Learn-Teochew

𝗗𝗼𝗻'𝘁 𝗯𝘂𝘆 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗧𝗲𝗼𝗰𝗵𝗲𝘄 𝘁𝗲𝘅𝘁𝗯𝗼𝗼𝗸

A friend recently shared a post about a new Teochew language textbook, but before I could look into it more closely, she quickly followed up with “actually, never mind”.

The book is titled “Learn Teochew Language: Conversational Teochew with Dialogues for Beginners”, and is written by Robertson B. Kunz, who, according to his website, is “an author and polyglot who enjoys learning foreign languages. At the moment, he studies Spanish, German, Japanese, Mandarin Chinese, Teochew, Korean, Arabic, Sanskrit, French and Italian.”

That’s a lot of languages! And apparently he feels confident enough to have written and published textbooks for most of them too. That should be a huge red flag, but I was curious about the Teochew textbook, since that is such a rarity, I had to have a look.

The free preview on Amazon covered the acknowledgements, table of contents, and introduction (all in English only), which I skimmed. The very first Teochew words I encountered, though, were the following:

“… the Teochew word for ‘telephone’ is 電話 /tiⁿ⁷-ŭe⁸/ … ‘university’ is 大學 /tua⁷-ha̍k⁸/…”

I stopped reading there. The characters are right (and the same as in Mandarin), but the pronunciation given for the first does not exist, while the second is a mangling of two different pronunciations. For the record, “telephone” is /tiɛŋ ue/ (written in IPA) or [diêng6 uê7] (Guangdong Pêng-im) and “university̦” is either /tai hak/ (IPA), [dai6 hag8] (Pêng-im) following vernacular pronunciation or /tua ɔʔ/ (IPA), [dua7 oh8] (Pêng-im) in literary pronunciation. These are very common words, and all Teochew native speakers and most heritage speakers should be able to tell you what the correct Teochew readings are. The diacritics and what appear to be tone numbers are also meaningless in any transcription or spelling system for Teochew that I know of.

Fellow diaspora Teochew has already encountered this book and written a detailed post on the many problems with this book https://medium.com/.manviet/buyer-beware-robertson-b-kunzs-learn-teochew-textbook-ee65938cbbcf . They see clear signs that it was hastily put together with AI to make money from unsuspecting online shoppers, and the same is likely true of Kunz’s other books. Much of the “Teochew” in the book is inaccurate, actually Hokkien, or purely imaginary.

It is puzzling to me why Kunz would want to do something like this. He has a YouTube channel and other social media accounts promoting his language learning methods. In his book he thanks his mentors and a long list of people who have helped or supported him. That’s a lot of people to disappoint, unless they too were AI-generated.

And of all languages to pretend to be an expert on, why Teochew? If you try to sell AI slop on a language like French or German, you will have many more potential buyers, but there is enough high quality content out there that is also free or inexpensive, you won’t need to dig around the back pages of Amazon listings. With Teochew, there is a real lack of learning materials, but almost everyone who wants to learn Teochew has some personal connection to the language and will very quickly find out if the content is just made up. And frankly there isn’t enough demand to make a living selling Teochew textbooks (if there is please let me know so I can change jobs).

Dont’t waste your time or money on this book (I don’t want to drive further traffic so I am not going to link to the book or its author’s website here). If you are looking for a Teochew textbook in English, my recommendation is the same as MăngUâgTeochew: Spoken Swatow by Alvin and Barbara Koons, originally published in the 1960s but now available as a print-on-demand title. Get the WhatTCSay3 dictionary app for your mobile phone, join the Gaginang Discord server to practice with other Teochew learners, and check out the resources posted online by The Teochew Store.

do you like music and Teochew? The Teochew Store is having a Teochew birthday song competition: sing the birthday song in Teochew, or compose your own Teochew version for nang5 rig8 人日 , submissions open from 1 to 31 Jan 2026, see details below!

Announcing: Our Teochew Birthday Song Contest! 我们的潮语生日歌比赛

Sing or compose a birthday song for all Teochews💖

Got a voice ready to shine? We’d love to hear your Teochew rendition of “Happy Birthday to You.”
Or be the one to compose a brand-new song that Teochews around the world will sing for generations to come

A contest for all🎉
Individuals, families, or groups — as long as you identify as Teochew and your song is mainly (or fully) in Teochew Ue.

