Cantonese Dictionary Vol. 11: 10 Weather & Seasons Words You Need to Know

June 3, 2026

Neon-lit street in Mong Kok, Hong Kong at night

Ask any Hong Konger what they talk about most, and after food, it's the weather. From sticky 回南天 spring days where the walls literally sweat, to a 八號風球 typhoon that shuts down the city, Cantonese has a vocabulary for climate that English just can't match. Here are 10 weather and seasons words every diaspora kid should know — and every Cantonese learner needs.

Hong Kong city street illuminated at night under heavy weather — Hong Kong at night — where weather talk fills every conversation. Photo via Pexels

The 10 Words

1. 落雨

lok6 jyu5 — Jyutping romanisation

Meaning: To rain / it's raining.

Explanation: Where Mandarin says 下雨 (xià yǔ — "rain falls down"), Cantonese says 落雨 — literally "rain descends". Same idea, totally different feel. You'll hear this dozens of times a day during Hong Kong's long wet season from April through September.

In real life: 「外面落緊雨呀,記得帶遮!」 (ngoi6 min6 lok6 gan2 jyu5 aa3, gei3 dak1 daai3 ze1!) — "It's raining outside, remember to take an umbrella!"

2. 打風

daa2 fung1 — Jyutping romanisation

Meaning: A typhoon is hitting / there's a typhoon coming.

Explanation: Literally "to strike wind". Used as a verb — Hong Kongers don't say "there is a typhoon", they say "it is typhooning". For a kid growing up in Hong Kong, 打風 means one beautiful thing: school cancelled.

In real life: 「聽日打風,放假呀!」 (ting1 jat6 daa2 fung1, fong3 gaa3 aa3!) — "It's typhooning tomorrow, day off!"

3. 風球

fung1 kau4 — Jyutping romanisation

Meaning: Typhoon signal / typhoon warning level.

Explanation: The Hong Kong Observatory uses signals 1, 3, 8, 9 and 10 to rate typhoon severity. The name 風球 ("wind ball") comes from the old days when actual physical ball-and-cone shapes were hoisted at signal stations to warn ships. Today everyone watches their phone instead, but the word stuck.

In real life: 「掛咗八號風球,公司返唔到啦。」 (gwaa3 zo2 baat3 hou6 fung1 kau4, gung1 si1 faan1 m4 dou3 laa3.) — "They've raised Signal No. 8, we can't go to work."

4. 翻風

faan1 fung1 — Jyutping romanisation

Meaning: The wind is turning cold; a sudden cold snap.

Explanation: When autumn or winter wind sweeps in and the temperature drops several degrees overnight, Cantonese aunties will warn you 翻風喇 — literally "the wind has turned". A signature line from every grandmother to every grandchild: "翻風啦,著多件衫!" — "Wind's turned, put on another layer!"

In real life: 「今晚翻風,著多件外套啦。」 (gam1 maan5 faan1 fung1, zoek3 do1 gin6 ngoi6 tou3 laa1.) — "Wind's turning cold tonight, put on a jacket."

Rain-soaked Hong Kong street at night with neon reflections — A wet Hong Kong street after the rain — 落雨之後. Photo via Pexels

5. 凍親

dung3 can1 — Jyutping romanisation

Meaning: To catch a cold from the weather (literally "cold-affected").

Explanation: 親 here is the suffix marker meaning "got hit by". Cantonese has a whole family of these: 整親 (got injured), 嚇親 (got scared). 凍親 carries an old TCM idea — cold air enters the body and makes you sick. Mothers will say this constantly in winter.

In real life: 「件衫著少咗,凍親就死啦。」 (gin6 saam1 zoek3 siu2 zo2, dung3 can1 zau6 sei2 laa3.) — "You're under-dressed — catching a cold will be the death of you."

6. 焗

guk6 — Jyutping romanisation

Meaning: Stuffy, oppressively hot and humid; airless.

Explanation: One of the most distinctly Cantonese weather words. 焗 originally describes baking or steaming — and that's exactly what Hong Kong summer feels like inside an MTR carriage at rush hour. Not just hot. Not just humid. Steamed. If a room has no ventilation, it's 好焗.

In real life: 「呢間房好焗呀,開冷氣得唔得?」 (ni1 gaan1 fong2 hou2 guk6 aa3, hoi1 laang5 hei3 dak1 m4 dak1?) — "This room is so stuffy, can we turn on the AC?"

7. 涼

loeng4 — Jyutping romanisation

Meaning: Cool, refreshing (in a pleasant way).

Explanation: The opposite of 焗. After a long summer day, when the breeze finally arrives, that's 涼. The word also lives inside 涼茶 (loeng4 caa4) — Cantonese herbal "cooling tea" believed to balance internal body heat. Same character, deeper meaning: 涼 is about restoring the body, not just lowering the temperature.

In real life: 「晚上海風好涼,行下啦。」 (maan5 soeng6 hoi2 fung1 hou2 loeng4, haang4 haa5 laa1.) — "The sea breeze is so cool at night, let's go for a walk."

8. 出汗

ceot1 hon6 — Jyutping romanisation

Meaning: To sweat (literally "to release sweat").

Explanation: In Cantonese health culture, sweating is not just an inconvenience — it's how the body releases damp heat. You'll hear elders say 出多啲汗好啲 ("sweating more is good for you"). After a bowl of hot soup, when your forehead glistens, that's the body doing its job.

In real life: 「行咗成日出晒汗,要沖個涼。」 (haang4 zo2 seng4 jat6 ceot1 saai3 hon6, jiu3 cung1 go3 loeng4.) — "I've been walking all day and I'm covered in sweat, I need a shower."

9. 寒流

hon4 lau4 — Jyutping romanisation

Meaning: Cold front, cold current (a sudden drop in temperature).

Explanation: Literally "cold flow". When weather presenters say a 寒流 is moving in from the north, Hong Kongers pull out their puffer jackets — even though "cold" might only mean 10°C. After 30°C summer days that feels arctic, and the city's old buildings have no central heating to soften it.

In real life: 「聽日有寒流,跌到十度。」 (ting1 jat6 jau5 hon4 lau4, dit3 dou3 sap6 dou6.) — "There's a cold front tomorrow, dropping to 10 degrees."

10. 回南天

wui4 naam4 tin1 — Jyutping romanisation

Meaning: The humid spring days when warm southerly wind hits cold surfaces — and everything sweats.

Explanation: Maybe the most uniquely Cantonese weather word on this list. From late February through April in Guangdong and Hong Kong, the warm South China Sea wind returns ("南" = south), condensing on cool floors and walls. Mirrors fog up. Tiles get slippery. Laundry never dries. There's no English equivalent because nowhere else has weather quite like this.

In real life: 「回南天嚟啦,地下成日濕嘅。」 (wui4 naam4 tin1 lai4 laa3, dei6 haa6 seng4 jat6 sap1 ge3.) — "Wui Naam season has arrived — the floor is wet all day long."

Why Weather Words Matter

Cantonese weather vocabulary isn't just descriptive — it's diagnostic. Phrases like 凍親 and 焗 reflect a worldview shaped by traditional Chinese medicine, where climate directly affects health. Understanding these words means understanding why grandma always tells you to wear a jacket, why drinking 涼茶 in summer matters, and why every Hong Konger keeps an umbrella in their bag from April through October.

Want to keep building your Cantonese vocabulary? Start with our growing dictionary series — each volume tackles a different slice of everyday life.