Dialogue

Vocabulary

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Lesson Transcript

Intro

Matt: Hello, everybody and welcome back to Absolute Beginner Season 1, Lesson 10. I'm Matt.
Nicole: 大家好 (daai6 gaa1 hou2), I'm Nicole.
Matt: In this lesson we're going to .learn how to make suggestions
Nicole: And this conversation takes place on the street.
Matt: It's between two friends
Nicole: So they're speaking casual Cantonese as always.
Matt: Okay, let's take a listen through today's dialogue.

Lesson conversation

我哋點去呀? (ngo5 dei6 dim2 heoi3 aa3?)
搭巴士。 (daap3 baa1 si2.)
不如搭地鐵? (bat1 jyu4 daap3 dei6 tit3?)
都得。 (dou1 dak1.)
Matt: And now with the English translation.
我哋點去呀? (ngo5 dei6 dim2 heoi3 aa3?)
How do we get there?
搭巴士。 (daap3 baa1 si2.)
Let's take the bus.
不如搭地鐵? (bat1 jyu4 daap3 dei6 tit3?)
How about the subway?
都得。 (dou1 dak1.)
That'll also work.
POST CONVERSATION BANTER
Matt: All right now, this conversation, I've used quite a bit.
Nicole: Well. You use all of our lessons quite a bit.
Matt: That's true, but that's only because they're helpful.
Nicole: And they're simple
Matt: In this lesson we have vocabulary for taking various forms of transportation.
Nicole: That you're going to hear and use all the time.
Matt: And you can use them right away.
Nicole: Right. Let's get right to the vocab.
VOCAB LIST
Matt: Okay, what's the first word, Nicole?
Nicole: 搭 (daap3) [natural native speed]
Matt: Which means to take (a transport).
Nicole: 搭 (daap3) [slowly - broken down by syllable].搭 (daap3) [natural native speed].
Nicole: 的士 (dik1 si2) [natural native speed]
Matt: Taxi.
Nicole: 的士 (dik1 si2) [slowly - broken down by syllable]. 的士 (dik1 si2) [natural native speed].
Nicole: 車 (ce1) [natural native speed]
Matt: Car.
Nicole: 車 (ce1) [slowly - broken down by syllable]. 車 (ce1) [natural native speed].
Nicole: 巴士 (baa1 si2) [natural native speed]
Matt: Bus.
Nicole: 巴士 (baa1 si2) [slowly - broken down by syllable]. 巴士 (baa1 si2) [natural native speed]. Nicole: 地鐵 (dei6 tit3) [natural native speed]
Matt: Subway.
Nicole: 地鐵 (dei6 tit3) [slowly - broken down by syllable]. 地鐵 (dei6 tit3) [natural native speed]. Nicole: 飛機 (fei1 gei1) [natural native speed]
Matt: Airplane.
Nicole: 飛機 (fei1 gei1) [slowly - broken down by syllable]. 飛機 (fei1 gei1) [natural native speed]. 不如 (bat1 jyu4) [natural native speed]
Matt: How about.
Nicole: 不如 (bat1 jyu4) [slowly - broken down by syllable]. 不如 (bat1 jyu4) [natural native speed]. 下次 (haa6 ci3) [natural native speed]
Matt: Next time.
Nicole: 下次 (haa6 ci3) [slowly - broken down by syllable]. 下次 (haa6 ci3) [natural native speed]. Nicole: 都得 (dou1 dak1) [natural native speed]
Matt: They're both okay.
Nicole: 都得 (dou1 dak1) [slowly - broken down by syllable]. 都得 (dou1 dak1) [natural native speed]
KEY VOCABULARY AND PHRASES
Matt: All right, Nicole, let's take a closer look at the usage for some of our vocabulary words and phrases from this lesson.
Nicole: Sure. The first word is 搭 (daap3)
Matt: To take, but only when it applies to transportation (a transportation means).
Nicole: Right 搭 (daap3)
Matt: To take.
Nicole: When you say 搭 (daap3), remember that it ends with a glottal p, so the ending sounds like the English word 'tap.' You say 搭 (daap3)
Matt: All right, can we hear it one more time for the listeners?
Nicole: 搭 (daap3).
Matt: Now, this is a general verb for all forms of transportation.
Nicole: Yes. You can 搭 (daap3) taxi, 搭 (daap3) car, 搭 (daap3) ship, 搭 (daap3) boat, 搭 (daap3) airplane, 搭 (daap3) all kinds of transportations.
Matt: So we can also 搭 (daap3)bus.
Nicole: That's right. That's in our dialog too. 搭巴士 (daap3 baa1 si2)
Matt: To take the bus.
Nicole: 搭巴士 (daap3 baa1 si2)
Matt: And in Cantonese, it sounds just like the English word for bus.
Nicole: Yep 巴士 (baa1 si2)
Matt: There's another word that sounds similar to its English name.
Nicole: 的士 (dik1 si2)
Matt: That's right, taxi.
Nicole: 的士 (dik1 si2)
Matt: Taxi. Now, how about subway, does subway sound similar?
Nicole: 地鐵 (dei6 tit3), what do you think?
Matt: Not really. So, literally underground steel.
Nicole: 地鐵 (dei6 tit3)
Matt: Subway. So when we say we're going to take a type of transport, we can say the verb?
Nicole: 搭 (daap3)
Matt: …and then the type the transport.
Nicole: Right. Like 搭巴士 (daap3 baa1 si2)
Matt: To take the bus.
Nicole: 搭的士 (daap3 dik1 si2)
Matt: To take the taxi.
Nicole: We have another way of saying this 打的 (daa2 dik1)
Matt: Now this one's shorter and I like short.
Nicole: 打的 (daa2 dik1)
Matt: To take the taxi.
Nicole: Or we can say 搭地鐵 (daap3 dei6 tit3)
Matt: To take the subway.
Nicole: 都得 (dou1 dak1)
Matt: That means 'that'll also work.'
Nicole: 都得 (dou1 dak1)
Matt: Or it can mean they both will work.
Nicole: Yep. 都得 (dou1 dak1) can mean both things, because 都 (dou1) means also and both, and 得 (dak1) means “to work”, so 都得 (dou1 dak1) can mean, that will also work or they both work.
Matt: So because the transportation system in Hong Kong is so developed, pretty much any mode of transportation will work.
Nicole: That's right. Anyway 都得 (dou1 dak1), or 點都得 (dim2 dou1 dak1).
Matt: Dim, is this the same dim that's used in Dim-Sum?
Nicole: Yep. That same 點(dim2). 點都得 (dim2 dou1 dak1). “Whatever works,” 點都得 (dim2 dou1 dak1)

