Chinese Cantonese language resources – Language Links Database

Cantonese, or Standard Cantonese – is a language that originated in the vicinity of Canton (i.e., Guangzhou) in southern China, and is spoken by approximately 62 million speakers worldwide. It is often regarded as the prestige dialect of Yue. It is an official language in Hong Kong (along with English) and in Macau (along with Portuguese). It is sometimes also known as Guangfuhua a broader definition which also includes the Guangzhou dialect, Hong Kong dialect, Xiguan dialect, Wuzhou dialect, and Tanka dialect. 

More information: Wikipedia

Native speakers: 62,000,000

Official language in: Hong Kong, Macau


Cantonese Grammar and Pronunciation



  • Cantonese.ca - this site offers information for learning colloquial Cantonese (Yue Chinese) as it is spoken by today’s youth in Hong Kong and in overseas communities such as Canada, the United States and Australia. The website covers: Introduction, Basic vocabulary, Grammar, Resources and Thematic vocabulary
  • Cantonese.sheik.co.uk - this site contains thousands of print-friendly Chinese reference sheets, tests, revision aids and a unique Chinese dictionary called CantoDict
  • Chinese-lessons.com “Lessons are divided up into Sounds and Tones Lessons, Grammar Lessons, Language Skills, and Vocabulary. The Grammar and Language Skills lessons build upon each other, while the Vocabulary and Sounds and Tones are more stand-alone. Lessons include many sound files. Please be patient while they load.
    The lessons below use Yale Romanization. Understanding the Romanization is important for Westerners trying to learn the language.”
  • FSI Language Courses - 2 textbooks (pdf)and 30 Audio Lessons (mp3)
  • Larn101.org - “All the lessons contain audio and are all offered for free. We will learn the alphabet together. We will also review some simple grammar rules, practice common phrases, and we will have fun memorizing many important vocabulary lists.”
  • Mylanguages.org - Courses about adjectives, adverbs, articles, gender (feminine, masculine…), negation, nouns, numbers, phrases, plural, prepositions, pronouns, questions, verbs, vocabulary, exercises… to help you with your Cantonese grammar
  • Cantoneseclass101.com - “Learn Cantonese with CantoneseClass101! No more dry, out of date textbook story lines! Here at CantoneseClass101, you’ll learn Cantonese with fun, interesting and culturally relevant lessons that are easy to listen to.
    But not only are they fun – they’re effective too! Join the hundreds of thousands of people already learning Cantonese through the power of our mobile apps, desktop software and website with free Cantonese lessons released every week!”
  • Lc.ust.hk - “Cantonese Listening Tasks consists of short dialogues that take place in a variety of everyday contexts. It has been developed for beginner or intermediate Cantonese learners to practice listening to the dialect. The tasks are shown in English, and so they can be used both by learners who read Chinese and those who do not. “
  • Tips On Learning Cantonese
  • Lessons and Learning Resources
  • Cantonese Survival Kit and Pronunciation Guide
  • Cantonese Quick Reference (includes slang)
  • ILanguages - this site is designed to teach you and help you learn Cantonese for free through vocabulary, phrases, grammar and flashcards (vocabulary trainer)
  • WikiBooks - lessons and info on Cantonese
  • Cantolounge - lots of free materials and tips to learn Cantonese 
  • SQA Easy/Middle/Hard - Find past papers and marking instructions for your revision. You can search by topic and or refine by subject and level. To add the matching marking instructions simply tick the box.


Digitized Grammar Books




Cantonese Vocabulary




Vocabulary-related (and digitized) E-books



Cantonese Reading Materials




Cantonese Dictionaries




Cantonese Listening and Video Resources



TV / VIDEO / MOVIES




PODCASTS / AUDIOBOOKS



  • A Podcast in Cantonese
  • OneDrive - 40 Audio Lessons
  • Popupcantonese.com - Learn Cantonese with Free Cantonese Podcasts… You have to sign-up for instant free access.
  • ChinesePod - "Once you've gone through beginner Cantonese and are somewhat familiar with the language, this podcast is great because it's more interactive than just listening on your own. It helps to improve spoken skills."

RADIO




Forums




Blogs



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