Teochew (潮汕話/潮汕话 Diê⁵ suan³ uê⁷ or 潮州話/潮州话 Diê⁵ ziu¹ uê⁷), also Romanized as Chiuchow, is the main language of the Chaoshan region in Eastern Guangdong, around the cities of Shantou, Chaozhou and Jieyang. It is also fairly common in Hong Kong and among overseas Chinese, especially in Southeast Asia, with Bangkok and Johor Bahru being examples of Southeast Asian cities where Teochew speakers form the majority among the ethnic Chinese community.

Each of the three main Teochew-speaking cities in China, as well as each overseas region where it is spoken, has its own slightly different variant, though they are similar enough not to hinder mutual comprehension; the prestige dialect is that of Chaozhou, though the Shantou dialect is more commonly heard due to the city's economic dominance. The overseas variants are influenced by other local languages; the Teochew spoken in Singapore and Malaysia has loan words from Malay and Hokkien, while the Teochew spoken in Thailand has loan words from Thai.

All Chinese languages, in general, use the same set of characters in reading and writing in formal settings, based on standard Mandarin. This means that a Teochew speaker and a Mandarin speaker cannot talk to each other, but either can generally read what the other writes. However, when Teochew is written in a more colloquial form, there are significant differences with standard Mandarin, thus necessitating the use of some extra characters not commonly used in Mandarin, and meaning that a Mandarin speaker will not be able to understand everything. Use the Chinese phrasebook for reading most writing in Teochew-speaking areas.

Teochew is closely related to Minnan Hua and Hainanese, but only partly mutually intelligible with Minnan Hua and mutually unintelligible with Hainanese. Teochew is not mutually intelligible with Mandarin or Cantonese, but it is common for Teochew speakers to also know one or both of those. Foreigners in the region usually choose to learn Mandarin rather than Teochew because it is much more widely used.

Pronunciation guide

Like other dialects of Chinese, Teochew is written using Chinese characters but employs its own unique pronunciation. Traditional Chinese characters are used in some overseas Teochew communities, while simplified characters are used in mainland China. Where differences exist, in this guide, we write the traditional Chinese characters before the slash and simplified Chinese character after it.

Peng'im, which was developed by the Guangdong provincial government in 1960, is generally the most common system for Romanizing Teochew, and will be used in this guide. See Wikipedia for details if needed. However, as most native speakers do not know how to read Romanized Teochew, stick to Chinese characters for written communication.

Vowels

The letters a, i and u are pronounced as in Spanish, Italian and German.

Vowels of Peng'im

Letter	IPA	English example	Notes
a	a	father
e	ɯ	no equivalent in English, like Estonian õ or Korean eu
ê	ɛ	hen
i	i	see
o	ɔ	law
u	u	goose

Vowels can also be nasalized in Teochew. In Peng'im, this is represented by an n at the end of the syllable after the vowel.

Vowel combinations

Vowel combinations of Peng'im

Letter	IPA	English example	Notes
ai	ai	my	pinyin 'ai'
ao	au	cow	pinyin 'ao'
ia	ia	-
iê	iɛ	-
io	iɔ	-
iu	iu	-
oi	ɔi	-
ou	ou	-	pinyin 'ou'
ua	ua	-	pinyin 'wa'
uê	uɛ	way	pinyin 'wei'
ui	ui	-
iou	iou	-
uai	uai	why	pinyin 'wai'

Consonants

While Mandarin only distinguishes between aspirated and unaspirated (unvoiced) consonants, and English only distinguishes between voiced and unvoiced consonants meaning-wise, Teochew makes a distinction in both cases. This means that aspirated unvoiced (p, t, k, c), unaspirated unvoiced (b, d, g, z), and unaspirated voiced (bh, gh, r) are all separate phonemic consonants in Teochew. Pronouncing everything accurately is therefore going to be a challenge for native English or Mandarin speakers. However, unlike in Mandarin, there is no "tongue rolling" (pinyin zh, ch, sh, r) initial consonant.

