Penang Hokkien is the vernacular language and lingua franca of the Chinese people in Penang. That means, it is understood and spoken not only by the Hokkiens in Penang, but also by the other Chinese dialect groups such as the Cantonese, Teochew, Hakka, and others.
Although it is called "Penang Hokkien", it is also spoken throughout northern Malaysia including Kedah, Perlis and as far south as Taiping in Perak. It also closely resembles the Hokkien spoken in Medan. Among the other Chinese dialect, it is closest to Teochew, making it partially intelligible to speakers of the two dialects.
There is a difference between Penang Hokkien and Singapore Hokkien. This is because the early Hokkien settlers in Penang came from the port city of Zhangzhou, in Fujian Province, whereas those in Singapore came from a different Fujian city, Amoy (present-day Xiamen), many by way of Malacca.
The deliberate effort of the British, chiefly Robert Townsend Farquhar, the Governor of Penang, to dismantle Malacca and relocate its population to Penang, had the effect of spreading the Hokkien people already in Malacca, across much of the southern part of Peninsular Malaysia, from Klang all the way to Singapore. The result is that the Hokkien people in the southern part of West Malaysia speak a Hokkien that is different from Penang Hokkien, but not so different as to make in not mutually intelligible.
Penang Hokkien borrowed heavily from Malay, and many words existing in Penang Hokkien are derived from the language, including sampah (rubbish), jari (finger), sabun (soap), to name a few. At times, the word evolved in meaning when it was adopted into Penang Hokkien, hence, balu meaning "recently" was derived from the Malay word baru, meaning "new", and mata meaning "police" was derived from mata meaning "eyes".
As a tourist to Penang, you stand on good ground to learn some Hokkien phrases. Naturally the sidewalk vendors, many of whom are Hokkien speakers, will admire your attempt, and your boldness to say a few Hokkien words may help you get more favourable prices.
Beware however, that Hokkien is a tonal language, and if you don't get the right intonation, you may well be uttering something that is either unintelligible, or something different from the intended meaning - hopefully to amusing and not to offensive results. For that reason, I would recommend that you get someone who speaks Penang Hokkien to read the following words to you and learn to follow his pronunciation. As you get familiar with the syntax of Hokkien, you will begin to understand where Malaysian English derived its syntax.
Hokkien Phrases for Tourists
Pronouns
I = wah
You = lu
He/She/It = E
We = wah-lang (literally, "I people")
You = lu-lang (literally "you people", which explains how "you people" creeps into Malaysian English)
They = E-lang
Numbers
1 = et (some times also chit)
2 = jee (some times also norh)
3 = sarh
4 = si
5 = goh
6 = lark
7 = chiet
8 = pek
9 = kau
10 = ch'arp
11 = ch'arp-et
12 = ch'arp-jee
13 = ch'arp-sarh
20 = jee-ch'arp
21 = jee-ch'arp-et
30 = sarh-ch'arp
This = chit-leh
That = heh-leh kwui = expensive, price
How much is this? = Chit-leh kwui lui?
It's RM7.00 = Chiet korh.
How much is that? = Heh-leh kwui lui?
It's too expensive = Thai kwui
I'll buy one = Hor wah chit-leh (Literally, "Give me one piece").
I want to buy a (something) = Wah boey beh (something)
I don't want = mai
Lower the price please = Kah kiam lah
Can = eh-sai
Can you? = eh-sai-boh? (Literally, "can or not")
Can you sell it to me for RM6.00? = Lark korh en-sai-boh? (Literally, "RM6.00 can or not")
here = chit-peng
where? = tee tah-lok?
over here = tee chit-peng
Where is it? = E tee tah-lok?
It's in front = tee thau-cheng
It's on the right = tee ciah-chieu
It's on the left = tee toh-chieu
washroom = chai-keng
toilet = jamban
Where's the washroom? = Chai-keng tee tah-lok?
You can usually get away with mixing English nouns with Hokkien grammar structure or syntax. For example, you can also say "Toilet tee tah-lok?" for "Where's the toilet?" and you will get a response such as "Toilet tee ciah-chieu". Similarly, you can say "Wah boey beh DVD/camera/handphone/telephone card, etc. E tee tah-lok?"
On the whole, many tourists find Penang Hokkien to be quite simple to learn, once they get the tone right. I hope you will also have fun and be able to say a few words in it when you are in Penang.
Get the best rates when booking Penang hotels
Before booking a hotel room, make sure you are getting the lowest price for it. Different hotel booking websites offers the same room at different prices. If you stick with one site all the time, you could be paying more for the same room. Now why pay more?
The form below is a Research Engine. It doesn't take bookings. Instead it lets you find the hotel booking website that offers the room you want at the lowest price. You can see and compare what different sites are offering, and then click to choose the one with the best price. Do this, and you're guaranteed to save a whole lot of money on your room reservations!
Our Flight Checker helps travelers compare flights and get the lowest fare for their trips. If you're flying somewhere, use our Flight Checker to compare the rates from different airlines. To use it, enter where you will be flying from, where you will be flying to, your departure date and return date. Select the number of passengers, and then click search.
Our engine will return you a list of possible flights that you can take. You can compare the fare of different airlines for your trip. Click on your selected airline, and we transfer you to the airline website.
Penang Travel Tips is researched and written by Timothy Tye, universally known as Tim. The text is the copyright of Timothy Tye, and may not be copied for commercial use or re-published in another website without the author's permission. Information provided is in goodwill and is believed to be correct and up-to-date at time of writing. Photographs on this website are the copyright of the author and may not be reused without prior permission. For commercial licensing of photographs, read the licensing terms.
