Pronouncing the Letters in Penang Hokkien

In order to learn Penang Hokkien properly, it is useful to start with the letters we use to write and pronounce the words in the lesson. I use Taiji Romanisation to teach Penang Hokkien. Let's go through the letters used in this writing system. As every syllable in Taiji Romanisation ends with a tone number, for the purpose of our lesson, we shall use tone 1 by default, while examples provided may be in any of the tones. The letter in [parenthesis] is the equivalent symbol in International Phonetic Alphabet. Often, digraphs (two-letter combos that are pronounced as a single vowel sound) are used to spell words in Penang Hokkien, and the common ones are listed as well.

The words in Penang Hokkien Taiji Romanisation are often spelled to reflect how Penang Hokkien-speaking people intuitively spell words, in the absence of any standardisation. Although a degree of standardisation in put in place, for many common words, native spelling is often retained, to help the Penang Hokkien speakers easily and quickly recognise words familiar to them.

Vowel Sounds

Example, ka1 (to cut), sa1 (to grab)


Example, se1 (to comb)


Example, kay1 (chicken)


Example, kae1 (to add), mae4 (swift)


Example, geh2 (tooth), meh4 (isn't it?)


Example, i1 (it), ki1 (branch, twig)


Example, mee33 (noodle), bee4 (rice)


Example, ie1 (he), chie33 (to feed)


Example, ko1 (elder brother), go2 (goose)


Example, boh2 (to not have), soh4 (elder brother's wife)


Example, or1 (black), por4 (to mend)


Example, ku3 (to saw), lu4 (you)


Example, too1 (pig), koo33 (mother's brother; uncle)

Diphthongs

Diphthongs are combination of two vowel sounds. They are also called gliding vowel, because you have to you have to move from one vowel sound to the next.


Example, ai3 (to want), sai1 (lion)


Example, pao1 (steamed bun), chao3 (bad, smelly)


Example, au1 (cup), kau1 (to hang something)

Please note that "-ao" and "-au" sound the same. There are two different spellings to help distinguish words and make reading and comprehension easier and faster.


Example, oe1 (small pot), poe1 (trophy)


Example, hoay4 (fire), joay2 (to rub)


Example, boey4 (tail)


Example, lui1 (money), kui3 (expensive)


Example, kong1 (grandfather), gong33 (stupid)

Triphthongs

Triphthongs are combination of three sounds, usually three vowel sounds one after another.


Example, kuai1 (well behaved), puai1 (satisfied)


Example, tien1 (groggy), sien3 (sleepy)

Initial Consonants

The majority of the consonants are pronounced the same way as in English and Malay. If they are not listed below, pronounce them as you would in English and Malay. The following, however, require special attention.


The "c" in Taiji is like the "c" in Malay, such as cari, cuba, etc.
Example, cau4 (to run), co3 (to do)


There is no equivalent to "ch", so listen carefully.
Example, chau4 (grass), cho3 (wrong, mistake)


The "b" in Taiji is like the "b" in English and Malay, and never like the "b" in Pinyin!
Example, ban33 (slow), bi33 (to smell)


The "p" in Taiji is like the "p" in English and Malay, and like the "b" in Pinyin.
Example, pan1 (classroom), pu2 (to toast, to grill)


The "ph" in Taiji is like the "p" in Pinyin.
Example, phu2 (to float), phau3 (firecrackers)


The "g" in Taiji is never like the "g" in Pinyin!
Example, gau2 (clever), gong33 (stupid)


The "k" in Taiji is like the "g" in Pinyin.
Example, kau2 (monkey), kong2 (to be in a hurry)


The "kh" in Taiji is like the "k" in Pinyin.
Example, khau1 (to scrape), khong3 (zero)


The "d" is rare and appears only in one word in Penang Hokkien, dan3-dan1


The "j" is like the "j" in Malay and never like the "j" in Pinyin.
Example, jip1 (to go in), ju2 (untidy)


The "t" in Taiji is like the "d" in Pinyin.
Example, tan4 (to wait), tim3 (to throw)


The "th" in Taiji is like the "t" in Pinyin.
Example, than3 (to wait), thng1 (soup)

Nasalisation

Nasalisation is spelled by inserting "n". In the examples below, sets of words are shown without and with nasalisation.
Example, kua1 / knua1 (song / liver), sua1 / snua1 (sand / hill)

Glottal Stop & Velar Stop

In both instances, glottal stops are represented by a final "-k" while velar stops are represented by either "-rk" or "-ik". The examples show sets of words with glottal/velar stops.
sek3 / seik3 (to wedge / colour), ak3 / ark3 (duck / to water)

Exercise

Click to listen to the sound, and then select the spelling that matches it.

A. luan1
B. guan1
C. kuan1
D. khuan1

A. gio1
B. cio1
C. jio1
D. chio1

A. dang2
B. dhang2
C. tang2
D. thang2

A. sen1
B. sae1
C. snae1
D. senn1

A. bi4
B. bni4
C. pni4
D. phni4

A. teik3
B. tek3
C. teh3
D. theik3

A. tiann4
B. thnia4
C. tia4
D. tnia4

A. soh1
B. shoae1
C. soay1
D. sui1

A. cnia4
B. cniau4
C. chiau4
D. chniau4

A. pnae2
B. phnae2
C. pae2
D. bnae2

Answers

After you finish the exercise, you can submit it to me, either by contacting me here or by Private Message to me on Facebook, and remember to mention the title of this lesson, "Pronouncing the letters in Penang Hokkien", so that I can understand which lesson you are referring to.

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.

Robbie's Roadmap