Dialogue

Vocabulary (Review)

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Lesson Transcript

Intro

Nicole: 大家好 (daai6 gaa1 hou2). I'm Nicole.
Matt: Matt here! Welcome back to CantoneseClass101.com Absolute Beginner Season 1, Lesson 12. In this lesson you'll learn about making plans.
Nicole: Right. This conversation takes place over the phone.
Matt: And it's between two friends.
Nicole: So they're speaking casual Cantonese as always.

Lesson conversation

你幾時得閒呀?(nei5 gei2 si4 dak1 haan4 aa3?)
下個禮拜吖。(haa6 go3 lai5 baai3 aa1).
禮拜六? (lai5 baai3 luk6?)
禮拜日。 (lai5 baai3 jat6.)
English Host: One more time, a bit slower.
你幾時得閒呀?(nei5 gei2 si4 dak1 haan4 aa3?)
下個禮拜吖。(haa6 go3 lai5 baai3 aa1).
禮拜六? (lai5 baai3 luk6?)
禮拜日。 (lai5 baai3 jat6.)
English Host: And now with the English translation.
你幾時得閒呀?(nei5 gei2 si4 dak1 haan4 aa3?)
Matt: When will you have time?
下個禮拜吖。(haa6 go3 lai5 baai3 aa1).
Matt: Next week.
禮拜六? (lai5 baai3 luk6?)
Matt: Saturday?
禮拜日。 (lai5 baai3 jat6.)
Matt: Sunday.
POST CONVERSATION BANTER
Matt: So this is another useful phrase that we need to know if we want to ask a girl out.
Nicole: 你幾時得閒? (nei5 gei2 si4 dak1 haan4?)
Matt: Yeah exactly. "When will you have time?"
Nicole: 你幾時得閒?(nei5 gei2 si4 dak1 haan4?) I bet you used that a lot.
Matt: I remember last time I said this to a girl though.
Nicole: 你幾時得閒? (nei5 gei2 si4 dak1 haan4?)
Matt: Yeah that's right and she said, she responded to me 'last week.'
Nicole: 上個禮拜 (soeng6 go3 lai5 baai3).
Matt: Anyway we'll cover that phrase as well in our vocabulary section.
Nicole: Right. We also got lots of vocab about weekday.
VOCAB LIST
Matt: Let's take a look now at the vocabulary for this lesson.
Nicole: 幾時 (gei2 si4) [natural native speed]
Matt: When.
Nicole: 幾時 (gei2 si4) [slowly - broken down by syllable]. 幾時 (gei2 si4) [natural native speed]. 得閒 (dak1 haan4) [natural native speed]
Matt: To have time or to be available.
Nicole: 得閒 (dak1 haan4) [slowly - broken down by syllable]. 得閒 (dak1 haan4) [natural native speed]. 下個 (haa6 go3) [natural native speed]
Matt: Next or next one.
Nicole: 下個 (haa6 go3) [slowly - broken down by syllable]. 下個 (haa6 go3) [natural native speed].上個 (soeng6 go3) [natural native speed]
Matt: Last or last one.
Nicole: 上個 (soeng6 go3) [slowly - broken down by syllable]. 上個 (soeng6 go3) [natural native speed]. 禮拜 (lai5 baai3) [natural native speed]
Matt: Week.
Nicole: 禮拜 (lai5 baai3) [slowly - broken down by syllable]. 禮拜 (lai5 baai3) [natural native speed]. 星期 (sing1 kei4) [natural native speed]
Matt: Also mean week.
Nicole: 星期 (sing1 kei4) [slowly - broken down by syllable]. 星期 (sing1 kei4) [natural native speed]. 禮拜六 (lai5 baai3 luk6) [natural native speed]
Matt: Saturday.
Nicole: 禮拜六 (lai5 baai3 luk6) [slowly - broken down by syllable]. 禮拜六 (lai5 baai3 luk6) [natural native speed]. 禮拜日 (lai5 baai3 jat6) [natural native speed]
Matt: Sunday.
Nicole: 禮拜日 (lai5 baai3 jat6) [slowly - broken down by syllable]. 禮拜日 (lai5 baai3 jat6) [natural native speed]. 一 [natural native speed]
Matt: One (1).
Nicole: 一 (jat1) [slowly - broken down by syllable]. 一 (jat1) [natural native speed]. 二 (ji6) [natural native speed]
Matt: Two (2).
Nicole: 二 (ji6) [slowly - broken down by syllable]. 二 (ji6) [natural native speed]. 三 (saam1) [natural native speed]
Matt: Three (3).
Nicole: 三 (saam1) [slowly - broken down by syllable]. 三 (saam1) [natural native speed]. 四 (sei3) [natural native speed]
Matt: Four (4).
Nicole: 四 (sei3) [slowly - broken down by syllable]. 四 (sei3) [natural native speed]. 五 (ng5) [natural native speed]
Matt: Five (5).
Nicole: 五 (ng5) [slowly - broken down by syllable]. 五 (ng5) [natural native speed]. 六 (luk6) [natural native speed]
Matt: Six (6).
Nicole: 六 (luk6) [slowly - broken down by syllable]. 六 (luk6) [natural native speed]
KEY VOCABULARY AND PHRASES
Matt: All right, let's have a closer look at the usage for some of the words and phrases that we used in this lesson.
