Common English Mistakes in Tiktok Scripts by Cantonese Speakers

This page focuses on errors typically made by native Cantonese speakers from Hong Kong when writing a TikTok Script in English.

Mistake Example #1

Confusion with countable vs. uncountable nouns ('She has much friends')

Hey, everyone! Today I want to share my experienceabout visiting the new cafe in Central. It was so nice and cozy, and they have muchany delicious cakes. I went there with my friends, and we had so much fun. The staff is very friendly, and they giave us manylot of good advices on what to try. If you are in Hong Kong, you should definitely check it out!

Text corrected by:
Gregg, Los Angeles, CA

"This needed some tweaking for countable vs. uncountable nouns, among other fixes."

Hey, everyone! Today I want to share my experience visiting the new cafe in Central. It was so nice and cozy, and they have many delicious cakes. I went there with my friends, and we had so much fun. The staff is very friendly, and they gave us a lot of good advice on what to try. If you are in Hong Kong, you should definitely check it out!

Hey everyone! Today I want to share my experience about visiting the new cafe in Central. It was so nice and cozy, and they have much delicious cakes. I went there with my friends, and we had so much fun. The staff is very friendly, and they give us many good advices on what to try. If you are in Hong Kong, you should definitely check it out!

Mistake Example #2

Overuse of 'very' to emphasize adjectives

Hey everyone! Today I'm going to show you avery veryn easy way to make your room lookvery very nice. First, you need to get somevery very colorful lights, because they make everything look very verycool. Then, add somevery very cute decorations to your shelves, and your room will be very veryamazing!

Text corrected by:
Camille, Maryland, USA

"Watch out for overuse of "very." One use would be enough in this passage. : )"

Hey everyone! Today I'm going to show you an easy way to make your room look very nice. First, you need to get some colorful lights, because they make everything look cool. Then, add some cute decorations to your shelves, and your room will be amazing!

Hey everyone! Today I'm going to show you a very very easy way to make your room look very very nice. First, you need to get some very very colorful lights, because they make everything look very very cool. Then, add some very very cute decorations to your shelves, and your room will be very very amazing!

Mistake Example #3

Overuse of direct translations from Cantonese

Hey everyone! Today I want to share with you my new favorite snack,. iIt's so goodeat until full! You know, in Hong Kong, we say "add oil" when we cheer someone on, so add oil and try this snack, too! Don't forget to like and follow for more fun ideas!

Text corrected by:
Camille, Maryland, USA

"Since you have acknowledged that "add oil" is a colloquial expression, it is OK to use, but generally a US English speaker would not know what "add oil" means in this context. : )"

Hey everyone! Today I want to share with you my new favorite snack. It's so good! You know, in Hong Kong, we say "add oil" when we cheer someone on, so add oil and try this snack, too! Don't forget to like and follow for more fun ideas!

Hey everyone! Today I want to share with you my new favorite snack, it's so good eat until full! You know, in Hong Kong, we say "add oil" when we cheer someone on, so add oil and try this snack too! Don't forget to like and follow for more fun ideas!