Speakur

Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

siew dai

[ˈsjuː˨˦ ˌt˭aɪ˨]

Word Rarity Very rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 1.94 in modern English

Syllables
siew -dai
IPA
[ˈsjuː˨˦ ˌt˭aɪ˨]
11
Scrabble Score
7
Letters
2
Syllables
6
Unique Chars

Meaning

adj

Less sweet (as a preference when ordering coffee or tea).

Colloquial; Informal

Example Sentences

Etymology

From Chinese, though ultimate source language unascertained. Apparently 少底, literally "less base", from 少 (“less”) + 底 (“base; bottom”) in Cantonese pronunciation, referring to the condensed milk, used for sweetening, that sits at the bottom of the cup. In Cantonese this would be pronounced siu² dai², but the compound has not been traced in Cantonese.

Usage

Inflected Forms

siu dai (alternative)

Phrases

di lo gah dai

Frequently Paired Words

C di lo gah dai gau kosong O peng po

Questions

How do you pronounce siew dai?
The recorded pronunciation is [ˈsjuː˨˦ ˌt˭aɪ˨].
What does siew dai mean?
Less sweet (as a preference when ordering coffee or tea).
Where does siew dai come from?
From Chinese, though ultimate source language unascertained. Apparently 少底, literally "less base", from 少 (“less”) + 底 (“base; bottom”) in Cantonese pronunciation, referring to the condensed milk, used for sweetening, that sits at the bottom of the cup. In Cantonese this would be pronounced siu² dai², but the compound has not been traced in Cantonese.

How to pronounce siew dai

  1. Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “siew dai”.
  2. Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling ([ˈsjuː˨˦ ˌt˭aɪ˨]) so you know which sounds to aim for.
  3. Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “siew dai”.
  4. Repeat and practice — Say “siew dai” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.