Initial consonanats of Peng'im

Letter	IPA	English example	Notes
bh	b	ban	English 'b'
b	p	span	pinyin 'b'
p	pʰ	pan	pinyin 'p'
r	dz/ʑ	jam	English 'j'
z	ts/tɕ	-	pinyin 'z' or 'j'
c	tsʰ/tɕʰ	cats	pinyin 'c' or 'q'
s	s/ɕ	sun	pinyin 's' or 'x'
gh	g	get	English hard 'g'
g	k	skin	pinyin 'g'
k	kʰ	kin	pinyin 'k'
d	t	Stan	pinyin 'd'
t	tʰ	tan	pinyin 't'
h	h	hat	English 'h'
m	m	map	English 'm'
n	n	net	English 'n'
l	l	line	English 'l'
ng	ŋ	sing	English 'ng'

Teochew retains some final consonants of Middle Chinese that Mandarin has lost, such as b, g, and m. On the other hand, Teochew has lost the n final consonant that Mandarin has retained. The final m and ng are pronounced as in English, but b and g are different. They are similar to English p and k but unreleased. This means that the mouth moves into the position of making the consonant, but no burst of air is released.

Final consonanats of Peng'im

Letter	IPA	English example	Notes
b	p	span	pinyin 'b'
g	k	skin	pinyin 'g'
m	m	map	English 'm'
ng	ŋ	sing	English 'ng'

Furthermore, an h at the end of a syllable in Peng'im represents a glottal stop (ʔ); this is the sound in the middle of the English word 'uh-oh'.

Tones

Teochew is a tonal language, meaning that the tone must be correct in order to convey the correct meaning. Tone sandhi is rather complex in Teochew, which makes it a little harder to learn than Mandarin. In general, tone sandhi occurs on all syllables of a word other than the final syllable.

Teochew has 8 different tones, denoted with a superscript number after the syllable in Peng'im. Tone sandhi is rather complex in Teochew, making it harder to learn than Mandarin. In general, tone sandhi occurs on all syllables other than the final syllable of a word.

Tones of Teochew

Number	Name	Pitch	Description	After tone sandhi
1	yin level (陰平/阴平)	33	high	1
2	yin rising (陰上/阴上)	52	falling	6
3	yin departing (陰去/阴去)	213	low falling	2 or 5
4	yin entering (陰入/阴入)	2	mid stopped	8
5	yang level (陽平/阳平)	5	rising	7
6	yang rising (陽上/阳上)	35	falling	9
7	yang departing (陽去/阳去)	1	mid	9
8	yang entering (陽入/阳入)	4	high stopped	4

Tone 9 as seen in the table occurs only after tone sandhi, and is described as a high falling tone.

Phrase list

Basics

To be or not to be? Teochew, as in Mandarin, does not have words for "yes" and "no" as such; instead, questions are typically answered by repeating the verb. Common ones include: To be or not to be 是 si6, 唔是 m6-si6 To have or not have / there is or is not 有 u6, 無/无 bho5 To be right or wrong 着/著 diêh8, 唔着/唔著 m6-diêh8

Hello.

汝好。 le² ho².

How are you?

汝好無？/汝好无？ le² ho² bho⁵?

Not bad

𠁞孬/𠀾孬 bhoi⁶ mo²

Fine, thank you.

好，㩼謝。/好，㩼谢。 ho², zoi⁷ sia⁷.

What is your name?

汝叫乜名? le² giê³ mih⁴ mian⁵?

My name is ______ .

我個名是 ______。/我个名是 ______。 ua² gai⁷ mian⁵ si⁶ ______ .

Nice to meet you.

. ()

Please.

請。/请。 cian².

Thank you.

㩼謝。/㩼谢。 zoi⁷ sia⁷.

You're welcome.

免客氣。/免客气。 miang² kêh⁴ ki³.

Excuse me. (getting attention)

孬意思。 mo² i³ se³.

