The Cantonese romanization is Jyutping but with the following modifications:
- I use "y" instead of "j" for the /j/ (English "y" sound).
- There used to be a distinction in Cantonese between the series (/ts/, /tsʰ/, /s/) and (/tɕ/, /tɕʰ/, /ɕ/). Now this distinction is mostly lost and speakers use one or the other. My personal experience has been that I hear /tɕ/, /tɕʰ/, and /s/. Therefore I will use "j", "q", and "s".
- I use modified Yale tones ā, á, a, xà, xá, xa to represent the tones a1, a2, a3, a4, a5, a6 respectively. I find contour symbols more immediate and more easily comparable to the pinyin tones. I use a prefix "x" to represent low tones because (1) "x" is less visually intrusive than the Yale romanization's usage of "h" and (2) you need this low tone information before you begin to process the contour information.
| Traditional | Simplified | Mand. | Canton. | Definition |
| 鳥 | 鸟 | niǎo | niú | Bird |
| 鳳 | 凤 | fèng | fxung | Phoenix |
| 鴉 | 鸦 | yā | ā | Crow |
| 鴟 | 鸱 | chī | qī | Sparrowhawk |
| 鴻 | 鸿 | hóng | hxùng | Bean goose. It is also used in an idiom to mean "grand". |
| 鵠 | 鹄 | gǔ | gūk | Swan. Although today it is a word for archery target. |
| 白鶴 | 白鹤 | báihè | bxaak.hxok | White crane |
| 鸚鵡 | 鹦鹉 | yīngwǔ | yīng.mxoú | Parrot |
| 鸂鶒 | xīchì | kāi.qīk | (?) It appears to be a type of waterfowl which resembles a Mandarin duck. | |
| 鷦鷯鳥 | 鹪鹩鸟 | jiāoliáoniǎo | jiū.lxiù.niú | Wren |
| 鳧 | 凫 | fú | fxù | Wild duck |
| 白鷺 | 白鹭 | báilù | bxaak.lxou | Egret |
| 鴛鴦 | 鸳鸯 | yuānyāng | yūn.yeūng | Mandarin duck. They are consider symbols of fidelity as the Chinese believed they formed lifelong couples. |
| 雀 | què | jeuk | Sparrow |
