Dialect Bridge
High-confidence cognates between Mandarin and Cantonese (jyutping), Hokkien (Tâi-lô), and Hakka. If you already speak any of these, recognising the same morpheme in Mandarin gives you ~40% acceleration on recall. Click the speaker icon to hear the Mandarin reading.
| Mandarin | Pinyin | Meaning | Cantonese | Hokkien | Hakka | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 你 | nǐ | you | nei5 | lí | ngì | |
| 我 | wǒ | I, me | ngo5 | guá | ngài | |
| 他 | tā | he, him | taa1 | i | kì | |
| 妈妈 | māma | mother | maa4 maa1 | má-mah / lāu-bú | â-mê | |
| 爸爸 | bàba | father | baa4 baa1 | pa-pah / lāu-pē | â-pâ | |
| 哥哥 | gēge | older brother | go4 go1 | a-hiaⁿ / ko-ko | â-kô | |
| 姐姐 | jiějie | older sister | ze4 ze1 | a-tsí / a-tsié | â-tsí | |
| 朋友 | péngyou | friend | pang4 jau5 | pîng-iú | phèn-yû | |
| 饭 | fàn | rice / meal | faan6 | pn̄g | fàn | |
| 茶 | chá | tea | caa4 | tê | chhà | |
| 咖啡 | kāfēi | coffee | gaa3 fe1 | ko-pi | kâ-fî | |
| 面包 | miànbāo | bread | min6 baau1 | mī-pau | mien-pâu | |
| 鸡饭 | jīfàn | chicken rice | gai1 faan6 | ke-pn̄g | kâi-fàn | |
| 肉骨茶 | ròugǔchá | bak kut teh | — | bah-kut-tê | — | |
| 点心 | diǎnxīn | dim sum | dim2 sam1 | tiám-sim | tiám-sîm | |
| 家 | jiā | home, family | gaa1 | ke / ka | kâ | |
| 学校 | xuéxiào | school | hok6 haau6 | ha̍k-hāu | hok-hau | |
| 店 | diàn | shop | dim3 | tiàm | tiam | |
| 市场 | shìchǎng | market | si5 coeng4 | tshī-tiûⁿ / bā-sat (loan) | sṳ-chhòng | |
| 餐厅 | cāntīng | restaurant | caan1 teng1 | tshan-thiaⁿ | chhân-thâng | |
| 孟沙 | Mèngshā | Bangsar | — | — | — | |
| 今天 | jīntiān | today | gam1 tin1 | kim-á-ji̍t | kîm-thiên | |
| 明天 | míngtiān | tomorrow | ting1 jat6 / ming4 tin1 | miâ-á-tsài / bîn-á-tsài | min-chhāo-ngit | |
| 昨天 | zuótiān | yesterday | kam4 jat6 | tsa-hng | chhô-pû-ngit | |
| 现在 | xiànzài | now | ji6 gaa1 | tsit-mái | yî-kâ | |
| 块 | kuài | dollar (colloquial) | man1 / faai3 | khu-aih / kho͘ | khoài | |
| 毛 | máo | 10-cent (dime) | hou4 | kak | mâu | |
| 便宜 | piányi | cheap | peng4 / pang4 ji4 | siok | phièn-yî | |
| 贵 | guì | expensive | gwai3 | kuì | kui | |
| 吃 | chī | to eat | sik6 | tsia̍h | shi̍t | |
| 喝 | hē | to drink | jam2 | lim | lîm | |
| 走 | zǒu | to walk / go | zau2 | tsáu | tsêu | |
| 看 | kàn | to look, watch, read | hon3 | khuàⁿ | khon | |
| 听 | tīng | to listen | teng1 | thiaⁿ | thâng | |
| 买 | mǎi | to buy | maai5 | bé / bué | mâi | |
| 卖 | mài | to sell | maai6 | bē / buē | mai | |
| 是 | shì | to be | si6 | sī | sṳ | |
| 不 | bù | not | bat1 / m4 | m̄ / put | m̀ / put | |
| 有 | yǒu | to have | jau5 | ū | yû | |
| 在 | zài | at / be located | zoi6 | tsāi / tī | chhoi / hí | |
| 的 | de | possessive / attributive | ge3 | ê | ke | |
| 你好 | nǐ hǎo | hello | nei5 hou2 | lí-hó | ngì-hó | |
| 谢谢 | xièxie | thank you | ze6 ze6 | siā-siā | tô-tsia | |
| 对不起 | duìbuqǐ | sorry | deoi3 m4 zyu6 | phái-sè | tui-m̀-hí | |
| 再见 | zàijiàn | goodbye | zoi3 gin3 | tsài-kiàn | tsai-kien | |
| 孝顺 | xiàoshùn | filial | haau3 seon6 | hàu-sūn | hâu-sun |
Notes on the romanisations used
Cantonese: Jyutping (Linguistic Society of Hong Kong standard). Tone numbers 1–6 follow the syllable.
Hokkien: Tâi-lô (Taiwan's modern standard). Tone diacritics on vowels. Compatible with Penang/Malaysian Hokkien with minor lexical variation.
Hakka: Hakka Affairs Council standard (Taiwanese Sixian). Diacritic tones.
Cognates listed only where the etymological link is high-confidence and pedagogically useful. Mandarin-only innovations (e.g. 喝 for ‘drink’ where other Sinitic varieties use 饮) are flagged inline.