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Homophones & Homographs when writing Penang Hokkien using Taiji Romanisation

Homophones are words that share the same pronunciation and tone, but have different spelling and meaning. Homographs are words that share the same pronunciation, tone and spelling, but have different meaning. They are different from tonemes, which are words that share the same spelling but have different tones and meaning.

Example of tonemes:
  1. kau1 [kau]: (verb) to hang

  2. kau2 [kau]: (noun) monkey

  3. kau3 [kau]: (adjective) thick, (adverb) enough

  4. kau4 [kau]: (noun) nine

When I develop Taiji Romanisation for writing Penang Hokkien, I am aware of the problem that plague previous attempts to romanise tonal languages. Unlike non-tonal languages, where each word is likely to have many syllables, words in tonal languages tend to economize on the number of syllables by stacking up with tones. However, when tonal languages are phonetically romanized, it results in many words sharing the same spelling. This is the problem with the romanisation of Chinese to hanyu pinyin. It is easier to read using the Chinese characters than with the romanized pinyin text, due to having to determine the meaning of each homograph through context.

Purpose of Homophones

Homophones serve the two main purposes:
  1. Clearing up ambiguity in the written language

  2. Helping to retain the meaning in translations

Clearing up ambiguity
Generally speaking, homographs impedes smooth reading. To facilitate smooth reading, I attempt to reduce homographs by replacing them with homophones. That is why in Taiji Romanisation some vowel sounds may be written in more than one way. Consider the following, paying attention to the words in bold: He and I work together.
He works for me.
He taught me to do the work.
He is very good at delegating work for me to do. A phonetically precise system will render all four (and, works, taught and delegating) with the same spelling, ka3. However, a phonetically indicative system provides a different spelling for each instance. Ie1 kah1 wah4 co1 kang1.
Ie1 ka3 wah4 co1 kang1.
Ie1 kah3 wah4 co1 kang1.
Ie1 gau3 kar3 wah4 co1 kang1. All four words (kah1, ka3, kar3 and karh3) have the same pronunciation, perhaps with just a tone difference for kah1, but because each carries its own meaning, any ambiguity is cleared up.

Meaning Retention
The two languages that will impact Penang Hokkien most greatly are English and Mandarin. The romanized writing system for Penang Hokkien has to be able to retain the meaning of works translated from these two languages without loss in meaning. Consider the following sentence: He can't sell her his horse because she cannot buy it. As many of the words in the above sentence have the same pronunciation and tone, a phonetically precise system render each of them with the same spelling. As a result, clarity is lost. POJ: I bē bē i i ê bé•, eng-ūi i bē bé i
Tailo: i bē bē i i ê bé in-uī i bē bé i
As a phonetically indicative system assigns a different spelling for words that have different meaning but sound the same and have the same tone. As such, the same sentence translated using Taiji Romanization looks like this: Ie1 be33 beh33 ee1 ie1-eh3 bae4 eng3-goay33 ee1 be33 beh4 i1. The sentence written in Taiji Romanisation can be translated back into English or further translated into Mandarin without any loss in meaning. The sentences in POJ and Tailo, in comparison, have become ambiguious unless they are re-phrased, replacing the pronouns with antecedents.

Although a person learning a phonetically indicative system has to memorize the spelling of every word, he does that only once. Having committed the spelling to memory, he enjoys clearer comprehension without having to face ambiguities regularly. A person using a phonetically precise system, in comparison, is plagued with ambiguity that slows down his comprehension.

List of Homophones in Taiji Romanisation of Penang Hokkien

This is not an exhaustive list, but are some of the homographs I have come across in my Penang Hokkien dictionary. To qualify as homophones, two separate words must share the same IPA symbol as well as tone number, but have different spelling.

