Cantonese Key Phrase List

Hello Preston,

Thank you for your questions and advice about adding the direction vocab.

If you are interested in learning more about the direction vocabularies, you may like to check out the following links.

Directions in Cantonese

https://www.cantoneseclass101.com/lesson/survival-phrases-31-directions-in-cantonese/

Asking Directions

https://www.cantoneseclass101.com/lesson/3minute-cantonese-16-asking-directions/

你好嗎？(nei5 hou2 maa3?) ~ How are you?

我好好/ 我幾好。(ngo5 hou2 hou2 / ngo5 gei2 hou2.) ~ I am fine.

多謝。(do1 ze6.) ~ Thank you.

你呢？(nei5 ne1?) ~ How about you?

對唔住。(deoi3 m4 zyu6.) ~ Sorry.

Siuling

Team CantoneseClass101.com

Hi there, could you please add phrases for giving directions, like, go straight, left or right.

How are you in cantonese is lei ho ma,

I’m fine is ngo ho ho

Thank you is deio m zyu

And how about you is lei li

Is these correct or no

Hello Simon Fraser,

Thank you for your comment and letting us knowing that you are interested in the spoken form.

I really like the Survival Phrases Lesson because it provides lot of useful daily conversation in spoken form. ?

https://www.cantoneseclass101.com/category/survival-phrases/

Siuling

Team CantoneseClass101.com

I've just seen the other comments. I'm also only interested in the spoken forms

Good vocab but a lot of these phrases are very different from the standard ones I have been learning.

Hello Alison,

Thank you so much for your time and great advice. We have started adding the label of written form or spoken form in some of the lessons. Appreciate so much for sharing your opinion which is so valuable for improving the lesson.

The Movies of Stephen Chow (spoken form)

https://www.cantoneseclass101.com/lesson/advanced-audio-blog-4-the-movies-of-stephen-chow/

好多謝你！(hou2 do1 ze6 nei5!)~ Thank you so much!

Siuling

Team CantoneseClass101.com

I agree with other comments that this list is very confusing. It's called "Cantonese Key Phrases" but really it's standard Chinese with the only Cantonese aspect being the pronunciations of the characters given in jyutping. Perhaps this list could be renamed so that it makes it clear that this is written Chinese, and a Cantonese equivalent list could be created? This is really too confusing for beginners, especially as "Key Phrases" is something that beginners would be especially drawn to.

I can already read and write all these phrases in Chinese since I have basic Mandarin so unfortunately this list is of really limited use; I was hoping to find the Cantonese equivalents. I actually have the Cantonese Word Power app as well and it has the same problem in that it doesn't differentiate between what is standard Chinese as opposed to Cantonese.

I listen to a lot of your podcasts and I find them and the accompanying lesson notes great for learning Cantonese. If you could improve this aspect of your vocabulary lists that would be really fantastic.

Hello 林培明,

Thank you so much for your advice and comment.

You are right that lots of time Hong Kong people use 佢( keoi5) instead of 他(taa1), 係(hai6) instead of 是(si6 ) in daily conversation or colloquial expression. We also consider some people especially the Mandarin speakers would like to learn the written Cantonese which is still commonly used in the news article, written notice, research article, poster, instruction menu or pamphlet, etc. This is for giving the learner more exposure to both spoken and written form of Cantonese.

Thank you so much for your advice. We have started adding the indication of spoken or written form in some of the lessons. For example the lesson “The Movies of Stephen Chow (spoken form)”.

https://www.cantoneseclass101.com/2010/07/28/advanced-audio-blog-4-the-movies-of-stephen-chow/

If you want to focus on learning the conversational Cantonese first, you may want to check out the Survival Phrases Lessons in Cantoneseclass101.com. Or some newly updated you tube lessons. The Lessons cover lots of essential phrases for traveling, visiting and sightseeing.

Survival Phrases

https://www.cantoneseclass101.com/2010/06/05/survival-phrases-1-thank-you/

Learn the Top 10 Things to Do in the Summer in Hong Kong

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q9PPUEspwD0

Hope you will like the lessons. ?

Appreciated so much for your great help and advice which is so valuable for improving the lesson.

Siuling

Team CantoneseClass101.com

I think it's a horrible idea to introduce these written forms to a beginner. When you set out to learn a new language you would be expecting to learn what is spoken between people and not literary forms. Undertaking to learn a language is a big endeavour and already demanding enough without adding another set of corresponding words. That's not to say that the written language is irrelevant, just that it isn't appropriate for beginners. There will come a time when not learning the written forms is a hindrance to further progress, written content is a large reservoir of input and contains vocabulary that can be used in both written and spoken Cantonese.

Nobody in Hong Kong speaks this way -- or am I mistaken?

And Jackie is absolutely right.

And Cantonese 101 acknowledges that our teaching and our list "will sound weird being said in normal conversation."

Dear Cantonese 101 -- you cannot exist this way -- you are undermining Cantonese language by misleading beginners to incorrectly speak using written Mandarin forms.

Please edit your website to correct or delete everything that Cantonese 101 acknowledges that our teaching and our list "will sound weird being said in normal conversation."

你叫什麼名字?

nei5 giu3 sam6 mo1 ming4 zi6

What's your name?

你叫咩名啊?

nei5 giu3 sam6 mo1 ming4 zi6

What's your name?

我的名字是彼得。你叫什麼名字?

ngo5 dik1 ming4 zi6 si6 bei2 dak1 nei5 giu3 sam6 mo1 ming4 zi6

THEY SAY 我（嘅）名字係彼得。你叫咩名啊?

My name is Peter. What's your name?

是的。

si6 dik1

THEY SAY 係呀

Yes.

廁所在哪裡？

ci3 so2 zoi6 naa5 leoi5?

NOT 在這裡 THEY SAY 喺邊/喺邊度

Where is the bathroom?

我可以坐在這裡嗎？

ngo5 ho2 ji5 zo6 zoi6 ze2 leoi5 maa3?

NOT 在這裡 THEY SAY 喺呢度/喺度

May I sit here?

我是（名字）。

ngo5 si6 (ming4 zi6).

THEY SAY 我係