Learn a Cantonese verb that is the equivalent of "to be"
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Intro |
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| Nicole: 大家好(daai6 gaa1 hou2). I'm Nicole. |
| Matt: Matt here and welcome back! This is Absolute Beginner Season 1, Lesson 22. In this lesson you'll learn about family ties, and celebrity look alikes. |
| Nicole: The conversation takes place in a famous nightclub. |
| Matt: The conversation is between two co-workers as they spot a famous movie star. |
| Nicole: The speakers are buddies, so they are speaking casual Cantonese |
| Matt: All right, Nicole, let's take a look at the dialogue. You're my buddy by the way, Nicole. |
| Nicole: Thank you. |
Lesson conversation |
| 佢係邊個嚟㗎？(keoi5 hai6 bin1 go3 lai4 gaa3?) |
| 我大佬。(ngo5 daai6 lou2.) |
| 佢好似劉德華噃！(keoi5 hou2 ci5 lau4 dak1 waa4 bo3 !) |
| 就係佢呀。(zau6 hai6 keoi5 aa3.) |
| English Host: One more time, a bit slower. |
| 佢係邊個嚟㗎？(keoi5 hai6 bin1 go3 lai4 gaa3?) |
| 我大佬。(ngo5 daai6 lou2.) |
| 佢好似劉德華噃！(keoi5 hou2 ci5 lau4 dak1 waa4 bo3 !) |
| 就係佢呀。(zau6 hai6 keoi5 aa3.) |
| English Host: And now with the English translation. |
| 佢係邊個嚟㗎？(keoi5 hai6 bin1 go3 lai4 gaa3?) |
| Matt: Who is he? |
| 我大佬。(ngo5 daai6 lou2.) |
| Matt: My older brother. |
| 佢好似劉德華噃！(keoi5 hou2 ci5 lau4 dak1 waa4 bo3 !) |
| Matt: He looks a lot like Andy Lau. |
| 就係佢呀。(zau6 hai6 keoi5 aa3.) |
| Matt: He is. |
| POST CONVERSATION BANTER |
| Matt: So today we are going to be talking about the family tree in Cantonese. |
| Nicole: And it is important to remember that in Cantonese we distinguish between older and younger family members. |
| Matt: That's right, it can also get pretty complicated pretty fast. |
| Nicole: But today, CantoneseClass101.com is going to make it easy for you. |
| Matt: So before you get adopted, or married into a Cantonese family, make sure you listen to this lesson. |
| Nicole: Yup. We'll give you some simple tips to speak about the entire family. |
| Matt: Right, so on to our vocabulary section. |
| VOCAB LIST |
| Nicole: 似(ci5) [natural native speed] |
| Matt: To look like. |
| Nicole: 似(ci5) [slowly - broken down by syllable]. 似(ci5) [natural native speed]. 邊個(bin1 go3) [natural native speed] |
| Matt: Who. |
| Nicole: 邊個(bin1 go3) [slowly - broken down by syllable]. 邊個(bin1 go3) [natural native speed]. 邊個嚟㗎(bin1 go3 lai4 gaa3) [natural native speed] |
| Matt: The same who, but said with an inquisitive tone. |
| Nicole: 邊個嚟㗎(bin1 go3 lai4 gaa3) [slowly - broken down by syllable]. 邊個嚟㗎(bin1 go3 lai4 gaa3) [natural native speed]. 媽媽(maa4 maa1) [natural native speed] |
| Matt: Mother. |
| Nicole: 媽媽(maa4 maa1) [slowly - broken down by syllable]. 媽媽(maa4 maa1) [natural native speed]. 爸爸(baa4 baa1) [natural native speed] |
| Matt: Father. |
| Nicole: 爸爸(baa4 baa1) [slowly - broken down by syllable]. 爸爸(baa4 baa1) [natural native speed]. 大佬(daai6 lou2) [natural native speed] |
| Matt: Older brother. |
| Nicole: 大佬(daai6 lou2) [slowly - broken down by syllable]. 大佬(daai6 lou2)[natural native speed]. 細佬(sai3 lou2) [natural native speed] |
| Matt: Younger brother. |
