Cantonese reading · Jyutping
Read Cantonese with Jyutping beside the words.
A lot of Chinese reading tools assume Mandarin. taihaa keeps Cantonese separate: you read a real text, see Jyutping, save the words you care about, and review them in the sentence they came from.
我哋今日睇一篇新文章。
ngo5 dei6 gam1 jat6 tai2 jat1 pin1 san1 man4 zoeng1
我哋
ngo5 dei6
we
今日
gam1 jat6
today
睇
tai2
look; read; watch
一篇
jat1 pin1
one (article)
新
san1
new
文章
man4 zoeng1
article
How a Cantonese reading session works
Bring a Cantonese text
Paste a dialogue, upload a .txt or EPUB, import a public article, or copy a starter lesson from the library. Check imported text before you save it.
Read with Jyutping on
Turn on Jyutping in the reader. Tone numbers sit with the syllables, so you are not guessing a Mandarin reading of the same characters.
Save the sentence, then review
Tap a word, check the suggestion, and save it with the line it came from. Review brings that word back with the original context.
Why Jyutping is the reading aid
Jyutping is a Cantonese romanization. Each syllable keeps a tone number, from 1 to 6, so 睇 is tai2 and not a Mandarin “dì”. In the reader you can show Jyutping across the page, then hide it when you want to try the line from characters alone. Saved words can show Jyutping again during review.
Its own language setting
Cantonese is zh-yue in taihaa, not a skin on Mandarin. Lessons, vocabulary, and review stay on the language you selected.
Jyutping, not Hanyu Pinyin
Jyutping uses tone numbers 1–6. Pinyin describes Mandarin and will send you to the wrong sound for a lot of everyday Cantonese.
Cantonese dictionary suggestions
Suggestions can come from your saved words and from Cantonese dictionary data. They are aids. Edit a gloss before you save it if it is off.
No quiet switch to a Mandarin voice
Text-to-speech uses a real Cantonese or Hong Kong voice on your device. If that voice is missing, taihaa should not pretend Mandarin speech is Cantonese.
What to know before you start
- Jyutping in taihaa is generated automatically. Treat it as a reading aid, not a hand-checked pronunciation for every line.
- English is the base language for glosses in the public beta. Suggestions can be incomplete. Edit them before you save.
- A short library of starter texts is available if you do not have a passage yet. You can also paste class notes or a dialogue.
- If you also study Mandarin, switch the target language. The two vocabularies are not mixed into one pinyin list.
Start with one Cantonese text.
Register, set the target language to Cantonese, and open a passage you want to finish. Save a handful of words with Jyutping and the sentence still attached.