Cantonese- Language and Culture Quiz

Answer: ho yoon

"Plane" in Cantonese is "fay gaiy". Like most airports, there are shops. Shop workers are usually bilingual. Many of the signs are Chinese but also have English translations.

Answer: hoi seen

Fresh fish is very common in Hong Kong, but shrimp, lobster, crab, clam, abalone, and others of the sort can be easily found too! All of these can be ordered at restaurants (aka tsow low) or made at home. At the restaurants, rice always comes with it whether you order rice or not.

Answer: a Bauhinia Flower

The Bauhinia flower is from the Bauhinia blakeana, an evergreen tree. This flower is magenta-pink and is fragrant. It is the official flower of Hong Kong. There is a statue of this flower in Golden Bauhinia Square in Hong Kong and also appears on Hong Kong's flag. Sir Henry Blake, whom this flower is named after, was a botanist who was the governor of Hong Kong from 1898 to 1903 and found this flower on the shore of Hong Kong Island.

Answer: Red (aka Hoann)

Red can be accompanied by gold and jade which are also quite popular. Red is considered lucky because it is the color that represents "positive energy" in the Yin Yang. It is often used as a theme color in special events like birthdays, weddings, or Chinese New Years'.

At these occasions, red packets (lai see) are given out to represent giving blessings. These should not be opened right away as that would supposedly destroy the gift of good luck.

Answer: foann seen

Sometimes windows are opened too, because on the higher levels of an apartment building, there is some wind. Very few dryers are found in Hong Kong, so washed clothes are hung on the open windows to dry.

Answer: tong suy

A few of the more popular "tong suys" are red bean and sweet, black rice tong suy. cooked peanut paste- or black sesame paste-filled flour balls in sweet, ginger liquid. black sesame tong suy (thick consistency). small, clear balls and taro in coconut liquid.

Answer: a type of bird

There is a picture of this type of bird on 4 of the tiles in this game. The bird is colorful and has a long plume as a tail. The game is played with four people sitting on the four sides of a square table. It requires a quick, problem solving mind and a little bit of luck. It slightly resembles the card game "rummy" except with many more strict rules.

Answer: Different every year

Back then, the Chinese used a calendar different from the kind we use today. It's dating system is different and so naturally the Chinese New Year date would not correspond with the calendar we use. It is different every year but is usually late January or early February.

Answer: serng chung bah see

Subways that go though tunnels under the water and through mountains are another spectacular system found in Hong Kong. Moving about Hong Kong is usually pretty quick and easy but there still is traffic. For those who don't rush, electric cars (deen tseh) that look like two-leveled trolleys, are very cheap at only 2 dollars in HK money.

Answer: joi geen, pohpoh

For some people that are more traditional, they might get angry if you don't address them. As a greeting, usually simply calling that persons name is adequate but other words may accompany that such as good morning (jo sun) or how are you (lay ho mah).

In Chinese, the relatives on different sides of the family are called differently. For example, "pohpoh" is grandma on the mom's side and "mahmah" is grandma on the dad's side. Hope you liked my quiz, and next time someone talks to you about Hong Kong, I hope at least you'll remember that they speak Cantonese there. *Please Rate This Quiz*