Learn Penang Hokkien Online Lesson

This page is created to help you learn Penang Hokkien. If you have completely no knowledge of the language, this is where you pick up the basic words. If you are already a Penang Hokkien speaker, it is where you learn the writing system, Taiji Romanisation, which is created to make it easy for you to communicate in writing in Penang Hokkien. Designed for our present age, the writing system can be used on Facebook, WhatsApp and any other social media platforms without having to install any additional app or software.

On 5th July 2023, the Penang State Government officially launched the Penang Hokkien Dictionary and Learn Penang Hokkien YouTube Channel. This is part of the steps towards gazetting Penang Hokkien as a state heritage. With that, a Penangites can learn to read and write Penang Hokkien to further develop our local culture. By making Penang Hokkien easily written on social media platform, we want to reverse the slide in the use of the language in this modern age.

The Penang Hokkien Dictionary lists four different types of writing systems for Hokkien: Chinese characters, Church Romanisation, Taiwanese Romanisation and Taiji Romanisation. This is to benefit people who have learned to read the Hokkien Language in any of these systems. However, for those with no previous knowledge, you are recommended to learn using Taiji Romanisation, which is used in this lesson below, because it is the easiest to learn. Created in 2013, Taiji is the only writing system that was designed specifically for writing Penang Hokkien.

To give you an idea of all the four writing systems, see the example below.

English: Ah Cheng is Ah Hock's daughter.
Chinese characters: 阿清是阿福的查某囝。
Church Romanisation: A-Chheng sī A-Hok ê cha-bó• -kiáⁿ.
Taiwanese Romanisation: A-Tshing sī A-Hok ê tsa-bóo-kiánn.
Taiji Romanisation: Ah3 Cheng1 si33 Ah3 Hock3-eh3 ca3bor1 knia4.

Taiji Romanisation is recommended because it does not use any unique characters or diacritic marks. So it can be easily typed using any standard keypad and keyboard. In comparison, Church Romanisation has unique characters such as the bó• and áⁿ while Taiwanese Romanisation retains the use of diacritic marks such as ī and ê which are not pronounced the same way as in Hànyǔ Pīnyīn, making these systems difficult to learn and difficult to use thereafter.

The purpose with Taiji Romanisation is to make Penang Hokkien easy for people from all communities to learn, including those who are not Chinese, those who are unfamiliar with Chinese characters, and within the Penang Chinese community itself, to impart a sense of belonging. Penang Hokkien is spoken not only by the Hokkiens in Penang, but by all the Chinese in Penang as well as a significant number of Malays and Indians. It is a state heritage that everyone has ownership.

Taiji Romanisation is designed to be intuitive. That means, a person who already speaks Penang Hokkien is likely to be able to read most of the sentences in Taiji even without any instructions. However, the lesson on this page will enable you to achieve basic literacy in the writing system. From this lesson, you will recognise the words and understand how they come together to form sentences.

How to learn

Penang Hokkien is a tonal language. The meaning of words is carried not only by the spelling, but also by the tone. When you go through this lesson, it is important that you learn the spelling alongside the tone number. For example, learn that the word for "sell" in Penang Hokkien is beh33 . Learn the whole word, spelling and tone number, not just "beh". That's because, the word for "buy" in Penang Hokkien is beh4 . It is spelled exactly the same way as beh33, and only by the tone number can we tell the difference. If you only learn "beh", you can't tell whether it's "buy" or "sell"!

In the beginning, you have to memorize the spelling-tone of basic words (it's no different from learning English, where way and weigh sound the same, wait and weight sound the same). Once those words have been added to your vocabulary, you will be able to read with ease.

Penang Hokkien is a largely monosyllabic language. That means, most of the words are only one syllable in length. It compensates for the shortness of its words by the use of tones. On top of that, there are many words of the same syllable and tone that have different meaning. To disambiguate such words, Taiji Romanisation includes a small number of heterographs (words that are spelled differently but sound the same). For example, the word bay33 , which you can also spell as be33 , means cannot. If you see bay33 or be33, know that it means "cannot", whereas if you see beh33, it means "sell". Beh33, bay33 and be33 all sound the same.

Using the Penang Hokkien Dictionary

I have a video that explains how to use the Penang Hokkien Dictionary. The dictionary also comes in the Mandarin and Malay editions. It is the only online dictionary for Penang Hokkien where you are use English, Mandarin and Malay to look for words in Penang Hokkien. You can also use Chinese characters, Church Romanisation, Taiwanese Romanisation and of course, Taiji Romanisation, to do your search. In order for the dictionary to work for you, you need to tell it which language or writing system you are using by selecting the correct input language. For example, if you want to search the word "cat", your input language in English. If you want to type in "kucing", your input language is Bahasa Melayu.

Table of Contents

1: The spelling

The writing system is designed to allow people who already speak Penang Hokkien be able to read sentences intuitively. It reflects how words are spelled in English and Malay, while the tones are adopted from Mandarin. How locals pronounce the tones in Mandarin can be redeployed to Penang Hokkien without any loss is meaning. People who are Mandarin-educated do have the advantage of having learned tones, but the spelling used is not Hanyu Pinyin.

Every syllable is spelled with letters of the alphabet followed by a number, which can be 1, 2, 3, 4 or 33. Some letters need special attention.

