Garden of KnowledgeSocial Sciences › Languages - Dialects › Hakka-Khek › 04-Vocabulaire

December 31, 2025

Common Words and Basic Vocabulary

Dialect Note: This vocabulary is primarily West Kalimantan/Pontianak Indonesian Hakka [WK]. See Resources/Regional-Dialects.md for detailed dialect information.

Pronouns§

English	Hakka	Dialect Notes
I / Me	ngai	[Universal] All dialects
You (singular)	nyi [WK] / ngi	nyi more common in WK; both acceptable
He / She / It	ki [WK] / khi	Regional variation
We	ngai-tew-sa [WK] / nga ngin	-tew-sa = plural marker
Us	tjhi’-ka / jhi ka	Regional variations
You (plural)	nyi-tew-sa [WK]	nyi + plural marker
They	ki-tew-sa [WK] / khi teu / khi teu ngin	Multiple forms used

Basic Responses§

English	Hakka	Dialect Notes
Yes	he / he wa	[Universal]
No	boi mo / em he	[WK] Multiple negative forms
Okay	ho / ok / tet / co tet	ho [Universal]; ok [ID] from English
No need	em sze	[WK]

Question Words§

English	Hakka	Dialect Notes
What	ma’ai [WK] / mak kai	Both used in WK
Why	co mai [WK] / bui-ma’ai	co mai most common
Who	ma ngin [WK] / ma-nyin / man-sa / ma sa	Regional spelling variations
Where	nai bui [WK] / a-bui / na-bui / na-bi / na-wui	nai bui most common in WK
How	nyong pen [WK] / nyong-pan	Spelling variations
How many	ki to [WK] / kit-to / to-sau	-
What time	kit to tiam [WK] / jit to tiam	-
How much (price)	jit to lui [WK]	Universal pattern

Conjunctions and Connectors§

English	Hakka	Dialect Notes
And / With	kak	[Universal]
But	tan he [WK] / tapi [ID]	tapi = Indonesian loanword
Therefore	anyong [WK]	-
Because	thet…ko theu [WK]	-
Or	-	Often borrowed from Indonesian

Negation§

English	Hakka	Dialect Notes
Not	mo [WK] / emboi	mo most common
Not yet	mang [WK]	Universal
Never	shit [WK]	-

Prepositions and Location§

English	Hakka
At / In	e bi
Here	lia
There	ha
In front of	mian chian / chián
For you	pun nyi
With	kak
Roadside	lusun

Directional Terms§

English	Hakka
Front	chián
Left	zuǒ
East	tung
Room	kian
Kitchen	hew mui

Time Words§

English	Hakka	Dialect Notes
Today	kinyit [WK] / kin-nyit / kin pu nyit	Spelling variations
Yesterday	chu punyit [WK]	Universal
Tomorrow	sau-co [WK]	-
Now / Right now	li ha [WK] / kin-to / kin-ha	li ha most common
Sometimes	sangha [WK]	Universal
Already	pau [WK] / ho liau	Both used
Finished	liau [WK] / co to	co to = finish work

Common Nouns§

Places§

English	Hakka
Home	buk kha
House	hot sui / buk kha
Store/Shop	tiam
Bookstore	su tiam
Cinema	bioskop
Garden	choi jan
Forest	san

Objects§

English	Hakka
Book	su
Door	moon
Light	fo
Paper	tchi
Money	lui
Clock	tiam / tiam cung
Wristwatch	siu piau

Household Items§

English	Hakka	Dialect Notes
Television	thian shi [ID]	Modern item; from Chinese 電視
Air conditioning	lang hi [ID]	Indonesian Hakka term
Plate	phan [WK]	-
Bowl	bon [WK]	-

People and Relationships§

English	Hakka
Friend	phenjiu
Man/Guy	nam ngin
Woman	fan pho ngin
Neighbor	kak li
Teacher	shin sang
Entrepreneur	thew ka
Laborer	siau kung

Natural World§

English	Hakka
Earth	thi
Water	sui
Grass	cho
Sun	ngiat thew
Month	ngiat kong
Year	ngian

Abstract Concepts§

English	Hakka
Name	miang
Surname	siang
Voice	sang
Business	senli
Article	she
Heaven/Universe	tian
Spirit	shin
Profit	chon
Loss	sat

Useful Expressions§

English	Hakka
Everything	mak kai
Available	tu jiu
People say	thang kong
No words to explain	emo kong
Can’t stand	mo pun si
Hope that	pok ki
Sign/indication	tanda
Usually	biasa
Wait a minute	ten jit ha

Common Patterns§

Asking “Have you…?”§

[Verb] + pau + mang? = Have you [verb] yet?
Example: Sit pau mang? = Have you eaten?

Making Questions§

[Statement] + mo? = [Statement]?
Example: Nyi ho mo? = Are you well?

Saying “For you”§

[Verb] + pun nyi = [Verb] for you
Example: Mai pun nyi = Buy for you

Expressing “Very”§

An + [adjective] = very [adjective]
Example: An ho = very good

Examples in Context§

Ngai nyi phenjiu café e bi
- I met my friend at the café
Li ha ngai buk kha
- Right now I’m at home
Mak kai tu jiu
- Everything is available
Ten jit ha
- Wait a minute
Nyi nai bui?
- Where are you?

—The Gardener