Learn how to congratulate someone
Now Playing: Lesson Audio
Get a breakdown of the dialogue and translations instantly with the Premium line-by-line Audio. Sign up for your Free Lifetime Account Now and get 7 Days of Premium Access including this feature.
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.
Unlock Lesson Notes and Transcripts for every single lesson. Sign Up for a Free Lifetime Account and Get 7 Days of Premium Access.
| INTRODUCTION |
| David: Welcome to CantoneseClass101.com. I’m David. |
| Gimmy: 大家好, 我係 Gimmy。(daai6 gaa1 hou2, ngo5 hai6 Gimmy.) |
| David: And we’re here today with Beginner Season 1, Lesson 21. |
| Gimmy: Going to a Hong Kong Wedding. |
| David: Right. Our dialogue takes place between two friends, one of whom is getting married. |
| Gimmy: And so everyone is happy and congratulating him. |
| David: Right. And our dialogue, of course, features standard Cantonese the way it’s spoken in Hong Kong. Let’s listen. |
Lesson conversation |
|---|
| A: 你就嚟結婚，恭喜晒喎。(nei5 zau6 lai4 git3 fan1, gung1 hei2 saai3 wo3.) |
| B: 多謝晒。(do1 ze6 saai3.) |
| A: 祝你哋白頭到老。(zuk1 nei5 dei6 baak6 tau4 dou3 lou5.) |
| B: 你咁老土㗎。(nei5 gam2 lou5 tou2 gaa3.) |
| David: One more time, a bit slower. |
| A: 你就嚟結婚，恭喜晒喎。(nei5 zau6 lai4 git3 fan1, gung1 hei2 saai3 wo3.) |
| B: 多謝晒。(do1 ze6 saai3.) |
| A: 祝你哋白頭到老。(zuk1 nei5 dei6 baak6 tau4 dou3 lou5.) |
| B: 你咁老土㗎。(nei5 gam2 lou5 tou2 gaa3.) |
| David: And now, with the English translation. |
| A: 你就嚟結婚，恭喜晒喎。(nei5 zau6 lai4 git3 fan1, gung1 hei2 saai3 wo3.) |
| A: You are getting married soon, congratulations! |
| B: 多謝晒。(do1 ze6 saai3.) |
| B: Thank you. |
| A: 祝你哋白頭到老。(zuk1 nei5 dei6 baak6 tau4 dou3 lou5.) |
| A: Here's wishing you two grow old together. |
| B: 你咁老土㗎。(nei5 gam2 lou5 tou2 gaa3.) |
| B: You are so old-fashioned. |
| POST CONVERSATION BANTER |
| Gimmy: It seems like the person getting married is not very appreciating. |
| David: It seems like they’re not very happy about it either. |
| Gimmy: I know. He’s not too excited about. |
| David: Yeah. Anyway, our vocab list today is filled with words you can use to wish others well. |
| Gimmy: And get your way through a wedding. |
| David: Let’s listen. |
| VOCAB LIST |
| Gimmy: 結婚 (git3 fan1) [natural native speed]. |
| David: To get married. |
| Gimmy: 結婚 (git3 fan1) [slowly - broken down by syllable]. 結婚 (git3 fan1) [natural native speed]. |
| Gimmy: 就嚟 (zau6 lai4) [natural native speed]. |
| David: Soon. |
| Gimmy: 就嚟 (zau6 lai4) [slowly - broken down by syllable]. 就嚟 (zau6 lai4) [natural native speed]. |
| Gimmy: 恭喜 (gung1 hei2) [natural native speed]. |
| David: Congratulations. |
| Gimmy: 恭喜 (gung1 hei2) [slowly - broken down by syllable]. 恭喜 (gung1 hei2) [natural native speed]. |
| Gimmy: 祝 (zuk1) [natural native speed]. |
| David: To wish. |
| Gimmy: 祝 (zuk1) [slowly - broken down by syllable]. 祝 (zuk1) [natural native speed]. |
| Gimmy: 生日快樂 (saang1 jat6 faai3 lok6) [natural native speed]. |
| David: Happy birthday. |
| Gimmy: 生日快樂 (saang1 jat6 faai3 lok6) [slowly - broken down by syllable]. 生日快樂 (saang1 jat6 faai3 lok6) [natural native speed]. |
| Gimmy: 老土 (lou5 tou2) [natural native speed]. |
| David: Old-fashioned. |
| Gimmy: 老土 (lou5 tou2) [slowly - broken down by syllable]. 老土 (lou5 tou2) [natural native speed]. |
| Gimmy: 咁 (gam3) [natural native speed]. |
| David: So. |
| Gimmy: 咁 (gam3) [slowly - broken down by syllable]. 咁 (gam3) [natural native speed]. |
| KEY VOCABULARY AND PHRASES |
| David: Let’s take a closer look at some of these words and phrases. The first word is obviously the verb “to get married.” |
| Gimmy: 結婚. (git3 fan1.) |
| David: “To get married.” |
| Gimmy: 結婚. (git3 fan1.) |
| David: We often hear this together with the words “congratulations”. |
| Gimmy: 恭喜. (gung1 hei2.) |
| David: “Congratulations”. |
| Gimmy: 恭喜. (gung1 hei2.) |
| David: So if you hear a friend is getting married, it’s very common to say, “You’re getting married. Congratulations!” |
| Gimmy: 你就嚟結婚，恭喜你。(nei5 zau6 lai2 git3 fan1, gung1 hei2 nei5.) |
