Cantonese
Phoneme Illustrated
Description of Phoneme
Transcription
Tone
Gloss
-
1
p
vl. Bilabial unaspirated stop
pɑː
55
father
-
2
pʰ
vl. Bilabial aspirated stop
pʰɑː
31
climb
-
3
t
vl. Alveolar unaspirated
tɑː
24
hit
-
4
tʰ
vl. Alveolar aspirated
tʰɑː
55
lie down
-
5
k
vl. Velar unaspirated
kɑː
55
add
-
6
kʰ
vl. Velar aspirated
kʰɑː
55
exclamation
-
7
kʷ
vl. Velar unaspirated labialized
kʷɑː
55
melon
-
8
kʰʷ
vl. Velar aspirated labialized
kʰʷɑː
55
go over
-
9
f
vl. Labio-dental fricative
fɑː
55
flower
-
10
s
vl. Alveolar fricative
sɑː
55
sand
-
11
s (allophone [ʃ])
ʃyː
55
book
-
12
tʃ
vl. Palato-alveolar unaspirated
tʃɑi
23
son
-
13
tʃʰ
vl. Palato-alveolar aspirated
tʃʰɑi
55
guess
-
14
dʒ
vd. Palato-alveolar
dʒɑː
55
hold
-
15
m
bilabial nasal
mɑː
23
horse
-
16
n
alveolar nasal
nɑːm
11
south
-
17
ŋ
velar nasal
ŋɑː
11
teeth
-
18
l
alveolar lateral
lɑː
55
(exclamation)
-
19
j
palatal approximant
jɑː
24
also
-
20
h
velar approximant
hɑː
55
shrimp
-
21
w
labio-velar approximant
wɑː
55
baby
-
22
p
vl. Bilabial stop (word-final)
kʰʌp°
55
suck
-
23
t
vl. Alveolar stop (word-final)
kʰʌt
55
choke
-
24
k
vl. Velar stop (word-final)
tʌk°
55
virtue
-
25
m
bilabial nasal (word-final)
kʰʌm
55
gather
-
26
n
alveolar nasal (word-final)
kʌn
33
near
-
27
ŋ
velar nasal (word-final)
kʌŋ
33
more
-
28
iː
high front unrounded
miːn
33
face
-
29
yː
high front rounded
ʃyː
53
book
-
30
ɛː
lower mid front unrounded
mɛːŋ
11
name
-
31
ɑː
low back unrounded
mɑː
55
mother
-
32
ɔː
lower mid back unrounded
sɔ
55
comb
-
33
uː
high back rounded
kuː
55
woman
-
34
iː
55
clothes
-
35
yː
23
rain
-
36
uː
55
black
-
37
ɩ
lower high front unrounded
mɩŋ
11
bright
-
38
e
higher mid front unrounded
me
33
taste
-
39
ø
higher mid front rounded
sø
23
age
-
40
ʌ
lower mid central unrounded
kʌp°
55
suck
-
41
o
higher mid back rounded
mo
11
nothing
-
42
ɷ
lower high back rounded
sɷk
33
uncle
-
43
aɩ
maɩ
23
rice
-
44
au
mau
31
(exclamation)
-
45
ɛɔ
sɛɔ
11
normal
-
46
iu
miu
33
neat
-
47
uɩ
muɩ
23
sister
-
48
oɩ
ŋoɩ
55
sad
-
49
øɩ
tøɩ
33
correct
-
50
Yin-Ping tone
tsʰɑːn
55
kind
-
51
Yin-Shang tone
tsʰɑːn
24
therapy
-
52
Yang-Qu
tsʰɑːn
33
match
-
53
Yang-Ping
tsʰɑːn
31
[surname]
-
54
naːm
11
man
-
55
Yang-Shang
tsʰɑːn
23
[name of a skin disease]