How to talk about a job
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| INTRODUCTION |
| John: Hi everyone, and welcome back to CantoneseClass101.com. This is Business Cantonese for Beginners Season 1 Lesson 3 - Describing Your Job in Cantonese. John here. |
| Siuling: 大家好！(daai6 gaa1 hou2!) I'm Siuling. |
| John: In this lesson, you’ll learn how to describe one's occupation. The conversation takes place at an office. |
| Siuling: It's between Linda and Mark. |
| John: The speakers are co-workers, therefore, they will speak formal Cantonese. Okay, let's listen to the conversation. |
| DIALOGUE |
| 張麗珊: 請問你係唔係阿Mark？ |
| (zoeng1 lai6 saan1: cing2 man6 nei5 hai6 m4 hai6 aa3 Mark?) |
| 馬家輝: 係呀！你係Linda？ |
| (maa5 gaa1 fai1: hai6 aa3! nei5 hai6 Linda?) |
| 張麗珊: 係呀！聞名不如見面。 |
| (zoeng1 lai6 saan1: hai6 aa3! man4 ming4 bat1 jyu4 gin3 min6.) |
| 馬家輝: 大家咁話。 |
| (maa5 gaa1 fai1: daai6 gaa1 gam2 waa6.) |
| 張麗珊: 其實你負責咩工作㗎？ |
| (zoeng1 lai6 saan1: kei4 sat6 nei5 fu6 zaak3 me1 gung1 zok3 gaa3?) |
| 馬家輝: 我係一個會計師。 |
| (maa5 gaa1 fai1: ngo5 hai6 jat1 go3 wui6 gai3 si1.) |
| 張麗珊: 會計師？咁你咪要處理好多糧單？ |
| (zoeng1 lai6 saan1: wui6 gai3 si1? gam3 nei5 mai6 jiu3 cyu2 lei5 hou2 do1 loeng4 daan1?) |
| 馬家輝: 類似嘅嘢啦，好似糧單，賬單，稅務之類。 |
| (maa5 gaa1 fai1: leoi6 ci5 ge3 je5 laa1, hou2 ci5 loeng4 daan1, zoeng3 daan1, seoi3 mou6 zi1 leoi6.) |
| John: Listen to the conversation one time slowly. |
| 張麗珊: 請問你係唔係阿Mark？ |
| (zoeng1 lai6 saan1: cing2 man6 nei5 hai6 m4 hai6 aa3 Mark?) |
| 馬家輝: 係呀！你係Linda？ |
| (maa5 gaa1 fai1: hai6 aa3! nei5 hai6 Linda?) |
| 張麗珊: 係呀！聞名不如見面。 |
| (zoeng1 lai6 saan1: hai6 aa3! man4 ming4 bat1 jyu4 gin3 min6.) |
| 馬家輝: 大家咁話。 |
| (maa5 gaa1 fai1: daai6 gaa1 gam2 waa6.) |
| 張麗珊: 其實你負責咩工作㗎？ |
| (zoeng1 lai6 saan1: kei4 sat6 nei5 fu6 zaak3 me1 gung1 zok3 gaa3?) |
| 馬家輝: 我係一個會計師。 |
| (maa5 gaa1 fai1: ngo5 hai6 jat1 go3 wui6 gai3 si1.) |
| 張麗珊: 會計師？咁你咪要處理好多糧單？ |
| (zoeng1 lai6 saan1: wui6 gai3 si1? gam3 nei5 mai6 jiu3 cyu2 lei5 hou2 do1 loeng4 daan1?) |
| 馬家輝: 類似嘅嘢啦，好似糧單，賬單，稅務之類。 |
| (maa5 gaa1 fai1: leoi6 ci5 ge3 je5 laa1, hou2 ci5 loeng4 daan1, zoeng3 daan1, seoi3 mou6 zi1 leoi6.) |
| John: Listen to the conversation with the English translation. |
| 張麗珊: 請問你係唔係阿Mark？ |
| (zoeng1 lai6 saan1: cing2 man6 nei5 hai6 m4 hai6 aa3 Mark?) |
| Linda: Mark, right? |
| 馬家輝: 係呀！你係Linda？ |
| (maa5 gaa1 fai1: hai6 aa3! nei5 hai6 Linda?) |
| Mark: Right! And you, I presume, are Linda? |
| 張麗珊: 係呀！聞名不如見面。 |
| (zoeng1 lai6 saan1: hai6 aa3! man4 ming4 bat1 jyu4 gin3 min6.) |
| Linda: Yes. It's nice to meet you finally. |
| 馬家輝: 大家咁話。 |
| (maa5 gaa1 fai1: daai6 gaa1 gam2 waa6.) |
| Mark: Me too. |
| 張麗珊: 其實你負責咩工作㗎？ |
| (zoeng1 lai6 saan1: kei4 sat6 nei5 fu6 zaak3 me1 gung1 zok3 gaa3?) |
| Linda: So what are you doing exactly? |
| 馬家輝: 我係一個會計師。 |
| (maa5 gaa1 fai1: ngo5 hai6 jat1 go3 wui6 gai3 si1.) |
| Mark: I'm an accountant. |
| 張麗珊: 會計師？咁你咪要處理好多糧單？ |
| (zoeng1 lai6 saan1: wui6 gai3 si1? gam3 nei5 mai6 jiu3 cyu2 lei5 hou2 do1 loeng4 daan1?) |
| Linda: Accountant? So what, you deal with payslips? |
| 馬家輝: 類似嘅嘢啦，好似糧單，賬單，稅務之類。 |
| (maa5 gaa1 fai1: leoi6 ci5 ge3 je5 laa1, hou2 ci5 loeng4 daan1, zoeng3 daan1, seoi3 mou6 zi1 leoi6.) |
| Mark: Well kind of, payslips, billing, taxes... |
| POST CONVERSATION BANTER |
| John: Accountancy seems like a good profession to get into. |
| Siuling: I think so too. It takes a lot of studying and hard work to become something like an accountant. |
