Dialogue

Vocabulary

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Lesson Transcript

Intro

Nicole: 大家好 (daai6 gaa3? hou2)! I'm Nicole. Welcome back to CantoneseClass101.com.
Matt: Matt here! And welcome again to our Absolute Beginner Season 1. This is Lesson 5.
Nicole: So brush up the Cantonese that you started learning long ago or you can start learning today.
Matt: And thanks again for being here with us for this lesson. In this lesson you will learn how to ask for things such as washrooms, the Internet, or even WIFI.
Nicole: Yeah. Our dialogue takes place in a café.
Matt: It's a conversation between a customer and a waitress.
Nicole: And our speakers are speaking casual Cantonese.
Matt: All right, Nicole, let's take a look at today's dialogue.

Lesson conversation

呢度有冇wifi呀?(ni1 dou6 jau5 mou5 WIFI aa3?)
有。(jau5.)
點上?(dim2 soeng5?)
我嚟幫你。(ngo5 lei4 bong1 nei5.)
English Host: One more time, a bit slower.
呢度有冇wifi呀?(ni1 dou6 jau5 mou5 WIFI aa3?)
有。(jau5.)
點上?(dim2 soeng5?)
我嚟幫你。(ngo5 lei4 bong1 nei5.)
English Host: And now with the English translation.
呢度有冇wifi呀?(ni1 dou6 jau5 mou5 WIFI aa3?)
Matt: Is there a Wi-Fi in here?
有。(jau5.)
Matt: Yes.
點上?(dim2 soeng5?)
Matt: How can I get on?
我嚟幫你。(ngo5 lei4 bong1 nei5.)
Matt: I'll help you.
POST CONVERSATION BANTER
Nicole: Did this conversation ever happen to you?
Matt: Yes... it's really hard to get online in Hong Kong.
Nicole: No, that's not true.
Matt: Well Hong Kong definitely has a great WIFI network, but you have to have a SIM card to access it. And I didn't at that time.
Nicole: Really. Anyway why didn't you find an Internet cafe?
Matt: I couldn't find one at that time! I looked for about an hour.
Nicole: Maybe you looked in the wrong place. There aren't any in Hong Kong Island, but there are lots up in Kowloon.
Matt: I know that now, but at that time, I didn't. Anyway, our vocabulary today is all about the top four things that you need to know how to ask for.
Nicole: Okay, let's go.
VOCAB LIST
Matt: All right. So let's take a look at the vocabulary for this lesson. The first word is:
Nicole: 呢度 (ni1 dou6) [natural native speed]
Matt: Here.
Nicole: 呢度(ni1 dou6) [slowly - broken down by syllable]. 呢度(ni1 dou6) [natural native speed]. 有冇(jau5 mou5) [natural native speed]
Matt: Do you have...?
Nicole: 有冇(jau5 mou5) [slowly - broken down by syllable]. 有冇(jau5 mou5) [natural native speed]
Matt: Next, we have.
Nicole: 點 (dim2) [natural native speed]
Matt: How to.
Nicole: 點 (dim2) [slowly - broken down by syllable]. 點(dim2) [natural native speed]
Matt: Followed by.
Nicole: 上(soeng5) [natural native speed]
Matt: To get on.
Nicole: 上(soeng5) [slowly - broken down by syllable]. 上(soeng5) [natural native speed]. 嚟 (lei4) [natural native speed]
Matt: Come.
Nicole: 嚟 (lei4) [slowly - broken down by syllable]. 嚟 (lei4) [natural native speed]. 幫(bong1) [natural native speed]
Matt: To help.
Nicole: 幫(bong1) [slowly - broken down by syllable]. 幫 (bong1) [natural native speed]
Matt: Next, we have.
Nicole: 廁所 (ci3 so2) [natural native speed]
Matt: Toilet.
Nicole: 廁所(ci3 so2) [slowly - broken down by syllable]. 廁所 (ci3 so2) [natural native speed]. 餐廳 (caan1 teng1) [natural native speed]
Matt: Restaurant.
Nicole: 餐廳 (caan1 teng1) [slowly - broken down by syllable]. 餐廳 (caan1 teng1) [natural native speed]
Matt: Next, we have.
Nicole: 房 (fong2) [natural native speed]
Matt: Room.
Nicole: 房 (fong2) [slowly - broken down by syllable]. 房 (fong2) [natural native speed]
Matt: And the final and possibly most important word.
Nicole: 網 (mong5)
