Cantonese Ch.1-4 -- Rimes with i & o (Phonology)

Golden Rule of becoming a native Cantonese speaker: Tones > Everything!

In this blog, we use Jyutping to indicate the pronunciation of Cantonese characters.

Previous lesson: Rimes with e

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In this lesson, we talk about Rimes with i and o. Both are pretty intuitive for English speakers.

Rimes with i

For i, iu, im, in, ip, it, i sounds like “yee”. For example, “ee” in “see” or “keen”.

For ing and ik, i sound like “egg”. For example, “i” in “ignore” or “sing”.

Jyutping	Sounds in English	Cantonese Example	Jyutping	Sounds in English	Cantonese Example
i	ee in see	思(si1)	ip	eep in weep	攝(sip3)
iu	eal in seal	燒(siu1)	it	eet in meet	舌(sit3)
im	eam in beam	閃(sim2)	ing	ing in sing	升(sing1)
in	een in seen	先(sin1)	ik	ic in acidic	識(sik1)

Rimes with o

Every Rime with o sounds like “oy” in “joy” or “ahoy”.

Except for ou, it sounds more like “oh”. For example, “ou” in “soul”.

Jyutping	Sounds in English	Cantonese Example	Jyutping	Sounds in English	Cantonese Example
o	ee in see	可(ho2)	ot	ought in thought	渴(hot3)
oi	oy in joy	開(hoi1)	ok	orch in orchestra	學(hok6)
on	on in gone	看(hon3)	ou	ou in soul	好(hou2)
ong	ong in long	康(hong1)

Learn a new word before you move on

Excuse me, it’s time for your daily dose of Cantonese vocab!

唔好意思(m4 hou2 ji3 si1), which means **Excuse me**!

You can use it in many scenario, and politeness is always the key to success.

So again… 下次見(haa6 ci3 gin3)!

Next lesson: Rimes with u

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Further reading: Jyutping, The linguistic Society of Hong Kong