Learn how to ask about office rules
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| INTRODUCTION |
| John: Hi everyone, and welcome back to CantoneseClass101.com. This is Business Cantonese for Beginners Season 1 Lesson 12 - Asking About Office Rules in Cantonese. John here. |
| Siuling: 大家好！(daai6 gaa1 hou2!) I'm Siuling. |
| John: In this lesson, you’ll learn how to ask about office rules. The conversation takes place at an office. |
| Siuling: It's between Monica and Mark. |
| John: The speakers are boss and employee, therefore, they will speak formal Cantonese. Okay, let's listen to the conversation. |
| DIALOGUE |
| 馬家輝: Monica，你知唔知新Wi-Fi密碼係乜嘢？ |
| (maa5 gaa1 fai1: Monica, nei5 zi1 m4 zi1 san1 wi-fi mat6 maa5 hai6 mat1 je5?) |
| 黃小芬: 我唔係好清楚，你應該問下Linda，係佢負責嘅。 |
| (wong4 siu2 fan1: ngo5 m4 hai6 hou2 cing1 co2, nei5 jing1 goi1 man6 haa5 Linda, hai6 keoi5 fu6 zaak3 ge3.) |
| 馬家輝: 佢電話號碼幾多號？ |
| (maa5 gaa1 fai1: keoi5 din6 waa2 hou6 maa5 gei2 do1 hou6?) |
| 黃小芬: Linda而家喺個客嘅辦公室，你傳訊息畀佢會好啲。 |
| (wong4 siu2 fan1: Linda ji4 gaa1 hai2 go3 haak3 ge3 baan6 gung1 sat1, nei5 cyun4 seon3 sik1 bei2 keoi5 wui2 hou2 di1.) |
| 馬家輝: 好，唔該。 |
| (maa5 gaa1 fai1: hou2, m4 goi1.) |
| 黃小芬: 唔駛客氣。 |
| (wong4 siu2 fan1: m4 sai2 haak3 hei3.) |
| John: Listen to the conversation one time slowly. |
| 馬家輝: Monica，你知唔知新Wi-Fi密碼係乜嘢？ |
| (maa5 gaa1 fai1: Monica, nei5 zi1 m4 zi1 san1 wi-fi mat6 maa5 hai6 mat1 je5?) |
| 黃小芬: 我唔係好清楚，你應該問下Linda，係佢負責嘅。 |
| (wong4 siu2 fan1: ngo5 m4 hai6 hou2 cing1 co2, nei5 jing1 goi1 man6 haa5 Linda, hai6 keoi5 fu6 zaak3 ge3.) |
| 馬家輝: 佢電話號碼幾多號？ |
| (maa5 gaa1 fai1: keoi5 din6 waa2 hou6 maa5 gei2 do1 hou6?) |
| 黃小芬: Linda而家喺個客嘅辦公室，你傳訊息畀佢會好啲。 |
| (wong4 siu2 fan1: Linda ji4 gaa1 hai2 go3 haak3 ge3 baan6 gung1 sat1, nei5 cyun4 seon3 sik1 bei2 keoi5 wui2 hou2 di1.) |
| 馬家輝: 好，唔該。 |
| (maa5 gaa1 fai1: hou2, m4 goi1.) |
| 黃小芬: 唔駛客氣。 |
| (wong4 siu2 fan1: m4 sai2 haak3 hei3.) |
| John: Listen to the conversation with the English translation. |
| 馬家輝: Monica，你知唔知新Wi-Fi密碼係乜嘢？ |
| (maa5 gaa1 fai1: Monica, nei5 zi1 m4 zi1 san1 wi-fi mat6 maa5 hai6 mat1 je5?) |
| Mark: Monica, what is the new Wi-Fi password? |
| 黃小芬: 我唔係好清楚，你應該問下Linda，係佢負責嘅。 |
| (wong4 siu2 fan1: ngo5 m4 hai6 hou2 cing1 co2, nei5 jing1 goi1 man6 haa5 Linda, hai6 keoi5 fu6 zaak3 ge3.) |
| Monica: I'm not sure. You should ask Linda. She is the one in charge. |
| 馬家輝: 佢電話號碼幾多號？ |
| (maa5 gaa1 fai1: keoi5 din6 waa2 hou6 maa5 gei2 do1 hou6?) |
| Mark: What was her number again? |
| 黃小芬: Linda而家喺個客嘅辦公室，你傳訊息畀佢會好啲。 |
| (wong4 siu2 fan1: Linda ji4 gaa1 hai2 go3 haak3 ge3 baan6 gung1 sat1, nei5 cyun4 seon3 sik1 bei2 keoi5 wui2 hou2 di1.) |
| Monica: Linda is at the customer's office now. Maybe you should send her a message. |
| 馬家輝: 好，唔該。 |
| (maa5 gaa1 fai1: hou2, m4 goi1.) |
| Mark: Okay, thanks! |
| 黃小芬: 唔駛客氣。 |
| (wong4 siu2 fan1: m4 sai2 haak3 hei3.) |
| Monica: You are welcome. |
| POST CONVERSATION BANTER |
| John: In the last lesson we spoke a little bit about business lunches and who should pay. |
| Siuling: That’s right, we did. In this lesson, we’ll talk a little more about business meals. |
| John: In a business dinner, you might have to make a toast. |
| Siuling: If everybody else stands up for it, then follow their lead and stand up too. |
| John: How do you say "Cheers!" in Cantonese? |
| Siuling: 飲杯! (jam2 bui1). You can also say 飲勝!(jam2 sing3). |