Matt: Internet.
Nicole: 網 (mong5)
KEY VOCABULARY AND PHRASES
Matt: Okay. Let's have a closer look at the usage for some of the words and phrases from this lesson.
Nicole: The first phrase is 呢度 (ni1 dou6)
Matt: Which means 'Here.'
Nicole: 呢度 (ni1 dou6)
Matt: How about there, how do we say there?
Nicole: 嗰度 (go2 dou6)
Matt: There.
Nicole: 嗰度 (go2 dou6)
Matt: Here, there.
Nicole: 呢度,嗰度 (ni1 dou6, go2 dou6)
Matt: Like in our dialogue.
Nicole: 呢度有冇wifi呀?(ni1 dou6 jau5 mou5 WIFI aa3?)
Matt: Is there WIFI here?
Nicole: 呢度有冇wifi呀?(ni1 dou6 jau5 mou5 WIFI aa3?)
Matt: Is there WIFI here?
Nicole: We could also say 嗰度有冇wifi呀? (go2 dou6 jau5 mou5 WIFI aa3?)
Matt: Is there WIFI there?
Nicole: Right. 嗰度有冇wifi呀? (go2 dou6 jau5 mou5 WIFI aa3?)
Matt: Now, our vocabulary for today's lesson is neither here nor there. Today we want to teach you the top four things that you're going to have to ask for when you're in Hong Kong.
Nicole: Yup
Matt: So, let's get started. What's number four, Nicole?
Nicole: I love the Internet. 網 (mong5)
Matt: That means Internet.
Nicole: 網 (mong5)
Matt: Internet.
Nicole: 呢度有冇網呀? (ni1 dou6 jau5 mou5 mong5 aa3?)
Matt: Do you have Internet here, a very useful sentence.
Nicole: 呢度有冇網呀? (ni1 dou6 jau5 mou5 mong5 aa3?) And, of course, our number three is... 房 (fong2).
Matt: That's “a room,” as in a room in a hotel.
Nicole: 房(fong2). 呢度有冇房呀 (ni1 dou6 jau5 mou5 fong2 aa3?) And they'll probably say 冇 (mou5).
Matt: Which means “no.”
Nicole: Yeah, 冇 (mou5). So book early. Hong Kong fills up quickly.
Matt: That's right. So those are important. Internet.
Nicole: 網 (mong5).
Matt: And a room.
Nicole: 房 (fong2).
Matt: What's our number two of the top four things that we need to ask for when in Hong Kong?
Nicole: 餐廳 (caan1 teng1).
Matt: Restaurant, you got to eat.
Nicole: 餐廳 (caan1 teng1).
Matt: Restaurant and no trip to Hong Kong would be complete without eating a good Hong Kong meal of Dim-Sum.
Nicole: I know. Cantonese cuisines are awesome. And speaking of 餐廳 (caan1 teng1)., these two characters, both of them are first tone, high and flat. 餐廳 (caan1 teng1).
Matt: How would we say is there a restaurant here?
Nicole: 呢度有冇餐廳呀? (ni1 dou6 jau5 mou5 caan1 teng1 aa3?)
Matt: Is there a restaurant here?
Nicole: 呢度有冇餐廳呀? (ni1 dou6 jau5 mou5 caan1 teng1 aa3?) Now, we're ready for number one.
Matt: This is the most important thing you need to know how to ask for when you're in Hong Kong.
Nicole: That's right, the library.
Matt: Arrrgh! No, it's not. Come on, Nicole.
Nicole: Okay 廁所 (ci3 so2).
Matt: Toilet!
Nicole: 廁所 (ci3 so2).
Matt Toilet.
Nicole: 呢度有冇廁所呀? (ni1 dou6 jau5 mou5 ci3 so2 aa3?)
Matt: Is there a toilet here?
Nicole: 呢度有冇廁所呀? (ni1 dou6 jau5 mou5 ci3 so2 aa3?)
Matt: Is there a toilet here? I use this one quite a bit.
Nicole: I can tell.
Matt: There's actually another way of saying toilet or washroom.
Nicole: Sure. 洗手間 (sai2 sau2 gaan1).
Matt: Bathroom or toilet.
Nicole: It literally means the place for you to wash your hands 洗手間 (sai2 sau2 gaan1).
Matt: Bathroom or toilet.
Nicole: So you can also say 呢度有冇洗手間呀? (ni1 dou6 jau5 mou5 sai2 sau2 gaan1 aa3?)
Matt: It there a bathroom here? So these are the top four things you're going to need to know if you're going to visit or live in Hong Kong.
Nicole: Right. A quick review, 網 (mong5).
Matt: Internet.
Nicole: 房 (fong2).
Matt: Room, like a hotel room.
Nicole: 餐廳 (caan1 teng1).
Matt: Restaurant
Nicole: And 廁所 (ci3 so2).
Matt: Which means washroom.
Nicole: 廁紙? (ci3 zi2)
Matt: That's a bonus, very important as well, toilet paper.
Nicole: Yup.