Key dates
📝 Submissions: 1–31 January 2026
👍 Public YouTube voting: 8–21 February 2026
🏆 Winner announced: 22 February 2026
(a day before Nang Jig 人日 — humanity’s birthday in Teochew tradition!)

The greatest reward is the chance for your song to become the Teochew birthday anthem — plus a SGD 200 cash prize, generously sponsored by Mr Allan Tan of the 1. Allan Tan YouTube channel.

👉 View full rules & details:
https://www.theteochewstore.org/pages/teochew-birthday-song

Tag a Teochew friend who’d love this! 👇

Next Sunday 12 October 2025: Join an afternoon of Teochew language at the Chui Huay Lim Club 醉花林俱乐部 (190 Keng Lee Road, nearest MRT station Newton)!

1 pm -- Teochew language competition finals, watch our finalists get quizzed on the Teochew language; follow along and see how well you know Teochew

3 pm -- Talk by Prof Lin Lunlun 林伦伦, expert on Teochew language, who will speak on Teochew idioms and how they reflect the Teochew culture and way of life.

The 2025 edition of the Teochew language challenge 来拚潮州话啦 is here, jointly organised by the Singapore Teochew Heritage Society and the Chui Huay Lim Club. Register by 30 September!

来拚潮州话啦! The Annual Teochew Language Challenge is Back!

Ready to prove your skills? The 6th edition of Singapore’s premier Teochew language contest is here. Put your speaking, reading, and writing to the ultimate test — and see how you stack up against the very best in the community.

Key Dates
• Preliminary Round (via Zoom): 4 October 2025
• Grand Final (at Chui Huay Lim Club): 12 October 2025
• Registration Deadline: 30 September 2025 (Tuesday)

✨ Why Join?
• Showcase your Teochew language skills
• Connect with fellow enthusiasts
• Stand a chance to win attractive prizes

Don’t miss out. Register now and be part of the challenge!

This contest is jointly organised by Chui Huay Lim Club (醉花林俱乐部) and Singapore Teochew Heritage Society (潮州文史学会). Details in the poster below.



#潮州
#潮州人
#แต้จิ๋ว
#潮汕
#家己人กากี่นั้ง
#家己人




#新加坡潮州人
#潮州话
#潮州方言

Congratulations to our friends The Teochew Store on marking their tenth anniversary!

What I appreciate about The Teochew Store is that they not only share and create resources to learn about Teochew language and culture, but also promote and support other Teochew initiatives around the world.

Through the interviews they post on their blog (https://www.theteochewstore.org/blogs/latest) they open a window to the diverse experiences of Teochews around the world and what we are doing to keep our heritage alive.

Thank you The Teochew Store and wishing you many more happy years!

The Teochew Store at 10: Reflections from our Co-founder Jason

I founded The Teochew Store website in 2014 with the support of my then-girlfriend, and now wife. I wanted to build an online English-language resource to help Teochews worldwide connect with their language, culture, roots and identity. It was a journey that I’d undertaken myself, culminating in a three-year stay in Swatow, China. There I found the house that my grandfather left to go to Singapore in the 1930s, which he never returned to. I also reconnected with our bigger family, learned Teochew Ue (which I barely spoke before), and gained an understanding of how our people viewed the world and lived life. My drive was to share everything I learned with anyone interested, especially my fellow overseas Teochews... read more at: https://www.theteochewstore.org/blogs/latest/the-teochew-store-at-10

The Year of the Snake is coming!

Time to revise our Teochew kinship terms, see our handy guide below...

learned so much today, thank you Thau Yong 陶融儒乐社!

威龙与傻龙；这就是以前和现在潮州刺绣的分别。
左为陶融1954年购买的皇帝龙袍，有70年的历史。右为近期购买的官服。

Opportunity to learn Teochew opera in Singapore!

