Hakka (客家话 Hak-kâ-fa/Hak-kâ-va) originated in China but is also spoken in Hong Kong and Taiwan, and among overseas Chinese, especially in Southeast Asia. In this article, the Hong Kong dialect of the Hakka language will be used.

Most Hakka speakers are bilingual: in Hong Kong, they are able to understand and speak Cantonese, whilst in mainland China and Taiwan, they also speak Mandarin, with those from Guangdong province often being trilingual in Hakka, Cantonese and Mandarin. Foreigners in the area typically choose to learn Mandarin and/or Cantonese instead of Hakka as they are more widely used.

Brief overview

The Hakka (客家 Kèjiā, IPA: [hak₃ ka₃₃] ) people migrated south from Northern China over the centuries to settle in southern Jiangxi and Hunan, western Fujian, northern Guangdong, and various other areas, due to wars, famine, natural disasters, and political persecution.

Hakka comes from the words '客' "guest" and '家' "families" which derives from an official term during the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911) for the program of resettlement of the coastal areas of Guangdong after evacuation orders imposed during the reign of Emperor Kangxi. These settlers whose language was different to the original inhabitants were given this appellation to show they were not indigenous to the areas they became settled in. The indigenous inhabitants (punti) had generally occupied the more fertile basins, so the incoming Hakka often settled in the more inaccessible valleys and mountainous or hilly terrain.

As the Hakkas were constantly in conflict with their neighbours for much of the Qing Dynasty, often resulting in bloody civil wars, they developed a tradition of living in fortified communities. In some areas, the Hakka built tulou (土楼, tǔlóu), earth and straw round houses. These fascinating, centuries-old buildings are home to a whole clan and are easily defended. The largest groups of tulou, in Fujian, are now on the UNESCO World Heritage List. Though less well known internationally, Hakka people in other areas built different types of walled villages such as wei (围, wéi) and weilongwu (围龙屋, wéilóngwū). Many of these can be seen today in Hong Kong and the Hakka-speaking parts of Guangdong. Constant warfare with their neighbours, including the Punti–Hakka Clan Wars of 1855-1867, in which the Qing government was complicit in a genocide of the Hakka people by Cantonese and Taishanese peoples, led many Hakkas to emigrate for greener pastures. Many of them ended up in Southeast Asia, which now home to some of the world's largest overseas Hakka communities, which have produced numerous prominent figures like former Singaporean prime minster Lee Kuan Yew and former Thai prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra.

To a considerable extent, Hakka have their own culture, different from their neighbours. In Neal Stephenson's novel Ream De, much of which takes place in Xiamen, one character is a Hakka lass from a tea-growing mountain area, and she is sometimes called a "big-foot woman" in reference to the fact that, unlike most other Chinese, the Hakka never adopted the custom of foot-binding.

The Hakka language (客家话; Kèjiāhuà) shares a common vocabulary with Southern languages such as Cantonese, Teochew and the many dialects of Fujian, and there are regular sound correspondences to the historical sound system of Middle Chinese. In terms of pronunciation, it has some features in common with Cantonese and some with Mandarin, though it's not mutually intelligible with either dialect.

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 Hakka speaker and a Mandarin speaker cannot talk to each other, but either can generally read what the other writes. However, there can be significant differences when the "dialects" are written in colloquial form, and special characters may need to be used in addition to the common characters to convey some dialectal terms. Use the Chinese phrasebook for reading most writing in Hakka-speaking areas.

Pronunciation guide

Like other Chinese languages, Hakka is written using Chinese characters, but employs its own "unique" pronunciation.

There is no standard form of Hakka. Regional variations in local dialects are extensive, but can usually be surmounted by understanding the gist of the spoken sentence and knowing some sound correspondences that the user will encounter. Many people consider the dialect spoken in Meixian, Meizhou to be the prestige dialect of Hakka. In Taiwan, the Miaoli dialect is taken as the de facto standard, and used in Hakka broadcasting.

There are some sounds in Hakka which do not occur in English. The following pronunciation guide aims to rhyme English words with the sounds found in the Hakka syllable. Please note they are approximations, you may require a Hakka speaker to guide your pronunciation. There is no widely-used standardized romanisation system for Hakka, and native speakers almost never learn the romanisation systems that exist, so stick to Chinese characters for written communication.

