THE CANTONESE MADE EASY VOCABULARY A Small Dictionary in English and Cantonese, containing Words and Phrases used in the Spoken Language, with the Classifiers indicated for each Noun, and Definitions of the Different Shades of Meaning, as well as Notes on the Different uses of some of the Words where Ambiguity might otherwise arise THIRD EDITION Revised and Enlarged BY J. DYER BALL, I.S.O., M.R.A.S., ETC., OF HIS MAJESTY'S CIVIL SERVICE, HONGKONG Author of "Cantonese Made Easy," "How to Speak Cantonese," "How to Write Chinese," " Hakka Made Easy," "Things Chinese," "The Celestial and His Religions," &c., &c., &c.. HONGKONG: • KELLY & WALSH, LD. SHANGHAI, SINGAPORE, AND YOKOHAMA 1908 [,'7/ Rights Reserved^ (QatttcU Uttioerattg SItbrarg Itijata, Ntm ^oxk BOUGHT WITH THE INCOME OF THE WASON ENDOWMENT FUND THE GIFT OF CHARLES W. WASON CORNELL 76 1916 The date shows when this .volume was taken. 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Cornell University Library PL 1735.B18a 1908 The Cantonese made easy vocabulai 3 1924 023 344 256 Cornell University \\<\ Library The original of this book is in the Cornell University Library. There are no known copyright restrictions in the United States on the use of the text. http://www.archive.org/details/cu31924023344256 THE CANTONESE MADE EASY VOCABULARY. OTHER WORKS BY THE SAME AUTHOR. 'Things Chinese,' (5th Edition In The Press) - 'Cantonese Made Easy,' (3rd Edition) 6.00 'How TO Speak Cantonese,' (3rd Edition) - - - - 5.00 ' Readings in Cantonese Colloquial ' - - - - - 3.00 'An English-Cantonese Pocket Vocabulary,' (2nd Edition) - _..... i.oo ' Easy Sentences in the Hakka with a Vocabulary ' - 1.00 'Hakka Made Easy,' (Part I.) - - 2.00 ' How to Write the Radicals,' (2nd Edition) - 0.75 'How TO Write Chinese,' (Part I. 2nd Edition) - 5.00 ' The San Wui Dialect ' - - - 0.50 ' ' The Tung Kwun Dialect - . _ . o.50 ' The Hong Shan or Macao Dialect ' - 0.50 'The Shun Tak Dialect' - - 1.00 'The English-Chinese Cookery Book ' (Out of Print) 'The Celestial and His Religions, or the Religious Aspect, IN China' 3.00 ' ' Macao : The Holy City : The Gem of the Orient Earth 1.50 'The Pith of the Classics: the Chinese Classics in Everyday Life; or Quotations from the Classics in ' Colloquial use - - - 2.00 ' Five Thousand Years of John Chinaman ' - - 0.75 'Rhythms AND Rhymes in Chinese Climes: A Lecture on Chinese Poetry AND Poets ' - - . i.oo 'Is Buddhism a Preparation or a Hindrance to Christianity in China: Reasons for the Spread OF Buddhism in China, why it was accepted, and THE Prosecution of, the Encouragement and Discouragement to Christian Missions Resultant from a Study of the Subject ' 0.75 THE CANTONESE MADE EASY VOCABULARY A Small Dictionary in English and Cantonese, containing Words and Phrases used in the Spoken Language, with the Classiiiers indicated for each Noun, and Definitions of the Different Shades of Meaning, as well as Notes on the Different uses of some of the Words where Ambiguity might otherwise arise THIRD EDITION Revised and Enlarged BY J. DYER BALL, I.S.O., M.R.A.S., ETC., OF HIS MAJESTY'S CIVIL SERVICE, HONGKONG Author of "Cantonese Made Easy," "How to Speak Cantonese," "How to Write Chinese," "Hakka Made Easy," "Things Chinese," "The Celestial and His Religions,'' &c., &c., &e.. HONGKONG: KELLY & WALSH, LD. SHANGHAI, SINGAPORE, AND YOKOHAMA 1908 [All Bights Reserved"] ft Registered in accordance with the provisidns of Ordinarwe No. 2 of 1888, at the oSice of the Registrar-General, Hongkong. PREFACE TO THE FIRST EDITION. When the author prepared 'The Cantonese Made Easy' some years since, it his was intention to attach a Vocabulary to it; but, not considering it advisable to delay the publication of that Guide Book to the correct use of Cantonese, he put it off till a more convenient season. Though this Vocabulary purports to be one for the Lessons in 'Cantonese Made Easy,' it has not been confined to the v^ords contained in those lessons alone; more especially has this been the case when any ambiguity would arise to those who Would make use of it if only one rendering had been given to a word in the lessons. It has been thought advisable in such a case to ma'ke an exhaustive list of different shades of the English meaning in order to prevent the beginner from making mistakes