1 (a)
Words and syllables that start with c and ch are pronounced differently.

Words that start with c include ca4 (early), cu4 (cook), and co3 (do).
Words that start with ch include char4 (stir fry), chu4 (mouse, rodent), cho3 (wrong).


1 (b)
Words that start with b , p and ph . Always remember that Taiji is not Hanyu Pinyin, so do not ever use what you learn in Hanyu Pinyin to pronounce Taiji.

Example of words that start with b include bo33 (hat), bu2 (heap), and bang33 (net, dream)
Example of words that start with p include po3 (to report), pu2 (to toast, to grill), and pang3 (to release, to let go).
Example of words that start with ph include pho33 (to carry a child in the arms), phu2 (to float), and phang3 (gap)


1 (c)
Words that start with g , k and kh .

Example of words that start with g include go33 (starving), gi2 (to suspect) and gong33 (stupid).
Example of words that start with k include ko3 (to row), ki2 (flag), and kong3 (to knock, to hit).
Example of words that start with kh include kho3 (to depend on), khee3 (to go), and khong3 (zero).


1 (d)
Comparing non-nasalised and nasalised syllables. Nasalised syllables are spelled with an "n" inserted within the syllable.

Compare sua1 (sand) with snua1 (hill, mountain).
Compare kia3 (to send) with knia3 (mirror)


1 (e)
Syllables ending in -k are pronounced differently from those ending in -ik or -rk.

Compare pek3 (eight) with peik3 (to force).
Compare sek3 (to insert) with seik3 (colour).
Compare kak3 (to match) with kark3 (edge).


1 (f)
The /ɛ/ sound is usually spelled with "ae" and sometimes with "eh". For example mae4 (fast), meh4 (isn't it), kae4 (false, fake) and sae33 (to shoot).


1 (g)
The /e/ sound is usually spelled with "e", "ay" and "eh". For example se3 (small), tay33 (earth) and eh2 (shoe).

2 Intonation

Penang Hokkien is a tonal language. The meaning of words is determined by the tone. Every syllable must be pronounced in the right tone in order to express the desired meaning.

There are four different tones, and they are 1, 2, 3 and 4. These four tones correspond to the four tones in Mandarin, as pronounced by local Mandarin speakers. In addition, there is a tone 33 which sounds the same as tone 3 but behaves uniquely, and will be explained in a moment.

Example
kau1 (to hang)
kau2 (monkey)
kau3 (thick, arrive)
kau4 (nine)
kau1, kau2, kau3, kau4

Every syllable can be pronounced in the four tones although not every tone in every syllable carries a meaning.

lau1 (no meaning)
lau2 (to flow)
lau3 (to leak)
lau4 (to swindle)
lau1, lau2, lau3, lau4

kong1 (grandfather)
kong2 (to hurry)
kong3 (to knock)
kong4 (to say)
kong1, kong2, kong3, kong4

leng1 (milk, sap)
leng2 (dragon)
leng33* (loose)
leng4 (cold)
leng1, leng2, leng3, leng4

*leng33 sounds the same as leng3, but in this case, leng3 has no meaning while leng33 means loose.

So, in total, there are four different tones and a total of five tones. The five are 1, 2, 3, 4 and 33. Again, tones 3 and 33 sound the same but behave differently. Tones 1, 2, 3 and 4 behave the same way. Tone 33 is unique and behaves differently from the rest.

3 Tone Sandhi

When two syllables are placed together, the syllable in front (that is, on the left side) undergoes a tone change. This change in tone is known as tone sandhi.

As already mentioned, there is a total of five tones in Penang Hokkien. They are tones 1, 2, 3, 4 and 33. Syllables with tones 1, 2, 3 and 4 undergo tone change while syllables with tone 33 do not. Tone 33 syllables remain tone 33 even in the presence of another syllable behind it. That is why it is different from tones 1, 2, 3 and 4.

How tones change always follow the same pattern.

Syllables that are originally tones 1 or 2 sandhi to tone 3 while syllables that are originally tones 3 or 4 sandhi to tone 1.

Words in Penang Hokkien are created by combining syllables. Although a great number of Penang Hokkien words have only one syllable, there are also many that have two or more syllables. When these syllables are combined to form words, all the syllables will sandhi except the last one (the one to the most right).

Example
ang1 (husband) + bor4 (wife) forms ang3bor4 (couple)

From the above example, note that the word ang1 changes to ang3 when combined with the word bor4 to form the compound word ang3bor4. The rule of tone sandhi, thankfully, is always the same: words (or syllables) that are originally tones 1 or 2 will sandhi to tone 3 while words that are originally tones 3 or 4 will sandhi to tone 1, and words with tone 33 do not change.

More Examples
ang2 (red) + sna1 (shirt) = ang3 sna1 red shirt
goo2 (cow) + leng1 (milk) = goo3leng1 (cow's milk)
lau3 (leaking)+ cui4 (water) = lau1 cui4 (leaking water)
kang4 (river) + pni1 (side) = kang1 pni1 (riverside)

The rule of tone sandhi applies whether the syllables combine to form compound nouns (e.g. ang3bor4) or simply two separate words side by side (e.g. lau1 cui4).