Excuse me. (begging pardon)

. ( )

I'm sorry.

對唔住。/对唔住。 dui³ m⁶ zu⁶.

Goodbye

再见。/再見。 zai³ giang³.

Goodbye (informal)

. ( )

I can't speak Teochew.

我𠁞呾潮汕話。/我𠀾呾潮汕话。 ua² bhoi⁶ dan³ diê⁵ suan¹ uê⁷.

Do you speak English?

請問汝會呾英文𠁞？/请问汝会呾英文𠀾？ cian² mung⁷ le² oi⁶ dan³ êng¹ bhung⁵ bhoi⁶?

Is there someone here who speaks English?

請問有人會呾英文無？/请问有人会呾英文无？ cian² mung⁷ u⁶ nang⁵ oi⁶ dan³ êng¹ bhung⁵ bho⁵?

Help!

救命！ giu³ mian⁷!

Look out!

 ! ( !)

Good morning.

. ( )

Good evening.

. ( )

Good night.

. ( )

Good night (to sleep)

. ( )

I don't understand.

我𠁞聽。/我𠀾听。 ua² bhoi⁶ tian¹

Where is the toilet?

廁所在底塊？/厕所在底块？ cê³ so² do⁶ di⁷ go³?

Problems

Leave me alone.

. ( .)

Don't touch me!

 ! ( !)

I'll call the police.

. ( .)

Police!

警察！ gêng⁶ cag⁴!

Stop! Thief!

 ! ! ( ! !)

I need your help.

. ( .)

It's an emergency.

. ( .)

I'm lost.

. ( .)

I lost my bag.

. ( .)

I lost my wallet.

. ( .)

I'm sick.

. ( .)

I've been injured.

. ( .)

I need a doctor.

. ( .)

Can I use your phone?

 ? ( ?)

Numbers

Numbers in Teochew follow the same system as other varieties of Chinese.

0

空 kang³

1

一 zêg⁸ / ig⁴

Note: ig⁴ is used in the ones and tens place (except for the number 1 itself) and in ordinal numbers, whereas zêg⁸ is used for multiples of numbers 100 and greater, as well as before counter words.

2

兩/两 no⁶ / 二 ri⁶

Note: 二 ri⁶ is used in the ones and tens place (except for the number 2 itself) and in ordinal numbers, whereas 兩/两 no⁶ is used for multiples of numbers 100 and greater, as well as before counter words.

3

三 san¹

4

四 si³

5

五 ngou⁶

6

六 lag⁸

7

七 cig⁴

8

八 boih⁴

9

九 gao²

10

十 zab⁸

11

十一 zab⁸ ig⁴

12

十二 zab⁸ ri⁶

13

十三 zab⁸ san¹

14

十四 zab⁸ si³

15

十五 zab⁸ ngou⁶

16

十六 zab⁸ lag⁸

17

十七 zab⁸ cig⁴

18

十八 zab⁸ boih⁴

19

十九 zab⁸ gao²

20

二十 ri⁶ zab⁸

21

二十一 ri⁶ zab⁸ ig⁴

22

二十二 ri⁶ zab⁸ ri⁶

23

二十三 ri⁶ zab⁸ san¹

30

三十 san¹ zab⁸

40

四十 si³ zab⁸

50

五十 ngou⁶ zab⁸

60

六十 lag⁸ zab⁸

70

七十 cig⁴ zab⁸

80

八十 boih⁴ zab⁸

90

九十 gao² zab⁸

100

一百 zêg⁸ bêh⁴

200

兩百/两百 no⁶ bêh⁴

300

三百 san¹ bêh⁴

1,000

一千 zêg⁸ coin¹

2,000

兩千/两千 no⁶ coin¹

Like Mandarin, Teochew groups numbers starting from 10,000 into units of four digits starting with 萬/万 bhuêng⁷. "One million" would therefore be "one hundred ten-thousands" (一百萬/一百万) and "one billion" would be "ten hundred-millions" (十億/十亿).

