Dialogue

Vocabulary

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Lesson Notes

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Lesson Transcript

Introduction
Eric: Welcome to 3-Minute Cantonese Season 1, Lesson 5 - Making Apologies. In this lesson, you’ll learn how to apologize. We will learn how to say that you didn't do something on purpose and that you’re sorry in Cantonese.
Body
Eric: Here's the informal way to say 'Excuse me.' in Cantonese.
Olivia: [Normal] 唔該。(m4 goi1)
Eric: This expression has only one phrase, meaning 'Excuse me'. As you learned in Lesson 3, it also means ‘Thank you’.
Olivia: [Normal] 唔該 [Slow] 唔該 (m4 goi1)
Eric: Listen again to the informal word meaning 'Excuse me.'
Olivia: [Slow] 唔該。 [Normal] 唔該。(m4 goi1)
Eric: Ok, now let's take a look at the formal way to say 'Excuse me.'
Olivia: [Normal] 唔好意思。(m4 hou2 ji3 si1)
Eric: First is an adverb meaning ' not'
Olivia: [Normal] 唔 [Slow] 唔 (m4)
Eric: Next is the adjective meaning 'good'
Olivia: [Normal] 好 [Slow] 好(hou2)
Eric: Last is the noun for 'meaning'
Olivia: [Normal] 意思 [Slow] 意思(ji3 si1)
Eric: Listen again to the formal phrase meaning 'Excuse me.'
Olivia: [Slow] 唔好意思。 [Normal] 唔好意思。(m4 hou2 ji3 si1)
Eric: Now let’s take a look at how to say 'I didn't mean it.'
Olivia: [Normal] 我冇心㗎!(ngo5 mou5 sam1 gaa3)
Eric: First is a pronoun meaning 'I'
Olivia: [Normal] 我 [Slow] 我(ngo5)
Eric: Next is the verb meaning 'without'
Olivia: [Normal] 冇 [Slow] 冇(mou5)
Eric: Next is the noun meaning 'heart'
Olivia: [Normal] 心 [Slow] 心(sam1)
Eric: Last is the final particle.
Olivia: [Normal] 㗎 [Slow] 㗎(gaa3)
Eric: Listen again to the phrase meaning 'I didn't mean it.'
Olivia: [Slow] 我冇心㗎! [Normal] 我冇心㗎!(ngo5 mou5 sam1 gaa3)
Eric: Finally you will learn how to say 'I'm sorry.'
Olivia: [Normal] 對唔住。(deoi3 m4 zyu6)
Eric: This expression has only one phrase, meaning 'Sorry'
Olivia: [Normal] 對唔住 [Slow] 對唔住(deoi3 m4 zyu6)
Eric: Listen again to the word meaning 'I'm sorry.'
Olivia: [Slow] 對唔住。 [Normal] 對唔住。(deoi3 m4 zyu6)
Cultural Insight
Eric: Now it's time for a quick cultural insight.
Olivia: If you accidentally bump into someone in Hong Kong, you can say 唔好意思(m4 ho2 ji3 si1), which means “excuse me", or 對唔住 (deoi3 m4 zyu6) meaning “I’m sorry”. But don’t say 唔該(m4 goi1), because this phrase cannot be used to apologize.

Outro

Eric: And that’s all for this lesson. Don’t forget to check out the lesson notes, and we’ll see you in the next lesson!
Olivia: 拜拜! (baai1 baai3)

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