Dialogue

Vocabulary (Review)

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Lesson Transcript

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 with Beginner Season 1, Lesson 3.
Gimmy: The Hong Kong Music Scene.
David: Right. So if you play the guitar or the piano or any other instrument, you're going to like this lesson.
Gimmy: Yes.
David: And our dialogue today takes place between two people, one of whom has musical talent.
Gimmy: Yes.
David: The other probably doesn't.
Gimmy: He just doesn't…
David: We can guess. Anyway, let's go to the dialogue.
Gimmy: Okay.

Lesson conversation

咦?你識彈吉他㗎?(ji2? nei5 sik1 taan4 git3 taa1 gaa4?)
少少啦。(siu2 siu2 laa1).
你學咗幾耐呀? (nei5 hok6 zo2 gei2 noi6 aa3?)
三個月度。(saam1 go3 jyut6 dou2).
彈得幾好喎。(taan4 dak1 gei2 hou2 wo3).
多謝。(do1 ze6).
David: One more time, a bit slower.
咦?你識彈吉他㗎?(ji2? nei5 sik1 taan4 git3 taa1 gaa4?)
少少啦。(siu2 siu2 laa1).
你學咗幾耐呀? (nei5 hok6 zo2 gei2 noi6 aa3?)
三個月度。(saam1 go3 jyut6 dou2).
彈得幾好喎。(taan4 dak1 gei2 hou2 wo3).
多謝。(do1 ze6).
David: And now, with the English translation.
咦?你識彈吉他㗎?(ji2? nei5 sik1 taan4 git3 taa1 gaa4?)
A: Huh? You know how to play guitar?
少少啦。(siu2 siu2 laa1).
B: A bit.
你學咗幾耐呀? (nei5 hok6 zo2 gei2 noi6 aa3?)
A: How long have you been learning?
三個月度。(saam1 go3 jyut6 dou2).
B: About three months.
彈得幾好喎。(taan4 dak1 gei2 hou2 wo3).
A: You play pretty well.
多謝。(do1 ze6).
B: Thanks.
POST CONVERSATION BANTER
David: So you think you know someone and then they start playing the guitar.
Gimmy: Do you know how to play guitar?
David: I know a bit. I prefer the piano.
Gimmy: I see.
David: But the guitar has always been... It's a cool instrument, isn't it?
Gimmy: Oh, especially when guys play for the girls.
David: Anyway, our vocab today is, it's about learning, it's about playing things. But more importantly, it's about time.
VOCAB LIST
Gimmy: 彈 (taan4) [natural native speed]
David: To play.
Gimmy: 彈 (taan4) [slowly - broken down by syllable]
Gimmy: 彈 (taan4) [natural native speed]
Gimmy: 吉他 (git3 taa1) [natural native speed]
David: Guitar.
Gimmy: 吉他 (git3 taa1) [slowly - broken down by syllable]
Gimmy: 吉他 (git3 taa1) [natural native speed]
Gimmy: 少少 (siu2 siu2) [natural native speed]
David: A little.
Gimmy: 少少 (siu2 siu2) [slowly - broken down by syllable]
Gimmy: 少少 (siu2 siu2) [natural native speed]
Gimmy: 幾 (gei1) [natural native speed]
David: How many.
Gimmy: 幾 (gei1) [slowly - broken down by syllable]
Gimmy: 幾 (gei1) [natural native speed]
Gimmy: 學 (hok6) [natural native speed]
David: To learn.
Gimmy: 學 (hok6) [slowly - broken down by syllable]
Gimmy: 學 (hok6) [natural native speed]
Gimmy: 耐 (noi6) [natural native speed]
David: A long time.
Gimmy: 耐 (noi6) [slowly - broken down by syllable]
Gimmy: 耐 (noi6) [natural native speed]
Gimmy: 多謝 (do1 ze6) [natural native speed]
David: Thanks
