Lesson 1

How to read (Batu Pahat) Hokkien

Before you learn how to dive into the lessons, you need to know how to read the words on this website.

Batu Pahat Hokkien is primarily a spoken language. For My Hokkien, we use Roman letters to represent its sounds so that learners can read, pronounce, record, and share the language.

Friendly reminder: You don't need to know Chinese characters to learn Batu Pahat Hokkien here!

What is romanization?

Romanization is a way of representing a language using the Roman alphabet (which is what we use in English).

MyHokkien uses romanization to make the language accessible to people who don't read Chinese characters. It serves to represent spoken Hokkien to writing and show learners how a word is pronounced. We will be using My Hokkien Romanization (MHR) throughout.

My Hokkien Romanization (MHR) is a practical writing system for Batu Pahat Hokkien. It uses Roman letters to represent the sounds of the variety documented by My Hokkien, with tone and nasalization marked where necessary. The system is designed to be readable by beginners while preserving distinctions important to the spoken language. However, MHR is not intended to be an universal romanization of Hokkien. It is specifically for the Batu Pahat dialect we are documenting.

Let's Learn!

Most Hokkien words can be broken down into syllables.

For example:

MHR: chhù-pinn
Chinese characters: 厝邊
Translation: neighbor

Let's take a deeper look. A romanized word usually contains: an initial, vowel, and tone marking.

chhù

chh- = beginning sound / initial
u = vowel
ù = tone marking (on vowels)

Initial Pronunciations

Basic Vowels

Vowels with Tonal Markings

Combined Vowels

How Tone Marks Change the Vowel

In Batu Pahat Hokkien, the little marks above a vowel are tone marks. They do not mean that the vowel suddenly becomes a different vowel. Instead, they tell you how the syllable’s pitch should move when you say it.

For example, the basic vowel a is still an “ah” type of vowel. A tone mark changes the pitch pattern of that syllable, not the basic vowel itself.

1. No mark: a

Say the vowel naturally, without deliberately raising or lowering your voice.

Example: wa

Think of this as the basic, unmarked form.

2. Acute accent: á

The acute accent ´ tells you to use a higher/rising pitch.

Start the syllable relatively lower and let your voice rise.

Example: goán

Do not pronounce the á as a different vowel. The important difference is the pitch movement.

3. Grave accent: à

The grave accent ` indicates a lower/falling pitch.

Start higher and let your voice fall.

Examples: khì, à i

The vowel itself remains an i or a; the mark tells you how to use your voice.

4. Circumflex: â

The circumflex ˆ marks a different tone contour from the plain vowel.

Your voice should follow the contour associated with this tone rather than treating â as an English-style long vowel.

Make your tone go up, then down. If confused (it is hard to get it on the first try!), listen to the audio recordings in later lessons!

Examples: lâng, kiânn

5. Macron: ā

The macron ¯ also marks a particular tone.

Examples: chē, ē

Make the vowel longer.

6. The Nasal mark: ⁿ

When you make an ordinary vowel, most of the air comes out through your mouth.

When you make a nasal vowel, some of the air also passes through your nose.

You can feel the difference yourself:

Say “ah” normally.
Now say “ah” while gently letting air pass through your nose.
You should feel a little vibration around your nose.

That nasal quality is what ⁿ indicates.

The ⁿ is not pronounced as a separate “n” syllable.

For example, soaⁿ is one syllable, not “soa-n”.

Likewise, kiáⁿ is one syllable. Do not add an extra n sound at the end unless you hear one in the recording.

Think of ⁿ as telling you:

“Make the vowel nasal.”

How to practice

Say the vowel by itself.
Listen to the recording.
Notice whether your voice stays level, rises, falls, or follows another contour.
Repeat the whole syllable.
Only then practise the syllable inside a sentence.