Learn about the Cantonese word "aa3"
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Intro |
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| Michael: Why do Cantonese speakers put 阿 (aa3) in front of someone's name? |
| Siuling: And should I do that too? |
| Michael: At CantoneseClass101.com, we hear these questions often. Imagine the following situation: Lilian Leung is meeting Ben Lee to work on a project. They were supposed to meet at 3 p.m., but Ben is nowhere to be found. Lilian calls him and says, "Ben, where are you?" |
| 梁樂霖: 阿Ben，你喺邊呀？ (aa3 Ben, nei5 hai2 bin1 aa3?) |
| Dialogue |
| 梁樂霖: 阿Ben，你喺邊呀？ (aa3 Ben, nei5 hai2 bin1 aa3?) |
| 李龍林: 我喺圖書館。 (ngo5 hai2 tou4 syu1 gun2.) |
| Michael: Once more with the English translation. |
| 梁樂霖: 阿Ben，你喺邊呀？ (aa3 Ben, nei5 hai2 bin1 aa3?) |
| Michael: "Ben, where are you?" |
| 李龍林: 我喺圖書館。 (ngo5 hai2 tou4 syu1 gun2.) |
| Michael: "I am in the library. " |
Lesson focus |
| Michael: So in the dialogue, we hear Lilian calling Ben by his English name, but with a special Cantonese variant. |
| Siuling: Right, she called him 阿Ben (aa3 Ben). |
| Michael: Is that a common way to address someone informally in Hong Kong? |
| Siuling: Yes. If your name has only one syllable, usually people will either add another character before or after it. In today’s dialogue, we see 阿 (aa3) added in front of it. |
| Michael: That’s because most words sound more natural with two syllables; if you just say the one-syllable name by itself, it would sound rude in Cantonese. |
| Siuling: Right, so the easiest is just to add 阿 (aa3) in front of a single-syllable English or Chinese name. |
| Michael: Can you give us some more examples? |
| Siuling: Of course, with English names, we always hear - 阿May (aa3 May), 阿Tom (aa3 Tom), 阿Bob (aa3 Bob). And, with Chinese names, usually, we take one of the characters from the person’s full name, then add 阿 (aa3) in front of it—such as 阿傑 (aa3 git6), 阿俊 (aa3 zeon3), and 阿東 (aa3 dung1). |
| Michael: Remember, it’s very informal so only use it with close friends or people who are in an equal or lower ranking. |
| Siuling: There’s another usage of the 阿 (aa3) prefix; it is to express familiarity. We often hear the following terms when someone is talking about their family members: |
| Siuling: 阿爸 (aa3 baa4)， |
| Michael: “father” |
| Siuling: 阿媽 (aa3 maa1)， |
| Michael: “mother” |
| Siuling: 阿哥 (aa3 go1)， |
| Michael: “elder brother” |
| Siuling: 阿妹 (aa3 mui2)， |
| Michael: “younger sister” |
| Siuling: 阿姨 (aa3 ji1)， |
| Michael: “aunt (who is younger than your mother)” |
| Siuling: 阿公 (aa3 gung1), |
| Michael: “grandpa” |
| Michael: These are all very casual ways of addressing the family members. |
| Practice Section |
| Michael: Let's review. Respond to the prompts by speaking aloud. Then, repeat after Siuling focusing on pronunciation. |
| Do you remember how Lilian says "Ben, where are you?" |
| [Beep. Pause 5 seconds.] |
| Siuling: 阿Ben，你喺邊呀？ (aa3 Ben, nei5 hai2 bin1 aa3?) |
| Michael: Listen again and repeat. |
| Siuling: 阿Ben，你喺邊呀？ (aa3 Ben, nei5 hai2 bin1 aa3?) |
| [Beep. Pause 5 seconds.] |
| Siuling: 阿Ben，你喺邊呀？ (aa3 Ben, nei5 hai2 bin1 aa3?) |
| Michael: And do you remember how Ben says "I am in the library?" |
| [Beep. Pause 5 seconds.] |
| Siuling: 我喺圖書館。 (ngo5 hai2 tou4 syu1 gun2.) |
| Michael: Listen again and repeat. |
| Siuling: 我喺圖書館。 (ngo5 hai2 tou4 syu1 gun2.) |
| [Beep. Pause 5 seconds.] |
| Siuling: 我喺圖書館。 (ngo5 hai2 tou4 syu1 gun2.) |
| Cultural Insight |
| Michael: Instead of adding the 阿 (aa3) prefix to a single-syllable name, you can also duplicate the syllable when addressing people informally. Use the name in this sentence as an example, Ben Ben. However, keep in mind that it’s for someone you’re really close with. |
| Siuling: Right, usually we only hear this between lovers or best friends. It’s kind of like a term of endearment. |
| Michael: or if it’s a panda from China! |
| Siuling: That’s right, the three pandas in Hong Kong are called 安安 (on1 on1), 盈盈 (jing4 jing2), and 樂樂 (lok6 lok6). |
| Michael: These names with duplicated syllables sure makes them sound even cuter! |
Outro |
| Michael: Do you have any more questions? We’re here to answer them! |
| Siuling: 拜拜! (baai1 baai3!) |
| Michael: See you soon! |
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