  1. bo2 [bo]: (verb) to disappear
    boh2 [bo]: (particle) interrogative particle

  2. cap3hoay3 [tsap-hoe]: (noun) miscellaneous items
    cap3 hoay3 [tsap-hoe]: (noun) ten years old

  3. ceh33 [tse]: (verb) to sit
    ce33 [tse]: (adverb) many, a lot

  4. cha2 [tsha]: (noun) wood
    char2 [tsha]: (verb) to investigate

  5. cha4 [tsha]: (verb) to disturb
    char4 [tsha]: (verb) to stir-fry

  6. cheeo3 [tshio]: (verb) to sing
    chio3 [tshio]: (verb) to laugh

  7. cheet3 [tshit]: (verb) to wipe
    chit3 [tshit]: (number) seven

  8. chi3 [tshi]: (noun) bone, thorn
    chie3 [tshi]: (verb) to feed

  9. cho3 [tsho]: (adjective) error
    choh3 [tsho]: (verb) to mince

  10. choay2 [tshoe]: (verb) to blow
    choe2 [tshoe]: (verb) to steam

  11. choon1 [tshun]: (noun) spring
    chun1 [tshun]: (noun) leftover, remainder

  12. choot2 [tshoe]: (noun, classifier) episode
    chut2 [tshoe]: (verb, adverb) to go out, to exit; out

  13. cnua3 [tsuã]: (verb) to boil water
    cnuah3 [tsuã]: (verb) to shoot a jet of water

  14. ee1 [i]: (pronoun) she
    i1 [i]: (pronoun) it

    ie1 [i]: (pronoun) he

  15. ho33bae4 [ho-bɛ]: (noun) number
    ho3bae4 [ho-bɛ]: (noun) hippopotamus

  16. hoay3 [hoe]: (noun) age, years old
    hoe3 [hoe]: (noun) product

  17. ka3 [ka]: (verb) to bite
    kah3 [ka]: (verb) to teach

  18. ka1 leow4 [ka-liau]: (phrase) until finish
    ka1liau4 [ka-liau]: (adjective, pronoun) all

  19. kau4 [kio]: (number) nine
    kao4 [kio]: (noun) dog

  20. kay1 [ke]: (noun) chicken; (noun) street
    ke1) [ke]: (noun) prostitute

  21. keo4 [kio]: (noun) brinjal
    kio4 [kio]: (noun) bridge

  22. keow4 [kiau]: (noun) betting
    kiau4 [kiau]: (verb) to stir

  23. kheok3 [khiok]: (classifier) classifier for people
    khiok3 [khiok]: (verb) to collect, to pick up, to obtain

  24. koay3 [koe]: (adverb) past, through
    koe3 [koe]: (adverb) before, in time preceding, previously

  25. koay4 [koe]: (verb) to prop, to stabilize
    kueh4 [koe]: (noun) Nyonya pastry

  26. koo3 [ku]: (noun) mother's brothers, wife's brothers; uncles
    ku3 [kua]: (verb) to saw; (adjective) old (for things); (classifier) for words; (homophone of koo3)

  27. lam4 [lam]: (adjective) weak
    larm4 [lam]: (verb) to embrace

  28. le2 [le]: (noun) snail
    -leh2 [le]: (classifier) general classifier

  29. leow4 [liau]: (verb) to finish
    liau4 [liau]: (particle) already

  30. pae2 [pɛ]: (verb) to crawl
    paeh2 [pɛ]: (verb) to scratch

  31. poay2 [poe]: (verb) to return, to compensate
    poe2 [poe]: (verb) to accompany

  32. see3 [si]: (number) four
    si3 [si]: (verb) is, are

  33. se3 [se]: (adjective) small
    seh3 [se]: (noun) method, procedure

  34. sio1 [sio]: (adjective) small (literary reading)
    siew1 [sio]: (verb) to burn, to roast

  35. so4 [so]: (verb) to lock, (adverb) so
    soh4 [so]: (noun) elder brother's wife; husband's elder brother's wife; sister-in-law

  36. tau3iu2 [tau-iu]: (noun) soya sauce
    tau3yiu2 [tau-iu]: (noun) tourist guide

  37. tay3 [te]: (noun) earth, soil
    te33 [te]: (noun) ordinal numbers

  38. tay4 [te]: (adjective) short
    te4 [te]: (preposition) bottom

  39. thnia1 [thiã]: (verb) to hear
    thniah1 [thiã]: (noun) living room

  40. thnia3 [thiã]: (adjective) pain, hurt
    thniah3 [thiã]: (verb) to love

  41. uak1 [uaʔ]: (adjective) alive
    wak1 [waʔ]: (noun) stroke

List of Homographs in Taiji Romanisation of Penang Hokkien

Although I try to reduce homographs, sometimes it is not possible to entirely eliminate them, particularly where there are no other alternative spellings. Some words retain commonly accepted spelling though they might not be phonetically accurate. Also, some of the common words fit nicely within the context and have been accepted as having the same meaning and pronunciation. The following are some that I have come across.

