A perfect New Year!

Đông sang gió lạnh
冬冷風吹 dung laang fung ceoi
Hoa nở Xuân về
春來花開 ceon lai faa hoi
Chúc thọ cao niên
祝寿老人 zuk sau lou jan
Lì xì xấp nhỏ
利是孩子 lei si haai zi
Người người hoan hỷ
人人喜氣 jan jan hei hei
A perfect New Year!
新年完美 san nin jyun mei

Writer's Notes
Viết nhân dịp Tết Bính Thân 2016.
Written on the occasion of Vietnamese New Year "Tết" celebration.

Credits and/or Citations:
The above written verses incorporate the utilization of the online MDBG Chinese-English dictionary for Jyutping Cantonese romanization of Chinese characters.

Spring Comes

白雪飛 bak syut fei
新春來 san ceon lai
人人開 jan jan hoi
開開心 hoi hoi sam

Literal English Translation version:
Flying snowflakes fly
Spring comes
People are
happy (at the coming of Spring).

Writer's Notes
Viết nhân dịp Tết Ất Mùi 2015.
Written on the occasion of Vietnamese New Year "Tết" celebration.

Credits and/or Citations:
The above written verses incorporate the utilization of the online MDBG Chinese-English dictionary for Jyutping Cantonese romanization of Chinese characters.

A Mother’s Love

母親的愛

我生有你是我的福喜
(ngo sang jau nei si ngo dik fuk hei)
It is a blessing having you in my life.

日日夜夜想念你...母親的愛
(jat jat je je soeng nim nei...mou can dik oi)
Day and night I’m thinking of your love

愛如大海, 愛如高山, 愛如天空
(oi jyu daai hoi, oi jyu gou saan, oi jyu tin hung)
愛是永遠, 愛是不變, 愛在我心中。
(oi si wing jyun, oi si bat bin, oi zoi ngo sam zung)
Like an ocean ever-flowing of love, unchanging mountain up on high, wide embracing open sky.


我心有你是永遠不變
(ngo sam yau nei si wing jyun bat bin)
Having you in my heart is forever and unchanged.

年年月月記得你...母親的教
(nin nin jyut jyut gei tak nei...mou can dik gaau)
Year after year month after month I’m remembering of your teaching

教在我好, 教我做人, 教我學文
(gaau zoi ngo hou, gaau ngo zou jan, gaau ngo hok man)
做人做更得好, 學文學完努力
(zou zan zou gang tak hou, hok man hok jyun nou lik)
As you meant to teach me well
First learn to behave ethically in everyday life, second to study hard to have a good education.

未來長大 後想回到 感謝我母親的愛。
(mei loi zoeng daai hau soeng wui dou kam ze ngo mou can dik oi)
Growing up, I’m able to look back and appreciate your care and love for me.


Writer's Notes
This fourth, yet first full piece of phonetic writing in Cantonese Chinese that was written with a thought of a middle school classmate in mind as she who had just recently lost her mother.

The first stanza was conceived and written on July 2 while the second stanza was written and completed over the following three days.

Credits and/or Citations:
The above written verses incorporate the utilization of the online MDBG Chinese-English dictionary for Jyutping Cantonese romanization of Chinese characters.

Joyous New Year

白雪紅梅 baak syut hung mui
龍年飛喜 lung nin fei hei

Literal English Translation version:
White Snow Red Plum
Joyous Dragon Year.

Writer’s Notes
The above Chinese phonetic writing of Spring couplet was not originally planned. It just happened that those Cantonese sounding words came to mind while I was thinking of my two most favorite Cantonese opera performers, Lung Kim Sang 龍劍笙 and Mui Suet See 梅雪詩, as they celebrated their fifty year of collaboration this past December (2011).

Word playing on their stage name's surname, 梅 Mui and 龍 Lung respectively, the couplet is to depict the coming of spring heralded with blooming plum blossoms and the coming year of the dragon filled with joy.

Credits and/or Citations:
The above written verses incorporate the utilization of the online MDBG Chinese-English dictionary for Jyutping Cantonese romanization of Chinese characters.

Winter to Spring

Gió Đông lành lạnh thổi
Tuyết trắng đón Xuân về.

冷冷的風吹
laang laang dik fung ceoi
白雪等春來
baak syut dang ceon loi

Literal English Translation version:
Cold Winter wind
Snow welcoming Spring.

Writer’s Notes
The idea of writing Spring couplet initially started out just for fun; and yet, it somehow became a personal activity of things to do in celebrating Lunar New Year.

That said the writing process is an enjoyable experience. It always brings smiles to my face.

For the year’s theme, the multilingual thoughts came to mind minutes passed four o’clock in the morning of Friday, December 9, 2011. Those lines of verses were later written down, revised and completed in the early afternoon of the same day.

This year's couplet depicts a beautiful winter scene in which my family and I used to welcoming the Vietnamese "Tết" New Year here in the Northeast.

Credits and/or Citations:
The above written verses incorporate the utilization of the online MDBG Chinese-English dictionary for Jyutping Cantonese romanization of Chinese characters.

Good Weather

白雲飛 baak wan fei
藍天上 laam tin soeng
好天氣 hou tin hei
好開心 hou hoi sam

艷陽光 jim joeng gwong
笑一笑 siu jat siu
萬千光 man cin gwong
萬千笑 man cin siu

Literal English Translation version:
White cloud and blue sky, such good weather.
Thousand of brilliant sunshine and smiles.
Also, in Vietnamese as...
Trời xanh mây trắng bay.
Cười tươi trong nắng mai.

Writer’s Notes:
All of a sudden, those Cantonese sounding words started playing in my head that one morning in late October. For curiosity, I wrote them down and “Good Weather” became my first piece of phonetic writing in Cantonese Chinese.

Credits and/or Citations:
The above written verses incorporate the utilization of the online MDBG Chinese-English dictionary for Jyutping Cantonese romanization of Chinese characters.