Penang Hokkiens is easy to learn

Penang Hokkiens, this language is commonly spoken and loved by many as you can see when you visit us, don’t be surprised when you hear Indians speaking Hokien or Chinese speaking Tamil, or Malays speaking in fluent Hokkien to their Chinese friends.

It won’t be surprising at all too, if you see the 3 races speaking Penang Hokkiens together. Most locals could speak a minimum of 3 to 4 languages or dialects. They don't go to learn the Hokkien language in center. But if you do want to learn, there is private tuition given. Penang Hokkiens is easy, just pick up when they talk.

Bahasa Malaysia is the national language. English, our second language is widely used in business, education and the tourism industry. As Penang was (and still is) a meeting point of many cultures, other languages and dialects are also spoken and understood here. Penang Hokkiens is widely spoken.

These include the various Chinese (Mandarin, Cantonese, Hakka, Hokkien, Taochiew)and Indian (Bengali, Tamil, Hindi, Malayalam, Punjabi and Telegu) dialects, as well as several dashes of Thai, Myammar, Nepalese and some European languages.

You may want to impress our people with a few phrases of Malay, Mandarin or Hokkien now and then. It might be useful to learn a few Chinese phrases too.Please have fun learning to speak like us. Refer table. Listed below are our local languages or dialects: Mandarin, Hokkien, Bahasa Melayu.

English Spoken	Malay	Hokkien	Mandarin
Good morning	Se la mat pa gi	Gau Cha	Zao An
Good afternoon	Se la mat ten gah ha ri	n/a	Wu an
Good evening	Se la mat pe tang	n/a	Wu an
Good night	Se la mat ma lam	n/a	Wan an
Goodbye	Se la mat ja lan	Ban Ban Kiea	Zai jian
Thank You	Te ri ma Ka sih	Kam Sia	Xie Xie
Hello	Hai or Ello	Lu Hoe Bor	Ni Hao
No	Tee dak	Mm Ci	Bu shi
Yes	Ya	Ci	Shi
My name is	Na ma sa ya	Gua Mia Ci	Wo ming jiao
How are you?	A pa kha bar?	Lu Hoe Bor?	Ni hao ma?
I am fine	Kha bar baik	Gua Hoe	Hen hao
How much?	Be ra pa har ga?	Kui Looi	Duo sao qian?
What is this?	A pa ini?	Har Me Lai?	Ze shi shen me?
Me	Sa ya	Gua	Wo
You	A wak	Lu	Ni
He/she	Di a	Ee	Ta
We	Ka mi	Gua lang	Wo men
They	Mereka	Ee Lang	Ta men
Where	Di mana/td>	Ta Lok	Zai nali
I don't understand	Saya tidak faham	Gua bor beng pek	Wo bu ming bai
Excuse me	Minta Maaf	n/a	n/a
Do you speak English?	Tau ka kamu cakap Bahasa Inggeris?	Eh heow kong Ang Moo Wah bor?	n/a
Help	Tolong	Kiew mia	n/a
Please bring the menu	To long ba wa sa ya men nu	Gia har gua men nu	n/a
Please bring me the bill	To long ba wa sa ya bil	Gia bill lai	n/a

For serious learners or if you like our Hokkien rhymes and Ditties, here are one food for thought:

Nyonya Hokkien Sayings Mm chai, ai chai, bo phai say mooi, toe chai Mm chai, ai chai, bo ai mooi, kooi si lang gong tai Translation Not to know and to ask is but a moment's shame Not to know and not to ask is a life time of fools mind A teaser and advise to people Ask if you need information, or forever be doom.

One we tease our Grandparents: ::)) Urm mong mong Niau choo kong Ah Mah choey Ah Kong Ah Kong pek khi chang Ah Mah choey bo lang Total darkness Big Rat King Grandma searches for Grandpa Grandpa climbs up a tree Grandma cant find anyone

Cheers

 

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