10,000

一萬/一万 zêg⁸ bhuêng⁷

20,000

兩萬/两万 no⁶ bhuêng⁷

100,000

十萬/十万 zab⁸ bhuêng⁷

1,000,000

一百萬/一百万 zêg⁸ bêh⁴ bhuêng⁷

10,000,000

一千萬/一千万 zêg⁸ coin¹ bhuêng⁷

100,000,000

一億/一亿 zêg⁸ êg⁸

1,000,000,000

十億/十亿 zab⁸ êg⁸

1,000,000,000,000

一兆 zêg⁸ diou⁶

number _____ (train, bus, etc.)

_____號/_____号 _____ ho⁷

half

半 buan³

less

少 ziê²

more

㩼 zoi⁷

Time

now

( ci ta)

later

( kin kia )

before

( )

morning

眠起 mung⁵ ki² / 猛早 mên² za²

noon

日晝/日昼 rig⁸ dao³

afternoon

下旰 ê⁷ gua³

evening

暝昏 mên⁵ hung¹

night

暝旰 mên⁵ gua³ / 暝暗 mên⁵ am³

midnight

半暝 buan³ mên5

Clock time

1:00

一点/一點 zêg⁸ diam²

2:00

两点/兩點 no⁶ diam²

2:30

两点半/兩點半 no⁶ diam² buan³ / 两点三十分/兩點三十分 no⁶ diam² san¹ zab⁸ hung¹

3:00

三点/三點 san¹ diam²

Duration

_____ minute(s)

_____ 分鐘/_____ 分钟 _____ hung¹ zêng¹

_____ hour(s)

_____ 點鐘/_____ 点钟 _____ diam² zêng¹

_____ day(s)

_____ 日 _____ rig⁸

_____ week(s)

_____ 禮拜/_____ 礼拜 _____ loi² bai³

_____ month(s)

_____ 個月/ _____ 个月 _____ gai⁵ ghuêh⁸

_____ year(s)

_____ 年 _____ ni⁵

Days

today

今日 gim¹ rig⁸

yesterday

昨日 za¹ rig⁸

tomorrow

明起 muan³ ki² / 明日 muan³ rig⁸

this week

只個禮拜/只个礼拜 zi² gai⁵ loi² bai³

last week

頂個禮拜/顶个礼拜 dêng2 gai⁵ loi² bai³

next week

後個禮拜/后个礼拜 ao⁶ gai⁵ loi² bai³

Sunday

禮拜/礼拜 loi² bai³

Monday

拜一 bai³ ig⁴

Tuesday

拜二 bai³ ri⁶

Wednesday

拜三 bai³ san¹

Thursday

拜四 bai³ si³

Friday

拜五 bai³ ngou⁶

Saturday

拜六 bai³ lag⁸

Months

January

一月 ig⁴ ghuêh⁸

February

二月 ri⁶ ghuêh⁸

March

三月 san¹ ghuêh⁸

April

四月 si³ ghuêh⁸

May

五月 ngou⁶ ghuêh⁸

June

六月 lag⁸ ghuêh⁸

July

七月 cig⁴ ghuêh⁸

August

八月 boih⁴ ghuêh⁸

September

九月 gao² ghuêh⁸

October

十月 zab⁸ ghuêh⁸

November

十一月 zab⁸ ig⁴ ghuêh⁸

December

十二月 zab⁸ ri⁶ ghuêh⁸

Colors

black

烏色/乌色 ou¹ sêg⁴

white

白色 bêh⁸ sêg⁴

gray

灰色 huê¹ sêg⁴

red

紅色/红色 ang⁵ sêg⁴

blue

藍色/蓝色 nam⁵ sêg⁴

yellow

黃色/黄色 ng⁵ sêg⁴

green

青色 cên¹ sêg⁴

orange

柑色 gan¹ sêg⁴

purple

紫色 zi² sêg⁴

brown

赤色 ciah⁴ sêg⁴

Transportation

Bus and train

How much is a ticket to _____?

