In China there are lots of dialects, and Cantonese, the language widely used in Hong Kong, is one of them. Some people find it difficult to learn Cantonese because it uses six tones. For example, “Lai5·baai3· yat1” (tone 1) means ‘Monday’ while “Lai5·baai3·yat6” (tone 6) means ‘Sunday’. So be sure to pronounce the tones correctly when you make plans with your friends!

Another confusing thing is that while the spoken language in Hong Kong is Cantonese, the official written language is traditional written Chinese. What this means is that when Hong Kong people write, they have to “translate” their thoughts from Cantonese to written Chinese. So, when they want to write “Lai5·baai3·yat1”(Monday), they have to write “禮拜一”.