| John: Speaking of studying, what can you tell us about the education system in Hong Kong? |
| Siuling: In Hong Kong, children get six years of primary education, three years of junior secondary education, and also their senior secondary education for free. |
| John: Has it always been that way? |
| Siuling: No, the free senior secondary education began in the 2008-2009 school year. |
| John: How about higher education, such as universities? What can you tell us about those? |
| Siuling: There are twenty degree awarding institutions in Hong Kong. |
| John: I hear that many people come from abroad to study in Hong Kong. After completing your degree there, you can get a Immigration Arrangement for Non-local Graduates, which gives you 12 months to stay in Hong Kong to look for a job. |
| Siuling: That’s right. There is a high demand in Hong Kong for professions such as accounting, sales, and IT. |
| John: I’m sure that good communication skills and being multilingual are also highly sought after traits. |
| Siuling: Yes, as Hong Kong is seen as a gateway to China by many. |
| 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: 請問(cing2 man6) [natural native speed] |
| John: "Excuse me; May I ask" |
| Siuling: 請問(cing2 man6)[slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Siuling: 請問(cing2 man6) [natural native speed] |
| John: Next we have... |
| Siuling: 大家(daai6 gaa1) [natural native speed] |
| John: "everyone" |
| Siuling: 大家(daai6 gaa1)[slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Siuling: 大家(daai6 gaa1) [natural native speed] |
| John: Next we have... |
| Siuling: 其實(kei4 sat6) [natural native speed] |
| John: "actually; really" |
| Siuling: 其實(kei4 sat6)[slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Siuling: 其實(kei4 sat6) [natural native speed] |
| John: Next we have... |
| Siuling: 負責(fu6 zaak3) [natural native speed] |
| John: "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: 好似(hou2 ci3) [natural native speed] |
| John: "such as; to be similar to; for example" |
| Siuling: 好似(hou2 ci3)[slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Siuling: 好似(hou2 ci3) [natural native speed] |
| John: Next we have... |
| Siuling: 會計師(wui6 gai3 si1) [natural native speed] |
| John: "accountants" |
| Siuling: 會計師(wui6 gai3 si1)[slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Siuling: 會計師(wui6 gai3 si1) [natural native speed] |
| John: Next we have... |
| Siuling: 處理(cyu2 lei5) [natural native speed] |
| John: "to deal with" |
| Siuling: 處理(cyu2 lei5)[slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Siuling: 處理(cyu2 lei5) [natural native speed] |
| John: Next we have... |
| Siuling: 糧單(loeng4 daan1) [natural native speed] |
| John: "payslips" |
| Siuling: 糧單(loeng4 daan1)[slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Siuling: 糧單(loeng4 daan1) [natural native speed] |
| John: Next we have... |
| Siuling: 賬單(zoeng3 daan1) [natural native speed] |
| John: "bill" |
| Siuling: 賬單(zoeng3 daan1)[slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Siuling: 賬單(zoeng3 daan1) [natural native speed] |
| John: And last... |
| Siuling: 稅務(seoi3 mou6) [natural native speed] |
| John: "tax" |
| Siuling: 稅務(seoi3 mou6) [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Siuling: 稅務(seoi3 mou6) [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: 大家咁話(daai6 gaa1 gam2 waa6) |
| John: meaning "same here, me too" |
| John: Let’s break down this phrase into its components. |
