Sing it first. Understand it later.
The KTV screen shows Chinese characters. If you can't read them, you can't sing. This site spells every line the way it sounds.
How to read it
The spelling is called Jyutping. Most letters sound the way you'd guess. These are the ones that don't:
- j
- y as in yes. Never the j of jam.音 jam · sounds like “yum”
- z
- Between j and dz. Say “j” with your tongue flat.早 zou · close to “joe”
- c
- Between ch and ts. Never k or s.唱 coeng · close to “churng”, no r
- ng
- The end of sing, but it can start a word.我 ngo · “ngaw”
- aa
- Long, open ah, as in father.花 faa · “fah”
- a
- Short, like the u in cup.心 sam · rhymes with “sum”
- oe · eo
- Like the ur in fur, lips rounded, no r.香 hoeng · “hurng”
- yu
- Say ee with your lips rounded, like French tu.月 jyut · “yüt”
- -p -t -k
- Stop short. Close your mouth on the letter but do not release it.十 sap · “sup”, cut off
If that j keeps tripping you up, switch to Yale in the Aa menu on any song. It writes the same sounds with English-friendly letters.
Where did the tones go?
Cantonese has six tones, and written Jyutping marks them with numbers. We leave the numbers out when you're singing, because the melody is already doing that job: lyricists pick words whose tones follow the tune. Follow the tune and you are most of the way there.
The spelling itself never changes. Switch to Learn on any song and the tones come back.
Corrections and removal
Found a wrong reading? Are you a rights holder who wants a song taken down? Write to hello@singcanto.com. Removal requests are acted on straight away, no argument.
