Teochew or Hokkien??? (1)

Teochew and Hokkien are closely related languages. In communities where both are spoken, like in Singapore and Penang, speakers may freely mix them together. Younger heritage speakers may not be fully aware what’s the difference between the two.

In this new series of posts, we’ll introduce some common words that are different between Hokkien and Teochew. Do you know which is which? If you are a Teochew speaker, do you also understand the Hokkien word?

Pronunciations are given in Teochew Pêng’im (or closest approximation, for Hokkien) and IPA. Hokkien pronunciation follows the Amoy dialect. In the answers below, Hokkien is written with Tâi-lô.

Today’s word means “to say”. Which one is Teochew?

A. 汝呾乜個？ Le dan mih-gai?

B. 汝講乜個？ Le gong mih-gai?

[ANSWER BELOW]

Teochew: 呾 dan3 /tã²¹³/
Hokkien: 講 kòng /koŋ⁵²/

Posted on 2021-10-28 00:00:00 +0000