  1. at3 [at]: (verb) to snap (compare with au4 and cik3); (verb) to extort

  2. au4 [au]: (verb) to bend; (verb) to vomit

  3. bang3 [baŋ]: (noun) net; (noun) dream

  4. boh3 [bo]: (noun) hat; (adverb) none, nothing

  5. cai1 [tsai]: (verb) to know; (verb) to plant

  6. cai3 [tsai]: (verb) to carry in a vehicle; (adjective) stable

  7. cek3 [tsek]: (noun) father's younger brother; (adjective) indigestion; [tsɛk] cheque (English derivative)

  8. ceng1 [tseŋ]: (noun) bell; (verb) to punch; (verb) to grow plants

  9. cha2 [tsha]: (noun) wood; (verb) to check (homophone of char2)

  10. chee4 [tsi]: (noun) elder sister; (noun) seed

  11. cheng3 [tsheŋ]: (noun) gun; (verb) to wear

  12. chnae1 [tshɛ̃]: (adjective) green; (noun) star

  13. chniau3RW [tshiãu]: (verb) sing; (noun) elephant

  14. chu3 [tshu]: (noun) house; (verb) to slip

  15. chuak3RW [tshuak]: (adjective) terrified, shocked; (verb) to pluck out, to uproot

  16. chui3 [tshui]: (noun) mouth; (adjective) smashed

  17. ciap3 [tsiap]: (verb) to receive, (verb) to connect

  18. cien3 [tsiɛn]: (adjective) hyperactive, (noun) battle

  19. cniau3 [tsiãu]: (adjective) mischievous; (noun) sauce

  20. cun3 [tsun]: (noun) period; (verb) to shiver

  21. eh2 [e]: (noun) shoe; (particle) possessive particle

  22. heng2 [heŋ]: (verb) to return (to revert to former owner); (noun) style

  23. hip3 [hip]: (verb) to photograph; (adjective) humid

  24. hor3RW [hɔ]: (noun) rain; (verb) to let, to give, to receive an action; (preposition) for, (in passive voice) by

  25. hu2 [hip]: (noun) fish; (noun) talisman paper issued by spirit medium

  26. i1 [i]: (verb) to treat, to heal; (pronoun) it

  27. im1 [im]: (grammar) tone; (verb) to rise (tide)

  28. iu2 [iu]: (verb) to swim, (noun) oil

  29. ka1 [ka]: (verb) to cut (with scissors); (conjunction) and, until, (adverb) then, more

  30. ka3 [ka]: (preposition) to, with; (verb) to bite (homophone of kah3)

  31. kae1 [kɛ]: (noun) family, (verb) to add, (adverb) more

  32. kae3 [kɛ]: (adjective) low; (noun) price

  33. kang1 [kaŋ]: (noun) work; (noun) male

  34. kau3 [kau]: (adjective) thick, enough; (verb) to arrive, to reach

  35. keng1 [keŋ]: (classifier) for buildings; (noun) chant

  36. khau3 [khau]: (verb) to scrape; (verb) to court

  37. khek3 [khek]: (verb) to carve; (verb) to squash together

  38. ki3 [ki]: (noun) mole (congenital spot or blemish on the skin); (verb) to memorize

  39. ko1 [ko]: (adverb) still, (noun) elder brother, (classifier) classifier for month

  40. kong4 [kɔŋ]: (noun) tin can; (verb) to say; (subordinating conjunction) that

  41. knia1 sai3 [kiã-sai]: (noun) son-in-law; (noun) bridegroom

  42. knuai1 [kuãi]: (noun) county; (verb) to imprison

  43. kong1 [kɔŋ]: (noun) grandfather, (verb) to pay by installment
  44. koo3 [ku]: (verb) to saw (homophone of ku3; (noun) mother's brothers, wife's brothers; uncles

  45. kor1 [kɔ]: (noun) mushroom; (noun) father's sisters, husband's sisters; aunts, sisters-in-law

  46. kor2 [kɔ]: (noun) goo; (verb) to paste

  47. ku3 [ku]: (adj) old (for things); (classifier) for words

  48. kua1 [kua]: (noun) song, (noun) melon, gourd

  49. kuan33 [kuan]: (noun) bottle, (noun) county; (verb) to swig, to guzzle, to drink excessive amounts

