MZ Level 1 Reader Transcripts in Colloquial Cantonese with Jyutping

I have previously blogged about my fabulous find – 71 levelled Chinese readers from Meizhou Chinese , of which 48 had audio in Colloquial Cantonese and Formal Cantonese audio. All for free. However, the print readers only come in  Standard Chinese.   Colloquial Cantonese Transcript I had always been meaning to transcribe the readers to Read More

What You Need To Know About Cantonese: the Vernacular and the Formal

Cantonese is not a straight forward language. What you read is not what how you speak. Linguists refer to this as Diglossia, where two languages are used under different conditions within a community, often by the same speakers. Learn more about Colloquial Cantonese, Formal Cantonese, Written Cantonese, and Standard Written Chinese. Read More

Free Online Cantonese Literature

Recent years have seen a rise in (Colloquial) Cantonese literature, both online and in print. These are very helpful for learners of Cantonese who wish to have more material to improve their Cantonese. Check out what free ebooks are available:   Story Collections:   Cantonese Learning Centre (CLC) EBooks Recommended for Beginner and Intermediate Levels. Read More

Cantonese Flashback: Readings In Cantonese Colloquial (1894)

While researching Cantonese literature to improve my Cantonese, I stumbled upon a century old book, Readings In Cantonese Colloquial: Being Selections From Books In The Cantonese Vernacular by James Dyer Ball (1894). Amazingly, the most of the text still makes good reading today. Download a free copy today. Read More

Review: How to Study Cantonese 粵塾

Spoken Cantonese or Colloquial Cantonese has its own grammar and vocabulary. Many of us who have learnt to speak it at home, but not formally in class, would have internalized the grammar from exposure from an early age . Yet when asked to explain or describe the rules, it becomes hard as this knowledge is Read More