| John: That means "Bottoms up!" There are some table manners involving chopsticks that should be kept in mind. |
| Siuling: Yes, never put your chopsticks standing upright into a bowl of rice. |
| John: This is because a bowl of rice with chopsticks placed in this manner is left at the altar during funerals. |
| Siuling: Don’t point at anyone with your chopsticks, and put them back on the rest when you’re not using them. |
| John: Isn’t there a special way of giving thanks to the server that pours tea for you? |
| Siuling: Yes, there is. Tap the table with two or three fingers, twice. |
| John: Okay, now onto the vocab. |
| VOCAB LIST |
| John: Let’s take a look at the vocabulary from this lesson. The first word is... |
| Siuling: 密碼(mat6 maa5) [natural native speed] |
| John: "password" |
| Siuling: 密碼(mat6 maa5) [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Siuling: 密碼(mat6 maa5) [natural native speed] |
| John: Next we have... |
| Siuling: 應該(jing1 goi1) [natural native speed] |
| John: "should; shall" |
| Siuling: 應該(jing1 goi1) [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Siuling: 應該(jing1 goi1) [natural native speed] |
| John: Next we have... |
| Siuling: 問(man6) [natural native speed] |
| John: "to ask" |
| Siuling: 問(man6) [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Siuling: 問(man6) [natural native speed] |
| John: Next we have... |
| Siuling: 負責(fu6 zaak3) [natural native speed] |
| John: "in charge; to be in charge; to be responsible for" |
| Siuling: 負責(fu6 zaak3) [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Siuling: 負責(fu6 zaak3) [natural native speed] |
| John: Next we have... |
| Siuling: 電話(din6 waa2) [natural native speed] |
| John: "telephone" |
| Siuling: 電話(din6 waa2) [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Siuling: 電話(din6 waa2) [natural native speed] |
| John: Next we have... |
| Siuling: 號碼(hou6 maa5) [natural native speed] |
| John: "number" |
| Siuling: 號碼(hou6 maa5) [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Siuling: 號碼(hou6 maa5) [natural native speed] |
| John: Next we have... |
| Siuling: 訊息(seon3 sik1) [natural native speed] |
| John: "message" |
| Siuling: 訊息(seon3 sik1) [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Siuling: 訊息(seon3 sik1) [natural native speed] |
| John: Next we have... |
| Siuling: 傳(cyun4) [natural native speed] |
| John: "to send" |
| Siuling: 傳(cyun4) [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Siuling: 傳(cyun4) [natural native speed] |
| John: Next we have... |
| Siuling: 畀(bei2) [natural native speed] |
| John: "to give" |
| Siuling: 畀(bei2) [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Siuling: 畀(bei2) [natural native speed] |
| John: And last... |
| Siuling: 好啲 [natural native speed] |
| John: "better" |
| Siuling: 好啲 [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Siuling: 好啲 [natural native speed] |
| KEY VOCAB AND PHRASES |
| John: Let's have a closer look at the usage of some of the words and phrases from this lesson. The first word is... |
| Siuling: 係佢負責(hai6 keoi5 fu6 zaak3) |
| John: meaning "he/she is in charge/responsible." |
| John: This is a phrase. |
| Siuling: First is 係(hai6), meaning "is." Next is 佢(keoi5). |
| John: This is "he, she." The final part means "to be responsible for." |
| Siuling: That is 負責(fu6 zaak3). |
