潮汕話拼音 Romanised Teochew Explained

As I am to share with English speaking Teochew people, it is important that we have a common understanding of the Romanised Teochew which I use.

In Teochew Romanisation, we use 22 Roman letters and these are a b bh c d ê e g h i k l m n ng o p r s t u z and every character begins with an initial consonant syllable

b bo1 菠	bh bho5 無无	c co2 楚	d do1 刀	g go1 膏	gh gho5 鵝鹅	h ho5 河	k ko2 炣	l lo5 螺
m  mo2 孬	n no6 二	ng ngo6 遇	p po6 抱	r  ru5 如	s so1 挲	t to3 退	z zo6 坐

and 60 final syllables 

	a1 阿	o5 蠔｜蚝	ê2瘂｜痖	e5餘｜余	ai1哀	oi5 鞋	ao1甌｜瓯	ou1烏｜乌	ng5黃｜黄
i	ia7也	io1 腰			uai1 歪		iao1 夭		ing1 因
u	ua2 我		uê1鍋｜锅						ung3搵｜揾
	am3 暗	ang5 紅｜红	êng7 用	eng1 恩	ong6擁｜拥	ah4鴨｜鸭	oh8學｜学	êh4 厄	oih8狹｜狭
i	iam5鹽｜盐	iang3 嬿			iong2 永	iah8翼	ioh4約｜约
u		uang2 阮				uah8 活		uêh8劃｜划
	ab8 盒	ag4惡｜恶	og4 屋	êg8億｜亿
i	iab4壓｜压	iag4躍｜跃	iog8 淯
u	uab 法	uag發｜发
	an7 餡｜馅	ên5 楹	ain3 欲	oin5閒｜闲
i	ian2 影
u	uan1碗
in5 丸	ib4 邑	ih蒂	ion7樣｜样	iu5 油	im1 音	ig4 一	ug4 熨	ui1醫｜医	uam犯
								iaoh 雀	aoh樂｜乐

And we write our Romanised Teochew from the above. 

便

 便 In the last post I wrote that we will explore this character 便

There is huang1 biang6 方便 which means convenient like as in huang1 biang6 min7 方便麵 - instant noodles which comes in a packet or pot

There is siao2 biang6 小便 and we normally say this as bang3 rio7 放尿 to mean to make a wee wee

and of course not forgetting dua7biang6 大便 which we normally say as bang3 sai2 放屎 which means to defecate 

There is also pin1 便 which means 便宜 cheap not expensive [pls remember the n after pi means you nasal pi1]

In Zhang Xiao Shan's second edition dictionary page 69 he wrote 

bing7 zian5 goi7 便成易 explained as 既方便又容易 both convenient and easy and in an example of use, Zhang Xiao Shan wrote

Zo7 loh8 lai5 ziah8, gê1 sang1 de7 dian7 , bing7 zian5 goi7 

座落來食加雙箸定便成易｜ 座落来食加双箸定便成易

sit down and eat, an additional pair of chopsticks and that is all, easy and convenient

and the Mandarin translation given in the dictionary is 

座下來吃多一雙筷子而已既方便又容易｜  座下来吃多一双筷子而已既方便又容易

ZXS also gave another example piang1piang1 便便 which means obese and bulging and in this example of use, he wrote:

dua7 bag4 piang1piang1 大腹便便 which means to have a large fat stomach and the Mandarin explanation is 肚子肥大的樣子｜ 肚子肥大的样子

ZXS also listed biang6riang5 便然 and biang6zian5 便成 but did not give any examples of use. 

Therefore this character 便 can be said as biang6, pin1, piang1, bing7 and unfortunately the only way to learn this is to memorise . . .

I hope you find this post helpful in helping you to learn Teochew. 

變 - 有變｜有变

I like to talk about u6biang3 有變 and the opposite is bho5biang3 無變

I was watching a cooking show [just after 2:09] and I noticed the subtitles used this character 便 for biang and I was wondering why. 

We will deal with this character 便 in another post. 

So the chef said 

u6biang3 ziu6 oh8 

bho5biang3 ziu6 tion2 cu3bhi7 

有變就學無變就睇趣味｜有变就学无变就睇趣味

So what does u6biang3 mean. Teochew dictionaries explain u6biang3 辦法 as a method or a way of doing something and therefore bho5biang3 means has no method or way of doing something.