| Nicole: 細佬(sai3 lou2) [slowly - broken down by syllable]. 細佬(sai3 lou2) [natural native speed]. 家姐(gaa1 ze1) [natural native speed] |
| Matt: Older sister. |
| Nicole: 家姐(gaa1 ze1) [slowly - broken down by syllable]. 家姐(gaa1 ze1) [natural native speed]. 細妹(sai3 mui2) [natural native speed] |
| Matt: Younger sister. |
| Nicole: 細妹(sai3 mui2) [slowly - broken down by syllable]. 細妹(sai3 mui2) [natural native speed]. 老婆(lou5 po4) [natural native speed] |
| Matt: Wife. |
| Nicole: 老婆(lou5 po4) [slowly - broken down by syllable]. 老婆(lou5 po4) [natural native speed]. 老公(lou5 gung1) [natural native speed] |
| Matt: Husband. |
| Nicole: 老公(lou5 gung1) [slowly - broken down by syllable]. 老公(lou5 gung1) [natural native speed] |
| KEY VOCABULARY AND PHRASES |
| Matt: So this lesson focuses on family and the most important person in any family is Mom. |
| Nicole: 媽媽(maa4 maa1) |
| Matt: Mom. |
| Nicole: 媽媽(maa4 maa1) |
| Matt: And you notice that this is very similar sounding to English word. |
| Nicole: That's right. Our next family member 爸爸 (baa4 baa1.) |
| Matt: And this kind of sounds the same as the English word as well. |
| Nicole: Right 爸爸 (baa4 baa1.) |
| Matt: It's kind of like Dada. Baby speak for father. |
| Nicole: Like we mentioned earlier in Cantonese we distinguish between older and younger family members. |
| Matt: So there are two words for brother and sister. |
| Nicole: That's right. Older brother is 大佬 (daai6 lou2.) |
| Matt: Older brother. |
| Nicole: 大佬 (daai6 lou2.) |
| Matt: And younger brother is? |
| Nicole: 細佬(sai3 lou2) |
| Matt: Younger brother. |
| Nicole: 細佬(sai3 lou2) |
| Matt: And this literally mean big guy and small guy. |
| Nicole: Right. |
| Matt: Let's hear those two one more time. |
| Nicole: 大佬, 細佬 (daai6 lou2 , sai3 lou2.) |
| Matt: And the same works for the sisters too. |
| Nicole: Right. 家姐(gaa1 ze1) |
| Matt: Older sister. |
| Nicole: 家姐(gaa1 ze1) |
| Matt: Older sister and younger sister. |
| Nicole: Right 細妹(sai3 mui2) |
| Matt: Younger sister. |
| Nicole: 細妹(sai3 mui2) |
| Matt: Younger sister. Let's hear both of them side by side for comparison. |
| Nicole: 家姐(gaa1 ze1) and 細妹 (sai3 mui2.) |
| Matt: Older sister and younger sister. Next we have husband. |
| Nicole: 老婆(lou5 po4) |
| Matt: Husband. |
| Nicole: 老婆 (lou5 po4.) |
| Matt: And wife. |
| Nicole: 老公 (lou5 gung1.) |
| Matt: Wife. |
| Nicole: 老公 (lou5 gung1.) |
| Matt: If you noticed both names share a similar character. |
| Nicole: 老 (lou5.) |
| Matt: This means old. |
| Nicole: So you don't have to be old to be a 老婆(lou5 po4) or a 老公 (lou5 gung1.) |
| Matt: That's right. Now if at this point you are a little bit confused about how the Cantonese family is called, you can always ask? |
| Nicole: 邊個(bin1 go3) |
| Matt: Who? |
| Nicole: 邊個(bin1 go3) |
| Matt: Nicole, there's another way to ask this isn't there? |
| Nicole: That's right. We can also say 邊個嚟㗎 (bin1 go3 lai4 gaa3.) |
| Matt: Right this also means who? The only difference being that the question particle… |
| Nicole: 嚟㗎…(lai4 gaa3) |
| Matt: is placed at the end. |
| Nicole: That's right, 邊個嚟㗎(bin1 go3 lai4 gaa3). So now, that does it for our family lesson. |
Lesson focus |