| Siuling: First is 大家(daai6 gaa1), which means "everybody." Next is 咁(gam2). |
| John: This means "also." The last word means "speak, tell." |
| Siuling: Yes, that is 話(waa6). |
| John: You can use this phrase to mean "the same applies here." |
| Siuling: If somebody says something good to you, you can reply with this. |
| John: Can you give us an example using this phrase? |
| Siuling: Sure. For example, you can say... A:身體健康。B:大家咁話！(A: san1 tai2 gin6 hong1. B: daai6 gaa1 gam2 waa6!) |
| John: ...which means "A: Wishing you good health. B: Same to you!" |
| John: Okay, what's the next word? |
| Siuling: 好似... 之類(hou2 ci5........zi1 leoi2) |
| John: meaning "such as..., etc." |
| John: Let’s break this down too. |
| Siuling: First is 好似(hou2 ci3), which means "look like, is similar to." Then is 之類(zi1 leoi2). |
| John: This means "and so on, et cetera." |
| Siuling: You use this phrase to give examples. |
| John: As well as giving examples, it insinuates that there are more examples than just what is being said. |
| Siuling: You can also use 等等(dang2 dang2) instead of 之類(zi1 leoi2). |
| John: Can you give us an example using this phrase? |
| Siuling: Sure. For example, you can say... 我想做一份創作嘅工，好似電影，廣告公司之類。(ngo5 soeng2 zou6 jat1 fan6 cong3 zok3 ge3 gung1, hou2 ci5 din6 jing2, gwong2 gou3 gung1 si1 zi1 leoi2.) |
| John: ... which means "I want to work in the creative industry, like movies and or a production house, etc." |
| John: Okay, now onto the lesson focus. |
Lesson focus |
|---|
| John: In this lesson, you'll learn how to describe one's occupation. |
| John: Before we can do this though, it’s good to ensure that we know who we are speaking to. How can we do this, Siuling? |
| Siuling: With the phrase 請問你係唔係...？ (cing2 man6 nei5 hai6 m4 hai6…?) |
| John: This means "May I ask, are you….?" or "Excuse me, are you…" |
| Siuling: Then you just add the name. |
| John: Let’s hear an example with a name. |
| Siuling: 請問你係唔係JOHN？(cing2 man6 nei5 hai6 m4 hai6 John?) |
| John: "Excuse me, are you John?" |
| Siuling: 請問(cing2 man6) means "excuse me" or "may I ask." |
| John: It has a polite and humbling tone. Can you use this phrase with things other than names? For example, can we ask "Excuse me, are you the manager?" with this phrase? |
| Siuling: Yes, you can. That is 請問你係唔係經理？(cing2 man6 nei5 hai6 m4 hai6 ging1 lei5?) |
| John: Let’s hear another example with a job title instead of a name. |
| Siuling: 請問你係唔係老闆？(cing2 man6 nei5 hai6 m4 hai6 lou5 baan2?) |
| John: "May I ask, are you the owner?" Now that we’ve asked about a couple of job titles, let’s look a little closer at job titles and occupations. |
| Siuling: The first occupation is 秘書 (bei3 syu1). |
| John: "secretary" |
| Siuling: 經理 (ging1 lei5) |
| John: "manager" |
| Siuling: 會計師 (wui6 gai3 si1) |
| John: "accountant" |
| Siuling: 醫生 (ji1 sang1) |
| John: "doctor" |
| Siuling: 作家 (zok3 gaa1) |
| John: "writer" |
| Siuling: 平面設計師 (ping4 min2 cit3 gai3 si1) |
| John: "graphic designer" |
| Siuling: 警察 (ging2 caat3) |
| John: "police." How do we say "I am a…" |
| Siuling: We can use the phrase 我係一個...(ngo5 hai6 jat1 go3…). For example, 我係一個會計師 (ngo5 hai6 jat1 go3 wui6 gai3 si1). |
| John: "I’m an accountant." |
| Siuling: We can also use 我係...(ngo5 hai6…) For example, 我係會計師 (ngo5 hai6 wui6 gai3 si1). |
| John: "I’m an accountant." |
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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