<p>I believe it is 我鐘意你 /ngoh5 jung1 yi3 nei5/ (I like/love you). Some people drop the initial /ng/ and it becomes /oh5 jung1 yi3 nei5/</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-09-28T08:49:45.730Z
And some people pronounce n~l the same (hence nei5 => lei5)
Lionel Rowe
CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-09-28T14:21:51.327Z
Yes, you are absolutely correct. I should've added that in the answer. In fact, more people say lei5 than nei5 (Hong Kong Cantonese).
monalisa
CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-09-28T04:49:21.523Z
2020-09-28T04:49:21.523Z
monalisa
<p>Without context, &quot;oh jong yi lay&quot; sounds like Cantonese 好鐘意你 /hou2 zung1 ji3 nei5/ (very fond of you/ love you very much). You will not find anything on the net because it is just a sound-alike phrase with approximate pronunciation</p>
<p>Colloquially, Cantonese generally use the word 鐘意 (like; fond of) instead of 爱 for &quot;love&quot; when it is in a romantic sense</p>
<p>Edit:</p>
<p>monalisa suggests it is 我鐘意你 /ngoh5 jung1 yi3 nei5/ but the Cantonese jyuping of 我鐘意你 is /ngo5 zung1 ji3 nei5/</p>
<p>意 /yi3/ is the Mandarin pinyin</p>
<p>好 /hou2/ sounds more similar to 'oh' than 我 /ngo5/</p>
<p>In any case, without context, both are possible</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-09-28T01:48:07.703Z
Quote:- "Cantonese generally use the word 鐘意 (like; fond of) instead of 爱 for "love" Perhaps this statement needs some clarification to avoid misunderstanding / misuse by non-Cantonese speakers? Though true to an extent, their interchangeability requires contextual consideration? Perhaps you thought it not pertinent to the answer and so left it at that since this is not a Cantonese Forum.
Wayne Cheah
CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-09-28T02:00:39.303Z
@ Wayne Cheah How about "Colloquially, Cantonese generally use the word 鐘意 (like; fond of) instead of 爱 for "love" when it is in a romantic sense"
Tang Ho
CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-09-28T02:33:18.827Z
Yes, because 鐘意, just like "like" / "fond of", falls short of "爱", (love) which has narrower applications, whereas 鐘意 could be applied very widely to situations where the relationships are purely social or platonic; and also for non-human-to-human situations, such as 鐘意 a certain color, a pair of shoes. I brought this up because your answer may, (I emphasize may), lead the OP to think that 鐘意 is equivalent to 爱 which is true only when used in a romantic relationship. Just as in Mandarin, 喜欢 may or may not be equivalent to or denotes the very specific emotion of 爱 in human relationships.
Wayne Cheah
CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-09-28T02:50:42.967Z
Cantonese saying 我愛你 only in the most emotional and serious situation. e.g. propose marriage; say goodby to your lover before you die or vice versa. It is like a sacred oath or something. BTW, we do use the term 愛 for love in relationships that's not romantic, e.g. 父母愛 (or 錫) 子女，主人愛(or 錫) 寵物
Tang Ho
CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-09-28T06:39:20.190Z
Yes, you could include 上帝的爱. This of course is moving away from the context of OP's question.
Wayne Cheah
CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-09-28T13:26:37.713Z
Here's a Cantonese song with those words  -- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2123bDbIjx0&list=TLPQMjgwOTIwMjDGVeVvVP0mXA&index=1
Wayne Cheah
CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-09-27T21:13:53.487Z
2020-09-28T06:51:00.730Z
2020-09-28T06:51:00.730Z
Tang Ho
<p>Need help finding what oh jongyi lay means.I don’t know what it is I searched it up and could find nothing on it.</p>

<translation><meaning>
What does oh jongyi lay mean
# What does oh jongyi lay mean

(Asked by: username_0 on 2020-09-27)

Need help finding what oh jongyi lay means.I don’t know what it is I searched it up and could find nothing on it.

**Tags:** translation, meaning

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## 2 answers

### Answer by username_1 on 2020-09-28. Score: 1

I believe it is 我鐘意你 /ngoh5 jung1 yi3 nei5/ (I like/love you). Some people drop the initial /ng/ and it becomes /oh5 jung1 yi3 nei5/

> **Comments:**
> **username_2**: And some people pronounce n~l the same (hence nei5 => lei5)  
> **username_1**: Yes, you are absolutely correct. I should've added that in the answer. In fact, more people say lei5 than nei5 (Hong Kong Cantonese).  

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### Answer by username_3 on 2020-09-27. Score: 0

Without context, "oh jong yi lay" sounds like Cantonese 好鐘意你 /hou2 zung1 ji3 nei5/ (very fond of you/ love you very much). You will not find anything on the net because it is just a sound-alike phrase with approximate pronunciation

Colloquially, Cantonese generally use the word 鐘意 (like; fond of) instead of 爱 for "love" when it is in a romantic sense

Edit:

monalisa suggests it is 我鐘意你 /ngoh5 jung1 yi3 nei5/ but the Cantonese jyuping of 我鐘意你 is /ngo5 zung1 ji3 nei5/

意 /yi3/ is the Mandarin pinyin

好 /hou2/ sounds more similar to 'oh' than 我 /ngo5/

In any case, without context, both are possible

> **Comments:**
> **username_4**: Quote:- "Cantonese generally use the word 鐘意 (like; fond of) instead of 爱 for "love" Perhaps this statement needs some clarification to avoid misunderstanding / misuse by non-Cantonese speakers? Though true to an extent, their interchangeability requires contextual consideration? Perhaps you thought it not pertinent to the answer and so left it at that since this is not a Cantonese Forum.  
> **username_3**: @ Wayne Cheah How about "Colloquially, Cantonese generally use the word 鐘意 (like; fond of) instead of 爱 for "love" when it is in a romantic sense"  
> **username_4**: Yes, because 鐘意, just like "like" / "fond of", falls short of "爱", (love) which has narrower applications, whereas 鐘意 could be applied very widely to situations where the relationships are purely social or platonic; and also for non-human-to-human situations, such as 鐘意 a certain color, a pair of shoes. I brought this up because your answer may, (I emphasize may), lead the OP to think that 鐘意 is equivalent to 爱 which is true only when used in a romantic relationship. Just as in Mandarin, 喜欢 may or may not be equivalent to or denotes the very specific emotion of 爱 in human relationships.  
> **username_3**: Cantonese saying 我愛你 only in the most emotional and serious situation. e.g. propose marriage; say goodby to your lover before you die or vice versa. It is like a sacred oath or something. BTW, we do use the term 愛 for love in relationships that's not romantic, e.g. 父母愛 (or 錫) 子女，主人愛(or 錫) 寵物  
> **username_4**: Yes, you could include 上帝的爱. This of course is moving away from the context of OP's question.  
> **username_4**: Here's a Cantonese song with those words  -- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2123bDbIjx0&list=TLPQMjgwOTIwMjDGVeVvVP0mXA&index=1  

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