Vowels

The vowels can be long or short. Long vowels occur in open syllables, where there are no endings. Short vowels occur in syllables which end in nasals (-m, -n or -ng) or stops (-p, -t or -k).

Vowel Sound Length Varies with Syllable Endings

Romanised Vowel	IPA	Long Vowel (syllable ends in a vowel)	IPA	Short Vowel (syllable ends with -m, -n, -ng, -p, -t, -k)
a	[ aː ]	a in car (UK) or o in lot (US)	[ ɐ ]	a in pat
e	[ ɛː ]	e in bed	[ e ]	a in baby (the first part of the sound, without the closing towards the end)
i	[ iː ]	ee in feed	[ ɪ ]	i in pit
o	[ ɔː ]	aw in maw	[ ɒ ]	o in pot (UK)
u	[ uː ]	oo in boot	[ ʌ ]	u in put

In some dialects there is a vowel which we represent as ii, which does not occur in standard English. It is a retroflex i, the closest sound is almost like ir in "shir" when saying English 'sure'. In the Hong Kong dialect, these sounds become -i or -u.

Initial or Consonant

In Chinese linguistics, syllables are traditionally divided into an "initial" (the consonant at the beginning of the syllable) and a "final" (the vowel and the consonant after it if there is one).

Consonant Sounds in Hakka

b	p	m	f	v
[ p ]	[ pʰ ]	[ m ]	[ f ]	[ ʋ ]
almost like b in boy	almost like p in pot	like m in man	like f in far	almost like v in van
d	t	n	l
[ t ]	[ tʰ ]	[ n ]	[ l ]
almost like d in dart	almost like t in star	like n in no (in most Hakka dialects)	like l in low
g	k	ng	h
[ k ]	[ kʰ ]	[ ŋ ]	[ h ]
like g in gone	like k in kin	like ng in singer	like h in how
z	c	s	y
[ ts ]	[ tsʰ ]	[ s ]	[ j ]	[ ˀ ]
like ts in tests	like t in too or c in Italian ciao	like s in sow	like y in yew	A slight closing of the throat before syllables that begin with a vowel

Finals

Syllable Finals in Hakka

a	ai	au	am	an	ang	ap	at	ak
[ a ]	[ ɐj ]	[ ɐu ]	[ ɐm ]	[ ɐn ]	[ ɐng ]	[ ɐp ]	[ ɐt ]	[ ɐk ]
far	eye	how	ham	an	fang	lap	sad	hag ]
ia		iɐu	iɐm		iɐng	iɐp		iɐk
[ ja ]		[ jɐu ]	[ jɐm ]		[ jɐng ]	[ jɐp ]		[ jɐk ]
yarn		yow	yam		yang	yap		yak
e		eu	em	en		ep	et
[ ɛ ]		[ eu ]	[ em ]	[ en ]		[ ep ]	[ et ]
hair		eow	em	en		epic	bet
ie		ieu	iem	ien		iep	iet
[ jɛ ]		[ jeu ]	[ jem ]	[ jen ]		[ jep ]	[ jet ]
yeah		yeow	yem	yen		yep	yet
i			im	in		ip	it
[ i ]			[ ɪm ]	[ ɪn ]		[ ɪp ]	[ ɪt ]
bee			dim	tin		dip ]	lit
ii			iim	iin		iip	iit
[ ɨ ]			[ ɨm ]	[ ɨn ]		[ ɨp ]	[ ɨt ]
fur			firm	fern		burp	bird
o	oi			on	ong		ot	'ok
[ ɔ ]	[ ɒj ]			[ ɒn ]	[ ɒŋ ]		[ ɒt ]	[ ɒk ]
core	coy			con	kong		cot	cock
io	ioi			ion	iong		iot	'iok
[ jɔ ]	[ jɒj ]			[ jɒn ]	[ jɒŋ ]		[ jɒt ]	[ jɒk ]
yore	yoy			yon	yong		yot	yok
u	ui			un	ung		ut	'uk
[ u ]	[ uj ]			[ un ]	[ uŋ ]		[ ut ]	[ uk ]
woo	wee			bun	bung		but	book
iu				iun	iung		iut	'iuk
[ ju ]	[ jʌj ]			[ jʌn ]	[ jʌŋ ]		[ ʌt ]	[ ʌk ]
you	youeille			'yun	young		yut	yuck
			m	n	ng
			[ m ]	[ n ]	[ ng]
			mmm	nnn	ung

