Dialogue

Vocabulary

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Lesson Transcript

INTRODUCTION
Matt: Hi my name is Matt, and I’m joined here by...
Nicole: Hello everyone, I’m Nicole.
Matt: Welcome back to Basic Boot Camp. This five-part series will help you ease your way into Cantonese.
Nicole: We'll go over all the basics that will really help you understand Cantonese quicker and easier!
Matt: In this lesson, you will learn some helpful phrases.
Nicole: And these phrases are often used in the classroom.
DIALOGUE
...廣東話點講?
(...gwong2 dung1 waa2 dim2 gong2?)
“How do you say ... in Cantonese?”
唔該慢啲。
(m4 goi1 maan6 di1. )
“Please slow down a bit.”
唔該幫我寫低。
(m4 goi1 bong1 ngo5 se2 dai1.)
“Please write it down for me.”
POST CONVERSATION BANTER
Matt: Now you will never be at a loss for words again.
Nicole: Yes.
Matt: So what exactly were all these words? Let’s break them down.
Matt: Let's take a look at the vocabulary for this lesson.
VOCAB LIST
Nicole: 廣東話 (gwong2 dung1 waa2) [natural native speed]
Matt: Cantonese language
Nicole: 廣東話 (gwong2 dung1 waa2) [slowly - broken down by syllable]
Nicole: 廣東話 (gwong2 dung1 waa2) [natural native speed]
Nicole: 點講 (dim2 gong2) [natural native speed]
Matt: how to say
Nicole: 點講 (dim2 gong2) [slowly - broken down by syllable]
Nicole: 點講 (dim2 gong2) [natural native speed]
Nicole: 唔該 (m4 goi1) [natural native speed]
Matt: excuse me; please; thank you
Nicole: 唔該 (m4 goi1) [slowly - broken down by syllable]
Nicole: 唔該 (m4 goi1) [natural native speed]
Nicole: 慢 (maan6) [natural native speed]
Matt: slow
Nicole: 慢 (maan6) [slowly - broken down by syllable]
Nicole: 慢 (maan6) [natural native speed]
Nicole: 啲 (di1) [natural native speed]
Matt: -er
Nicole: 啲 (di1) [slowly - broken down by syllable]
Nicole: 啲 (di1) [natural native speed]
Nicole: 幫 (bong1) [natural native speed]
Matt: to help
Nicole: 幫 (bong1) [slowly - broken down by syllable]
Nicole: 幫 (bong1) [natural native speed]
Nicole: 寫低 (se2 dai1) [natural native speed]
Matt: to write down
Nicole: 寫低 (se2 dai1) [slowly - broken down by syllable]
Nicole: 寫低 (se2 dai1) [natural native speed]
VOCAB AND PHRASE USAGE
Matt: So here we are teaching three very useful phrases in our lesson.
Nicole: Yes, you're going to use them and love them.
Matt: The first one is…
Nicole: ...廣東話點講?(...gwong2 dung1 waa2 dim2 gong2?)
Matt: “In Cantonese, how do you say…?”
Nicole: 廣東話 (gwong2 dung1 waa2)
Matt: “Cantonese”.
Nicole: 點 (dim2)
Matt: “How”.
Nicole: 講 (gong2)
Matt: “Say” or “speak”. Now of course, you could just point and gesticulate…however, using Cantonese to ask this question is going to get your mind in gear.
Nicole: Right. And you can still use the pointing method; however, using the Cantonese is going to make learning new words much less painful.
Matt: Yes, because your teacher might get what all your pointing is about, but people in the real world might get a little alarmed. So try it. First the point, and then…
Nicole: ...廣東話點講?(...gwong2 dung1 waa2 dim2 gong2?)
Matt: Okay, so now you’ve pointed, they've answered you, and you get your word…but…what the heck did they just say?
Nicole: That's the thing. Sometimes you need to hear it slowly to catch it.
Matt: Yeah. But that is not a problem!
Nicole: Because you have 唔該慢啲 (m4 goi1 maan6 di1).
Matt: "Please slow down."
Nicole: 唔該慢啲 (m4 goi1 maan6 di1).
Matt: So 唔該 means, "please"…Let's break down that phrase.
Nicole: 唔該 (m4 goi1) “please”, it could also means “excuse me”, or “thank you”.
Matt: But in this case, “please”.
Nicole: 慢 (maan6).
Matt: “Slow”.
Nicole: 啲 (di1).
Matt: It’s the suffix “-er”.
Nicole: 唔該慢啲 (m4 goi1 maan6 di1).
Matt: Yes, it's very helpful for those time when you still can't quite get it, you can ask someone to say it again, but more slowly.
Nicole: 唔該慢啲 (m4 goi1 maan6 di1).
Matt: Now, I don’t know about you, but my memory is like a sieve. So once I've gone to all this trouble to find out what this object is, I definitely want a way to remember it.
Nicole: Okay, then you can ask 唔該幫我寫低 (m4 goi1 bong1 ngo5 se2 dai1).
Matt: "Please write it down for me"…starting with the delightful 唔該 (m4 goi1) of course!
Nicole: Right, the magic words!
Matt: Yes, and know this phrase really helps. It's going to help you with your character learning and also retaining what you just learned.
Nicole: 唔該幫我寫低 (m4 goi1 bong1 ngo5 se2 dai1).
Matt: "Please help me write it down".
Nicole: 唔該 (m4 goi1).
Matt: "Please".
Nicole:幫我 (bong1 ngo5).
Matt: "Help me".
Nicole:寫低 (se2 dai1).
Matt: "Write down".
Nicole: 唔該幫我寫低 (m4 goi1 bong1 ngo5 se2 dai1). And you can ask someone to show you how to write the character, or to help you with the Jyutping.
Matt: I used to carry a notebook. Once I had the word and its English equivalent, I would just open the book any time I had free time, on the bus, or whatever, and study the words.
Nicole: Yes, a very good tactic.
Matt: Once the word is somewhere in your brain, you just need give yourself the chance to encounter it a few times in different circumstances. That will help you remember it.
Nicole: Yes, like for example, the word for "slow" 慢 (maan6).
Matt: Yes, here you learned it in the context of writing. But you could be on a scary Cantonese bus studying and have an opportunity to use it again.
Nicole: Like yelling at the driver 慢啲 (maan6 di1)!!!
Matt: “Slower!!!” Anyways, this writing down method is great because once you introduce yourself to the word, and write it down, you are giving yourself a chance to hear it again, and use it again.
Nicole: That’s right!

Outro

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