As mentioned, words and syllables with tone 33 do not sandhi even when another word is added behind it.

Example
lau33* (old) + lang2 (man) = lau33 lang2 (old man)
ku33* (old) + chu3 (house) = ku33 chu3 (old house).
* Lau33 (tua) and ku33 (lama) both translate as "old" in English though lau33 usually refers to people while ku33 never refers to people.

4 Citation Form and Sandhi Form

When you extract a word from the Penang Hokkien Dictionary, you get it in the citation form. That is the form before it undergoes tone sandhi. If you place another syllable or word behind that word, you will cause it to sandhi its final syllable, and the word is then in the sandhi form.

Unlike English words, which undergo inflection (fly changes to flies, flew, flying and flown), words in Penang Hokkien undergoes tone sandhi.

The word kang4 (river) in the earlier example is in the citation form while the word kang1 is its sandhi form. Bear in mind, when you see a word, such as kang1, it can be the sandhi form for the word kang4 (river), but it can also be a different word in the original citation form. Kang1, in the citation form, is a different word meaning "male" as well as "work". So, when you come across words in sentences, their position will tell you whether that word means river, male or work.

In the same way, the word lau3 (leaking) is in the citation form, while its sandhi form is lau1. When you read sentences in Penang Hokkien, the sentence structure will tell you whether that word is in the citation or sandhi form.

While some words sandhi, some don't.

4 (a) Words that undergo tone sandhi
1. Nouns (when serving as modifier to another noun)
2. Pronouns wah4 and lu4
3. Verbs
4. Adjectives
5. Classifiers
6. Possessive Particle
7. Reduplicated Adverbs*

4 (b) Words that do not undergo tone sandhi
1. Particles (lah4, lah3, meh4, nia2, nia33, etc.)
2. Subject
3. Object
4. Adverbs*
* Adverbs on their own do not sandhi, but adjectives that undergo reduplication to form adverbs do.

5 Pronouns

5 (a) Singular Personal Pronouns
I: wah4
You (singular): lu4
He: ie1
She: ee1
It: i1
Ie1, ee1 and i1 are all pronounced the same way, but are spelled differently to disambiguate them.

5 (b) Plural Personal Pronouns
We (excluding you): wah1lang2 , wang1
We (including you): lan1lang2 , lan4
You (plural): lu1lang2 , luang1
They: ie1lang2 (masculine, general) , ee1lang2 (feminine) , i1lang2 (animals and objects)

6 Possessive Particle

The possessive particle "eh2" ) is used to show possessiveness or ownership. It combines with the personal pronouns to form the Possessive Pronouns and Possessive Adjectives,

6 (a) Possessive Pronouns
Possessive pronouns are formed by adding the possessive particle (eh2) behind the personal pronouns.

Singular Possessive Pronouns
wah1 eh2 : mine
lu1 eh2 : yours (singular)
ie1 eh2 : his
ee1 eh2 : hers
i1 eh2 : its
Ie1 eh2, ee1 eh2 and i1 eh2 are pronounced the same way but are spelled differently to disambiguate them.

Plural Possessive Pronouns
wah1lang2 eh2 : us (excluding you)
wang1 eh2 : us (excluding you)
lan4 eh2 : us (including you)
lan1lang2 eh2 : us (including you)
lu1lang2 eh2 : yours (plural)
luang1 eh2 : yours (plural)
ie1lang2 eh2 : theirs (masculine, general)
ee1lang2 eh2 : theirs (feminine)
i1lang2 eh2 : theirs (animals and objects)
Ie1lang2 eh2, ee1lang2 eh2 and i1lang2 eh2 are pronounced the same way but spelled differently to disambiguate them.

Example
Cit1-leh1 baeg1 si33 wah4 eh2.
This bag is mine.

6 (b) Possessive Adjectives
The Possessive Adjective looks almost the same as the Possessive Pronoun. It is spelled as -eh3 and is attached to the possessor (the owner) which precedes it, while the possessee (the item owned) follows it.

Example
Cit1-leh1 si33 wah1-eh3 baeg1.
This is my bag.

In the examples below, the possessee is kha1 (leg).

Singular Possessive Adjectives
wah1-eh3 kha1 : my leg
lu1-eh3 kha1 : your (singular) leg
ie1-eh3 kha1 : his leg
ee1-eh3 kha1 : her leg
i1-eh3 kha1 : its leg

Plural Possessive Adjectives
wah1lang2-eh3 kha1 : our (excluding you) leg
wang1-eh3 kha1 : our (excluding you) leg
lan4-eh3 kha1 : our (including you) leg
lan1lang2-eh3 kha1 : our (including you) leg
lu1lang2-eh3 kha1 : your (plural) leg
luang1-eh3 kha1 : your (plural) leg
ie1lang2-eh3 kha1 : their (masculine, general) leg
ee1lang2-eh3 kha1 : their (feminine) leg
i1lang2-eh3 kha1 : their (animals and objects) leg

7 Regular Form and Emphatic Form

The personal pronouns wah4 and lu4 can be expressed in the regular form or the emphatic form depending on your desired context. The regular form is the sandhi form whereas the emphatic form is the citation form. Dalam sebutan tegas, gunakan bentuk petikan. The emphatic form corresponds to italicising in English. It is also used in imperatives (commands, instructions).

