Learn the Cantonese present continuous tense
Now Playing: Lesson Audio
Get a breakdown of the dialogue and translations instantly with the Premium line-by-line Audio. Sign up for your Free Lifetime Account Now and get 7 Days of Premium Access including this feature.
Get this lesson’s key vocab, their translations and pronunciations. Sign up for your Free Lifetime Account Now and get 7 Days of Premium Access including this feature.
Unlock Lesson Notes and Transcripts for every single lesson. Sign Up for a Free Lifetime Account and Get 7 Days of Premium Access.
Intro |
|---|
| Nicole: 大家好(daai6 gaa1 hou2). I'm Nicole. |
| Matt: And I'm Matt. Welcome back to CantoneseClass101.com, the fastest, easiest and most fun way to learn Cantonese. Today is Absolute Beginner Season 1, Lesson 20. |
| Nicole: That's right. So what are we learning today? |
| Matt: Well today, Nicole, we're going to learning how to ask others to speak to you in Cantonese. |
| Nicole: That's very important. And this conversation takes place on the street. |
| Matt: And it's between two strangers, one of whom is learning Cantonese. |
| Nicole: Wow. So you just get the stranger in the street and ask them to talk to you in Cantonese. That's brave. The speakers aren't good friends, but they're speaking casually. Our student today is very brave going at the street and talking to strangers. |
| Matt: But we expect all of our listeners here at CantoneseClass101 to be brave because that's the fastest way to learn Cantonese. |
| Nicole: True. |
| Matt: So let's take a look at the dialogue for today. |
Lesson conversation |
| 我學緊廣東話。(ngo5 hok6 gan2 gwong2 dung1 waa2.) |
| 係咩？(hai6 me1?) |
| 你可唔可以同我講廣東話？(nei5 ho2 m4 ho2 ji5 tung4 ngo5 gong2 gwong2 dung1 waa2?) |
| 冇問題。(mou5 man6 tai4.) |
| English Host: One more time, a bit slower. |
| 我學緊廣東話。(ngo5 hok6 gan2 gwong2 dung1 waa2.) |
| 係咩？(hai6 me1?) |
| 你可唔可以同我講廣東話？(nei5 ho2 m4 ho2 ji5 tung4 ngo5 gong2 gwong2 dung1 waa2?) |
| 冇問題。(mou5 man6 tai4.) |
| English Host: And now with the English translation. |
| 我學緊廣東話。(ngo5 hok6 gan2 gwong2 dung1 waa2.) |
| Matt: I'm learning Cantonese. |
| 係咩？(hai6 me1?) |
| Matt: Really? |
| 你可唔可以同我講廣東話？(nei5 ho2 m4 ho2 ji5 tung4 ngo5 gong2 gwong2 dung1 waa2?) |
| Matt: Can you talk to me in Cantonese? |
| 冇問題。(mou5 man6 tai4.) |
| Matt: No problem. |
| POST CONVERSATION BANTER |
| Matt: Sometimes it can be tough to practice Cantonese. |
| Nicole: Especially if the other person speaks English. |
| Matt: That's right. Even if you can speak Cantonese, sometimes people will try and be polite and speak to you in English. |
| Nicole: But don't let that stop you. |
| Matt: That's right! Just ask them to speak Cantonese with you. |
| Nicole: Right. They'll be happy to once they know you're learning Cantonese. |
| Matt: And they'll probably be relieved as well. |
| Nicole: So our vocab today is all about learning and speaking languages. |
| VOCAB LIST |
| Matt: Right. So let's get to the vocab section now. |
| Nicole: 學(hok6) [natural native speed] |
| Matt: To learn or study. |
| Nicole: 學(hok6) [slowly - broken down by syllable]. 學(hok6) [natural native speed].溫書(wan1 syu1) [natural native speed] |
| Matt: Also to study. |
| Nicole: 溫書(wan1 syu1) [slowly - broken down by syllable]. 溫書(wan1 syu1) [natural native speed].緊(gan2) [natural native speed] |
