Word
cantonese
Phoneticscan·tonese
/ˌkæntəˈniz/
Definition
adj. relating to the language or people of Guangzhou in southern China, Hong Kong, and Macau. You use this to describe the food, culture, or speech from that region.
adj. relating to the Yue Chinese language or the people and culture of the Pearl River Delta region. Often used attributively to describe linguistic or cultural exports from southern China.
Examples
“We went to a great Cantonese restaurant last night.”
“The film was shot entirely in Cantonese to maintain the cultural authenticity of its Hong Kong setting.”
“The Cantonese diaspora has established vibrant communities worldwide, ensuring that the region's distinct culinary traditions and linguistic heritage remain influential far beyond the borders of southern China.”
Examples
simple
“We went to a great Cantonese restaurant last night.”
contextual
“The film was shot entirely in Cantonese to maintain the cultural authenticity of its Hong Kong setting.”
complex
“The Cantonese diaspora has established vibrant communities worldwide, ensuring that the region's distinct culinary traditions and linguistic heritage remain influential far beyond the borders of southern China.”
Usage
Typically capitalised; functions as a relational adjective that precedes the noun it modifies.
Etymology
From Canton + -ese.
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Word family
Scan code
englishreference.com/q/cantonese