Tones

Tones in Hakka

#	IPA	Tone Letter	Character	Romanisation	Syllable in IPA	Meaning
1	33	˧	被	pi1	[ pʰi˧ ]	quilt cover
2	11	˩	皮	pi2	[ pʰi˩ ]	skin
3	31	˧˩	彼	pi3	[ pʰi˧˩ ]	that, there, those
4	53	˥˧	鼻	pi4	[ pʰi˥˧ ]	nose
5	3	˧	匹	pit5	[ pʰi˧ ]	bolt of cloth; counter for horses
6	5	˥	蝠	pit6	[ pʰi˥ ]	flying mammal called a bat

The tone changes known as sandhi does occur, but the change in the pitch is not as great as found in other Chinese languages.

Some sound correspondences between dialects of the Hakka language

Apart from tonal differences, there are small variations in pronunciations from place to place. The following details some of the more commonly found differences, which may be helpful to the user when hearing other speakers from different areas.

h is sometimes pronounced as s, especially when there is a vowel -i- in the syllable. E.g. 兄 hiung1 may be pronounced siung1.

au is sometimes pronounced as o. E.g. 好 hau3 / ho3

ai is sometimes pronounced as e E.g. 雞 gai1 / ge1

Some Hakka dialects has the -u- medial, so you may hear words like 光 gong1 pronounced as guong1 (gwong1).

Phrase list

Basics

Common signs OPEN 營業中 / 開 CLOSED 休息 / 關 ENTRANCE 入口 EXIT 出口 PUSH 推 PULL 拉 TOILET 洗手間 MEN 男 WOMEN 女 FORBIDDEN 禁止

Hello.

. ( )

Hello. (informal)

. ( )

How are you?

 ? ( ?)

Fine, thank you.

. (Simungi )

What is your name?

 ? ( ?)

My name is ______ .

______ . ( _____ .)

Nice to meet you.

. ( )

Please.

. ( )

Thank you.

. ( )

You're welcome.

. ( )

Yes.

. ( )

No.

. ( )

Excuse me. (getting attention)

. ( )

Excuse me. (begging pardon)

. ( )

I'm sorry.

. ( )

Goodbye

. ( )

Goodbye (informal)

. ( )

I can't speak Hakka [well].

[ ]. ( [ ])

Do you speak English?

 ? ( ?)

Is there someone here who speaks English?

 ? ( ?)

Help!

 ! ( !)

Look out!

 ! ( !)

Good morning.

. ( )

Good evening.

. ( )

Good night.

. ( )

Good night (to sleep)

. ( )

I don't understand.

. ( )

Where is the toilet?

 ? ( ?)

Problems

Leave me alone.

. ( .)

Don't touch me!

 ! ( !)

I'll call the police.

. ( .)

Police!

 ! ( !)

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

1

一 yit5

2

二 ngi4

3

三 sam1

4

四 si4

5

五 ng3

6

六 luk5

7

七 cit5

8

八 bat5

9

九 giu3

10

十 sip6

11

十一 sip6 yit5

12

十二 sip6 yit5

13

十三 sip6 sam1

14

十四 sip6 si4

15

十五 sip6 ng3

16

十六 sip6 luk5

17

十七 sip6 cit5

18

十八 sip6 bat5

19

十九 sip6 giu3

20

二十 ngi4 sip6

21

二十一 ngi4 sip6 yit5

22

二十二 ngi3 sip6 ngi4

23

二十三 ngi3 sip6 sam1

30

三十 sam1 sip6

40

四十 si4 sip6

50

五十 ng3 sip6

60

六十 luk5 sip6

70

七十 cit5 sip6

80

八十 bat5 sip6

90

九十 giu3 sip6

100

一百 yit5 bak5

200

二百 ngi4 bak5

300

三百 sam1 bak 5

1000

一千 yit5 cien1

2000

二千 ngi4 cien1

10,000

一萬 yit5 van4

100,000

十萬 sip6 van4

1,000,000

一百萬 yit5 bak5 van4

10,000,000

一千萬 yit5 cien1 van

100,000,000

一億 yit4 yit6

1,000,000,000

十億 sip6 yit6

10,000,000,000

一百億 yit5 bak5 yit6

100,000,000,000

一千億 yit5 cien1 yit6

1,000,000,000,000

一兆 yit5 cau4

number _____ (train, bus, etc.)

