48.1 Language of Announcements

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When taking the subway, we often hear different kinds of announcements. The language used in announcements is more formal than the language we use in everyday conversations.

Announcements often include some more formal vocabulary. Below are some examples.

Word /
Expression		MeaningExample
請
cing2		please請先讓車上乘客落車。
cing2 sin1 joeng6 ce1 soeng6 sing6 haak3 lok6 ce1.
Please let passengers get off first.
請勿
cing2 mat6		please do not請勿靠近車門。
cing2 mat6 kaau3 gan6 ce1 mun4.
Please do not get near the train doors.
將會
zoeng1 wui5		will左邊嘅車門將會打開。
zo2 bin1 ge3 ce1 mun4 zoeng3 wui5 daa2 hoi1.
The train doors on the left will open.
Note: 左邊 zo2 bin6 is usually pronounced as zo2 bin1 (bin in Tone 1) in subway announcements.
往
wong5		to go toward往金鐘嘅列車即將到達。
wong5 gam1 zung1 ge3 lit6 ce1 zik1 zoeng1 dou3 daat6.
The train that goes toward Admiralty is arriving soon.
即將
zik1 zoeng1		soon往金鐘嘅列車即將到達。
wong5 gam1 zung1 ge3 lit6 ce1 zik1 zoeng1 dou3 daat6.
The train that goes toward Admiralty is arriving soon.
到達
dou3 daat6		to arrive往金鐘嘅列車即將到達。
wong5 gam1 zung1 ge3 lit6 ce1 zik1 zoeng1 dou3 daat6.
The train that goes toward Admiralty is arriving soon.
轉乘
zyun2 sing4		to change to another means of transport or another line乘客可以轉乘荃灣綫。
sing4 haak3 ho2 ji5 zyun2 sing4 cyun4 waan1 sin3.
Passengers can change to the Tsuen Wan Line.
或
waak6		or乘客可以轉乘荃灣線、南港島線或東鐵線。
sing4 haak3 ho2 ji5 zyun2 sing4 cyun4 waan1 sin3, naam4 gong2 dou2 sin3 waak6 dung1 tit3 sin3.
Passengers can change to the Tsuen Wan Line, the South Island Line or the East Rail Line.

Also, when some location expressions are put after a reference point, their short forms will be used instead. The short forms are usually the first syllable of the expressions (e.g., 上邊 soeng6 bin6 → 上 soeng6 ‘above, on’).

Reference
Point		Location
Expression
車上on the train
ce1soeng6
trainon

Announcements sometimes also include some more formal sentence structures. For example, in Grammar and Vocabulary 28.5, we learned that we put the adverb 先 sin1 (‘first’) after the verb or the object if there is one, which is what we usually do in everyday conversations. However, in announcements, we will often hear that 先 sin1 is put before the verb.

請先讓車上乘客落車。
cing2 sin1 joeng6 ce1 soeng6 sing6 haak3 lok6 ce1.
Please give way to passengers on the train to get off first.
The adverb 先 sin1 (‘first’) is put before the verb 讓 joeng6 (‘to give way’).