which he otherwise might do. The terms given under the heading of vulgar should never be used. They are simply given in this book so that when heard the learner may know their meaning and not with the object of his acquiring them to add to his using vocabulary. Several finals it will be found are given under different words. This has only been the case when the final has such a strength of meaning as to require in good interpretation to be represented in English by a word, under which word it will then be found to appear. All the nouns to which Classifiers are, and can be, used have these useful little words appended to them; and the student should never use any other classifier than the one, or those, as the case may be, which are given with the words. When no classifier is given under a word, none should to used. Where under the same English words different Chines^ words are given, and different classifiers are used with these different Chinese words, the proper classifiers are given under each heading; but where the same classifier, or classifiers, can be used for all the different words, it or they are given at the end. It is hopedi that the indiscriminate use of these necessary adjuncts to Chinese i^ouns may thus be avoided, and that the student by seeing, when looking for a word, its proper classifier at the same time as the word itself^ may have it impressed upon his memory at the time he first learns the word, and may thus be prevented from falling into error instead of having to, as in many cases, rectify mistakes already made. — A number of useful little phrases as well as sentences are given, some of which are idiomatic, while others, though simple in their construction, are in as common use. The t|3 ^ ^chung yapi tone, which has never yet appeared in an English-Cantonese dictionary, but which any cultivated ear can detect without the slightest difficulty, here appears, as well as the colloquial rising tone, into which so many of the "jT ^ hd- cp'ing, "P ^ hd- hui and occasionally ^ yap^, as well as other, tones are thrown in conversation. An asterisk indicates these last. Another new feature in this little book is the full rendering of English words into Chinese. The author has not been content when two nearly synonymous words are used together in Chinese to represent an English word, which one or both of them equally well represent, to merely put the two together; but by a use of brackets attention is drawn to the fact of one, or both, of them being used singly, as well as in union together, to represent the meaning of the English word, as for instance:—Truly, ^ (!£) ^chan (ching^), which means that jm. chan alone is aften used to represent truly, as well as the two words ^ j£ chan ching together. The brackets are also used when the exigencies of everyday use often drop, as superfluous, a word which it is necessary to use when strict accuracy is required, as for instance:—Spirits (j^) v® {^shiu) ^tsau. Jg ^tsau alone being often used in common talk, though strictly speaking J^ ''tsau is applied also to fermented liquors. Brackets have also been used to indicate that an English word may be represented in different ways in Chinese, as for instance: sz- Here Manager "p] ^ {\, or B||i) ^sz (cyan, or ke). there are three ways of representing Manager, as simply "p] ^ ^sz S2-, "^ ^ \ ^sz S2- cyan, or -p] ^ n|t ^sz sz"- ke. The orthography is that of Dr. Williams' adaptation of Sir William Jones ', with some slight provincialisms and errors corrected. When the colloquial pronunciation differs from that of the book language the former is given, and attention is drawn to it by a dagger. The student is referred to 'Cantonese Made Easy' for full explanations as to the tones and orthography. The Author's thanks are due to Mr. Chung Shing-hong, Translator in the Supreme Court, for much valuable assistance rendered to him in the Compilation of this little Vocabulary. PREFACE TO THE SECOND EDITION. It is now more than six years since the First Edition of this little book appeared, and it has been out of print for some time past. Circumstances have prevented the Author from issuing a Second Edition until now ; that such has been called for is evidenced by the fact of enquiries for copies from different quarters since the First Edition was exhausted.