| David: “You’re getting married soon, congratulations.” |
| Gimmy: 你就嚟結婚，恭喜你。(nei5 zau6 lai2 git3 fan1, gung1 hei2 nei5.) |
| David: And that’s quite close to the sentence in our dialogue. |
| Gimmy: Right, 你就嚟結婚，恭喜晒喎。(nei5 zau6 lai2 git3 fan1, gung1 hei2 saai3 wo3.) |
| David: Right. What does that 晒喎 (saai3 wo3) mean? |
| Gimmy: That’s just adding more emotion. |
| David: Right. So congratulations! |
| Gimmy: Exactly! 恭喜晒喎! (gung1 hei2 saai3 wo3 ! ) |
| David: Congratulations! |
| Gimmy: 恭喜晒喎! (gung1 hei2 saai3 wo3 !) |
| David: I’m really excited, so I’m saying… |
| Gimmy: 恭喜晒喎. (gung1 hei2 saai3 wo3.) And that’s the same as the second line, 多謝晒. (do1 ze6 saai3.) |
| David: Right, “thank you.” |
| Gimmy: “Thank you so much.” 多謝晒. (do1 ze6 saai3.) |
| David: Right. So this vocab is generally useful. We also see something very specific a bit later on. |
| Gimmy: Yes. 祝你哋白頭到老. (zuk1 nei5 dei6 baak6 tau4 dou3 lou5.) |
| David: And this is tough to translate into English. The line translates as “wishing you grow old together.” |
| Gimmy: 祝你哋白頭到老. (zuk1 nei5 dei6 baak6 tau4 dou3 lou5.) |
| David: And it literally means “white head until old.” |
| Gimmy: Yeah. |
| David: So this word and phrase we generally only use with weddings. |
| Gimmy: Of course. |
| David: Right? If someone’s not getting married, they’re not growing old together. |
| Gimmy: Of course. |
| David: However, that first word, we will run into very often. |
| Gimmy: 祝. (zuk1.) |
| David: “To wish.” |
| Gimmy: 祝. (zuk1.) |
| David: As in “wishing you happy birthday.” |
| Gimmy: 祝你生日快樂. (zuk1 nei5 saang1 jat6 faai3 lok6.) |
| David: “Wishing you Merry Christmas.” |
| Gimmy: 祝你聖誕快樂. (zuk1 nei5 sing3 daan3 faai3 lok6.) |
| David: Right. In our grammar section, we’re going to take a closer look at this word and other ways of wishing people well. |
Lesson focus |
| David: Gimmy, what’s our grammar focus today? |
| Gimmy: We’re learning how to congratulate people. |
| David: Right. In our dialogue, we heard this in the following line. |
| Gimmy: 祝你哋白頭到老. (zuk1 nei5 dei6 baak6 tau4 dou3 lou5.) |
| David: “Wishing you grow old together.” |
| Gimmy: 祝你哋白頭到老. (zuk1 nei5 dei6 baak6 tau4 dou3 lou5.) |
| David: The most important of that sentence is the first two characters. |
| Gimmy: 祝你. (zuk1 nei5.) |
| David: “Wishing you.” |
| Gimmy: 祝你. (zuk1 nei5.) |
| David: The subject of this sentence is “I” and it’s assumed. “I wish you…” |
| Gimmy: 我祝你. (ngo5 zuk1 nei5.) |
| David: But because this is colloquial Cantonese, we don’t need to say that. We can just say “wishing you.” |
| Gimmy: Yes, 祝你. (zuk1 nei5.) |
| David: “Wishing you happiness.” |
| Gimmy: 祝你快樂. (zuk1 nei5 faai3 lok6.) |
| David: “Wishing you happiness.” |
| Gimmy: 祝你快樂. (zuk1 nei5 faai3 lok6.) |
| David: “Wishing you happy birthday.” |
| Gimmy: 祝你生日快樂. (zuk1 nei5 saang1 jat6 faai3 lok6.) |
| David: “Wishing you a happy birthday.” |
| Gimmy: 祝你生日快樂. (zuk1 nei5 saang1 jat6 faai3 lok6.) |
| David: And of course, we can also use this holidays. |
| Gimmy: Yes. |
| David: You can say, “Merry Christmas.” |
| Gimmy: 祝你聖誕快樂. (zuk1 nei5 sing3 daan3 faai3 lok6.) |
| David: “Wishing you Happy New Year!” |
| Gimmy: 祝你新年快樂. (zuk1 nei5 san1 nin4 faai3 lok6.) |
| David: Or maybe, “Wishing you Happy Chinese New Year!” |
| Gimmy: 祝你農曆新年快樂. (zuk1 nei5 nung4 lik6 san1 nin4 faai3 lok6.) |
| David: So this is a really easy sentence structure. Just put… |
| Gimmy: 祝你. (zuk1 nei5.) |
| David: …at the start of your sentence and follow it by what you’re wishing people. |
| Gimmy: Right. |
| David: “Happy birthday.” |
| Gimmy: 祝你生日快樂 (zuk1 nei5 saang1 jat6 faai3 lok6) |
| David: “Merry Christmas.” |
| Gimmy: 祝你聖誕快樂. (zuk1 nei5 sing3 daan3 faai3 lok6.) |
| David: “Wishing you a happy marriage.” |
| Gimmy: 祝你白頭到老. (zuk1 nei5 baak6 tau4 dou3 lou5.) |
Outro |
| David: That being said though, we’re out of time for today. |
| Gimmy: 多謝收聽. (do1 ze6 sau1 teng1.) |
| David: I’m David. |
| Gimmy: 我係 (ngo5 hai6) Gimmy. |
| David: Thanks a lot for listening and we’ll see you on the site. |
| Gimmy: 下次見. (haa6 ci3 gin3.) |
Comments
Hide