荷爾蒙

Chinese

	phonetic
trad. (荷爾蒙)	荷	爾	蒙
simp. (荷尔蒙)	荷	尔	蒙
alternative forms	賀爾蒙／贺尔蒙

Etymology

Borrowed from English hormone. For Taiwanese Hokkien and Hakka, via Japanese ホルモン (horumon).

Pronunciation

Mandarin
(Pinyin): hé'ěrméng, hè'ěrméng

(Zhuyin): ㄏㄜˊ ㄦˇ ㄇㄥˊ, ㄏㄜˋ ㄦˇ ㄇㄥˊ
Cantonese (Jyutping): ho⁶ ji⁵ mung⁴ / ho⁴ ji⁵ mung⁴
Hakka (Sixian, PFS): hò-lu-móng
Southern Min (Hokkien, POJ): hô-ní-bông / ho͘-lú-bóng

Mandarin
- (Standard Chinese, standard in Mainland and Taiwan)⁺
  - Hanyu Pinyin: hé'ěrméng
  - Zhuyin: ㄏㄜˊ ㄦˇ ㄇㄥˊ
  - Tongyong Pinyin: hé-ěrméng
  - Wade–Giles: ho²-êrh³-mêng²
  - Yale: hé-ěr-méng
  - Gwoyeu Romatzyh: hereelmeng
  - Palladius: хээрмэн (xɛermɛn)
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /xɤ³⁵ ˀɤɻ²¹⁴⁻²¹ mɤŋ³⁵/
- (Standard Chinese, variant)⁺
  - Hanyu Pinyin: hè'ěrméng
  - Zhuyin: ㄏㄜˋ ㄦˇ ㄇㄥˊ
  - Tongyong Pinyin: hè-ěrméng
  - Wade–Giles: ho⁴-êrh³-mêng²
  - Yale: hè-ěr-méng
  - Gwoyeu Romatzyh: heheelmeng
  - Palladius: хээрмэн (xɛermɛn)
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /xɤ⁵¹ ˀɤɻ²¹⁴⁻²¹ mɤŋ³⁵/
Cantonese
- (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)⁺
  - Jyutping: ho⁶ ji⁵ mung⁴ / ho⁴ ji⁵ mung⁴
  - Yale: hoh yíh mùhng / hòh yíh mùhng
  - Cantonese Pinyin: ho⁶ ji⁵ mung⁴ / ho⁴ ji⁵ mung⁴
  - Guangdong Romanization: ho⁶ yi⁵ mung⁴ / ho⁴ yi⁵ mung⁴
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /hɔː²² jiː¹³ mʊŋ²¹/, /hɔː²¹ jiː¹³ mʊŋ²¹/
Hakka
- (Sixian, incl. Miaoli and Neipu)
  - Pha̍k-fa-sṳ: hò-lu-móng
  - Hakka Romanization System: ho^ˇ lu mong^ˋ
  - Hagfa Pinyim: ho² lu⁴ mong³
  - Sinological IPA: /ho¹¹ lu⁵⁵ moŋ³¹/
Southern Min
- (Hokkien: General Taiwanese)
  - Pe̍h-ōe-jī: hô-ní-bông
  - Tâi-lô: hô-ní-bông
  - Phofsit Daibuun: hoiny'boong
  - IPA (Taipei): /ho²⁴⁻¹¹ nĩ⁵³⁻⁴⁴ bɔŋ²⁴/
  - IPA (Kaohsiung): /hɤ²³⁻³³ nĩ⁴¹⁻⁴⁴ bɔŋ²³/
- (Hokkien: General Taiwanese)
  - Pe̍h-ōe-jī: ho͘-lú-bóng
  - Tâi-lô: hoo-lú-bóng
  - Phofsit Daibuun: holw'borng
  - IPA (Kaohsiung): /hɔ⁴⁴⁻³³ lu⁴¹⁻⁴⁴ bɔŋ⁴¹/
  - IPA (Taipei): /hɔ⁴⁴⁻³³ lu⁵³⁻⁴⁴ bɔŋ⁵³/

Note: ho͘-lú-bóng - from Japanese.

Noun

荷爾蒙

(physiology) hormone
- 2024, “荷爾蒙 [Hormone]”, in 李竺芯 [Siri Lee] (lyrics), 李竺芯 [Siri Lee] and 台南歐力桑 [Uncle Tainan] (music), Suí 水, performed by 李竺芯 [Siri Lee]:
  
  快樂快樂 because of my荷爾蒙 [Taiwanese Hokkien, trad.]
  快乐快乐 because of my荷尔蒙 [Taiwanese Hokkien, simp.]
  khoài-lo̍k khoài-lo̍k because of my ho͘-lú-bóng [Pe̍h-ōe-jī]
  Joyful, joyful, because of my hormones.

Usage notes

In Mainland China, 激素 (jīsù) is the preferred term; 荷爾蒙／荷尔蒙 (hé'ěrméng) is considered dated.

Synonyms

Dialectal synonyms of 激素 (“hormone”) [map]

Variety	Location	Words edit
Formal (Written Standard Chinese)		激素, 荷爾蒙
Northeastern Mandarin	Taiwan	荷爾蒙, 激素, 內分泌
Cantonese	Hong Kong	荷爾蒙, 激素
Hakka	Miaoli (N. Sixian)	荷爾蒙
	Pingtung (Neipu; S. Sixian)	荷爾蒙
	Hsinchu County (Zhudong; Hailu)	荷爾蒙
	Taichung (Dongshi; Dabu)	荷爾蒙
	Hsinchu County (Qionglin; Raoping)	荷爾蒙
	Yunlin (Lunbei; Zhao'an)	荷爾蒙
Southern Min	Xiamen	激素
	Quanzhou	激素
	Zhangzhou	激素
Wu	Shanghai	激素