Lesson focus

Matt: Great. Now let's move on to our grammar section. Alright, now let's move on to our grammar section. We'll talk about how to make suggestions.
Nicole: Okay now the word for suggestion is 不如 (bat1 jyu4).
Matt: It means How about...
Nicole: 不如 (bat1 jyu4).
Matt: How about. It literally means 'not as...'
Nicole: Right. 不如 (bat1 jyu4).
Matt: So we're actually saying that your idea is not as good as the one I'm going to propose.
Nicole: Yeah but it's less rude than it sounds...不如 (bat1 jyu4). is actually really common and laid back.
Matt: That's right. In the dialog, we heard?
Nicole: 不如搭地鐵? (bat1 jyu4 daap3 dei6 tit3?)
Matt: Which means how about we take the subway?
Nicole: 不如搭地鐵? (bat1 jyu4 daap3 dei6 tit3?)
Matt: He's suggesting that they take the subway. So whenever you want to suggest anything, just put your suggestion after the word 不如 (bat1 jyu4).
Nicole: Right. 不如搭地鐵? (bat1 jyu4 daap3 dei6 tit3?)
Matt: How about we take the airplane?
Nicole: 不如搭飛機? (bat1 jyu4 daap3 fei1 gei1?)
Matt: How about we take the taxi?
Nicole: 不如搭的士? (bat1 jyu4 daap3 dik1 si2?)
Matt: Ah I remember that, that's the other way of saying taking the cab.
Nicole: Yeah, 不如搭的士? (bat1 jyu4 daap3 dik1 si2?) Now, Matt let's do a quick review of some really useful words that we've learned in previous lessons, okay?
Matt: Good idea, this will really help the users commit the words to long-term memory.
Nicole: Okay. 不如呢個? (bat1 jyu4 ni1 go3?)
Matt: How about this one?
Nicole: 不如嗰個? (bat1 jyu4 go2 go3?)
Matt: This one means how about that one.
Nicole: 不如食嘢? (bat1 jyu4 sik6 je5?)
Matt: How about eating?
Nicole: 不如一齊食嘢? (bat1 jyu4 jat1 cai4 sik6 je5?)
Matt: How about eating together?
Nicole: 不如我哋一齊食嘢? (bat1 jyu4 ngo5 dei6 jat1 cai4 sik6 je5?)
Matt: Wow, it's starting to get longer here, how about let's eat together?
Nicole: Not bad. So you can see, the suggestion following 不如 (bat1 jyu4) it can be a verb, a noun, or a sentence, anything.
Matt: All right, that's pretty easy. So our listeners can just stick in whatever comes to their mind. What about shrimp dumplings, Nicole?
Nicole: 不如蝦餃? (bat1 jyu4 haa1 gaau2?)
Matt: And of course the response to that suggestion would be...
Nicole: 好呀 (hou2 aa3).
Matt: And that's a yes, 'great' or 'sounds good.'
Nicole: Right, 好呀 (hou2 aa3), or you can say 都得 (dou1 dak1)
Matt: Which means that'll also work or both okay.
Nicole: Yeah. And you can always add a 呀 (aa3) to the end. It sounds like 都得呀 (dou1 dak1 aa3).
Matt: That's right. Now what if someone doesn't agree with the suggestion?
Nicole: Hmmm...
Matt: Are you thinking about it or is that the response? That's right, that's the universal when you don't agree with somebody's suggestion. You just pretend that you're thinking about it and make the hmmm... sound.
Nicole: Yeah or after a long period of pondering, you can say 下次吖 (haa6 ci3 aa1).
Matt: Which means maybe next time.
Nicole: 下次吖 (haa6 ci3 aa1).
Matt: Maybe next time. That's a polite way to say 'no'.
Nicole: Right. 下次吖 (haa6 ci3 aa1).
Matt: All right. To sum up, in this lesson we learned ways to say how to take different forms of transportation.
Nicole: Right like 搭巴士 (daap3 baa1 si2), to take the bus.
Matt: We've also learned how to make suggestions.
Nicole: 不如鳳爪 (bat1 jyu4 fung6 zaau2) how about chicken feet?
Matt: And we've also learned more importantly how to say no to chicken feet.
Nicole: 下次吖 (haa6 ci3 aa1).
Matt: Next time.
Nicole: Right.

Outro

Matt: And that's our lesson for today. Do we have anything else, Nicole?
Nicole: Yes. Before we go, we're going to tell our listeners how to test themselves.
Matt: That's right. To make today's vocabulary stick, our listeners can use the lesson specific flashcards located in the learning center.
Nicole: There is a reason everyone use flashcards.
Matt: That's right. It's because they work.
Nicole: They really do help memorization.
Matt: You can get the flashcards for this lesson at?
Nicole: CantoneseClass101.com.
Matt: All right, everybody, thanks for tuning in. We'll see you next time.
Nicole: See you.

Grammar

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