Introduction to Cantonese

A few facts about Cantonese

What is Cantonese?

Cantonese is the official language of Hong Kong and Macau, and is spoken by over 60 million people across the world. Although much of it sounds very different from Mandarin Chinese, there are some common elements.

Cantonese - reading and writing

One slightly confusing fact about Cantonese is that it is not oficially written in the same way as it is spoken - Mandarin Chinese is used in writing, and Cantonese is used when speaking. In the modern world however, especially since the invention of texting, the line between writing and speaking has been blurred. Although Mandarin Chinese is used in official writing, most Cantonese speakers will use Cantonese when texting or when using social media platforms. These lessons will not cover Mandarin Chinese, or how Cantonese would be communicated formally in writing - this course will be covering Cantonese as it is spoken, which is considered informal in writing.

Cantonese music (Cantopop)

Adding to this confusion, Cantonese songs are not strictly sung in Cantonese - they are written in Mandarin Chinese and sung using the Cantonese pronunciation of the characters. If people spoke in this way, it would be very strange.