some very important differences.
Why do you need it?
- Pronunciation: It breaks down the sound of a character into an Initial (consonant), a Final (vowel/ending), and a Tone (pitch).
- Typing: It is the most common input method for typing Cantonese on computers and smartphones.
- Dictionary lookups: It allows you to use online dictionaries to find the meaning of words.
Understanding the 6 Cantonese tones
This is the part that scares most new learners. But don’t worry!
Cantonese is a tonal language. This means that changing the pitch of your voice changes the meaning of the word entirely.
While some people say there are nine tones, in modern usage, there are 6 distinct tones. In Jyutping, these are represented by the numbers 1 through 6 at the end of a syllable.
Here is a breakdown of the 6 tones:
| Tone Number | Description | Pitch Contour | Example (Jyutping) | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | High Flat / High Falling | High | si1 | Poem / Silk |
| 2 | Medium Rising | Rising (like asking “Huh?“) | si2 | History |
| 3 | Mid Flat | Middle (steady) | si3 | To try |
| 4 | Low Falling | Very low (dropping slightly) | si4 | Time |
| 5 | Low Rising | Low to Middle | si5 | Market |
| 6 | Low Flat | Low (steady) | si6 | Matter / Yes |
How to visualize the tones
To help you remember, here is a simple way to think about the pitch:
- Tone 1 (si1): High and steady. Imagine a flat line at the top of a graph.
- Tone 2 (si2): Rising. It sounds like you are asking a question in English. “Really?”
- Tone 3 (si3): Mid flat. It’s a boring, standard pitch. Not high, not low.
- Tone 4 (si4): Low falling. It starts low and drops. It sounds like a deep sigh.
- Tone 5 (si5): Low rising. Start deep and go up slightly.
- Tone 6 (si6): Low flat. Just a relaxed, low voice.
Here is an example of how tones change meaning in a sentence context:
Ngo5 soeng2 maai5 si1, m4 hai6 si3 si2.
Tricky initials and finals
While the tones get all the attention, the actual sounds (initials and finals) can be tricky for English speakers too.
The difference between aspirated and unaspirated
In Jyutping, the letters b and p, d and t, and g and k represent similar sounds, but the difference is the “puff of air” (aspiration).
- b, d, g (Unaspirated): These sounds are soft. You do not release a puff of air.
- baa1 sounds like the ‘p’ in “spa” (not the ‘b’ in “bat”).
- p, t, k (Aspirated): These are hard sounds with a strong puff of air.
- paa1 sounds like the ‘p’ in “park”.
The ‘NG’ sound
This is very common in Cantonese but hard for English speakers to say at the start of a word. It sounds like the end of the English word “sing”.
Ngo5
To practice, try saying “sing-o” and then drop the “si”.
The stop endings (-p, -t, -k)
When a word ends in p, t, or k (like sap6, baat3, bak1), you do not fully pronounce the letter. You “clip” the sound short.
Imagine you are about to say “cup”, but you close your mouth just before the ‘p’ sound comes out. That is a Cantonese stop ending.
| Ending | English Approx. | Note |
|---|---|---|
| -p | Cup | Close lips abruptly. |
| -t | Cat | Tongue taps roof of mouth, sound stops instantly. |
| -k | Back | Throat closes to stop the sound. |
Jyutping vs. Yale: what is the difference?
You might see another system called Yale in older textbooks or some dictionaries.
Yale uses accent marks (like sī, sí, si) and the letter ‘h’ to indicate tones, rather than numbers.
Which one should you learn?
I recommend Jyutping.
Why? Because Jyutping is the modern standard used in Hong Kong schools and computer input systems. It is much easier to type si1 on a keyboard than to find the special character for sī.
However, if you are using an older textbook, you might need to know Yale. Just remember that the pronunciation is the same, only the way it is written is different.
Tips for practicing pronunciation
Learning Jyutping is one thing, but training your mouth to make these sounds is another.
Here are my top tips for mastering Cantonese pronunciation:
- Listen and mimic: Do not just read. You must hear the tones. Use Cantonese podcasts or YouTube channels to hear natives speak.
- Use Tone Pairs: practicing single words is okay, but practicing pairs is better. It helps you hear the relative difference between pitches.
- Record yourself: It feels awkward, but recording your voice and comparing it to a native speaker is the fastest way to fix errors.
- Don’t ignore the numbers: When you learn a new vocabulary word, always memorize the tone number with it. Don’t just learn “fan” (sleep), learn “fan3”.
Zou2 san4
Jyutping is your essential tool for unlocking Cantonese.
It might look like a random mix of letters and numbers right now, but once you understand the logic, it makes learning vocabulary much faster.
