ngaa5 nou5 aa3 tou4瓦努阿圖瓦努阿图
Jyutpingngaa5 nou5 aa3 tou4
Yalengáh nóuh a tòuh
Definition
Vanuatu; an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean with Port Vila as its capital.
neutralplacestravel
How it's used
Geographic names ending in "-u" often have variant pronunciations in Cantonese, and this country is a prime example. While the standard pronunciation follows the characters, many locals use the colloquial "aa3 lou5 aa3 tou4" because it flows more naturally in fast speech. It is common to hear both versions used interchangeably in casual conversation.
Examples
Do you know where Vanuatu is?
He is going to travel to Vanuatu next month.
Related words
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.