7 (a) Regular Form
Wah1 ceh33 cit1-peng2. Lu1 ceh33 heh1-peng2.
I sit over here. You sit over there.

7 (b) Emphatic Form
Wah4 ceh33 cit1-peng2. Lu4 ceh33 heh1-peng2.
I sit over here. You sit over there.

7 (c) Imperative
Lu4, ceh33 heh1-peng2!
You, sit over there!

8 Numbers

Zero (0): khong3
One (1): cit1 , first: it3
Two (2): nor33 , second: jee33
Three (3): snar1
Four (4): see3
Five (5): gor33
Six (6): lark1
Seven (7): chit3
Eight (8): pek3
Nine (9): kau4
Ten (10): cap1
Eleven (11): cap3-it3
Twelve (12): cap3-jee33
Thirteen (13): cap3-snar1
Twenty (20): jee33-cap1
Twenty-four (24): jee33-cap3-see3
Thirty-one (31): snar3-cap3-it3
A hundred (100): cit3-pak3
A hundred and one (101): cit3-pak1-khong1-it3
A hundred and ten (110): cit3-pak1-cap1 and pak1-cap1
A hundred and twelve (112): cit3-pak1-cap3-jee33
A hundred and fifty (150): cit3-pak1-gor33-cap1 and pak1-gor33
Three hundred and sixty (360): snar3-pak1-lark3-cap1 and snar3-pak1-lark1
Seven hundred and forty-eight (748): chit1-pak1-see1-cap3-pek3

A thousand (1,000): cit3-cheng1
A thousand and one (1,001): cit3-cheng1, khong1-khong1-it3
A thousand and eighteen (1,018): cit3-cheng1, cap3-pek3
A thousand and a hundred (1,100): cit3-cheng1, cit3-pak3 and cheng3-it3
A thousand, two hundred (1,200): cit3-cheng1, nor33-pak3 and cheng3-jee33
A thousand, three hundred and one (1,301): cit3-cheng1, snar3-pak1-khong1-it3
A thousand, three hundred and ten (1,310): cit3-cheng1, snar3-pak1-cap1 and cit3-cheng1, snar3-pak1-it3
Two thousand four hundred (2,400): Nor33-cheng1, see1-pak3 and nor33-cheng3-see3
Ten thousand (10,000): cap3-cheng1 and cit3-ban33

Eleven thousand (11,000): cap3-it1-cheng1
Twenty thousand (20,000): jee33-cap3-cheng1 and nor33 ban33
Three hundred thousand (300,000): snar3-pak1-cheng1
A million (1,000,000): cit3-ek3

9 Question words

Ha1mik1 : what
Cit1-leh1 si33 ha1mik1? : What is this?

Cui33-cui33 , cui33-cui33 lang2 : who
Cui33-cui33 lai2? : Who came?
Cui33-cui33 lang2 jip1 lai2? : Who came in?

Cor33 : how, cor33 ce33 : how many/how much
Cit3 leh1pai3 uh33 cor33 ce33 jit1? : How many days are there in a week?
Cit3 leh1pai3 uh33 chit1 jit1. : A week has seven days.

Ta1lok1 : where
Wah1-eh3 chaek3 ti1 ta1lok1? : Where is my book?

An1cnua4 : how
Lu4 an1cnua1 lai2? : How did you come?

Ti3 si2 : when
Lu4 ti3 si2 lai2? : When did you come?

Ha1mik1 su33 : why
Ha1mik1 su33 ie1 lai2? : Why does he come?

10 Demonstratives

cit1-leh1 : this
Cit1-leh1 kui1 lui1?
What's the price of this?

cit1 leh2 : this one
Cit1 leh2 kui1 lui1?
What's the price of this one?

heh1-leh1 : that
Heh1-leh1 kui1 lui1?
What's the price of that?

heh1 leh2 : that one
Heh1 leh2 kui1 lui1?
What's the price of that one?

cit1-peng2 : here
Wah4 tua3 cit1-peng2.
I live here.

heh1-peng2 : there
Ie1 tua3 heh1-peng2.
He lives there.

11 Auxiliary Verbs

ai3 : want, like
Lu4 ai3 ha1mik1?
What do you want?

mai3 : do not want
Ie1 mai1 lai3.
He doesn't want to come.

ay33, e33 : can, able to
Ie1 ay33 cau4.
He can run.

ay33sai4, e33sai4 : permitted to, allowed to
Lu4 ay33sai1 ciak1 liau4.
You are allowed to eat now.

ay33hiau4, e33hiau4 : know how to
Ie1 ay33hiau1 kong4 Hok1kien1 Wa33.
He knows how to speak Hokkien.

bay33, be33 : cannot, unable to
Ie1 bay33 lai2.
He cannot come.

bay33sai4, be33sai4 : not allowed to, not permitted to
Be33sai1 jip1 lai2.
Do not come in.

bay33hiau4, be33hiau4 : do not know how to
Ie1 bay33hiau1 kong4 Hok1kien1 Wa33.
He doesn't know how to speak Hokkien.

boek3 : want
Wah4 boek1 ciak1 liau4.
I want to eat already.

su3kak3 : like
Wah4 su3kak1 ciak3 lak1sa4.
I like to eat laksa.

gien3 : desire, love
Wah4 gien1 ciak3 liu3lien2.
I love eating durians.

tiok1 : must
Lu4 tiok3 lai2 ca1-ca4.
You must come early.

mien4 : don't have to
Lu4 mien1 lai2.
You don't have to come.

tiok3boek3 : must
Lu4 tiok3boek1 ciak3 iok1.
You must take medicine.

mm33thang1 : don't
Mm33thang3 lai2 wna1-wna4.
Don't come late.

eng3kai1 : ought to
Lu4 eng3kai1 lai2.
You ought to come.