Then how about cu3bhi7 趣味.  Cu3bhi7 means interest, interesting, fun 有意思 or 好玩

How would I translate u6biang3 ziu6 oh8 bho5biang3 ziu6 tion2 cu3bhi7 - I would translate this sentence as

If there is a possibility then learn or else watch for fun. 

I hope that you have learnt some Teochew today.  

bho5 無｜无 趣味潮汕話 Interesting Teochew words

 bho5 無｜无 is a very interesting character. 

If I were to say 無半人 bho5 buan3 nang5 - you will have an idea what this means. The literal meaning is not half a person and the actual meaning is there is no body around to be found. 

However, if I were to say bho5 at the end of a phrase, then it makes our Teochew very interesting.

For example, if I were to say tian1 bho5 聽無 then what does this mean?

There are other examples and the rule here is a verb + bho5

tion2 bho5 睇無

sion6 bho5 想無

To make it a bit more complicated:

cuang5 Dio5suan1 cuê7 bho5 buan3 gai5 全潮汕覓無半個

tong1 hion1li2 cuê7 bho5  通鄉里覓無

tong1 goi1ci6 lah8 bho5 通街市躐無｜通街市猎无

You must have heard the expression lah8 goi1ci6 躐街市 and its meaning is 逛市場 or to take a stroll around a market place

I heard this "tong1 goi1ci6 lah8 bho5" expression for the first time today from this guy is from Swatow 汕頭 who goes by the name "Bokey Lee" in Chinese social media. 

First tian1 bho5 聽無 - I heard this when Dêg4go1 Hian1 竹篙兄 [the name of an actor] went to see a doctor and he could not hear anything and he kept saying tian1 bho5 聽無 which means he is unable to hear and in Mandarin would be 聽不見

Sion6 bho5 想無 means did not expect, unexpected, cannot imagine. [沒想到 ; 想不到 ; 意想不到]

So what do you think the following expressions mean?

tion2 bho5 睇無

cuang5 Dio5suan1 cuê7 bho5 buan3 gai5 全潮汕覓無半個

tong1 hion1li2 cuê7 bho5  通鄉里覓無

tong1 goi1ci6 lah8 bho5 通街市躐無｜通街市猎无

門骹一叢梨

 門骹一叢梨

This is a Teochew nursery rhyme and it is a very good source for learning Teochew.

門骹一叢梨 - mung5ka1 zêg8 zang5 lai5 - outside the household door is a pear tree

數來數去三百個 - siao3 lai5 siao3 ke3 saⁿ1 bêh4 gai5 -count here count there, there are three hundred

阮厝阿兄𡥘個𡚸 - ung2 cu3 a1hiaⁿ1 cua7 gai5 bhou2 - our home, elder brother marries a wife

𡥘著個𡚸無下頦 - cua7 dioh8 gai5 bhou2 bho5 ê6 hai5 the wife has no chin

門骹一叢柑 - mung5ka1 zêg8 zang5 gaⁿ1 outside the household is a mandarin orange tree

數來數去三百三 - siao3 lai5 siao3 ke3 saⁿ1 bêh4 saⁿ1 count here count there, there are three hundred and three

阮厝阿兄𡥘個𡚸  - ung2 cu3 a1hiaⁿ1 cua7 gai5 bhou2 our home elder brother marries a wife

𡥘著個𡚸長短骹 - cua7 dioh8 gai5 bhou2 deng5 do2 ka1 - the wife has a leg longer than the other

無下頦來長短骹 - bho5 ê6 hai5 lai5 deng5 do2 ka1 no chin, one leg longer than the other

怨來怨去是媒人婆 - uang3 lai5 uang3 ke3 si6 bhuê5 nang5 pua5 - blame here blame there - it is the matchmaker's fault

害阮阿兄田未做 - hai7 ung2 a1hiaⁿ1 cang5 bhuê7 zo3 cause elder brother not to be able to work in the fields

日日暝暝捶心肝 - rig8 rig8 mêⁿ5 mêⁿ5 dui5 sim1guaⁿ1 day and night pounds his chest

阿兄汝呾勿傷心 - a1hiaⁿ1 le2 daⁿ3 mai2 sioⁿ1sim1 you elder brother do not be grieved 

米已成飯未成舟 - bhi2 iⁿ2 sêng5 bung7 bhuê7 sêng5 ziu1 the rice is already cooked, not yet becoming a boat

只欲阿嫂勤合儉贏過 - zi2aiⁿ3 a1so2 keng5 gah8 kiam6 iaⁿ5 guê3  if only sister in law is hardworking and frugal is better than

阿姐嫁著個翁 - a1zê2 gê3 dioh4 gai5 ang1 elder sister marries a husband (who)

髧眉散白仁 - dam3bhai5 suaⁿ3 bêh8ring5 (is) good for nothing, stupid and idiot 

無下頦來長短骹 - bho5 ê6 hai5 lai5 deng5 do2 ka1 - has no chin, (with) one leg longer than the other . . .