Gimmy: 多謝 (do1 ze6) [slowly - broken down by syllable]
Gimmy: 多謝 (do1 ze6) [natural native speed]
Gimmy: 度 (dou2) [natural native speed]
David: About.
Gimmy: 度 (dou2) [slowly - broken down by syllable]
Gimmy: 度 (dou2) [natural native speed]
KEY VOCABULARY AND PHRASES
David: Let's take a look at the some of these words in more detail, or actually, let's take a look at one of these words in a lot more detail.
Gimmy: Yes. It's very useful.
David: Gimmy, which word is this?
Gimmy: It's 少少 (siu2 siu2).
David: Let's hear that again, slow down.
Gimmy: 少少 (siu2 siu2).
David: And we used it in the dialogue almost by itself in answer to this question.
Gimmy: 你識彈吉他㗎? (nei5 sik1 taan4 git3 taa1 gaa4?)
David: You know how to play guitar.
Gimmy: 少少啦 (siu2 siu2 laa1).
David: And the answer is, "A little." So first thing, what's that sound at the end? What does it do?
Gimmy: It just adds a bit of emotion.
David: Right. So the heart of this are these two characters.
Gimmy: 少少 (siu2 siu2).
David: And they mean "a little" or "a bit."
Gimmy: 少少 (siu2 siu2).
David: So you can use this in isolation to answer questions.
Gimmy: Right, David. In Hong Kong, people may ask 你識唔識中文? (nei5 sik1 m4 sik1 zung1 man4?)
David: Do you know Cantonese?
Gimmy: 你識唔識中文?(nei5 sik1 m4 sik1 zung1 man4?)
David: Right. Do you know Cantonese? To which you can now answer.
Gimmy: 少少啦 (siu2 siu2 laa1).
David: Right. Someone might ask you, "Do you know how to play the piano?"
Gimmy: 你識唔識彈鋼琴? (nei5 sik1 m4 sik1 taan4 gong3 kam4 ?)
David: Or "Can you use a computer?"
Gimmy: 你識唔識用電腦?(nei5 sik1 m4 sik1 jung6 din6 nou5?)
David: And hopefully the answer to that is "Yes" if you're listening. But, you know, you can always be polite and say…
Gimmy: 少少啦 (siu2 siu2 laa1).
David: And this is the trick, it doesn't necessarily mean you only know a little. It means you’re being polite.
Gimmy: Right.
David: So this is the polite way to say, "Yeah, I understand."
Gimmy: 少少啦 (siu2 siu2 laa1).
David: Gimmy, what's the opposite? What if we know a lot?
Gimmy: We can say 好多 (hou2 do1).
David: Very much.
Gimmy: 好多 (hou2 do1).
David: So if someone asks you…
Gimmy: 你識唔識英文?(nei5 sik1 m4 sik1 jing1 man4?)
David: "Do you know English?" You can answer…
Gimmy: 好多 (hou2 do1).
David: A lot. Or, "Do you know how to play the guitar?"
Gimmy: 你識唔識彈吉他?(nei5 sik1 m4 sik1 taan4 git3 taa1?)
David: And maybe you're an expert and you can say…
Gimmy: 好多 (hou2 do1).
David: I know a lot.
Gimmy: 我識好多 (ngo5 sik1 hou2 do1).
David: I know very much. So we've got two key phrases. The first…
Gimmy: 少少 (siu2 siu2).
David: Means "a little" and it's the polite way to answer. The second…
Gimmy: 好多 (hou2 do1).
David: It's not polite. But it's not really rude. You're just saying "I know a lot."
Gimmy: You're just being honest.
David: Right. And with that done, let's get to our grammar section.

