Pronunciation guide
What Is Jyutping? A Beginner’s Guide to Cantonese Tones
Jyutping is a romanization system for Cantonese. It writes pronunciation with Latin letters and tone numbers 1–6. In 你好 (nei5 hou2), meaning “hello,” the 5 and 2 identify the tone of each syllable.
Letters describe the syllable; numbers describe the tone
The Linguistic Society of Hong Kong developed Jyutping as a consistent way to represent Cantonese sounds with Latin letters. A written syllable contains an initial and a final, followed by a tone number. Some syllables can stand without an initial.
Jyutping is not English phonetic spelling. Familiar letters do not always map to the sound an English speaker expects, so it works best beside audio. The number is part of the pronunciation too: changing pitch can change the word a listener hears.
The six Jyutping tone numbers
- Tone 1: high level
- Tone 2: high rising
- Tone 3: mid level
- Tone 4: low falling
- Tone 5: low rising
- Tone 6: mid-low level
Five beginner examples
| Traditional Chinese | Jyutping | English |
|---|---|---|
| 你好 | nei5 hou2 | Hello |
| 廣東話 | gwong2 dung1 waa2 | Cantonese |
| 的士 | dik1 si2 | Taxi |
| 點心 | dim2 sam1 | Dim sum |
| 唔該 | m4 goi1 | Please / thanks |
How to use Jyutping without depending on it
Canto Cab places Jyutping alongside Cantonese during lessons and feedback. It supports recognition and listening, but the game does not evaluate your pronunciation. For a complete sound chart and recordings, use the official Jyutping resources linked below.
- Listen first, then use Jyutping to notice the syllable and tone.
- Say the whole word before analyzing each letter.
- Keep Traditional Chinese visible so sound, characters, and meaning stay connected.
- Compare close words in both directions instead of reading the romanization passively.
Sources and further listening
Quick answers
Frequently asked questions
- What do the numbers in Jyutping mean?
- They mark one of six Cantonese tone categories for each syllable.
- Is Jyutping the same as pinyin?
- No. Jyutping represents Cantonese pronunciation; pinyin normally refers to the romanization system used for Mandarin.
- Can I learn from Jyutping without audio?
- Jyutping is a precise written guide, but beginners should pair it with audio because its letters are not simply English phonetic spelling.