怨來怨去是媒人婆 uang3 lai5 uang3 ke3 si6 bhuê5 nang5 pua5

害阮阿兄田未做 hai7 ung2 a1hiaⁿ1 cang5 bhuê7 zo3

日日暝暝捶心肝 rig8 rig8 mêⁿ5 mêⁿ5 dui5 sim1guaⁿ1

阿兄汝呾勿傷心 a1hiaⁿ1 le2 daⁿ3 mai2 sioⁿ1sim1

米已成飯未成舟 bhi2 iⁿ2 sêng5 bung7 bhuê7 sêng5 ziu1

只欲阿嫂勤合儉贏過 zi2aiⁿ3 a1so2 keng5 gah8 kiam6 iaⁿ5 guê3

阿姐嫁著個翁 a1zê2 gê3 dioh4 gai5 ang1

髧眉散白仁  dam3bhai5 suaⁿ3 bêh8ring5

恭喜發財

 恭喜發財 

This is a Teochew Chinese New Song and I hope you can sing along with the singer.

大吉大利 恭喜發財 Dai6gig4 Dai6li6 giong1'hi2'huag4'cai5

新年大賺 餱扂來  Sing1'ni5 dua7tang3 hou5 diam7 lai [I don’t know why the lyrics wrote 新年大淌] The lyrics wrote 好運 and the singer sung hou and I have not found the hou character and I chose this hou 餱 character

細事大事 財源似海 soi se dua se cai5nguang5 se hai

不忘初心 祝福夠來 bug bhuang co’sim zog’hog gao lai

 

除夕暝 團圓飯 de’sêg mên tuang’in bung7

初一暝 摭過年 [The lyrics wrote 遮過年] but he sung ziah instead of zia 遮

翻開 新一暝

事事如意 發大財

春天時 瞻夠來  The lyrics wrote [ 遮夠來] and he sung ziam and I used 瞻

新年發大財

喜樂安康財富有

心想事成樣樣來

大吉大利 恭喜發財

新年大賺 餱扂來

細事大事 財源似海

不忘初心祝福夠來

 

除夕暝 團圓飯

初一暝摭過年

翻開 新一暝

事事如意發大財

春天時漸夠來

新年發大財

喜樂安康財富有

心想事成 樣樣來

大吉大利 恭喜發財

新年大賺 餱扂來  

細事大事 財源似海

不忘初心 祝福夠來

大吉大利 恭喜發財

新年大賺 餱扂來

細事大事 財源似海

不忘初心 祝福夠來

 

大吉大利 恭喜發財

新年大賺 餱扂來

細事大事 財源似海

不忘初心 祝福夠來

 

大吉大利 恭喜發財

新年大賺 餱扂來

細事大事 財源似海

不忘初心 祝福夠來 

回家過年

 回家過年

時間真實是過得猛 

唔知防又到了年尾

昨暝接著阿媽個電話

伊惦叫我呾車票著先去㓦 

 

我也想欲早一日回家

好相輔筅塵陪阿媽做餜 [筅塵 coiⁿ tung – spring clean]

離家千里有幾次呾夢話

今年春節放假我硬否欲回家

 

轉內去陪陪父母合兄弟姊妹

念心祭拜公祖再凑一凑同學會

最開心是過年暝舉起酒杯

一家大細團團圓圓

坐落來詖人生

 

時間真實是過得猛

唔知防就加了一歲

今日接著阿爸個電話

伊呾伊在車站等接我回家

 

做下來買加一撮年貨

俺年年有餘請五果三牲

囥在肚內有好㩼心內話

堵著厝邊頭尾攏叫呾去滴茶

 

轉內去陪陪父母合兄弟姊妹

念心祭拜公祖再凑一凑同學會

最開心是過年暝舉起酒杯

一家大細團團圓圓

坐落來詖人生

 

著知來陪陪父母合兄弟姊妹

念心祭拜公祖再凑一凑同學會

最開心是過年暝舉起酒杯

一家大細團團圓圓

坐落來詖人生

 

一家大細團團圓圓

者就是我想欲個人生

 

啦啦啦 … 啦啦啦 …

 

新年快樂