( )

One ticket to _____, please.

( )

Where does this train/bus go?

( )

Where is the train/bus to _____?

( )

Does this train/bus stop in _____?

( )

When does the train/bus for _____ leave?

( )

When will this train/bus arrive in _____?

( )

Directions

走 or 行 While the character 走 (zao2) means "to walk" in modern Standard Mandarin, Teochew retains the Classical Chinese meaning of the character, in which it means "to run" (a meaning that is also retained in other southern dialects and Japanese). Instead, the character 行 (gian5) is used to mean "to walk" in Teochew.

How do I get to _____ ?

請問汝做呢去_____啊？/请问汝做呢去_____啊？ cian² mung⁷ le² zo³ ni⁵ ke³ _____ a⁷?

...the train station?

( )

...the bus station?

( )

...the airport?

( )

...downtown?

( )

...the youth hostel?

( )

...the _____ hotel?

( )

...the American/Canadian/Australian/British consulate?

( )

Where are there a lot of _____?

底塊有好㩼_____啊？/底块有好㩼_____啊？ di⁷ go³ u⁶ hoh⁴ zoi⁷ _____ a⁷?

...hotels?

( )

...restaurants?

( )

...bars?

( )

...sites to see?

( )

Can you show me on the map?

( )

street

( )

Turn left.

斡去倒手爿 uêg⁴ ke³ do³ ciu² boin⁵

Turn right.

斡去正手爿 uêg⁴ ke³ zian³ ciu² boin⁵

left

倒 do³

right

正 zian³

in front of the _____

_____頭前 / _____头前 tao⁵ zoin⁵

behind the _____

_____後爿 / _____后爿 ao⁶ boin⁵

straight ahead

直直去 dig⁸ dig⁸ ke³

inside

內爿/内爿 lai⁶ boin⁵

outside

外口 ghua⁷ kao²

towards the _____

( )

past the _____

( )

before the _____

( )

Watch for the _____.

( )

intersection

( )

north

( )

south

( )

east

( )

west

( )

uphill

( )

downhill

( )

Taxi

Taxi!

( )

Take me to _____, please.

( )

How much does it cost to get to _____?

( )

Take me there, please.

( )

Lodging

Do you have any rooms available?

( )

How much is a room for one person/two people?

( )

Does the room come with...

( )

...bedsheets?

( )

...a bathroom?

( )

...a telephone?

電話/电话 diêng⁶ uê⁷

...a TV?

( )

May I see the room first?

( )

Do you have anything quieter?

( )

...bigger?

( kou tua)

...cleaner?

( kou pek )

...cheaper?

( kou phi)

OK, I'll take it.

( )

I will stay for _____ night(s).

( )

Can you suggest another hotel?

( )

Do you have a safe?

( )

...lockers?

( )

Is breakfast/supper included?

( )

What time is breakfast/supper?

( )

Please clean my room.

( )

Can you wake me at _____?

( )

I want to check out.

( )

Money

Do you accept American/Australian/Canadian dollars?

( )

Do you accept British pounds?

( )

Do you accept Euros?

( )

Do you accept credit cards?

( )

Can you change money for me?

( )

Where can I get money changed?

( )

Can you change a traveler's check for me?

( )

Where can I get a traveler's check changed?

( )

What is the exchange rate?

( )

Where is an automatic teller machine (ATM)?

( )

Eating

One peculiarity of Teochew is that it does not distinguish between eating and drinking. As such, the verb 食 (ziah⁸) is used to refer to both eating and drinking.

A table for one person/two people, please.

( )

Can I look at the menu, please?

( )

Can I look in the kitchen?

( )

Is there a house specialty?

( )

Is there a local specialty?

( )

I'm a vegetarian.

( )

I don't eat pork.

( )

I don't eat beef.

( )

I only eat kosher food.

( )

Can you make it "lite", please? (less oil/butter/lard)

( )

fixed-price meal

( )

a la carte

( )

breakfast

( )

lunch

( )

tea (meal)

( )

supper

( )

I want _____.