_____號 hau4

half

半 ban4

less

少 sau3

more

多 do1

Time

now

今下 gin1 ha4

late

遲 ci2

early

早 zau3

morning

朝頭早 zau1 teu2 zau3

afternoon

下晝 ha1 zu4

evening

暗晡晨 am4 bu1 sin2

night

夜晚晨 ya4 man1 sin2

dawn

日頭一起 ngit5 teu2 yit5 hi3

dusk

日頭落光 ngit5 teu2 lok6 gong1

Clock time

1 o'clock

一點鐘 yit5 diam3 zung1

2 o'clock

兩點鐘 liong3 diam3 zung1 (Note 兩 liong3 is used)

3 o'clock

三點鐘 sam1 diam3 zung1

The twelve divisions of the hour by five minute increments makes it fairly convenient to tell the time.

at the hour

搭正 dap5 zin4

5 past

搭一 dap5 yit5 (literally "connected to number 1 on the clock face")

10 past

搭二 dap5 ngi4

quarter past

搭三 dap5 sam1

20 past

搭四 dap5 si4

25 past

搭五 dap5 ng3

half past

搭半 dap5 luk5

25 to

搭七 dap5 cit5

20 to

搭八 dap5 bat5

quarter to

搭九 dap5 giu3

10 to

搭十 dap5 sip6

5 to

搭十一 dap5 sip6 yit5

Combine the two and you can express time as hour and minute combinations

twenty five past seven

七點搭五 ciu4 cit5 diam3 dap5 ng3

When you want to express a time between the five minute divisions, you can do so by nearly or just after in the following manner.

nearly twenty five past seven

就七點搭五 ciu4 cit5 diam3 dap5 ng3

just after twenty five past seven

整過七點搭五 zang4 go4 cit5 diam3 dap5 ng3

nearly (approaching)