| John: You can use this phrase to talk about who is responsible for something. |
| Siuling: You can also use someone’s name in place of 佢(keoi5). |
| John: Can you give us an example using this phrase? |
| Siuling: Sure. For example, you can say... 係佢負責照顧小朋友。(hai6 keoi5 fu6 zaak3 ziu3 gu3 siu2 pang4 jau5.) |
| John: … which means "She's the one responsible for taking care of the kids." |
| John: Okay, what's the next word? |
| Siuling: 唔使客氣(m4 sai2 haak3 hei3) |
| John: meaning "you are welcome." |
| John: This is another phrase. |
| Siuling: First is 唔使(m4 sai2), meaning "not need." Next is 客氣 (haak3 hei3). |
| John: This means "polite." This phrase is a polite response. |
| Siuling: You use it when someone thanks you for doing something. |
| John: It literally means "not need to be polite." It’s the same as the English "don’t mention it." |
| Siuling: The written form of it is 不用客氣 (bat1 jung6 haak3 hei3) or 別客氣 (bit6 haak3 hei3). |
| John: Can you give us an example using this phrase? |
| Siuling: Sure. For example, you can say... 如果有人同你講「多謝」, 你可以回應「唔使客氣」。(jyu4 gwo2 jau5 jan4 tung4 nei5 gong2 "do1 ze6," nei5 ho2 ji3 wui4 jing3 "m4 sai2 haak3 hei3".) |
| John: ... which means "If someone says "thank you," you can respond with "you're welcome." " |
| John: Okay, now onto the lesson focus. |
Lesson focus |
|---|
| John: In this lesson, you'll learn how to inquire about information such as passwords. You’ll probably have to ask your co-workers about many things at work. |
| Siuling: Especially during your first days at a company. |
| John: How can we do this politely? |
| Siuling: Say the name of your co-worker and then add a phrase like 你知唔知 (nei5 zi1 m4 zi1). |
| John: "Do you know…?" Then ask your question directly. |
| Siuling: For example, Monica，你知唔知新Wi-Fi密碼係乜嘢？(Monica, nei5 zi1 m4 zi1 san1 Wi-Fi mat6 maa5 hai6 mat1 je5?) |
| John: "Monica, do you know what the new Wi-Fi password is?" |
| Siuling: After the first question, you can simply ignore 你知唔知 (nei5 zi1 m4 zi1). |
| John: Yes, you don’t need the "do you know?" anymore and just ask the question directly. |
| Siuling: Yes, that would be fine. |
| John: Let’s hear some more examples. |
| Siuling: Clarence，你知唔知幾時係呢個Project嘅deadline？ (Clarence, nei5 zi1 m4 zi1 gei2 si4 hai6 ni1 go3 Project ge3 deadline?) |
| John: "Clarence, do you know when the deadline of this project is?" |
| Siuling: Amelia，你知唔知等陣喺邊間房開會？ (Amelia, nei5 zi1 m4 zi1 dang2 zan6 hai2 bin1 gaan3 fong2 hoi1 wui5?) |
| John: "Amelia, do you know in which room we will have the meeting later?" |
| Siuling: Nelson，你知唔知老細返咗嚟未？ (Nelson, nei5 zi1 m4 zi1 lou5 sai3 faan1 zo2 lei4 mei6?) |
| John: "Nelson, do you know if the boss has already arrived?" |
| Siuling: 你知唔知佢電話號碼幾多號？ (nei5 zi1 m4 zi1 keoi5 din6 waa2 hou6 maa5 gei2 do1 hou6?) |
| John: "Do you know what his/her phone number is?" Next, here are some direct questions without the "do you know?" |
| Siuling: 佢電話號碼幾多號？( keoi5 din6 waa2 hou6 maa5 gei2 do1 hou6?) |
| John: "What was her number again?" |
| Siuling: 今日Wi-Fi密碼係乜？(gam1 jat6 Wi-fi mat6 maa5 hai6 mat1?) |
| John: "What's today's Wi-Fi password?" |
Outro |
| John: Okay, that’s all for this lesson. Thank you for listening, everyone, and we’ll see you next time! Bye! |
| Siuling: 拜拜！(baai1 baai3!) |
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