Place names of Hong Kong

The generic forms of Hong Kong place names are mainly Cantonese, Hakka and British English, although other languages also contribute to Hong Kong place names.

The majority of generic forms are suffix such as Chung in Kwai Chung. Some indicators of ordering and direction could be as prefixes, for example, Tai Pai (大白, lit. first white), Yi Pai (二白, second white).

Changes in place names

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It is common practice in Cantonese communities to change and swap Chinese characters of similar pronunciations because of misinterpretation by different ruling governments over time or visitors from foreign villages and cities, illiteracy of local villages before the economic boom, seeking of good fortune and to replace 'bad sounding' words by using characters with a more positive meaning.

List of generic names

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Indigenous

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Name Character Meaning
Am, Ngam rock, rock face, crag
Au 坳 or 凹 mountain pass
Chai/Tsai small/minor, word suffix indicating a diminutive.
Chai defensed village
Chau islet, island
Che place near hill/mountain
Chung estuarial lagoon at mouth or confluence of stream, stream
Ha lower
Hang valley
Hau opening
Heung village, rural area
Ho river
Hoi sea
Hom pillar, mill-stone
Hui market, locality within a town
Kai street
Kan stream
Kap something that sticks out, bulge, appendage.
Kau basin
Kiu bridge
Ko Tan 高灘 elevated plain
Kok point (of land), horn, angle
Kuk valley
Lam wood or forest
Leng/Ling hill-top, ridge
Long narrow elongated valley between hills
Lo Wai 老圍 old walled village
Mei tail (of a place)
Mun door/gate, opening, channel
O cove, small bay or harbour
Pai slab (of rock), (rocky) reef.
Pik cliff
Ping plain
Po pier
Po plain (?)
Pun basin
San Tsuen 新村 new village
Sha sand, sandy beach, sandy cay or shoal
Shan hill, mountain, mountainous island/islet
Shek rock
Sheung upper
Shing walled city
Shui water, stream
Tam pool
Tan beach or shallow band
Tau head (of a place)
Tei land, place
Tin field (flooded or dry)
To island
To valley
Tong pond, plain
Tong hall
Tun small (usually rounded) hill
Tung cave (and ?)
Tung
Tsim sharp, sharp peak
Tsui 咀/嘴 pointed headland
Tsuen village
Tuk the very end (of a place)
Wai walled village
Wan bay
Wan district
Wo basin, hollow, coombe
Yiu kiln

English

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Most common Chinese translation in brackets.

  • Bay (灣)
  • Cove (澳)
  • Harbour (港)
  • Haven (港)
  • Hill (山)
  • Mount (山)
  • Peak (山)
  • Praya (海灘)

Modern

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Most common Chinese translation in brackets.

  • Centre (中心)
  • Court (苑)
  • Estate (邨)
  • Plaza (廣場)
  • Shopping centre (商場)

See also

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References

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