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
Eric: Welcome to 3-Minute Cantonese Season 1, Lesson 7 - Do You Speak English? In this lesson, you’ll learn how to ask and answer the question ‘Do you speak English?’ in Cantonese.
Body
Eric: Here's the way to ask 'Do you speak English?' in Cantonese.
Olivia: [Normal] 你識唔識講英文?(nei5 sik1 m4 sik1 gong2 jing1 man2)
Eric: First is a pronoun meaning 'You'
Olivia: [Normal] 你 [Slow] 你 (nei5)
Eric: Next is the verb meaning 'to know '
Olivia: [Normal] 識 [Slow] 識(sik1)
Eric: Next is the phrase meaning 'don’t know'
Olivia: [Normal] 唔識 [Slow] 唔識(m4 sik1)
Eric: Next is the verb meaning 'speak’
Olivia: [Normal] 講 [Slow] 講(gong2)
Eric: Last is the noun meaning 'English'
Olivia: [Normal] 英文 [Slow] 英文(jing1 man2)
Eric: Listen again to the formal question meaning 'Do you speak English?'
Olivia: [Slow] 你識唔識講英文? [Normal] 你識唔識講英文?(nei5 sik1 m4 sik1 gong2 jing1 man2)
Eric: Now, imagine you're speaking to a stranger. Here's the formal way to ask, 'Excuse me, do you know English?'
Olivia: [Normal] 唔該,你識唔識英文?(m4 goi1, nei5 sik1 m4 sik1 jing1 man2)
Eric: First is the phrase ‘Excuse me’
Olivia: [Normal] 唔該 [Slow] 唔該(m4 goi1)
Eric: Next is the pronoun meaning ‘you'
Olivia: [Normal] 你 [Slow] 你 (nei5)
Eric: Next is the verb meaning 'to know'
Olivia: [Normal] 識 [Slow] 識(sik1)
Eric: Next is the phrase meaning 'don’t know'
Olivia: [Normal] 唔識 [Slow] 唔識(m4 sik1)
Eric: Last is the word meaning 'English'
Olivia: [Normal] 英文 [Slow] 英文(jing1 man2)
Eric: Listen again to the formal question meaning 'Excuse me, do you know English?'
Olivia: [Slow] 唔該,你識唔識英文? [Normal] 唔該,你識唔識英文? (m4 goi1, nei5 sik1 m4 sik1 jing1 man2)
Eric: Now let’s look at a response meaning 'Yes, I speak English.'
Olivia: [Normal] 識呀!我識講英文。(sik1 aa3, ngo5 sik1 gong2 jing1 man2)
Eric: First is a word meaning ‘know.’
Olivia: [Normal] 識呀 [Slow] 識呀(sik1 aa3)
Eric: Next is the pronoun meaning 'I'
Olivia: [Normal] 我 [Slow] 我(ngo5)
Eric: Next is the verb meaning 'to know'
Olivia: [Normal] 識[Slow] 識(sik1)
Eric: Next is the verb meaning 'speak’
Olivia: [Normal] 講 [Slow] 講(gong2)
Eric: Last is the noun meaning 'English'
Olivia: [Normal] 英文 [Slow] 英文(jing1 man2)
Eric: Listen again to the response, 'Yes, I speak English.'
Olivia: [Slow] 識呀!我識講英文。 [Normal] 識呀!我識講英文。(sik1 aa3, ngo5 sik1 gong2 jing1 man2)
Eric: Here's a response meaning, 'No, I don't speak English.'
Olivia: [Normal] 唔識呀! 我唔識講英文。(m4 sik1 aa3, ngo5 m4 sik1 gong2 jing1 man2)
Eric: First is a phrase meaning ‘not know.’
Olivia: [Normal] 唔識呀 [Slow] 唔識呀(m4 sik1 aa3)
Eric: Next is the pronoun meaning 'I'
Olivia: [Normal] 我 [Slow] 我(ngo5)
Eric: Next is the phrase meaning 'do not know'
Olivia: [Normal] 唔識 [Slow] 唔識(m4 sik1)
Eric: Next is the verb meaning ‘speak.’
Olivia: [Normal] 講 [Slow] 講(gong2)
Eric: Last is the noun meaning 'English'
Olivia: [Normal] 英文 [Slow] 英文(jing1 man2)
Eric: Listen again to the response meaning 'No, I don't speak English.'
Olivia: [Slow] 唔識呀! 我唔識講英文。 [Normal] 唔識呀! 我唔識講英文。(m4 sik1 aa3, ngo5 m4 sik1 gong2 jing1 man2)
Cultural Insight
Eric: Now it's time for a quick cultural insight.
Olivia: If your native language is not English, you can make your own question by replacing “English” with the name of the other language. For example, you can use...
日文 (jat6 man2) for Japanese.
西班牙文 (saai1 baan1 aa4 man2) for Spanish.
德文 (dak1 man2) for German.
義大利文 (ji3 daai6 lei6 man2) for Italian.

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)

Comments

Hide