我愛_____。/我爱_____。 ua² ain³ _____.

I want a dish containing _____.

( )

chicken

雞/鸡 goi¹

duck

鴨/鸭 ah⁴

goose

鵝/鹅 gho⁵

beef

牛肉 ghu⁵ nêg⁸

pork

豬肉/猪肉 de¹ nêg⁸

mutton

羊肉 iên⁵ nêg⁸

fish

魚/鱼 he⁵

ham

( )

sausage

( )

cheese

( )

eggs

卵 neng⁶

salad

( )

vegetables

菜 cai³

(fresh) fruit

( bua )

bread

( )

toast

( )

noodles

麵/面 min⁷

rice （cooked）

飯/饭 bung⁷

congee / rice porridge

糜 muê⁵

beans

豆 dao⁷

May I have a glass of _____?

( )

May I have a cup of _____?

( )

May I have a bottle of _____?

( )

coffee

( )

tea (drink)

茶 dê⁵

juice

( )

(bubbly) water

( )

(still) water

水 zui²

milk

奶 ni⁶

beer

( )

red/white wine

( )

May I have some _____?

( )

salt

鹽/盐 iam⁵

sugar

糖 teng⁵

soy sauce

豉油 si⁷ iu⁵

black pepper

( )

butter

牛油 ghu⁵ iu⁵

Excuse me, waiter? (getting attention of server)

( )

I'm finished.

( )

delicious.

好食 ho² ziah⁸

Please clear the plates.

( )

The check, please.

( )

Bars

Do you serve alcohol?

( )

Is there table service?

( )

A beer/two beers, please.

( )

A glass of red/white wine, please.

( )

A pint, please.

( )

A bottle, please.

( )

_____ (hard liquor) and _____ (mixer), please.

( )

whiskey

( )

vodka

( )

rum

( )

water

水 zui²

club soda

( )

tonic water

( )

orange juice

( )

Coke (soda)

( phi zui )

Do you have any bar snacks?

( )

One more, please.

( cek kai ge)

Another round, please.

( )

When is closing time?

( )

Cheers!

( )

Shopping

Do you have this in my size?

( )

How much is this?

( cia hok coi lui? )

That's too expensive.

( cia khak kue kui )

Would you take _____?

( )

expensive

貴/贵 gui³

cheap

便 pin¹

I can't afford it.

( )

I don't want it.

我莫 ua² mai³

You're cheating me.

( )

I'm not interested.

(..)

OK, I'll take it.

( ho, wa khiok i)

Can I have a bag?

( )

Do you ship (overseas)?

( )

I need...

( )

...toothpaste.

( )

...a toothbrush.

齒漱 /齿漱 ki² ciu³

...tampons.

. ( )

...soap.

餅藥/饼药 pian² iêh⁸

...shampoo.

( )

...pain reliever. (e.g., aspirin or ibuprofen)

( )

...cold medicine.

( )

...stomach medicine.

... ( )

...a razor.

( )

...an umbrella.

雨遮 hou⁶ zia¹

...sunblock lotion.

( )

...a postcard.

( )

...postage stamps.

( )

...batteries.

( )

...writing paper.

( )

...a pen.

( )

...English-language books.

( )

...English-language magazines.

( )

...an English-language newspaper.

( )

...an English-English dictionary.

( )

Driving

I want to rent a car.

( )

Can I get insurance?

( )

stop (on a street sign)

( )

one way

( )

yield

( )

no parking

( )

speed limit

( )

gas (petrol) station

( )

petrol

( )

diesel

( )

Authority

I haven't done anything wrong.

( )

It was a misunderstanding.

( )

Where are you taking me?

( )

Am I under arrest?

( )

I am an American/Australian/British/Canadian citizen.

( )

I want to talk to the American/Australian/British/Canadian embassy/consulate.

( )

I want to talk to a lawyer.

( )

Can I just pay a fine now?

( )