Dialogue

Vocabulary

Learn New Words FAST with this Lesson’s Vocab Review List

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.

Or sign up using Facebook
Already a Member?

Lesson Notes

Unlock In-Depth Explanations & Exclusive Takeaways with Printable Lesson Notes

Unlock Lesson Notes and Transcripts for every single lesson. Sign Up for a Free Lifetime Account and Get 7 Days of Premium Access.

Or sign up using Facebook
Already a Member?

Lesson Transcript

INTRODUCTION
David: Welcome to Cantoneseclass101.com. I’m David.
Nicole: 大家好, 我係 (daai6 gaa1 hou2, ngo5 hai6) Nicole.
David: And we’ve got Absolute Beginner, Season 2, Lesson 24.
Nicole: “Because it’s Cantonese”
David: Right. We were trying to come up with a better title, we swear, but we couldn’t. So, when you guys listen to the dialogue you’ll know where this is coming from.
Nicole: Right.
David: If you’ve got better suggestions, of course, send them to Nicole.
Nicole: Yeah.
David: You can leave a comment on the site.
Nicole: Mm-hmm.
David: We’re going to take you right to the dialogue today. And the conversation, Nicole, what’s going on here?
Nicole: It’s between two friends. One is complaining about something.
David: Yeah, it’s a negative dialogue.
Nicole: Negative.
David: Negativity. But they are still speaking casual Cantonese, as always.
Nicole: Right.
David: Okay. So, again, if you’ve got a better title, send it to us, otherwise let’s get to the dialogue. So this is apparently what happens when you have one deaf roommate. Nothing remain would normal here.
DIALOGUE
A: 唔該電視細聲啲吖。(m4 goi1 din6 si6 sai3 seng1 di1 aa1.)
B: 點解? (dim2 gaai2?)
A: 因為太大聲。(jan1 wai6 taai3 daai6 seng1.)
A: Please turn the TV down a bit.
B: Why?
A: Because it's too loud!
POST CONVERSATION BANTER
Nicole: True.
David: Right? So, when you’re looking for a flatmate in Hong Kong the lesson is find someone whose hearing ability is more or less the same as your own.
Nicole: Yeah.
David: Yeah. So…
Nicole: Could be a problem.
David: It could be. So our vocab today actually is about home appliances.
VOCAB LIST
Nicole: Right.
David: Okay? So, we’ve got a bunch of them and then we’ve got a great grammar point. But let’s do the vocab first.
Nicole: 電視。(din6 si6.)
David: “Television”
Nicole: 電視, 電視, 因為。(din6 si6, din6 si6, jan1 wai6.)
David: “Because”
Nicole: 因為, 因為, 音響。(jan1 wai6, jan1 wai6, jam1 hoeng2.)
David: “Stereo”
Nicole: 音響, 音響, 收音機。(jam1 hoeng2, jam1 hoeng2, sau1 jam1 gei1.)
David: “Radio”
Nicole: 收音機, 收音機, 雪櫃。(sau1 jam1 gei1, sau1 jam1 gei1, syut3 gwai6.)
David: “Fridge”
Nicole: 雪櫃, 雪櫃, 微波爐。(syut3 gwai6, syut3 gwai6, mei4 bo1 lou4.)
David: “Microwave”
Nicole: 微波爐, 微波爐, 所以。(mei4 bo1 lou4, mei4 bo1 lou4, so2 ji5.)
David: “Therefore”
Nicole: 所以, 所以。(so2 ji5, so2 ji5.)
VOCAB AND PHRASE USAGE
David: Let’s have a closer look at the usage for some of these words and phrases. Our theme today is about appliances in the home.
Nicole: Right.
David: So, in the dialogue we were talking about the television.
Nicole: 電視。(din6 si6.)
David: “Television”
Nicole: 電視。(din6 si6.)
David: This is review. You should remember we’ve already taught you how to say “to watch television”.
Nicole: 睇電視。(tai2 din6 si6.)
David: As in the sentence “I like to watch television.”
Nicole: 我鍾意睇電視。(ngo5 zung1 ji3 tai2 din6 si6.)
David: If you’re sharing an apartment or renting a furnished apartment you’re going to want to make sure that it has a television, so when you’re asking, ask “Is there a television?”
Nicole: 有冇電視?(jau5 mou5 din6 si6?)
David: This is the same question we can use with our other appliances today.
Nicole: Right.
David: For instance, “Is there a stereo?”.
Nicole: 有冇音響?(jau5 mou5 jam1 hoeng2?)
David: “Is there a stereo?”
Nicole: 有冇音響?(jau5 mou5 jam1 hoeng2?)
David: And the word for stereo is?
Nicole: 音響。(jam1 hoeng2.)
David: “Stereo”
Nicole: 音響。(jam1 hoeng2.)
David: Another necessity in the house is a fridge.
Nicole: 雪櫃。(syut3 gwai6.)
David: “Fridge”
Nicole: 雪櫃。(syut3 gwai6.)
David: That’s literally a snow casing.
Nicole: Right. And there’s another way of saying “fridge” 冰箱. (bing1 soeng1.)
David: “Fridge”
Nicole: 冰箱. (bing1 soeng1.) That’s ice box.
David: Right. So, you could say “Is there a fridge?”
Nicole: 有冇雪櫃?(jau5 mou5 syut3 gwai6?)
David: Or?
Nicole: 有冇冰箱?(jau5 mou5 bing1 soeng1?)
David: In our vocab section we also introduced the word for microwave.
Nicole: 微波爐。(mei4 bo1 lou4.)
David: “Microwave”
Nicole: 微波爐。(mei4 bo1 lou4.)
David: And, Nicole, honestly, this is a funny sounding word.
Nicole: Does it?
David: Listen to it, listen to it.
Nicole: 微波爐。(mei4 bo1 lou4.)
David: Yeah.
Nicole: I think it sounds okay to me.
David: I think it sounds funny, but, that’s apparently how we ask for a microwave “Is there a microwave?”.
Nicole: 有冇微波爐?(jau5 mou5 mei4 bo1 lou4?)
David: Our last word is “radio”.
Nicole: 收音機。(sau1 jam1 gei1.)
David: “Radio”
Nicole: 收音機。(sau1 jam1 gei1.)
David: Now, you’re not necessarily going to need this in the house anymore.
Nicole: No.
David: But, if you take a cab, you might get stuck in the cab where the guy is listening to the radio really loudly.
Nicole: Right.
David: And in this case you’re probably going want to say “Please, turn down the radio.”
Nicole: 唔該,熄細收音機。(m4 goi1, sik1 sai3 sau1 jam1 gei1.)
David: Do you remember the verb “turn down”?
Nicole: 熄細。(sik1 sai3.)
David: “Please, turn down the radio.”
Nicole: 唔該,熄細收音機。(m4 goi1, sik1 sai3 sau1 jam1 gei1.)
David: Or maybe even “turn off”.
Nicole: 唔該,熄細收音機。(m4 goi1, sik1 sai3 sau1 jam1 gei1)
David: “Excuse me, please, turn off the radio.”
Nicole: 唔好意思, 唔該, 熄收音機。(m4 hou2 ji3 si1, m4 goi1, sik1 sau1 jam1 gei1.)
David: Every now and then when you ask these sorts of questions, people are going to ask you for a reason. And that’s what we are going to cover in our grammar point today.
Nicole: Right.