12 Particles

Just as in Malay, Penang Hokkien employs a wide selection of particles to modify sentences. Particles do not affect sandhi. The words in front of the particles remain in the citation form.

ah3 : to affirm
Ee1 kong4 hor33 lu4 thnia1. : She told you.
Ee1 kong4 hor33 lu4 thnia1 ah3? : She told you, didn't she?

boey3 : to reconfirm
Wah4 ciak3 pa4. : I have eaten.
Lu4 ciak3 pa4 boey3? : Have you eaten or not?

boh2 : to reconfirm
Ie1 uh33 lai2. : He does come.
Ie1 uh33 lai2 boh2? : He does come, doesn't he?

heo2 : to reconfirm
Ie1 ciak3 ka1 leow4. : He ate it all.
Ie1 ciak3 ka1 leow4 heo2? : He ate it all, didn't he?

gok3 , kokh3 : yet, else, another
Tan4 wah4 gor33 hoon3ceng1 gok3. : Wait for me another five minutes.
Lu4 ai3 ha1mik1? : What do you want?
Lu4 ai3 ha1mik1 gok3? : What else do you want?

hna2 : to reconfirm something not well heard
Lu1 kong4 ha1mik1? : What did you say?
Lu1 kong4 ha1mik1 hna2? : What did you say, huh?

hna4 : to seek an agreement
Lu1 tan4 cit1-peng2. : You wait here.
Lu1 tan4 cit1-peng2 hna4? : You wait here, okay?

lah3 : to express irritation.
Tiam3 : Quiet.
Tiam3 lah3. : Be quiet.

lah4 : to encourage to do something
Ciak1 : Eat.
Ciak1 lah4. : Do eat.

lai2 : to emphasize.
Si33 mm33 si33 ie1? : Is it him?
Si33 mm33 si33 ie1 lai2? : Is it indeed him?

leh3 : to express concern over a situation
Bay33 choay33 than3. : Can't find it.
Bey33 choay33 than3 leh3. : Oh dear, can't find it.

liau4 : already.
Ie1 lai2. : He comes.
Ie1 lai2 liau4. : He has come already.

loh4 : to emphasize
Pan3gee2 liau4. : It's already cheap.
Pan3gee2 liau4 loh4! : It's already so cheap!

mah1 : to reaffirm (after all).
Cit1-keng3 chu3 kui3 eng3goay33 tua33 keng1. : This house is expensive because it is big.
Cit1-keng3 chu3 kui3 eng3goay33 tua33 keng1 mah1. : This house is expensive because, after all, it is big.

meh4 : to express doubt
Ho4. : Good.
Ho4 meh4? Sure it's good?

nee4 : to reconfirm, corresponds with "how about".
Wah4 mai1 khee3. : I don't want to go.
Wah4 mai1 khee3, lu4 nee4? I don't want to go, how about you?

nia2 : to verify a statement
Tiok1 : Right.
Tiok1 nia2? : It's right, isn't it?

nia33 : only
Snar3 khor1. : Three ringgit.
Snar3 khor1 nia33. : Three ringgit only.

or3 : to express anxiety
Phang1kni3 liau4. : It's lost.
Phang1kni3 liau4 or3. : Oh dear, it's lost.

pu1lak1 : to emphasize (else)
Ie1 ai3 ha1mik1? : What does he want?
Ie1 ai3 ha1mik1 pu1lak1? : What else does he want?

13 Adposition

The word ti1 which corresponds to "at" is used when showing the location of one item in relation to another.

in front: thau3ceng2
behind: au33bin33 , au33boey4
above: teng1bin33
below: e3te4
middle: teong3ng1
side: pni1nya4
right: cnia1chiu4 , to the right: cnia1chiu1 peng2
left: to1chiu4 , to the left: to1chiu1 peng2

Niau1 ti1 ta1lok1?
Where's the cat?

Niau1 ti1 tok1teng4-eh3 e3te4.
The cat is under the table.

Niau1 ti1 tok1teng4-eh3 teng1bin33.
The cat is on the table.

Niau1 ti1 tok1teng4-eh3 thau3ceng2.
The cat is in front of the table.

Niau1 ti1 tok1teng4-eh3 au33bin33.
The cat is under the table.

Niau1 ti1 tok1teng4-eh3 teong3ng1.
The cat is in the middle of the table.

Niau1 ti1 tok1teng4-eh3 pni1nya4.
The cat is beside the table.

Wan3 cnia1chiu4 liau4 wan3 to1chiu4.
After turning right, turn left.

Theng2 ti1 pni1nya4.
Stop at the side.

