This site uses Hong Kong terms throughout, glossed on first use.Browse the glossary →Editorial policy

AI-assisted translation, human review in progress — corrections welcomeEmail us

Editorial and Translation Policy

Hong Kong Stories, Told in Hong Kong’s Own Words

The subject of the Hong Kong Brand Museum is Hong Kong. Everything on this site is written in Hong Kong Chinese, which is the original text and the final authority for the whole site.

Hong Kong terms are kept, without exception. 巴士 (bus) stays 巴士, 的士 (dik si, taxi) stays 的士 — and 荳品 (soya products), 屋邨 (public housing estate), 街市 (gai si, wet market), 茶餐廳 (cha chaan teng, Hong Kong-style diner) and 士多 (si do, corner store) all stay just as they are. Brand names likewise follow the brand’s usage in Hong Kong, and are never rewritten into any other region’s form.

The Simplified Version

The simplified version (/sc/) is a script conversion, provided for readers of simplified characters around the world — in Singapore, Malaysia, mainland China and everywhere else — many of whom are also visitors to Hong Kong.

The simplified version is not a localised edition for any single region:

  • Only the script is converted; the content is not rewritten
  • Hong Kong terms and brand names are kept exactly as they are
  • Where a Hong Kong-specific term appears, you can tap it to see how it is said elsewhere

Hong Kong Usage Guide

The first time a Hong Kong-specific term appears on a page it carries a dotted underline; tap it to see an explanation. The Hong Kong glossary page holds the full reference table, covering the corresponding usage in Mainland China, Taiwan, Singapore and Malaysia.

The regional equivalents have been checked with care: the Mainland China and Taiwan equivalents are well documented; documentation of Chinese usage in Singapore and Malaysia is thinner, so anything we cannot be quite sure of is marked “unverified” — we would rather leave a gap than guess. Malaysian Chinese usage sometimes differs from Singapore’s, and we never assume the two are the same.

The English and Japanese Versions

The English (/en/) and Japanese (/ja/) versions are made for visitors to Hong Kong and readers overseas:

  • Hong Kong terms are kept in the original, with an explanation attached — for example “dai pai dong (大牌檔, open-air food stall)”
  • Cantonese is romanised using Hong Kong Government Cantonese romanisation, not Hanyu Pinyin
  • Historical background is added where appropriate, for readers who may not know Hong Kong

Translation Workflow

The Hong Kong Chinese version is the sole source of all content. The simplified, English and Japanese versions are currently produced with AI-assisted translation, with human proofreading in progress. Pages that have been proofread will be progressively marked “human-reviewed”; pages not yet proofread display an “AI-assisted translation” notice.

Spotted a translation error or a poorly chosen word? Please email discover@hkbrandmuseum.com to let us know.