The Teochew Store Blog / Vietnamese

In 2024, Tan Wanxuan (陳婉璇), a video director and editor from Gim-zieh (金石) town in Teo-ann, shared the story of Sister Hung (芬姐) from Vĩnh Châu, Vietnam, during an exclusive interview with The Teochew Store. According to her, most of the Chinese in Vĩnh Châu are of Teochew descent, earning the town the nickname “Little Teochew”.

Sister Hung, who was born there and is now in her seventies, traces her ancestral roots to Koi Mui (溪美), Teo-yor (潮陽). It has been her lifelong wish to set foot on the soil of her ancestral hometown and see its scenery. However, for various reasons, this wish had never been fulfilled. Helping Sister Hung return to Teo-yor became one of Wanxuan's greatest wishes. This year, through the joint efforts of young Teochews in China and Vietnam, Sister Hung finally fulfilled her wish, setting foot on Teochew soil and returning to the place of her ancestral roots. The moment was truly moving and joyous.

2024年，来自潮州金石镇的视频编导与剪辑师陈婉璇，在接受潮舗 The Teochew Store 专访时，分享了越南珠洋(Vĩnh Châu)芬姐的故事。据介绍，珠洋的华人主要是潮裔，故有“小潮州”之称。在此出生的芬姐年逾七十，祖籍潮阳溪美。踏上家乡的土地、看看家乡的风光，是她毕生的心愿。然而由于种种原因，这个心愿一直未能实现。帮芬姐早日回潮阳，也成了婉璇最大的心愿之一。今年，在中国和越南两地潮州青年的共同努力下，芬姐终于如愿踏上潮州的土地，回到了自己的祖籍地。这一幕着实让人感动和欣喜。

In recent months, a series of short videos about overseas Teochews have gone viral on Douyin (TikTok), Facebook and other popular social media platforms, and captured the attention of Teochew communities in China and abroad. The videos originate from the official accounts of the Teochew cuisine documentary, “Flavours of Teochew from the Four Seas” (四海潮味, unofficial English translation). Featuring humorous and touching live stories of Teochew people living in Thailand, Vietnam, Malaysia, Indonesia and France, the clips take on a refreshing perspective to present the blending of the Teochew identity with a diversity of local cultures.

Tan Wanxuan (陳婉璇), who hails from Teo-ann (潮安) district in Teochew, China, is the external liaison and producer of this documentary, as well as the director and editor of these short videos. Using Teochew food as a medium, “Flavours of Teochew from the Four Seas” describes the culture, customs and emotional longing for home of Teochew people from different corners of the world. How did Wanxuan become part of this documentary? What has she gained from her travels to these countries to interview and document about our Teochew cuisine and people? The Teochew Store was in touch with Wanxuan to learn about her story and “Flavours of Teochew from the Four Seas”.

A gold rush in the 1850s and 1860s brought thousands of Chinese from Guangdong to Australia, including a small number of Teochews. The Land Down Under has today a mix of Teochew immigrants from Vietnam, Cambodia, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore, Malaysia and China and this documentary produced in 2000 documents their stories. Interestingly, the television crew from Swatow also discovered a place where the Teochew language was widely spoken in Sydney's Cabramatta suburb.

在十九世紀五、六十年代，數千名來自廣東省的華工湧入澳洲採金，其中少數是潮州人。今日的澳洲有分別源於越南、柬埔寨、香港、台灣、新加坡、馬來西亞和中國等地的潮人。這部汕頭電視台2000年攝製的記錄片《騎在羊背上的潮州人》，記錄了他們不同的故事。有趣的是，記錄片的製作團隊竟然在悉尼的卡拉瑪打市郊發現了一個通用潮州話的地方。

Teochew, like Cantonese and Hokkien, has a literary form that traces to at least the 10th century during the Tang dynasty, whereas Mandarin evolved in northern China only after the 13th century.

Here is a list of 99 Teochew expressions in their actual Chinese characters, as opposed to Mandarin ones that they are commonly confused with.