Vocabulary

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Lesson Transcript

Hi, everyone! I’m Olivia! Today we’re in Thailand, and on the ocean, but we’re going to talk about 10 Phrases You Always Want to Hear. Let’s see what they are!
First one is…
1. 你今日好精神。 (nei5 gam1 jat6 hou2 zing1 san4.) "You look great today."
今日 (gam1 jat6) is “today”;
精神 (zing1 san4) is kinda like “lively”, but in general “great” or “good”. So 你今日好精神。 (nei5 gam1 jat6 hou2 zing1 san4.)
if you see someone that has the glow in their face, then you can 你今日好精神。 (nei5 gam1 jat6 hou2 zing1 san4.)
2. 我帶咗啲特別嘢俾你。 (ngo5 daai3 zo2 di1 dak6 bit6 je5 bei2 nei5.) "I brought you something special."
It’s always nice to receive gifts, and special gifts, I guess, for everyone.
我帶咗啲特別嘢俾你。 (ngo5 daai3 zo2 di1 dak6 bit6 je5 bei2 nei5.) "I brought you something special."
Maybe for anniversary, or maybe not… It’s the best if it’s not anniversary or birthday or anything, just a surprise; even not surprise, but normal gift. "I brought you something special."
It’s a very nice gesture that you can do for anyone.
3. 你講得啱! (nei5 gong2 dak1 aam1!) "You were right!"
Literally “you spoke correctly”, so 你講得啱! (nei5 gong2 dak1 aam1!) "You were right!" “Whatever you said was right.”
That’s usually what a guy has to say when he’s in an argument with the girlfriend, sadly.
4. 你贏喇! (nei5 jeng4 laa3!) "You win!"
贏 (jeng4) is “win”, so “you win”, that’s something you always want to hear.
"You won the lottery!" 你贏咗六合彩! (nei5 jeng4 zo2 luk6 hap6 coi2!)
六合彩 (luk6 hap6 coi2) is “lottery” in Hong Kong, it’s the name of the lottery in Hong Kong.
你贏咗六合彩頭獎呀! (nei5 jeng4 zo2 luk6 hap6 coi2 tau4 zoeng2 aa3!)
What are you going to buy if you won the lottery? Tell us in the comment section, please!
5. 休息下。我今日會清潔。 (jau1 sik1 haa5. ngo5 gam1 jat6 wui5 cing1 git3.) "Take a break. I'll do the cleaning today."
That’s very nice! If your roommate, or your spouse, or your family do that, that’s awesome.
Can you clean my place for me?
6. 你係一個非常出色嘅廚師。 (nei5 hai6 jat1 go3 fei1 soeng4 ceot1 sik1 ge3 cyu4 si1.) "You're an excellent cook."
Or you can just say 你煮嘅嘢好好食呀! (nei5 zyu2 ge3 je5 hou2 hou2 sik6 aa3!) "What you cooked is delicious!"
廚師 (cyu4 si1) is ”cook" (noun).
7. 今個月底會有獎金。 (gam1 go3 jyut6 dai2 wui5 jau5 zoeng2 gam1.) "There'll be a bonus at the end of the month."
今個月底 (gam1 go3 jyut6 dai2) is ”the end of this month”;
獎金 (zoeng2 gam1) is “bonus”.
Who doesn’t want a bonus, right?
8. 你做得好好呀! (nei5 zou6 dak1 hou2 hou2 aa3!) "You did a great job!"
你做得好好呀! (nei5 zou6 dak1 hou2 hou2 aa3!)
Always give compliment on whatever people do for you, it doesn’t cost anything to say a compliment; always show gratitude.
9. 我掛住你。 (ngo5 gwaa3 zyu6 nei5.) "I miss you."
我好掛住你。 (ngo5 hou2 gwaa3 zyu6 nei5.) "I miss you very much."
Literally, it’s funny, 掛 (gwaa3) is the verb “to hang”, so it’s kinda like “I hang you up”.
Maybe you hang someone in your heart, we can think of it that way, so “I miss you”.
10. 預算係無限。 (jyu6 syun3 hai6 mou4 haan6.) "The budget is unlimited."
預算 (jyu6 syun3) is “budget”, and “unlimited” is 無限 (mou4 haan6).
Spend all you want! But do it correctly, do it rightly.
So that's it for today! Today we talked about 10 Phrases You Always Want to Hear. Can you think of any phrases that people would always want to hear? Leave us a comment, subscribe, check out CantoneseClass101.com, and I’ll see you next time in other Cantonese videos. Bye! I’m Olivia.

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