Nicole: Okay. The first one is 禮拜 (lai5 baai3)
Matt: Week.
Nicole: Right. In the dialogue we heard 下個禮拜 (haa6 go3 lai5 baai3).
Matt: Next week.
Nicole: 下個禮拜 (haa6 go3 lai5 baai3).
Matt: Next week.
Nicole: Or you can say 呢個禮拜 (ni1 go3 lai5 baai3).
Matt: This week.
Nicole: Right. Remember we learned 呢個 (ni1 go3) in earlier lessons.
Matt: Right. And that means this or this one.
Nicole: Right 呢個 (ni1 go3) Now simply stick 呢個 (ni1 go3) before 禮拜 (lai5 baai3). It becomes 禮拜 (lai5 baai3). 呢個禮拜 (ni1 go3 lai5 baai3)
Matt: Or this week
Nicole: Or your favorite answer 上個禮拜 (soeng6 go3 lai5 baai3).
Matt: Last week, not really my favorite answer.
Nicole: 上個禮拜 (soeng6 go3 lai5 baai3).
Matt: I notice when you say next week you're not saying ‘next week', but you're actually saying 'down week'; when you say last week you're saying 'up week.' What's going on with that?
Nicole: Yeah. Well we have an imaginary standing calendar, with the beginning of time on top, and future at the bottom. So when we say in the past, we use 上 (soeng6) which means up. So when we say in the future, we use 下 (haa6), which means down.
Matt: It sounds like you're making things up again, Nicole.
Nicole: Well, it makes perfect sense to me.
Matt: Okay. But there's another less frequently used word for week as well. What's that Nicole?
Nicole: 星期 (sing1 kei4).
Matt: Week.
Nicole: 星期 (sing1 kei4).
Matt: Week.
Nicole: You can say 上個星期 (soeng6 go3 sing1 kei4).
Matt: Which means last week.
Nicole: Or 呢個星期 (ni1 go3 sing1 kei4).
Matt: This week.
Nicole: Or 下個星期 (haa6 go3 sing1 kei4).
Matt: Next week.
Nicole: Right. Or if you want to specify a day, you can say 下個星期六 (haa6 go3 sing1 kei4 luk6)
Matt: Next Saturday or literally next week six.
Nicole: Yep. 下個星期六 (haa6 go3 sing1 kei4 luk6)
Matt: We understand the first half, but what's the second half here, Nicole? How do you say Saturday?
Nicole: 星期六 (sing1 kei4 luk6).
Matt: Saturday, or literally week six.
Nicole: Yup. That's the way Cantonese express weekdays. First, you say the word 星期 (sing1 kei4), or you can say 禮拜 (lai5 baai3).
Matt: Week.
Nicole: And then 一 (jat1),二 (ji6),三 (saam1),四 (sei3),五 (ng5), 六 (luk6)
Matt: That's numbers one through six. You scared our listeners a little bit there.
Nicole: Sorry. Now I'll say them slowly one by one.
Matt: And I'll say the English. And I want you listeners to make sure that you're repeating after Nicole. I'll make sure to leave a pause in there.
Nicole: Okay. 一 (jat1 )
Matt: One.
Nicole: 一 (jat1 )
Matt: One.
Nicole: 二 (ji6)
Matt: Two.
Nicole: 二 (ji6)
Matt: Two.
Nicole: 三 (saam1)
Matt: Three.
Nicole: 三 (saam1)
Matt: Three.
Nicole: 四 (sei3)
Matt: Four.
Nicole: 四 (sei3)
Matt: Four.
Nicole: 五 (ng5)
Matt: Five.
Nicole: 五 (ng5)
Matt: Five.
Nicole: 六 (luk6)
Matt: Six.
Nicole: 六 (luk6)
Matt: Six.
Nicole: 日 (jat6)
Matt: Hey, that's not the word for seven.
Nicole: No, it's not. It's a bonus word. It means Sunday 日 (jat6)
Matt: So that literally means day when you translate it.
Nicole: Right 日 (jat6)
Matt: So Monday will be Week 1.
Nicole: 禮拜一 (lai5 baai3 jat1)
Matt: Tuesday will be week 2.
Nicole: 禮拜二 (lai5 baai3 ji6)
Matt: Wednesday will be week 3.
Nicole: 禮拜三 (lai5 baai3 saam1)
Matt: Thursday will be week 4.
Nicole: 禮拜四 (lai5 baai3 sei3)
Matt: Friday will be week 5.
Nicole: 禮拜五 (lai5 baai3 ng5)
Matt: And Saturday will be week 6.
Nicole: 禮拜六。 (lai5 baai3 luk6)
Matt: And then Sunday is the one that's going to be different because it's not using a number but our bonus word will be?
Nicole: 日 (jat6). And together it's 禮拜日 (lai5 baai3 jat6) which means “Sunday.”
Matt: So the structure is really simple. You say the word for week.
Nicole: 禮拜(lai5 baai3) or 星期 (sing1 kei4)
Matt: Then the number or 'day' for Sunday.
Nicole: Yep, 日 (jat6). When you say Sunday, it's 禮拜日 (lai5 baai3 jat6). There's no week 7, only 禮拜日 (lai5 baai3 jat6).