Lesson focus

Matt: Now, let's get to the grammar section, where we'll learn to use our new vocabulary to make sentences.
Nicole: Okay.
Matt: Today we're going to learn how to ask for things.
Nicole: We do this with the verb 有 (jau5)
Matt: To have.
Nicole: 有 (jau5). As in 我有問題 (ngo5 jau5 man6 tai4).
Matt: I have a problem.
Nicole: Or 你有問題 (nei5 jau5 man6 tai4).
Matt: You have a problem. So we just put the object after the verb.
Nicole: Right. 有問題 (jau5 man6 tai4).
Matt: To have a problem.
Nicole: 有啤酒 (jau5 be1 zau2).
Matt: To have beer.
Nicole: 有房 (jau5 fong2).
Matt: To have a room. Now, what if we don't have something, Nicole?
Nicole: Do you remember the word 唔 (m4)?
Matt: No, as in that means no.
Nicole: I was wondering. 唔 (m4) means "no". We put it before most verbs to make them negative. It's a negation.
Matt: Now, we taught this before in previous lessons.
Nicole: Yup, like 唔食 (m4 sik6).
Matt: Not to eat.
Nicole: 唔做 (m4 zou6).
Matt: Not to do.
Nicole: Or 唔學 (m4 hok6).
Matt: Not to study. which we hope none of our listeners are not studying.
Nicole: But in this case, we use a special verb, 冇 (mou5).
Matt: And this means "not to have."
Nicole: Right. 冇 (mou5) means 唔(m4) + 有(jau5), so it's the negative form of 有 (jau5).
Matt: Okay. Let's practice that, I don't have a problem.
Nicole: 我冇問題 (ngo5 mou5 man6 tai4)
Matt: We've learned this phrase in the last lesson.
Nicole: 冇問題 (mou5 man6 tai4)
Matt: No problem.
Nicole: 冇問題 (mou5 man6 tai4)
Matt: No problem. Now, what about there is no Internet?
Nicole: 冇網 (mou5 mong5)
Matt: What about there are no rooms?
Nicole: 冇房 (mou5 fong2)
Matt: And most disappointingly, there is no beer.
Nicole: 冇啤酒 (mou5 be1 zau2)
Matt: So this is really simple and a little bit sad for that last one.
Nicole: True, but making questions is quite easy.
Matt: That's right. In lesson three we taught you how to make questions by putting positive and negative verbs together in a sentence.
Nicole: Like, 係唔係 (hai6 m4 hai6).
Matt: 'To be or not to be.'
Nicole: Right. 係唔係 (hai6 m4 hai6)
Matt: And we can do the same thing here.
Nicole: 有冇 (jau5 mou5)
Matt: Do you have ... or Is there any...
Nicole: For instance 有冇廁所呀? (jau5 mou5 ci3 so2 aa3?)
Matt: Is there any toilet?
Nicole: 有冇啤酒呀 (jau5 mou5 be1 zau2 aa3?)
Matt: Do you have any beer?
Nicole: 有冇餐廳呀? (jau5 mou5 caan1 teng1 aa3?)
Matt: Is there any restaurant?
Nicole: So whenever you want to ask for anything simply put the noun after 有冇 (jau5 mou5) and you can form a question.
Matt: That's really simple and useful, Nicole.

Outro

Nicole: That's our lesson for today.
Matt: All right. Thanks for joining us. But before we go, we want to tell you about a way to improve your pronunciation drastically.
Nicole: I know, the voice recording tool.
Matt: That's right. The voice recording tool in the premium learning center…
Nicole: Can record your voice with a click of a button…
Matt: …and then play it back just as easily.
Nicole: So you record your voice and then listen to it.
Matt: Compare it to the native speakers.
Nicole: And adjust your pronunciation.
Matt: This will help you to improve your pronunciation fast.
Nicole: Thank you for tuning in, I am Nicole.
Matt: And I'm Matt. We'll see you next time.
Nicole: See you.

Grammar

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