| Matt: Let's move onto our grammar point where we'll learn how to use the verb… |
| Nicole: 係(hai6) |
| Matt: …for a statement |
| Nicole: Okay. |
| Matt: So the focus again of this grammar section is the verb? |
| Nicole: 係(hai6) |
| Matt: To be. This verb has different functions. |
| Nicole: But we mostly use 係(hai6) to express that one noun is equivalent to another, as in the sentence 我係你爸爸 (ngo5 hai6 nei5 baa4 baa1.) |
| Matt: "I am your father." |
| Nicole: 我係你爸爸 (ngo5 hai6 nei5 baa4 baa1.) |
| Matt: I am your father. We have more sample sentences to explain this verb. |
| Nicole: 我係你大佬(ngo5 hai6 nei5 daai6 lou2) |
| Matt: I am your older brother. |
| Nicole: 我係你大佬(ngo5 hai6 nei5 daai6 lou2) |
| Matt: I am your older brother. So the two nouns being linked here are? |
| Nicole: 我(ngo5) and 大佬(daai6 lou2), me and the big guy. |
| Matt: It sounds like you and I. Our next example. |
| Nicole: 佢係劉德華 (keoi5 hai6 lau4 dak1 waa4.) |
| Matt: He is Andy Lau. |
| Nicole: 佢係劉德華 (keoi5 hai6 lau4 dak1 waa4.) |
| Matt: He is Andy Lau or he could just be an Andy Lau impersonator. |
| Nicole: It could be. And if you are really lucky 劉德華係我爸爸 (lau4 dak1 waa4 hai6 ngo5 baa4 baa1.) |
| Matt: Andy Lau is my father which you would be really lucky if he was my father because then you'd get to know him. |
| Nicole: Right. 劉德華係我爸爸 (lau4 dak1 waa4 hai6 ngo5 baa4 baa1.) |
| Matt: Andy Lau is my father. I use this often when I want to get into bars and not pay cover. But somehow they never believe me. |
| Nicole: So let's take a minute to review 呢個(ni1 go3) and 嗰個 (go2 go3.) |
| Matt: This one and that one. |
| Nicole: Again 呢個(ni1 go3) and 嗰個(go2 go3). |
| Matt: This one and that one. What about that is her older sister? |
| Nicole: 嗰個係佢家姐 (go2 go3 hai6 keoi5 gaa1 ze1.) |
| Matt: That is her older sister. |
| Nicole: 嗰個係佢家姐(go2 go3 hai6 keoi5 gaa1 ze1) , so 嗰個(go2 go3) that, can function as the subject. |
| Matt: And an example where This is the subject would be? |
| Nicole: 呢個係我女朋友 (ni1 go3 hai6 ngo5 jyu5 pang4 jau5.) |
| Matt: This is my girlfriend |
| Nicole: 呢個係我女朋友 (ni1 go3 hai6 ngo5 jyu5 pang4 jau5.) |
| Matt: This is my girlfriend. If we ask a question instead of the statement, the word order is still the same. |
| Nicole: That's right 邊個係你男朋友？(bin1 go3 hai6 nei5 naam4 pang4 jau5?) |
| Matt: Who is your boyfriend? |
| Nicole: 邊個係你男朋友？(bin1 go3 hai6 nei5 naam4 pang4 jau5?) |
| Matt: Who is your boyfriend? We are going to end this grammar point on one final note. |
| Nicole: Right. In Cantonese, adjectives usually do not link to nouns often using hai. |
| Matt: So the English sentence, "He is hungry," |
| Nicole: 佢好肚餓(keoi5 hou2 tou5 ngo6). You see we wouldn't use the hai to link he and hungry. We just say 佢好肚餓(keoi5 hou2 tou5 ngo6) |
| Matt: All right, Nicole. So that wraps it up for today's grammar point. |
| Nicole: Right. For more vocab and grammar samples sentences don't forget to download our PDFs. |
| Matt: All of which you can find on CantoneseClass101.com. |
| Nicole: That's right. Come by and leave a comment. |
| Matt: Hope to see you next time. |
| Nicole: See you. |
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