14 Conjunctions

because: eng3goay33 , in3ui33
Ie1 jip1 lai2 eng3goay33 lok3 hor33.
He came in because it rained.

if: na33si33
Na33si33 lu4 khee3 pa1sat3, beh1 chye3 hor33 wah4.
If you go to the market, buy some vegetables for me.

or: a33si33
Lu4 ai3 cit1-leh1 a33si33 heh1-leh1?
You want this one or that one?

15 Amounts

a little, a bit: tam3pok1
few: cio4 , cio1-cio4
a lot, many, much: ce33 , ce33-ce33

too: thai1

Haeh33 tam3pok3 yam2.
Put a bit of salt.

Mm33thang3 haeh33 ce33-ce33.
Don't put a lot.

Mm33thang3 haeh33 thai1 ce33.
Don't put too much.

Haeh33 cio1-cio4 kau3 liau4.
Put a bit is enough already.

16 Classifiers

One: cit3 leh2
An item: cit3-leh3 mi3knia3

Two: nor33 leh2
Two items: nor33-leh3 mi3knia3

A few: kui1 leh2
A few items: kui1-leh3 mi3knia3

Every: ta33-ta33 leh2
Every item: ta33-ta33-leh3 mi3knia3

Classifier for people: cit3 khien4
A teacher: cit3-khien1 sin3snaeh1
A few (people): kui1 khien4
A few teachers: kui1-khien1 sin3snaeh1

Classifier for buildings: cit3 keng1
A house: cit3-keng3 chu3
A few (buildings): kui1 keng1
A few houses: kui1-keng3 chu3

Classifier for things in lumps: cit3 liap1
An ice cube: cit3-liap3 sng3kark3 ; A piece of durian: cit3-liap3 liu3lien2
A few: kui1 liap1
A few ice cubes: kui1-liap3 sng3kark3
A few pieces of durian: kui1-liap3 liu3lien2

Classifier for longish items: cit3 tiau2
A rope: cit3-tiau3 sok3
A few (pieces): kui1 tiau2
A few pieces of rope: kui1-tiau3 sok3

Classifier for mammals and birds: cit3 ciak3
A cow: cit3-ciak1 goo2 ' a chicken: cit3-ciak1 kay1
A few: kui1 ciak3
A few cows: kui1-ciak1 goo2
A few chicken: kui1-ciak1 kay1

Classifier for fish and prawns: cit3 boey4
A fish: cit3-boey1 hu2
A few (fish): kui1 boey4
A few fish: kui1-boey1 hu2

Classifier for items in flat pieces: cit3 tay3
A piece of plank: cit3-tay1 pang1 ; a piece of land: cit3-tay1 tay3
A few pieces: kui1 tay3
A few pieces of plank: kui1-tay1 pang1
A few pieces of land: kui1-tay1 tay3

Classifier for books: cit3 pun4
A book: cit3-pun1 chaek3
A few (copies): kui1 pun4
A few books: kui1-pun1 chaek3

17 Adjectives

As in English, the adjectives in Penang Hokkien preceeds the noun it modifies. Adjectives undergo sandhi in this position, unless the possessive particle (-eh3) is attached to it.

sin1 = new
chu3 = house
sin3 chu3 = new house.
sin1-eh3 chu3 = a house that is new.

paek1 = white
mor2 = hair
paek3mor2 = white hair
paek1-eh3 mor2 = hair that is white

ho4 = good
chui3 = mouth
ho1 chui3 = good mouth (one that is generous with compliments)
ho4-eh3 chui3 = mouth that is good

18 Modifiers

Modifiers are nouns that modify another noun.

kay1 = chicken
kha1 = leg, foot
kay3 kha1 = chicken feet

Bee1 Kork3 = America
peng1 = soldiers, troops
Bee1 Kork1 peng1 = American troops

When two words are placed together, you may join them to form compound nouns, or keep them separated if its one describing the other.

ang2 = red
mor2 = hair
ang3 mor2 = red hair
ang3mor2 = westerner

keo2 = brinjal, eggplant, aubergine
ang3mor3keo2 = tomato
ang3mor3 keo2 = brinjal belonging to the westerner

Use the possessive particle -eh3 to show "having the property of".

tau33 = bean
iu2 = oil
tau33iu2 = soysauce
tau33-eh3 iu2 = bean oil

niau1 = cat
mor2 = hair, fur
niau3 mor2 = cat fur
niau1-eh3 mor2 = fur of the cat

19 Reduplication

Reduplication means to repeat a word. This is prevalent in both Malay and Hokkien, and in both languages, the purpose appears similar.

19 (a) Reduplicating Adjectives to form Adverbs
As in Malay, adverbs are formed by reduplicating the adjectives. When a word is reduplicated, the final syllable of the preceding word undergoes sandhi.

chim1 : deep
chim3-chim1 : deeply

Ie1 co1kang1 cin3 khuai3.
He works very fast.

Ie1 khuai1-khuai3 co1kang1.
He quickly works.

Ee1 ciak1 cin3 lau33.
She lives to an old age.

Ee1 ciak3 lau33-lau33.
She lives long.

19 (b) Reduplicating Adjectives to show slightness

kui3 : expensive
kui1-kui3 : being expensive

Cit1-leh1 mi3knia3 cin3 kui33.
This thing is very expensive.