Lesson focus

David: Gimmy, what's our grammar focus today?
Gimmy: David, we're going to learn how to say time.
David: Yeah, we're going to learn to talk about time, specifically lengths of time.
Gimmy: Right.
David: In our last lesson, we taught you the words for "today."
Gimmy: 今日 (gam1 jat6).
David: Tomorrow.
Gimmy: 聽日 (ting1 jat6).
David: And yesterday.
Gimmy: 尋日 (cam4 jat6).
David: But that doesn't help if you're being asked how long you've done something.
Gimmy: Right.
David: Like, "How long have you studied guitar?"
Gimmy: 你學咗吉他幾耐呀? (nei5 hok6 zo2 git3 taa1 gei2 noi6 aa3?)
David: How long have you studied?
Gimmy: 你學咗幾耐呀? (nei5 hok6 zo2 gei2 noi6 aa3?)
David: In the dialogue, we answered the question like this.
Gimmy: 三個月度 (saam1 go3 jyut6 dou2).
David: Let's take a look at the first part, "three months."
Gimmy: 三個月 (saam1 go3 jyut6)
David: So we have the number.
Gimmy: 三 (saam1)
David: The measure word.
Gimmy: 個 (go3)
David: And then the word for months.
Gimmy: 月 (jyut6)
David: Three months.
Gimmy: 三個月 (saam1 go3 jyut6).
David: If this was weeks, the same would apply.
Gimmy: 兩個星期 (loeng5 go3 sing1 kei4).
David: Two weeks.
Gimmy: 兩個星期 (loeng5 go3 sing1 kei4).
David: Right.
Gimmy: So someone might ask you 你學咗中文幾耐呀? (nei5 hok6 zo2 zung1 man2 gei2 noi6 aa3?)
David: "How long have you been studying Chinese?" And you could answer by saying…
Gimmy: 六個月 (luk6 go3 jyut6).
David: Six months. Or maybe you're superfast and it's only been four weeks.
Gimmy: 四個星期 (sei3 go3 sing1 kei4).
David: Four weeks.
Gimmy: 四個星期 (sei3 go3 sing1 kei4).
David: Notice, don't forget the measured word.
Gimmy: 個 (go3).
David: Four weeks.
Gimmy: 四個星期 (Sei3 go3 sing1 kei4).
David: The same pattern works with hours. For instance, one hour is…
Gimmy: 一個鐘 (jat1 go3 zung1).
David: Two hours.
Gimmy: 兩個鐘 (loeng5 go3 zung1).
David: Three hours.
Gimmy: 三個鐘 (saam1 go3 zung1). So when you go to movie theatre, you might ask 套戲幾長呀?(tou3 hei3 gei2 coeng4 aa3?)
David: How long is the film?
Gimmy: 套戲幾長呀?(tou3 hei3 gei2 coeng4 aa3?)
David: And you can expect an answer like this.
Gimmy: 兩個鐘 (loeng5 go3 zung1).
David: Two hours.
Gimmy: 兩個鐘 (loeng5 go3 zung1).
David: Now, before we leave you, we want to take a look at this last character in the dialogue because they said "three months."
Gimmy: 三個月 (saam1 go3 jyut6).
David: And then added...
Gimmy: 度 (dou2).
David: What does this last sound do?
Gimmy: It means "about."
David: Or “more or less.”
Gimmy: Right.
David: So they answered "about three months."
Gimmy: Right. 三個月度 (saam1 go3 jyut6 dou2).
David: About two weeks.
Gimmy: 兩個星期度 (loeng5 go3 sing1 kei4 dou2).
David: About an hour.
Gimmy: 一個鐘度 (jat1 go3 zung1 dou2).
David: And you can do this to any length of time.
Gimmy: Right.
David: And one tip before we go, pay attention to this sound.
Gimmy: 度 (dou2). 度 (dou2). Usually this word is pronounced as 度 (dou2)
David: Right.
Gimmy: But then when we want to mention it's about certain time.
David: Yeah, or length of time.
Gimmy: Yeah. We say 度 (dou2)
David: So the sound changes in this case.
Gimmy: Right.
David: One more time. It’s...
Gimmy: 度 (dou2)
David: Not...
Gimmy: 度 (dou2).
David: And that brings us to the end of our lesson for today. Before we leave you, Gimmy, something you're dying to say.

Outro

Gimmy: If you're having trouble understanding the dialogues…
David: Come to our premium learning center and check out our line-by-line recordings.
Gimmy: Right.
David: You can listen to each line again and again until your brain picks it up. It makes learning Cantonese a lot easier.
Gimmy: True.
David: That said, we're done for today. 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).

Grammar

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