Word 中文字

Cantonese vocabulary: All about firefighters

I realize that I’m essentially reproducing Cantonese phrasebooks as I was putting together the following list shortly after feeling the inspiration. I had just borrowed Little Critter: Going to the Firehouse and want to shore up on that vocabulary that has been missing. What to call fire hydrants that we see when we go for walks and I’ve refrained from pointing them out because I don’t know the Chinese word? Am I using the correct verbs for burning fire and extinguishing and fighting fires?

I like to think that my lists add value in some way to the noise on the Internet. And if not, it necessary for me to go through this process to internalize just a few of the words!

WordCharacterPronunciationNotes
Attire
jacketao3I've always thought it was "lao"!
helmet消防帽siu1 fong4 mou6*2"firefighting HAT"
消防頭盔siu1 fong4 tau4 kwai1"firefighting head helmet"
bootshoe1
gloves手套sau2 tou3
goggles安全眼鏡on1 cyun4 ngaan5 geng3"safety glasses"
badgezoeng1
Equipment
axe斧頭fu2 tau4*2
mask消防面具siu1 fong4 min6 geoi6"firefighting face cover"
sand bucket滅火沙桶mit6 fo2 saa1 tung2
oxygen氧氣joeng5 hei3
ladder騮梯lau4*1 tai1this is what I've called it all my life but it's not an official version
walkie talkie步聽機bou6 teng1 gei1"step listen machine"
Miscellaneous
fire truck救火車gau3 fo2 ce1the one I heavily use - thank goodness it's a real word
消防車siu1 fong4 ce1
火燭車fo2 zuk1 ce1
fire department消防處siu1 fong4 cyu3
fire station消防局siu1 fong4 guk6fire BUREAU/OFFICE
消防站siu1 fong4 zaam6fire STATION
dalmation斑點狗baan1 dim2 gau2 "'zebra' spotted dog"
fire extinguisher滅火筒mit6 fo2 tung4*2
fire hydrant消防龍頭siu1 fong4 lung4 tau4"fire fighting dragon head" - I like this one!
街井gaai1 zeng2"street (water) well"
消防栓siu1 fong4 saan1sounds like "firefighting mountain"
* fire hydrant valve消防栓出水口siu1 fong4 saan1 ceot1 seoi2 hau2"fire hydrant water exit"
fire hose消防水龍siu1 fong4 seoi2 lung4"firefighting water dragon"
滅火喉mit6 fo2 hau4
消防喉siu1 fong4 hau4
fire alarm警報 / 火警ging2 bou3 / fo2 ging2
火警鐘fo2 ging2 zung1"fire report bell"
fire escape走火通道zau2 fo2 tung1 dou6"escape fire route"
fire exit安全門on1 cyun4 mun4"safety door"
太平門taai3 ping4 mun4"peace? door"
Verbs
light a fire點火dim2 fo2
set fire (arson)放火fong3 fo2"put fire"
catch fire着火zoek6 fo2
火燭fo2 zuk1
失火sat1 fo2sounds to me like "lose fire"
fight fire消防siu1 fong4
救火gau3 fo2"rescue fire"
extinguish, die out熄滅sik1 mit6
People
firefighter消防員siu1 fong4 jyun4z
救火 人gau3 fo2 jan4I might have made this one up, it wasn't in the dictionary