新加坡潮州八邑会馆将开办第四系列潮曲学习班，由资深潮剧和潮曲演员陆玉娥亲自教导。教唱曲目包括“京城会”，“桃花过渡”等耳熟能详的经典潮曲。

从 2024年12月17日开始（10节课）。
每星期二 晚上7时30分至9时30分
学费：$ 70 元（会员/现有学员）/ $ 85 元（非会员）
上课地点：563A 马里士他路, 邮编 329879
报名链接：https://forms.gle/V3p6F4n7AcYibnUh6
指导： 陸玉娥老师，资深潮剧和潮曲演员，唱作皆佳，教导潮曲和演唱歌曲几十年，桃李满园，在传承潮曲和潮剧方面，有深远的贡献。

如有疑问，请致电 6738 2691 或 WhatsApp 9653 7718。

The Singapore Teochew Poit Ip Huay Kuan will launch the 4th series of Teochew opera learning class, which will be personally taught by renowned Teochew opera actor and coach Ms Anne Lek. The teaching repertoire includes "Jingcheng Hui", "Taohua Guo Du" and other familiar classic Teochew opera excerpts.

Starting from 17 Dec 2024 (10 weeks) Every Tuesday, 7:30 to 9:30pm
Tuition fee: $70 (members/existing participant)/ $85 (non-members)
Venue: 563A Balestier Road, Singapore 329879
Registration link：https://forms.gle/V3p6F4n7AcYibnUh6
Instructor: Ms Anne Lek. A veteran Teochew opera performer who is both good at singing and acting. She has sung and taught Teochew opera for decades and has made profound contributions to the inheritance of Teochew songs and opera.

For more information, please call 6738 2691or WhatsApp 9653 7718.

潮州剪纸是潮州传统民间艺术之一。它展示了花果、鸟兽、人物、风景和文字图案等，具有非常浓厚的潮州文化特色。今年中秋节期间，来自中国潮安的潮州剪纸传人黄朝阳先生出席了新加坡潮安会馆举行的“花好月圆 潮安共庆中秋”活动，为来宾们展示了其精湛的剪纸艺术。“速剪”、“盲剪”等娴熟的剪艺让现场观众叹为观止。此外，黄朝阳先生还在潮安会馆开设了剪纸体验班，将潮州剪纸的历史、文化和技术毫无保留地传授给海外的学员们。

黄朝阳先生是如何与潮州剪纸结缘？跟其他地方的剪纸相比，潮州剪纸有何特色？潮舗近期连线黄朝阳先生，请他讲讲他与潮州剪纸的故事。

阅读文章：
https://www.theteochewstore.org/blogs/latest/interview-with-ngziouiang-c

潮舗感谢新加坡Teo Ann Huay Kuan 潮安会馆支持本次采访。

I recently had the pleasure of chatting with the team from Ethos' Diary (ethosdiary.org) on strategies for learning dialects, especially Teochew. They have posted clips from our conversation on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/reel/DC1wkUSTtpC/

They are a motivated group of young students and it was great to see how enthusiastic they are about languages and cultural heritage in Singapore. Do check out their Instagram page to see their other content, including their interview with Jason from The Teochew Store.

📚 If you’ve ever wanted to learn TEO CHEW then learnteochew.com is a must-try! We spoke to the founder Mr Brandon Seah about his journey starting this website. Here’s short snippet of our chat! 🙈

Today was the finals of the 5th Teochew Language Challenge 來拚潮州話啦！ (lai5 bian3 Diê5ziu1-uê7 la1) jointly organized by the Chui Huay Lim Club and Singapore Teochew Heritage Society. Eight finalists competed in their knowledge of Teochew vocabulary and writing, and even in reading out tongue-twisters (繞口令 riao3 kao2 lêng6).

The moderator was Mr Lim Ngian Tiong 林仰忠, and Prof Lim Lung Lung 林倫倫 joined by Zoom from Swatow to serve as a judge.

Some new vocabulary I learned today:

* The classifier 量詞 for 聲 sian1 "voice" is 枝 gi1
* giêng1 鏗 "bright" (of a voice): 伊枝聲真鏗 i1 gi1 sian1 zing1 giêng1 "His/her voice is loud and bright"
* pah4 mang2 拍蠓 "no business" or "business is poor" (literally means "swatting mosquitoes")
* u6 bhung5 bhag8 有文墨 "with learning" (lit. "with letters and ink")

Overall a very interesting event, participants are people who already speak Teochew and who want to challenge themselves in Teochew vocabulary, and in writing/reading Teochew characters.

Finally, can anyone guess what word the contestant was trying to write in the second photo?

Answer below...
---

朥粕 la5 poh4 "fried pork lard" or 肉油粕 bhah4 iu5 poh4