Cit1-peng2 beh33-eh3 mi3knia3 ka1liau4 kui1-kui3.
The things sold here are all expensive.

Ie1-eh3 bin33 ang2.
His face is red.

Ie1-eh3 bin33 ang3-ang2.
His face is reddish.

20 Time

20 (a) Time Duration

one second: cit3 miau4 / cit3 beo4
one minute: cit3 hoon1
five minutes*: cit3-leh3 ji33
one hour: cit3 tiam1ceng1
one day: cit3 jit1
one week: cit3 leh1pai3
one month: cit3 guek1 , cit3 guek3jit1
one year: cit3 ni2

now: tong3kim1 , tha1na1
then, just now: tam3ma4
afterwards: kha1theng2

* Penang Hokkien has a unique measure where blocks of five minutes are called "-leh3 ji33"

20 (b) Time of day

1:00 it1 tiam4
1:01 it1 tiam4 khong1 it1 hoon1
1:05 it1 tiam4 cit3-leh3 ji33
2:10 jee33 tiam4 nor33-leh3 ji33
3:12 snar3 tiam4 cap3-jee33 hoon1
4:15 see1 tiam4 snar3-leh3 ji33
5:30 gor33 tiam1* pnua3
9:32 kau1 tiam4 snar3-cap3-jee33 hoon1
11:45 cap3-it1 tiam4 kau1-leh3 ji33

* When said with pnua3, pronounce tiam1 and not tiam4.

Tong3kim1 kui1 tiam4?
What time is it?

Tong3kim1 1:50 (it1 tiam4 cap3-leh3 ji33).
It's now 1:50.

Ie1 kui1 tiam4 lai2?
What time did he come?

Ie1 5:30 (gor33 tiam1 pnua33) lai2.
He came at 5:30.

21 Day

Monday: Pai1 It3
Tuesday: Pai1 Jee33
Wednesday: Pai1 Snar1
Thursday: Pai1 See3
Friday: Pai1 Gor33
Saturday: Pai1 Lark1
Sunday: Leh1pai3*

Today: kin3jit1 , kin3na1jit1 , knia1jit1
Tomorrow: ma1cai3
The day after tomorrow: au33jit3
Last night: cna3meh2
Two days ago: nor33 jit3 ceng2
Two days later: nor33 jit3 au33

* Leh1pai33 (Sunday) and leh1pai33 (week) are the same words. For Sunday, write with capital letters.

Kin3jit1 pai1 kui4?
What day is today?

Kin3jit1 Pai1 Jee33
Today is Tuesday.

Ma1cai3 pai1 kui4?
What day is tomorrow?

Ma1cai3 Pai1 Snar1.
Tomorrow is Wednesday

Snar3 jit3 ceng2 pai1 kui4?
What day was three days ago?

Snar3 jit3 ceng2 Pai1 Lark1.
Three days ago was Saturday.

22 Month

January: It1 Guek1
February: Jee33 Guek1
March: Snar3 Guek1
April: See1 Guek1
May: Gor33 Guek1
June: Lark3 Guek1
July: Chit1 Guek1
August: Pek1 Guek1
September: Kau1 Guek1
October: Cap3 Guek1
November: Cap3-it1 Guek1
Dicember: Cap3-jee33 Guek1

Tong3kim1 kui1 guek1?
What month is it now?

Tong3kim1 Chit1 Guek1.
It's now July.

Au33 guek3jit1 si33 ha1mik1 guek1?
What month is next month?

Au33 guek3jit1 si33 Pek1 Guek1.
Next month is August.

Teng1 guek1 si33 ha1mik1 guek1?
What month was last month?

Teng1 guek1 si33 Lark3 Guek1.
Last month was June.

23 Measurements

One inch: cit3 chun3
One foot: cit3 chiok3
One yard: cit3 ba33
One mile: cit3 ki3thiu1

For measurements in metric, retain the names in metic, for example, one metre: cit3 meter , one kilo: cit3 kilo

One pound: cit3 pun3
One catty: cit3 kin1
One tael: cit3 niau4

long, length: tng2
dot: tiam4
weight: tang33

Cit1-leh1 tok1teng4 cor33 tng2?
How long is this table?

Cit1-leh1 tok1teng4 1.5m (it3 tiam1 gor33 meter) tng2.
This table is 1.5m long.

Lu4 cor3 tang33?
How heavy are you?

Wah4 75kg (chit1-cap3-gor33 kilo) tang33.
I am 75kg.

24 Money

Money: lui1
RM0.01: cit3 lui1*
RM0.05: gor33 lui1
RM0.10: cit3 puat1**
RM0.20: nor33 puat1
RM0.50: gor33 puat1
RM1.00: cit3 khor1
RM1.10: khor3 it3
RM1.20: khor3 jee33
RM1.25: cit3 khor1 jee33-cap3-gor33 lui1 , or in brief: cit3 khor1 jee33 gor33
RM1.35: cit3 khor1 snar3-cap3-gor33 lui1 , or in brief: cit3 khor1 sam3 gor33
RM1.50: Khor3 pnua3
RM2.50: Nor33 khor3 pnua3

Cheap: pan3gee2
Expensive: kui3
Very: cin1

* The word lui1 means money as well as sen.
** puat1 is a measurement of ten sen.