| Matt: The continuous suffix -ing. |
| Nicole: 緊(gan2) [slowly - broken down by syllable]. 緊(gan2)[natural native speed].係咩(hai6 me1) [natural native speed] |
| Matt: Really. |
| Nicole: 係咩(hai6 me1) [slowly - broken down by syllable]. 係咩(hai6 me1) [natural native speed]. 廣東話(gwong2 dung1 waa2) [natural native speed] |
| Matt: Cantonese language. |
| Nicole: 廣東話(gwong2 dung1 waa2) [slowly - broken down by syllable]. 廣東話(gwong2 dung1 waa2) [natural native speed].英文(jing1 man2) [natural native speed] |
| Matt: English. |
| Nicole: 英文(jing1 man2) [slowly - broken down by syllable]. 英文(jing1 man2) [natural native speed].國語(gwok3 jyu5) [natural native speed] |
| Matt: Mandarin. |
| Nicole: 國語(gwok3 jyu5) [slowly - broken down by syllable]. 國語(gwok3 jyu5) [natural native speed]. 講(gong2) [natural native speed] |
| Matt: To speak. |
| Nicole: 講(gong2) [slowly - broken down by syllable]. 講(gong2) [natural native speed]. 傾 (king1)[natural native speed] |
| Matt: To talk. |
| Nicole: 傾(king1) [slowly - broken down by syllable]. 傾(king1) [natural native speed] |
| KEY VOCABULARY AND PHRASES |
| Matt: All right, very good. Let's have a closer look at the usage of some of the words and phrases from today's lesson. |
| Nicole: The first word is 學(hok6) |
| Matt: To learn. |
| Nicole: 學(hok6) |
| Matt: To learn. |
| Nicole: You can use this to tell people you're learning Cantonese. Say 學緊廣東話 (hok6 gan2 gwong2 dung1 waa2). |
| Matt: Which is I'm learning Cantonese. |
| Nicole: 我學緊廣東話 (ngo5 hok6 gan2 gwong2 dung1 waa2). |
| Matt: I'm learning Cantonese. |
| Nicole: This verb 學(hok6) also means "to learn". It's more often used as a verb on its own than in a phrase. So if you want to say you're studying, you can say another word which is 溫書(wan1 syu1) |
| Matt: So here 溫書(wan1 syu1) is more formal and it is the actual act of studying. That means you're studying right now. |
| Nicole: That's right. So you can say 我好忙(ngo5 hou2 mong4)，我溫緊書 (ngo5 wan1 gan2 syu1). |
| Matt: Which is, "I'm busy, I'm studying." |
| Nicole: 我好忙，我溫緊書 (ngo5 hou2 mong4, ngo5 wan1 gan2 syu1). |
| Matt: I'm busy, I'm studying. |
| Nicole: Or you can say 行開，我溫緊書 (haang4 hoi1, ngo5 wan1 gan2 syu1). |
| Matt: Go away, I'm studying. |
| Nicole: 行開，我溫緊書 (haang4 hoi1, ngo5 wan1 gan2 syu1). |
| Matt: And if you study hard enough with us, you too will know how to speak Cantonese. |
| Nicole: That's right. So we have our next verb 講(gong2) |
| Matt: Which means "to speak." |
| Nicole: 講(gong2) |
| Matt: To speak. |
| Nicole: Right. So you can 講廣東話(gong2 gwong2 dung1 waa2) |
| Matt: Speak Cantonese. |
| Nicole: 講廣東話 (gong2 gwong2 dung1 waa2) |
| Matt: Speak Cantonese. |
| Nicole: Or 講英文 (gong2 jing1 man2). |
| Matt: Speak English. |
| Nicole: 講英文 (gong2 jing1 man2). |
| Matt: Speak English. You can use this to ask people if they speak other languages as well. |
| Nicole: 你可唔可以講廣東話? (nei5 ho2 m4 ho2 ji5 gong2 gwong2 dung1 waa2?) |
| Matt: Now that had a question structure in there, and it means. "Can you speak Cantonese?" |
| Nicole: 你可唔可以講英文? (nei5 ho2 m4 ho2 ji5 gong2 jing1 man2?) |
| Matt: "Can you speak English?" |
| Nicole: 你可唔可以講國語? (nei5 ho2 m4 ho2 ji5 gong2 gwok3 jyu5?) |
| Matt: Can you speak Mandarin? |