就到 ciu4 dau4

just past (gone) : 過滴 go4 dit6

noon

正午 zin4 ng3

midnight

半夜 ban4 ya4

Duration

_____ minute(s)

_____分鐘 _____fun1 zung1

_____ hour(s)

_____隻鐘頭 _____zak5 zung1 teu2

_____ day(s)

_____日 _____ngit5

_____ week(s)

_____隻星期 _____zak5 sin1 ki2 / _____隻禮拜 _____zak5 li1 bai4

_____ month(s)

_____ 隻月頭 _____zak5 ngiet6 teu2

_____ year(s)

_____年 _____ngien2

Days

today

今日 gin1 ngit5

yesterday

喒晡日 cam4 bu1 ngit5

tomorrow

明早日 min2 zau1 ngit5

this week

這隻星期 ngia3 zak5 sin1 ki2 / 這隻禮拜 ngia4 zak5 li1 bai4

last week

上隻星期 song4 zak5 sin1 ki2 / 上隻禮拜 song4 zak5 li1 bai4

next week

下隻星期 ha4 zak5 sin1 ki2 / 下隻禮拜 ha4 zak5 li1 bai4

Sunday

禮拜 li1 bai4 / 星期天 sin1 ki2 tien1

Monday

禮拜一 li1 bai4 yit5 / 星期一 sin1 ki2 yit5

Tuesday

禮拜二 li1 bai4 ngi4 / 星期二 sin1 ki2 ngi4

Wednesday

禮拜三 li1 bai4 sam1 / 星期三 sin1 ki2 sam1

Thursday

禮拜四 li1 bai4 si4 / 星期四 sin1 ki2 si4

Friday

禮拜五 li1 bai4 ng3 / 星期五 sin1 ki2 ng3

Saturday

禮拜六 li1 bai4 luk5 /星期六 sin1 ki2 luk5

Months

January

一月 yit5 ngiet6

February

二月 ngi4 ngiet6

March

三月 sam1 ngiet6

April

四月 si4 ngiet6

May

五月 ng3 ngiet6

June

六月 luk5 ngiet6

July

七月 cit5 ngiet6

August

八月 bat5 ngiet6

September

九月 giu3 ngiet6

October

十月 sip6 ngiet6

November

十一月 sip6 yit5 ngiet6

December

十二月 sip6 ngi4 ngiet6

First lunar month

正月 zang1 ngiet6

Second lunar month

二月 ngi4 ngiet6

Third lunar month

三月 sam1 ngiet6

Fourth lunar month

四月 si4 ngiet6

Fifth lunar month

五月 ng3 ngiet6

Sixth lunar month

六月 luk5 ngiet6

Seventh lunar month

七月 cit5 ngiet6

Eighth lunar month

八月 bat5 ngiet6

Ninth lunar month

九月 giu3 ngiet6

Tenth lunar month

十月 sip6 ngiet6

Eleventh lunar month

十一月 sip6 yit5 ngiet6

Twelfth lunar month

十二月 sip6 ngi4 ngiet6

Leap intercalculary month

閏月 yun4 ngiet6

First day of lunar month

初一 co1 yit5

Second day of lunar month

初二 co1 ngi4

Ninth day of lunar month

初九 co1 giu3

Tenth day of lunar month

初十 co1 sip6

Eleventh day of lunar month

十一(日) sip5 yit5 (ngit5)

Colors

black

( )

white

( )

gray

( )

red

( )

blue

( )

yellow

( )

green

( )

orange

( )

purple

( )

brown

( )

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

How do I get to _____ ?

( )

...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...

( )

...hotels?

( )

...restaurants?

( )

...bars?

( )

...sites to see?

( )

Can you show me on the map?

( )

street

( )

Turn left.

( )

Turn right.

( )

left

( )

right

( )

straight ahead

( )

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?

( )

...a TV?

( )

May I see the room first?

( )

Do you have anything quieter?

( )

...bigger?

( )

...cleaner?

( )

...cheaper?

( )

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

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 _____.

( )

I want a dish containing _____.

( )

chicken

( )

beef

( )

fish

( )

ham

( )

sausage

( )

cheese

( )

eggs

( )

salad

( )

(fresh) vegetables

( )

(fresh) fruit

( )

bread

( )

toast

( )

noodles

( )

rice

( )

beans

( )

May I have a glass of _____?

( )

May I have a cup of _____?

( )

May I have a bottle of _____?

( )

coffee

( )

tea (drink)

( )

juice

( )

(bubbly) water

( )

(still) water

( )

beer

( )

red/white wine

( )

May I have some _____?

( )

salt

( )

black pepper

( )

butter

( )

Excuse me, waiter? (getting attention of server)

( )

I'm finished.

( )

It was delicious.

( )

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

( )

club soda

( )

tonic water

( )

orange juice

( )

Coke (soda)

( )

Do you have any bar snacks?

( )

One more, please.

( )

Another round, please.

( )

When is closing time?

( )

Cheers!

( )

Shopping

Do you have this in my size?

( )

How much is this?

( )

That's too expensive.

( )

Would you take _____?

( )

expensive

( )

cheap

( )

I can't afford it.

( )

I don't want it.

( )

You're cheating me.

( )

I'm not interested.

(..)

OK, I'll take it.

( )

Can I have a bag?

( )

Do you ship (overseas)?

( )

I need...

( )

...toothpaste.

( )

...a toothbrush.

( )

...tampons.

. ( )

...soap.

( )

...shampoo.

( )

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

( )

...cold medicine.

( )

...stomach medicine.

... ( )

...a razor.

( )

...an umbrella.

( )

...sunblock lotion.

( )

...a postcard.

( )

...postage stamps.

( )

...batteries.

( )

...writing paper.

( )

...a pen.

( )

...English-language books.

( )

...English-language magazines.

( )

...an English-language newspaper.

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...an English-English dictionary.

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Driving

I want to rent a car.

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Can I get insurance?

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stop (on a street sign)

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one way

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yield

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no parking

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speed limit

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gas (petrol) station

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petrol

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diesel

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Authority

I haven't done anything wrong.

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It was a misunderstanding.

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Where are you taking me?

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Am I under arrest?

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

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

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I want to talk to a lawyer.

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Can I just pay a fine now?

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