Cit1-pun1 chaek3 kui1 lui1?
How much is this book?

Cit1-pun1 chaek3 RM25 (jee33-cap3-gor33 khor1).
This book is RM25.

Cit1-pun1 chaek3 boh3 pan3gee2. Cit1-pun1 chaek3 cin3 kui3.
This book is not cheap. This book is very expensive.

25 Colours

Colours: seik3
White: paek1 , paek3 seik3
Black: or1 , or3 seik3
Yellow: ooi2 , ooi3 seik3
Orange: kam1 , kam3 seik3
Green: chnae1 , chnae3 seik3
Blue: lam2 , lam3 seik3
Purple: lam3mer3na4 , lam3mer3na1 seik3
Brown: ko1ko4 , ko1ko1 seik3 ; cor3klat1 , cor3klat3 seik3
Grey: hoay1hu1 , hoay1hu3 seik3
Pink: cui1 ang2 , cui1 ang3 seik3
Dark red: tang33 ang2 , tang33 ang3 seik3

Lu1 beh4-eh3 sna1 ha1mik1 seik3?
What is the colour of the shirt you bought?

Wah1 beh4-eh3 sna1 lam3 seik3.
The shirt I bought is blue in colour.

Cit1-leh1 ang3 chia1 cui33-cui33 lang2 eh2?
Whose car is this red car?

Cit1-leh1 ang3 chia1 wah1 eh2.
This red car is mine.

26 Salutations and Family References

26 (a) Salutations
Penang Hokkien is a courteous language. When interacting with outsiders, it is important to use the proper term of reference.

26 (b) Titles
The following titles are becoming less common. In everyday conversation, you will hear people using the English titles, such as Mr Tan, Miss Lee, Madam Lim even when speaking in Penang Hokkien. For people who are more familiar, they use Ah3 with the name, especially for men.



26 (c) Family Members For a more detailed list of family members, refer to the page Family Members in Penang Hokkien.

27 Sentence structure

27 (a) Simple Sentences
For simple sentences, the subject precedes the verb followed by the object.

Ee1 ciak3 bork3kua1.
He eats papaya.

Ie1 that1 bort1.
He kicks the ball.

Wah4 ko1 cun2.
I row the boat.

26 (b) Sentences with Indirect Object
Indirect object is usually added using hor33, which is translated as for, let or give.

Wah4 hor33 ee1 ciak3 bork3kua1.
I let him eat papaya.

Ie1 that1 bort1 hor33 wah4.
He kicks the ball to me.

Wah4 ko1 cun2 koay1 kang4.
I row the boat across the river.

28 Type of Sentences

28 (a) Statements
Statements usually have the object followed by the verb, and if required, the object.

Ie1 lai2.
He comes.

Ie1 lai3 ciak1.
He comes to eat.

Ie1 lai3 ciak3 pnui33.
He comes to have a meal. (literally: he comes to eat rice)

28 (b) Questions
Questions are usually formed by adding a particle to the statement.

Ie1 lai3 ciak3 pnui33 nia2?
Does he come to have a meal?

Ie1 lai3 ciak3 pnui33 meh4?
He really came to have a meal?

28 (c) Imperatives
Imperatives, which include commands and instructions, begin with a verb and do not include a subject.

Lai3 ciak3 pnui33.
Come have a meal. (literally: Come eat rice.)

Ciak1!
Eat!

Ciak1 lah4
Do eat.

Imperatives can be soften by adding to3long2 or chnia4 , both of which translate as "please" in this context.

To3long3 jip1 lai2.
Please come in.

Chnia4 ceh33 cit1-peng2.
Please sit here.

29 Active Voice and Passive Voice

29 (a) Active Voice
In the active voice, the agent (the doer) precedes the verb while the patient (recipient of action) is subsequent to the verb.

Example
Sin3snaeh1 mae33 ie1.
The teacher scolded him.

Goo2 tui1 wah4.
The cow chased me.

Ie1 that3 sam3pah1 thang4.
He kicked the dustbin.

29 (b) Passive Voice with an agent
In the passive voice, the agent is subsequent to the patient, with hor33 in between, followed by the verb.

Ie1 hor33 sin3snaeh1 mae33.
He was scolded by the teacher.

Wah4 hor33 goo2 tui1.
I was chased by the cow.

Sam3pah1 thang4 hor33 ie1 that3.
The dustbin was kicked by him.

29 (c) Passive Voice without an agent
If the agent or doer is not stated, replace hor33 with tiok1 (written as tiok3 because it is followed by a verb).

Ie1 tiok3 mae33.
He was scolded.

Wah4 tiok3 tui1.
I was chased.

Sam3pah1 thang4 tiok3 that3.
The dustbin was kicked.

30 Sentences of Everyday Use

The following are some sentences for everyday use.

Additional Resources to learn Penang Hokkien

Background Information on Penang Hokkien

About this website

Thanks for reading this page. My name is Timothy Tye. My hobby is to research information about places, and share the information with people on this website. I started this website on 5 January 2003, and since then, have written about over 20,000 places, mostly in Malaysia and Singapore.

Please use the information on this page as guidance only. While I try my best to provide you information that is as accurate as I can get it to be, I do apologize for any errors. Also, as I might not be able to update some information on time, some of these pages may contain outdated information.