| Nicole: Right 國語(gwok3 jyu5) is mandarin. |
| Matt: And mandarin is the "other" Chinese spoken in Mainland China. There are, of course, other dialects, but Cantonese and Mandarin are the main ones. |
| Nicole: But the important one everyone knows is 廣東話 (gwong2 dung1 waa2 ). |
| Matt: Cantonese of course. So what's our next word here? |
| Nicole: Next one is 係咩 (hai6 me1). |
| Matt: Really? |
| Nicole:係咩(hai6 me1) |
| Matt: Really? |
| Nicole: Are you making fun of me? |
| Matt: No. That's just what it means! |
| Nicole: 係咩? (hai6 me1?) |
| Matt: Really? So how surprised should our listeners be when they're using this? |
| Nicole: 係咩 (hai6 me1) it should be just a normal surprise. But if you're really surprised, just say it with a higher tone 係咩(hai6 me1) or with a longer one 係咩 (hai6 me1). |
| Matt: So you just found out that you won the lottery, what would you say? |
| Nicole: Wow! 係咩？ (hai6 me1?) |
Lesson focus |
| Matt: Next up, we'll have the grammar points and that will teach you how to tell someone that something is happening right now. Our grammar focus today is on the continuous tense. |
| Nicole: 學緊 (hok6 gan2). |
| Matt: In the dialogue, we heard this line. |
| Nicole: 我學緊廣東話 (ngo5 hok6 gan2 gwong2 dung1 waa2). |
| Matt: I'm learning Cantonese. |
| Nicole: 我學緊廣東話 (ngo5 hok6 gan2 gwong2 dung1 waa2). |
| Matt: I'm learning Cantonese. |
| Nicole: Or 我學緊英文(ngo5 hok6 gan2 jing1 man2) which is for me. "I'm learning English". |
| Matt: But we can use this with any verb. |
| Nicole: That's right. Just put 緊(gan2) after your verb. |
| Matt: So we can say "eating." |
| Nicole: 食緊 (sik6 gan2). |
| Matt: "Eating." |
| Nicole: 食緊 (sik6 gan2). |
| Matt: Or "drinking." |
| Nicole: 飲緊(jam2 gan2) |
| Matt: Or we can even say speaking. |
| Nicole: 講緊 (gong2 gan2) |
| Matt: We are speaking Cantonese! |
| Nicole: 我哋講緊廣東話 (ngo5 dei6 gong2 gan2 gwong2 dung1 waa2). |
| Matt: So let's review. To make a sentence in the present and continuous… |
| Nicole: We add 緊(gan2) after the verb. |
| Matt: For example, I am eating. |
| Nicole: 我食緊 (ngo5 sik6 gan2). |
| Matt: I am drinking. |
| Nicole: 我飲緊 (ngo5 jam2 gan2). |
| Matt: I am speaking Cantonese! |
| Nicole: 我講緊廣東話 (ngo5 gong2 gan2 gwong2 dung1 waa2). |
| Matt: Great. And that's our lesson for today. |
| Nicole: But premium members don't forget to access the premium feed. |
| Matt: The premium feed is a powerful Web2.0 technology that allows you to get all of our content through iTunes with just a click of a button. |
| Nicole: Right, that includes everything, PDFs, conversion-only tracks, review tracks. |
| Matt: Yup, everything. |
| Nicole: And to access premium feed or to find out more… |
| Matt: Visit CantoneseClass101.com and on the lesson's page there's a subscribe to new basic or premium feeds today graphic. Click on that then scroll down. |
| Nicole: And click premium feed, it's that easy. |
| Matt: There is also a basic feed and a sample feed so that you can test things out. |
| Nicole: Right. So that's it for today. |
| Matt: Thanks for tuning in. We'll see you next time. |
| Nicole: See you. |
Easily master this lesson’s grammar points with in-depth explanations and examples. Sign up for your Free Lifetime Account and get 7 Days of Premium Access including this feature.
Comments
Hide