Places in Penang in Penang Hokkien

Pulau Aman-eh3 Bae1thau2 (3 May 2015)


This is the Pulau Aman Pier, or Pulau Aman-eh3 bae1thau2. The word bae1thau2 might sound like horse's head in Penang Hokkien, but it is actually written using a different character. Pier is bae1thau2 (碼頭, Simplified Chinese: 码头) whereas horse's head is bae1 thau2 (馬頭, Simplified Chinese: 马头). Both are pronounced the same, but are written differently.

Ku33 Kuan3na1 Kark3 (1 June 2013)




Taiji Romanisation: Ku33 Kuan3na1 Kark3
Church Romanisation: Kū-kuan-á-kak
Taiwanese Romanisation: Kū-kuan-á-kak
Chinese characters: 舊關仔角

Ku33 Kuan3na1 Kark3 is the Hokkien name for the Esplanade in George Town. It can also be used for Jalan Tun Syed Sheh Barakbah, which was formerly known as The Esplanade (and also Fort Road, for the eastern stretch).

Ba3 Lark3pai4 (Bayan Lepas) (11 October 2019)




Ba3 Lark3pai4 is the Hokkien name for Bayan Lepas. It is written using Chinese characters as 峇六拜. If you transliterate that to Hokkien, it would pronounce as Ba3 Lark3pai3, which makes me wonder whether the Chinese characters were assigned after the name has already been entrenched.

Ko3 En1 (Nibong Tebal) (22 August 2015)



Ko3 En1 is the Hokkien name for Nibong Tebal, the southernmost town in Seberang Perai.

Read also Penang Hokkien Vocabulary

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