man1蚊
dollar (HKD)
ni1呢go3個jiu3要ji6二sap6十man1蚊
This one costs twenty dollars
Learn
Money
Hong Kong dollars and cents
Before you can shop, you need to talk about money, and this lesson gives you the building blocks. You will learn how dollars and cents work in Cantonese and practise reading common amounts so a price tag stops looking like a puzzle. By the end you can say sums like ten dollars or fifty cents out loud.
What you'll learn
- Say “dollar” with 蚊 (man1)
- Count small change using 毫 (hou4)
- Read amounts like 十蚊 (sap6 man1) for $10
- Handle bigger sums such as 一百蚊 (jat1 baak3 man1)
- Express fifty cents with 五毫 (ng5 hou4)
In Hong Kong, we use “蚊” for dollars and “毫” for dimes (10 cents)!
hou4毫
dime / 10 cents
ni1呢go3個jat1一man1蚊loeng5兩hou4毫
This costs $1.20
sap6十man1蚊
$10
jat1一dip2碟coeng2腸fan2粉sap6十man1蚊
A plate of cheung fun is ten dollars
jat1一baak3百man1蚊
$100
daap3搭dik1的si2士faan1返uk1屋kei2企jiu3要jat1一baak3百man1蚊
Taking a taxi home costs a hundred dollars
ng5五hou4毫
50 cents
m4唔goi1該，ngo5我zung6仲caa1差ng5五hou4毫
Excuse me, I'm still fifty cents short
Frequently asked questions
What is the Cantonese word for dollar?
It is 蚊 (man1). To say $10 you simply put the number first: 十蚊 (sap6 man1).
How do you say cents in Cantonese?
Small change is counted with 毫 (hou4), where one 毫 is ten cents. So 五毫 (ng5 hou4) means fifty cents.
How do you say one hundred dollars in Cantonese?
You say 一百蚊 (jat1 baak3 man1). The pattern is always the number followed by 蚊 (man1) for dollars.