gau6 gam1 saan1舊金山旧金山
Jyutpinggau6 gam1 saan1
Yalegauh gām sāan
Definition
San Francisco, a major city in northern California, USA.
colloquialplacestravel
How it's used
While both 舊金山 and 三藩市 refer to the same city, 三藩市 is significantly more common in everyday Hong Kong Cantonese. Using 舊金山 often sounds slightly more formal or leans towards the naming convention used by mainland Chinese speakers. Locals frequently use the English name San Francisco directly in conversation as well.
Examples
I will go to San Francisco for a trip next month.
Did you use to live in San Francisco?
Related words
Common phrases
San Francisco Bay Area
Grammar color guide
Noun
Verb
Adjective
Adverb
Pronoun
Classifier
Particle
Connector
Grammar guides
- QuestionsFrom yes or no questions to asking who, what, where, and when. The patterns you need to ask questions naturally in Cantonese.
- ClassifiersCantonese puts a classifier between a number and a noun, and a bare classifier on its own can mean the. Learn the common ones and how to use them.
- ComparisonsHow to say bigger than, the most, the same as, and not as good as. Cantonese uses 過 where Mandarin uses 比, and that catches a lot of learners out.
