Many people can speak Penang Hokkien, but can't differentiate which tone each word is supposed to be written. Is it 1, 2, 3, 33 or 4? Maybe these examples can help. If you have difficulty with the tones, see if you can establish similarity among words within each group.

Tone 1 words include Pa1 (Dad), liak1 (catch), kau1 (to hang), koo1 (tortoise), mau1 (hit/hentam). They change to tone 3 if they are before another syllable in a compound, ie Pa3 Pa1 , liak3 chat1 .

Tone 2 words include gu2 (cow), tu2 (cupboard), tiau2 (to stick/lekat), gau2 (clever), cha2 (wood). They change to tone 3 if they are before another syllable in a compound, ie gu3 bak3 , tu3 mui2 .

Tone 3 words include lau3 (leaking), phak3 (to beat), siark3 (to fall heavily), kiu3 (to rescue). They change to tone 1 if they are before another syllable in a compound, ie lau1 chooi4 , phak1 kor4 .

Tone 4 words include siau4 (mad), kao4 (dog), kin4 (swift), ku4 (long while), bu4 (dance). They change to tone 1 if they are before another syllable in a compound, ie siau1 lang2 , kao1 kang1 .

Tone 33 words include tua33 (big), lau33 (old), wa33 (language), gong33 (stupid), nui33 (egg). They remain tone 33 even before another syllable in a compound, ie tua33 lang2 , lau33 lang2 , etc.

In Taiji Romanisation, tone 3 and tone 33 are the same tone, except that words of tone 3 changes to 1 before another syllable, while words of tone 33 stay the same.

You can read any syllable in a full set of the four tones, like this: kau1 kau2 kau3 kau4 , bu1 bu2 bu3 bu4 , siau1 siau2 siau3 siau4 Of course not every syllable in the set carries a meaning. Most are just sounds, but the offer you opportunity to observe them within the set of four tones.

Get it?

Learn Penang Hokkien with Memrise

Now you can use the most user-friendly tool on the web to learn Penang Hokkien. It helps you to listen, understand and memorise. Go to Memrise, and learn Penang Hokkien at your own pace.

Return to Penang Hokkien Resources

Latest from Discover with Timothy: Gurney Bay - what to see and do there

About this website



Hello and thanks for reading this page. My name is Timothy and my hobby is in describing places so that I can share the information with the general public. My website has become the go to site for a lot of people including students, teachers, journalists, etc. whenever they seek information on places, particularly those in Malaysia and Singapore. I have been doing this since 5 January 2003, for over twenty years already. You can read about me at Discover Timothy. By now I have compiled information on thousands of places, mostly in Peninsular Malaysia and Singapore, and I continue to add more almost every day. My goal is to describe every street in every town in Malaysia and Singapore.

Copyright © 2003-2024 Timothy Tye. All Rights Reserved.