  50. kui1 [kui]: (adjective) expensive; (adjective) entire, whole

  51. lam4 [lam]: (verb) to hug, to embrace; (adjective) weak

  52. lau3 [lam]: (adjective) old; (verb) to have the runs, short for lau1 sai4

  53. long2 [lɔŋ]: (noun) paper bag, plastic bag; (verb) to put on, to don

  54. nia4 [nia]: (noun) collar; (noun) ravine

  55. niau2 [niau]: (noun) husband's mother; (verb) to measure

  56. nua4 [nua]: (verb) to toss and turn (in bed); (verb) to knead (dough)

  57. paek3 [pɛʔ]: (verb) to pry open, to peel away the skin; (verb) to climb up

  58. pai2 [pai]: (noun) signboard, pendant; (verb) to arrange; adjective) linked, terrace

  59. pao1 [pao]: (noun) steamed bun, (verb) wrap

  60. peng1 [peŋ]: (noun) soldier; (noun) ice

  61. phang1 [phaŋ]: (noun) bee; (adjective) fragrant, smells nice

  62. phau3 [phau]: (noun) fire-cracker, fireworks; (verb) to prepare beverage (coffee, cocoa, etc.) by adding water to powdered mix and stirring

  63. pien3 [piɛn]: (noun) instance; (adjective) ready; (verb) to transform, to change

  64. poay3cun1 [poe-tsun]: (noun) plane; (noun) times, instances

  65. poe1 [poe]: (noun) plaque; (verb) to fly

  66. por3 [pɔ]: (noun) cloth; (verb) to chew

  67. por4 [pɔ]: (verb) to mend; (verb) to compensate

  68. pni4 [pĩ]: (verb) to compare; (adjective) flat

  69. pun1 [pun]: (particle) Emphatic particle that corresponds to "also", see also tun1 (from "pun", Malay loanword); (verb) to divide

  70. pun3 [pun]: (noun) pound; (adjective) sloppy

  71. pun4 [pun]: (classifier) classifier for books; (noun) capital

  72. sai1 [sai]: (noun) lion; (noun) west

  73. sai4 [sai]: (noun) faeces; (verb) to drive

  74. sau3 [sau]: (noun) cough; (verb) to cough; (verb) to sweep

  75. si2 [si]: (noun) time; (verb) to dismiss, to fire

  76. sin2 [sin]: (verb) to catch with the hands; (noun) spirit, deity, God

  77. sien1 [siɛn]: (noun) rust; (noun) angel; (verb) to bluff, to fool

  78. sit3 [sit]: (verb) to faint; (adjective) extinguished

  79. sni3 [sĩ]: (noun) fan; (verb) to preserve; (adjective) sting, sharp irritation

  80. sniau1 [siãu]: (noun) crate; (noun) birth sign

  81. sniau3 [siãu]: (verb) to think; (adverb) too

  82. that3 [tat]: (verb) to kick; (verb) to block

  83. thiau1 [thiau]: (noun) pole, pillar; (verb) to jump

  84. thu2 [thu]: (verb) to delay; (adjective) dim-witted, feebleminded

  85. tiam3 [tiam]: (adj) quiet (Malay loanword); (noun) shop

  86. tiau2 [tiau]: (classifier) for long objects that are bendy, i.e. road, thread, rope, string, etc.; (noun) dynasty; (verb) to stick on

  87. tniau3 [tiãu]: (noun) parents' sisters' husbands; uncles; (adjective) indigestion; (verb) to resemble

  88. tua3RW [tua]: (noun) tract, pipe, hose; (verb) to live, to stay, to be located; (adjective) big

  89. tui3 [tui]: (classifier) classifier for groups of people; (noun) team, group; (preposition) from

  90. tun1 [tun]: (particle) particle that corresponds to "also", see also pun1 (from "pun", Malay loanword); (adjective) blunt

List of Heteronyms in Taiji Romanisation of Penang Hokkien

Heteronyms are words sharing the same spelling but different pronunciation and meaning. As far as possible, I try to avoid these, except in situations where one of the words have become commonly accepted as being spelled as such, even though it may not have been phonetically accurate.

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