Dialogue

Vocabulary

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Lesson Notes

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Lesson Transcript

Introduction
Eric: Welcome to 3-Minute Cantonese Season 1, Lesson 14 - When Are You Leaving? In this lesson, you’ll learn how to ask when someone is leaving in Cantonese.
Body
Eric: Here's the informal way to ask 'When are you leaving?' in Cantonese.
Olivia: [Normal] 你幾時走呀?(nei5 gei2 si4 zau2 aa3)
Eric: First is a pronoun meaning 'you'
Olivia: [Normal] 你 [Slow] 你 (nei5)
Eric: Next is the word meaning 'when'
Olivia: [Normal] 幾時 [Slow] 幾時(gei2 si4)
Eric: Next is the verb meaning 'to leave’ or ‘to run'
Olivia: [Normal] 走 [Slow] 走(zau2)
Eric: Last is the final particle.
Olivia: [Normal] 呀 [Slow] 呀(aa3)
Eric: Listen again to the informal question meaning 'When are you leaving?'
Olivia: [Slow] 你幾時走呀? [Normal] 你幾時走呀?(nei5 gei2 si4 zau2 aa3)
Eric: Now, imagine you're speaking to a stranger. Here's the formal way to ask, 'When are you leaving?'
Olivia: [Normal] 你幾時離開呀?(nei5 gei2 si4 lei6 hoi1 aa3)
Eric: First is a pronoun meaning 'You'
Olivia: [Normal] 你 [Slow] 你 (nei5)
Eric: Next is the word meaning 'when'
Olivia: [Normal] 幾時 [Slow] 幾時(gei2 si4)
Eric: Next is the verb meaning 'to leave'
Olivia: [Normal] 離開 [Slow] 離開(lei6 hoi1)
Eric: Last is the final particle.
Olivia: [Normal] 呀 [Slow] 呀(aa3)
Eric: Listen again to the formal question meaning 'When are you leaving?'
Olivia: [Slow] 你幾時離開呀? [Normal] 你幾時離開呀?(nei5 gei2 si4 lei6 hoi1 aa3)
Eric: Here's a response meaning 'I leave in two hours.'
Olivia: [Normal] 我兩個鐘頭之內走。(ngo5 loeng5 go3 zung1 tau4 zi1 noi6 zau2)
Eric: First is a pronoun meaning 'I'
Olivia: [Normal] 我 [Slow] 我(ngo5)
Eric: Next is the phrase meaning 'two' or ‘two things’
Olivia: [Normal] 兩個 [Slow] 兩個(loeng5 go3)
Eric: Next is the noun meaning 'hour'
Olivia: [Normal] 鐘頭 [Slow] 鐘頭(zung1 tau4)
Eric: Next is the preposition meaning 'within'
Olivia: [Normal] 之內 [Slow] 之內(zi1 noi6)
Eric: Last is the verb meaning 'to leave'
Olivia: [Normal] 走 [Slow] 走(zau2)
Eric: Listen again to the response meaning 'I leave in two hours.'
Olivia: [Slow] 我兩個鐘頭之內走。 [Normal] 我兩個鐘頭之內走。(ngo5 loeng5 go3 zung1 tau4 zi1 noi6 zau2)
Eric: Here's a response meaning, 'I leave next week.'
Olivia: [Normal] 我下個禮拜走。(ngo5 haa6 go3 lai5 baai3 zau2)
Eric: First is a pronoun meaning 'I'
Olivia: [Normal] 我 [Slow] 我(ngo5)
Eric: Next is the adjective meaning 'next'
Olivia: [Normal] 下 [Slow] 下(haa6 )
Eric: Next is the measure word
Olivia: [Normal] 個 [Slow] 個(go3)
Eric: Next is the word meaning 'week'
Olivia: [Normal] 禮拜 [Slow] 禮拜(lai5 baai3)
Eric: Last is the verb meaning 'to leave'
Olivia: [Normal] 走 [Slow] 走(zau2)
Eric: Listen again to the response meaning 'I leave next week.'
Olivia: [Slow] 我下個禮拜走。 [Normal] 我下個禮拜走。(ngo5 haa6 go3 lai5 baai3 zau2)
Cultural Insight
Eric: Now it's time for a quick cultural insight.
Olivia: To ask how long an action has been taking place in Cantonese, we can say 幾耐 (gei2 noi6) which means “how long.” For example, you can say 你等咗幾耐? (nei5 dang2 zo2 gei2 noi6?) to mean “How long have you been waiting?”

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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