Lesson focus

David: There was a study earlier last year which showed if you give people a reason, even a bad one, they are more likely to do what you ask.
Nicole: Right, yeah. I’ve heard of that.
David: Right. So, in today’s lesson we’re going to focus on giving people reasons, whether they’re good or bad, well that’s up to you.
Nicole: Mm-hmm.
David: But the keyword here is:
Nicole: 因為。(jan1 wai6.)
David: “Because”
Nicole: 因為。(jan1 wai6.)
David: In the dialogue we heard this in the following line:
Nicole: 因為太大聲。(jan1 wai6 taai3 daai6 seng1.)
David: “Because it’s too loud.”
Nicole: 因為太大聲。(jan1 wai6 taai3 daai6 seng1.)
David: “Because it’s too loud.” This is really the second part of the request “Turn down the television.”
Nicole: 唔該電視細聲啲吖。(m4 goi1 din6 si6 sai3 seng1 di1 aa1.)
David: Right. So really what we’ve got is a request and then the word:
Nicole: 電視。(din6 si6.)
David: And then a reason. Let’s practice this with a few simple sentences. “I eat because I’m hungry.”
Nicole: 我食飯因為我肚餓。(ngo5 sik6 faan6 jan1 wai6 ngo5 tou5 ngo6.)
David: “I eat because I’m hungry.”
Nicole: 我食飯因為我肚餓。(ngo5 sik6 faan6 jan1 wai6 ngo5 tou5 ngo6.)
David: How about “I go because I’m tired.”
Nicole: 我走因為我攰。(ngo5 zau2 jan1 wai6 ngo5 gui6.)
David: “I go because I’m tired.”
Nicole: 我走因為我攰。(ngo5 zau2 jan1 wai6 ngo5 gui6.)
David: So this is a simple sentence pattern.
Nicole: Right.
David: We introduced another word in our vocab list as well.
Nicole: 所以。(so2 ji5.)
David: This means “so” or “therefore”.
Nicole: 所以。(so2 ji5.)
David: We can combine this with:
Nicole: 因為。(jan1 wai6.)
David: To make a more complicated sentence that has a bit more punch. If our original sentence was “I eat because I’m hungry.”:
Nicole: 我食飯因為我肚餓。(ngo5 sik6 faan6 jan1 wai6 ngo5 tou5 ngo6.)
David: We can reverse the order and say “Because I’m hungry therefore I eat.”
Nicole: 因為我肚餓, 所以我食飯。(jan1 wai6 ngo5 tou5 ngo6, so2 ji5 ngo5 sik6 faan6.)
David: “Because I’m thirsty therefore I drink.”
Nicole: 因為我口渴, 所以我飲水。(jan1 wai6 ngo5 hau2 hot3, so2 ji5 ngo5 jam2 seoi2.)
David: “Because I’m tired therefore I go.”
Nicole: 因為我攰, 所以我走。 (jan1 wai6 ngo5 gui6, so2 ji5 ngo5 zau2.)

Outro

David: This sentence structure is a bit more complex. If you’re having trouble with it, we recommend you drop by Cantoneseclass101.com and pick up our…
Nicole: PDF in the premium Learning Center.
David: Right. We’ve got the grammar point written down for you along with a lot of sample sentences. Read it over and you’re going to understand.
Nicole: Right.
David: It’s a lot easier to learn Cantonese when you’ve got this written reference.
Nicole: Mm-hmm.
David: That being said, that’s all the time we have today. I am David.
Nicole: 我係 (ngo5 hai6) Nicole.
David: Thanks a lot for listening. We will see you on the site.
Nicole: See you.
David: Bye Bye.

Comments

Hide