蚵仔

Chinese

		oyster	minutely; young; duty minutely; young; duty; responsibility
simp. and trad. (蚵仔)		蚵	仔
alternative forms		蠔仔／蚝仔兒啊／儿啊 Hokkien informal

Pronunciation

Mandarin
(Pinyin): kèzǐ, ézǐ

(Zhuyin): ㄎㄜˋ ㄗˇ, ㄜˊ ㄗˇ
Cantonese (Jyutping): ho⁴ zai²
Hakka (Sixian, PFS): ò-é
Southern Min (Hokkien, POJ): ô-á

Mandarin
- (Standard Chinese)⁺
  - Hanyu Pinyin: kèzǐ → kèzi (toneless final syllable variant)
  - Zhuyin: ㄎㄜˋ ㄗˇ → ㄎㄜˋ ˙ㄗ (toneless final syllable variant)
  - Tongyong Pinyin: kèzi̊h
  - Wade–Giles: kʻo⁴-tzŭ⁵
  - Yale: kè-dz
  - Gwoyeu Romatzyh: keh.tzyy
  - Palladius: кэцзы (kɛczy)
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /kʰɤ⁵¹ t͡sz̩²¹⁴⁻²¹⁽⁴⁾/ → /kʰɤ⁵¹ d͡z̥z̩¹/
- (Standard Chinese, Taiwan)⁺
  - Hanyu Pinyin: ézǐ → ézi (toneless final syllable variant)
  - Zhuyin: ㄜˊ ㄗˇ → ㄜˊ ˙ㄗ (toneless final syllable variant)
  - Tongyong Pinyin: ézi̊h
  - Wade–Giles: o²-tzŭ⁵
  - Yale: é-dz
  - Gwoyeu Romatzyh: er.tzyy
  - Palladius: эцзы (eczy)
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /ˀɤ³⁵ t͡sz̩²¹⁴⁻²¹⁽⁴⁾/ → /ˀɤ³⁵ d͡z̥z̩³/
Cantonese
- (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)⁺
  - Jyutping: ho⁴ zai²
  - Yale: hòh jái
  - Cantonese Pinyin: ho⁴ dzai²
  - Guangdong Romanization: ho⁴ zei²
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /hɔː²¹ t͡sɐi̯³⁵/
Hakka
- (Sixian, incl. Miaoli and Neipu)
  - Pha̍k-fa-sṳ: ò-é
  - Hakka Romanization System: o^ˇ e^ˋ
  - Hagfa Pinyim: o² e³
  - Sinological IPA: /o¹¹ e³¹/
Southern Min
- (Hokkien)
  - Pe̍h-ōe-jī: ô-á
  - Tâi-lô: ô-á
  - Phofsit Daibuun: oi'ar
  - Sinological IPA (Xiamen): /o²⁴⁻²² a⁵³/
  - Sinological IPA (Quanzhou): /o²⁴⁻²² a⁵⁵⁴/
  - Sinological IPA (Zhangzhou): /o¹³⁻²² a⁵³/
  - Sinological IPA (Taipei): /o²⁴⁻³³ a⁵³/
  - Sinological IPA (Kaohsiung): /ɤ²³⁻³³ a⁴¹/

Noun

蚵仔

(chiefly Southern Min, Taiwanese Hakka) oyster (Classifier: 敉 mn)

Synonyms

Dialectal synonyms of 牡蠣 (“oyster”) [map]

Variety	Location	Words edit
Classical Chinese		蠣, 蠔, 牡蠣, 牡蛤, 蠣蛤, 古賁
Formal (Written Standard Chinese)		牡蠣, 蠔, 海蠣子, 海蠣
Taxonomic name		牡蠣
Northeastern Mandarin	Taiwan	牡蠣, 蚵仔, 蚵
	Malaysia	蠔
	Singapore	蠔
Jiaoliao Mandarin	Yantai (Muping)	海蠣子
Southwestern Mandarin	Nanning (Wuming)	蠔
Cantonese	Guangzhou	蠔
	Hong Kong	蠔, 生蠔
	Dongguan	蠔
	Yangjiang	蠔
	Kuala Lumpur (Guangfu)	蠔
	Singapore (Guangfu)	蠔
Hakka	Meixian	蠔
	Longmen (Luxi; Bendihua)	生蠔
	Miaoli (N. Sixian)	蚵仔
	Pingtung (Neipu; S. Sixian)	蚵仔
	Hsinchu County (Zhudong; Hailu)	蚵仔
	Taichung (Dongshi; Dabu)	蚵
	Hsinchu County (Qionglin; Raoping)	蚵仔
	Yunlin (Lunbei; Zhao'an)	蚵
Northern Min	Jian'ou	蠣黃
Eastern Min	Fuzhou	蠣
	Lianjiang	八蠣
	Fuqing	蠣
	Matsu	蠣
	Singapore (Fuqing)	蠣
Southern Min	Xiamen	蚵仔, 蚵
	Quanzhou	蚵仔, 蚵
	Zhangzhou	蚵仔, 蚵
	Zhangzhou (Changtai)	蚵仔
	Zhao'an	蚵仔
	Taipei	蚵仔
	New Taipei (Sanxia)	蚵
	Kaohsiung	蚵仔
	Yilan	蚵仔
	Changhua (Lukang)	蚵仔
	Taichung	蚵仔
	Taichung (Wuqi)	蚵
	Tainan	蚵仔
	Taitung	蚵仔
	Hsinchu	蚵仔
	Kinmen	蚵
	Penghu (Magong)	蚵
	Penang (Hokkien)	蚵
	Singapore (Hokkien)	蚵
	Manila (Hokkien)	蚵仔
	Chaozhou	蠔
	Shantou	蠔, 水生
	Shantou (Chenghai)	蠔
	Shantou (Chaoyang)	蠔
	Nan'ao (Houzhai)	蠔
	Nan'ao (Yun'ao)	蠔仔
	Jieyang	蠔, 水生, 水魚
	Haifeng	蠔
	Singapore (Teochew)	蠔
	Leizhou	蠔
	Wenchang	蠔
Puxian Min	Putian	蚮
	Putian (Donghai, Chengxiang)	蠔
	Putian (Jiangkou, Hanjiang)	蚮
	Putian (Nanri, Xiuyu)	蚮
	Xianyou	蚮, 蠔
	Xianyou (Fengting)	蠔
	Xianyou (Youyang)	蚮
Wu	Ningbo	蠣黃
Wu	Wenzhou	蠣膏

Derived terms

苦蚵仔 (khó͘-ô-á)
蚵仔兜
蚵仔煎 (ô-á-chian, “oyster omelette”)
蚵仔酥 (ô-á-so͘ , “deep-fried oysters”)
蚵仔餅 / 蚵仔饼
蚵仔麵線 / 蚵仔面线 (ô-á-mī-sòaⁿ)

References

“蚵仔”, in 教育部臺灣台語常用詞辭典 [Dictionary of Frequently-Used Taiwanese Taigi] (overall work in Mandarin and Hokkien), Ministry of Education, R.O.C., 2026.