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 Transcript

Hi, guys! Welcome to Cantonese Top Words. My name is Olivia and today we are going to talk about Top 10 Phrases You'll Need for a Date! So you can use these phrases to ask a girl or a boy out on a date in Cantonese! How cool is that? So let's start!
1. 賞面同我食餐飯嗎? (soeng2 min2 tung4 ngo5 sik6 caan1 faan6 maa3?) "Would you like to go out to dinner with me?"
The first phrase is 賞面同我食餐飯嗎? (soeng2 min2 tung4 ngo5 sik6 caan1 faan6 maa3?)
"Would you like to go out to dinner with me?"
賞面同我食餐飯嗎? (soeng2 min2 tung4 ngo5 sik6 caan1 faan6 maa3?)
So 賞面 (soeng2 min2) literally means "to do the honor of" or "to give me your free time", so it's a bit fancy, but if someone asked me 賞面同我食餐飯嗎? (soeng2 min2 tung4 ngo5 sik6 caan1 faan6 maa3?) I'll be like, "Woah, so fancy, okay!"
It's a little formal but it's always good to be formal when you're asking someone on a date, you don't want it to be too casual.
2. 你今個禮拜尾得唔得閒? (nei5 gam1 go3 lai5 baai1 mei5 dak1 m4 dak1 haan4?) "Are you free this weekend?"
你今個禮拜尾得唔得閒? (nei5 gam1 go3 lai5 baai1 mei5 dak1 m4 dak1 haan4?)
So 你 (nei5) "you";
今個禮拜尾 (gam1 go3 lai5 baai1 mei5) "this weekend";
得唔得閒 (dak1 m4 dak1 haan4?) "are you free or not?"
So, "are you free this weekend?"
And you can also say "weekend" as in the English in the sentence.
So you can say 你今個weekend得唔得閒? (nei5 gam1 go3 weekend dak1 m4 dak1 haan4?) "Are you free this weekend?"
So if you say "yes, I'm free," you can say 得閒 (dak1 haan4); if you're not free or you don't want to go out with that person, you can say 唔得閒 (m4 dak1 haan4).
So, 得閒 (dak1 haan4) and 唔得閒 (m4 dak1 haan4).
3. 我哋一齊去玩好嗎? (ngo5 dei6 jat1 cai4 heoi3 waan2 hou2 maa3?) "Would you like to hang out with me?"
一齊去玩 (jat1 cai4 heoi3 waan2), it literally means "to go out and play together," because in Cantonese there's no translation for "hang out" so we usually just say, like, to go out together, so 一齊去玩 (jat1 cai4 heoi3 waan2).
我哋 (ngo5 dei6) "we; us"
一齊去玩 (jat1 cai4 heoi3 waan2) "go play together"
好嗎? (hou2 maa3?) "how about that?"
So "Would you like to hang out with me?"
Or, you can say 我哋一齊去睇戲好嗎? (ngo5 dei6 jat1 cai4 tai2 hei3 hou2 maa3?) "Would you like to go watch a movie with me?"
4. 你好得意。 (nei5 hou2 dak1 ji3.) "You are very cute."
得意 (dak1 ji3) means "cute"
We usually use it for kids or little girls, or young girls, teenagers, as well.
So, "You are cute." 你好得意。 (nei5 hou2 dak1 ji3.)
Would I say it to a guy? I don't think so, I think some guys might feel offended if someone tells them they are cute.
In English, you can say "oh, that guy is cute." But in Cantonese, if you say 得意 (dak1 ji3), it usually means something that is small and cute, like a tiny cute thing. So I don't think guys want that kind of compliment. Or, it's not a compliment to them to be small and tiny.
5. 你好靚。 (nei5 hou2 leng3.) "You are pretty."
So the next phrase is 你好靚。 (nei5 hou2 leng3.) "You are pretty."
你好靚。 (nei5 hou2 leng3.)
So 靚 (leng3) is "pretty" or "beautiful."
I guess paying a compliment would be a nice thing before you ask anyone out on a date. So if it was me asking a guy, you can say 你好靚仔。 (nei5 hou2 leng3 zai2.) "You are handsome." "You're good-looking."
So 靚 (leng3) is for female, and 靚仔 (leng3 zai2) is for male
6. 今晚好開心。 (gam1 maan5 hou2 hoi1 sam1.) "That was a great evening."
今晚 (gam1 maan5) is "this evening"
And 好開心 (hou2 hoi1 sam1) is "very happy"
So literally, "this evening was happy."
So we use this after the date, right? You had a great time, and you are thinking if you're gonna see each other again, and first you say,
今晚好開心 (gam1 maan5 hou2 hoi1 sam1), like, I had a great time with you, that was a great evening."
7. 我打畀你。 (ngo5 daa2 bei2 nei5.) "I'll call you."
You can use this for anyone, it doesn't have to be someone you want to go on a date with. It can be a family or a stranger, not a stranger, you're not gonna call a stranger..
business related people, anyone, friends.
You can say 我打畀你。 (ngo5 daa2 bei2 nei5.) "I'll call you."
The longer phrase is 我打電話畀你。 (ngo5 daa2 din6 waa2 bei2 nei5.) "I'll call you on the phone."
Since it's well understood that you're gonna use the phone, so you can just say I'll call you.
我打畀你。 (ngo5 daa2 bei2 nei5.)
8. 我車你返屋企。 (ngo5 ce1 nei5 faan1 uk1 kei2.) "I will drive you home."
我車你 (ngo5 ce1 nei5), literally, "I drive you" or "I car you." So 車 (che1) is the noun for "car, "or the verb "to drive" or "to give someone a ride".
So I give you a ride home.
返屋企 (faan1 uk1 kei2)
屋企 (uk1 kei2) is "home"
And 返屋企 (faan1 uk1 kei2) is like "to return home."
So 我車你返屋企。 (ngo5 ce1 nei5 faan1 uk1 kei2.) "I will drive you home."
It's more like a driver, I can just get an Uber.
Next.
9. 我哋聽日幾點見? (ngo5 dei6 ting1 jat6 gei2 dim2 gin3?) "What time shall we meet tomorrow?"
我哋 (ngo5 dei6) "we"
聽日 (ting1 jat6) "tomorrow"
幾點 (gei2 dim2) "what time"
見 (gin3) "to meet; to see (each other)"
So if you want to confirm the meeting time with the other person, you can ask,
我哋聽日幾點見? (ngo5 dei6 ting1 jat6 gei2 dim2 gin3?) "What time are we meet tomorrow?"
10. 我可唔可以再約你? (ngo5 ho2 m4 ho2 ji3 zoi3 joek3 nei5?) "Can I see you again?"
約 (joek3) literally means "to date you," so "to ask
you out for a date." So "can I ask you out for a date again?"
So "can I see you again?"
Yeah, so if you have a good, nice evening or a very enjoyable date and you want to see that person again, you can ask 我可唔可以再約你? (ngo5 ho2 m4 ho2 ji3 zoi3 joek3 nei5?) "Can I see you again?"
"Can I see you again?" "Can we go out again?" "Can we have a date again?" "Can we have a second date?"
So that's it for today. Today we talked about top 10 phrases you need for a date. I hope you successfully ask
someone out on a date in Cantonese, it could be a Hong Kong girl or Hong Kong guy, and I'll see you next time on
Cantonese Top Words. My name is Olivia and I'll see you next time. 下次見 (haa6 ci3 gin3). Bye-bye!

Comments

Hide