Why address order matters
A postal address is read by two different readers: a sorting machine in the destination country and a courier on the street. Both expect the parts in the order their country uses. In English, an address runs from the smallest unit to the largest, ending with the country. In Chinese, the same address is written in the opposite order, starting with the region and ending with the flat. An overseas sender who copies a Chinese-order address into a Latin form, or mixes the two, is the most common reason mail is delayed or returned.
Hong Kong addresses
Hong Kong has no postal code. An English address ends with one of three regions, not a number: Hong Kong Island, Kowloon, or the New Territories. Order the lines like this:
- Flat or room, then floor (for example Flat 5B, 12/F)
- Building name, if any
- Street number and street
- District
- Region, then Hong Kong
The converter shows the street and district in both English and Chinese, taken from the government Address Lookup Service, so you can hand a courier the Chinese version and paste the English one into an overseas form. If a form insists on a postal code, leave it blank or enter 999077, a widely used placeholder that is not an official code. See how to write a Hong Kong address.
Singapore addresses
Singapore uses a precise 6-digit postal code, and it is the part that matters most: it maps almost to a single building, so a correct code plus a unit number is enough to deliver. Write the building name on its own line, then the block number and street with the unit, and finish with the word SINGAPORE and the 6-digit code. Singapore has no state or province field to fill.
English or Chinese
For Hong Kong, either language is accepted for local and international mail. Use Chinese for a local courier and English for an overseas sender, but never mix the two orders in one address. Keep the recipient name in the language the sender can read. Singapore addresses are written in English.
Common mistakes
- Reversing the order. An English address runs smallest unit to largest; the region or country is the last line.
- Adding a Hong Kong postal code. There is none. A made-up number can misroute mail.
- Dropping the Singapore unit number. The 6-digit code reaches the building; the unit reaches the door.
- Mixing English and Chinese order. Pick one language and keep its order for the whole address.