Lesson focus

Matt: Okay. That's a lot for our listeners to remember. Now let's get to our grammar section. The focus of this lesson is asking when. In the dialog we heard?
Nicole: 你幾時得閒? (nei5 gei2 si4 dak1 haan4?)
Matt: When will you have time?
Nicole: 你幾時得閒? (nei5 gei2 si4 dak1 haan4?)
Matt: When will you have time? If we break it down, the first sound here is?
Nicole: 你 (nei5).
Matt: Which means you and then we'll have?
Nicole: 幾時 (gei2 si4)
Matt: When, literally 'how much time'.
Nicole: Right 幾時 (gei2 si4) (slow), 幾時 (gei2 si4) (normal).
Matt: Although it's literally 'how much time', it's not asking 'how long' or about the actual clock time. It's more of a general 'when'.
Nicole: Right. 幾時 (gei2 si4)
Matt: And it's always followed by...
Nicole: 得閒 (dak1 haan4)
Matt: To be free, or to have time.
Nicole: Right. You can say 好得閒 (hou2 dak1 haan4)
Matt: Which means to have plenty of time.
Nicole: Right, remember the 好 (hou2) we learned that before? It means very. So you can say 好 (hou2) 得閒 (dak1 haan4) or you can ask 你幾時得閒 (nei5 gei2 si4 dak1 haan4), when do you have time?
Matt: So the structure here is very simple. When you want to ask when someone does something, you say the subject.
Nicole: 你 (nei5)
Matt: And then 'when.'
Nicole: 幾時 (gei2 si4)
Matt: And then the verb.
Nicole: 得閒 (dak1 haan4)
Matt: Or when do you have time?
Nicole: 你幾時得閒 (nei5 gei2 si4 dak1 haan4).
Matt: Can you give us more examples here Nicole?
Nicole: Sure. 你幾時食飯? (nei5 gei2 si4 sik6 faan6?)
Matt: When do you eat? Or when will you eat?
Nicole: 你幾時食飯? (nei5 gei2 si4 sik6 faan6?)
Matt: Because Cantonese don't conjugate verbs, you need the context to tell if the person's asking about now or the future.
Nicole: Right. So for instance 佢幾時學廣東話? (keoi5 gei2 si4 hok6 gwong2 dung1 waa2?)
Matt: When will they learn Cantonese? That's what Nicole usually says to me.
Nicole: Better yet, you can put adjectives after 幾時 (gei2 si4).
Matt: Right. Because adjectives act like verbs in Cantonese.
Nicole: That's a good tip. For instance, 你幾時肚餓? (nei5 gei2 si4 tou5 ngo6?)
Matt: When will you be hungry?
Nicole: 你幾時肚餓?(nei5 gei2 si4 tou5 ngo6?) When will you be hungry? Or 媽媽幾時攰? (maa4 maa1 gei2 si4 gui6?)
Matt: When will mom be tired?
Nicole: Moms are never tired. 媽媽唔攰 (maa4 maa1 m4 gui6).
Matt: That's right, but our listeners are. And this is a pretty long lesson. We've learned how to say weekdays.
Nicole: Yeah, like 禮拜一 (lai5 baai3 jat1) Monday.
Matt: And how to ask when.
Nicole: 幾時 (gei2 si4).
Matt: We've also learned numbers 1 to 6.
Nicole: 一二三四五六 (jat1 ji6 saam1 sei3 ng5 luk6).
Matt: And a little bit slower.
Nicole: 一二三四五六 (jat1 ji6 saam1 sei3 ng5 luk6).
Nicole: I bet our listeners want to ask 呢個 (ni1 go3) podcast 幾時完 (gei2 si4 jyun4)?
Matt: When does this podcast finish? Well it finishes after we remind them to download the very helpful PDFs.
Nicole: Yup located in the Premium learning center.
Matt: On CantoneseClass101.com. That just about does it for us today. So make sure you stop by CantonesePod101.com; and pick up the lesson notes.
Nicole: It has the conversation transcript…
Matt: ...vocabulary, sample sentences, a grammar explanation,
Nicole: ...and a cultural insight section.
Matt: Seeing the Cantonese...
Nicole: ...really helps you remember faster.
Matt: But don't take our word for it, please have a look for yourself!
Nicole: And let us know what you think!
Matt: I'm Matt.
Nicole: I'm Nicole.
Matt: We'll see you next time.
Nicole: See you.

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