Learn how to use the verb complement 死, which means "to die"
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| INTRODUCTION |
| David: Welcome to cantoneseclass101.com. I am David. |
| Melody: 大家好， 又見面，我係 Melody。(daai6 gaa1 hou2 ， jau6 gin3 min6 ，ngo5 hai6 Melody 。) |
| David: And today, we have intermediate season 1, Lesson 2. Losing Sleep in Hong Kong. |
| Melody: 冇錯，呢個對話可能係發生喺早上？屋企入 面。(mou5 co3 ，ni1 go3 deoi3 waa6 ho2 nang4 hai6 faat3 sang1 hai2 zou2 soeng6 ？nguk1 kei5 jap6 min6 。) |
| David: Right. It’s a dialogue between a husband and a wife who are at home early in the morning. |
| Melody: 係唔係老公老婆呢就唔知啦！但係總之有其中一個呢就唔夠瞓，所以眼睛腫咗, 個樣好恐怖。(hai6 m4 hai6 lou5 gung1 lou5 po4 ne1 zau6 m4 zi1 laa3 ！daan6 hai6 zung2 zi1 jau5 kei4 zung1 jat1 go3 ne1 zau6 m4 gau3 fan3 ，so2 ji5 ngaan5 zing1 zung2 zo2, go3 joeng2 hou2 hung2 bou3 。) |
| David: Right. This is actually pretty common because everybody works long hours in Hong Kong. You know this. |
| Melody: 係呀！又或者喺出面太嘈，嘈到佢瞓唔着？ (hai6 aa3 ！jau6 waak6 ze2 hai2 ceot1 min6 taai3 cou4 ，cou4 dou3 keoi5 fan3 m4 zoek6 ？) |
| David: Yeah and it’s a noisy downtown area, I mean especially if you are near the Bar district. So there are plenty of reasons that people can’t fall asleep. |
| Melody: 係呀！但係呢樣嘢係冇辦法㗎啦！點都好啦！我哋一齊嚟聽下個對話。(hai6 aa3 ！daan6 hai6 ni1 joeng6 je5 hai6 mou5 baan6 faat3 gaa3 laa3 ！dim2 dou1 hou2 laa1 ！ngo5 dei6 jat1 cai4 lai4 teng1 haa5 go3 deoi3 waa6 。) |
| David: And as a reminder, this is casual Cantonese as always. |
| DIALOGUE |
| A: 撞鬼你啊？ (A: zong2 gwai2 nei5 aa4 ?) |
| B: 做咩啊？ (B: zou6 me1 aa3 ?) |
| A: 你咁嘅樣出去，嚇死人咩？ (A: nei5 gam2 ge3 joeng2 ceot1 heoi3, haak3 sei2 jan4 me1 ?) |
| B: 我點啊？ (B: ngo5 dim2 aa3?) |
| A: 你睇下自己對眼，腫到...... (A: nei5 tai2 haa5 zi6 gei2 deoi3 ngaan5, zung2 dou3...) |
| B: 尋晚夜瞓啊。 (B: cam4 maan5 je6 fan3 aa3.) |
| David: Once more, a bit slower. |
| A: 撞鬼你啊？ (A: zong2 gwai2 nei5 aa4 ?) |
| B: 做咩啊？ (B: zou6 me1 aa3 ?) |
| A: 你咁嘅樣出去，嚇死人咩？ (A: nei5 gam2 ge3 joeng2 ceot1 heoi3, haak3 sei2 jan4 me1 ?) |
| B: 我點啊？ (B: ngo5 dim2 aa3?) |
| A: 你睇下自己對眼，腫到...... (A: nei5 tai2 haa5 zi6 gei2 deoi3 ngaan5, zung2 dou3...) |
| B: 尋晚夜瞓啊。(B: cam4 maan5 je6 fan3 aa3.) |
| David: And now, with the English translation. |
| A: 撞鬼你啊？ (A: zong2 gwai2 nei5 aa4 ?) |
| A: What's wrong with you? |
| B: 做咩啊？ (B: zou6 me1 aa3 ?) |
| B: What's the matter? |
| A: 你咁嘅樣出去，嚇死人咩？ (A: nei5 gam2 ge3 joeng2 ceot1 heoi3, haak3 sei2 jan4 me1 ?) |
| A: You're going to scare a lot of people if you go out like that. |
| B: 我點啊？ (B: ngo5 dim2 aa3?) |
| B: How do I look? |
| A: 你睇下自己對眼，腫到...... (A: nei5 tai2 haa5 zi6 gei2 deoi3 ngaan5, zung2 dou3...) |
| A: Look at your eyes. They're so swollen. |
| B: 尋晚夜瞓啊。(B: cam4 maan5 je6 fan3 aa3.) |
| B: I went to bed late last night. |
| VOCAB AND PHRASE USAGE |
| David: Let’s take a closer look at some of these words. The first word we want to highlight is |
| Melody: 撞鬼。(zong2 gwai2 。) |
| David: Which is, what’s wrong? |
| Melody: 撞鬼。 (zong2 gwai2 。) |
| David: And it’s interesting because it literally means to meet a ghost. |
| Melody: 撞鬼呀你！意思唔係真係遇到鬼，只不過係香港人嘅一個口頭禪，表示係非常之驚訝，但係一般會同熟人先至會咁講，意思係 點解你會咁嘅樣？ (zong2 gwai2 aa4 nei5 ！ji3 si1 m4 hai6 zan1 hai6 jyu6 dou3 gwai2 ，zi2 bat1 gwo3 hai6 hoeng1 gong2 jan4 ge3 jat1 go3 hau2 tau4 sim3 ，biu2 si6 hai6 fei1 soeng4 zi1 ging1 ngaa6 ，daan6 hai6 jat1 bun1 wui2 tung4 suk6 jan4 sin1 zi3 wui2 gam2 gong2 ，ji3 si1 hai6 dim2 gaai2 nei5 wui2 gam2 ge3 joeng2 ？) |
| David: Yeah. So Melody, what you are really saying is don’t use this with strangers. |
| Melody: 係呀！ (hai6 aa3 ！) |
| David: Right. Only use it with people you know because it’s a really familiar term. And it literally means, you know, what’s wrong or what’s wrong with you this way. |
| Melody: 係，冇錯。(hai6 ，mou5 co3 。) |
| David: Yeah. So our second word is |
| Melody: 咁嘅樣 。(gam2 ge3 joeng2 。) |
| David: Such a terrible look. |
| Melody: 我哋通常會聽到 點解咁嘅樣？ (ngo5 dei6 tung1 soeng4 wui2 teng1 dou2 dim2 gaai2 gam2 ge3 joeng2 ？) |
| David: Right. So we hear it most often in this phrase. Melody, can we hear that again? |
| Melody: 點解咁嘅樣？ (dim2 gaai2 gam2 ge3 joeng2 ？) |
| David: And this also means what’s wrong except we can use this with strangers. |
| Melody: 係呀！我哋可以話 點解咁嘅樣嚟代替 撞鬼呀！ (hai6 aa3 ！ngo5 dei6 ho2 ji5 waa6 dim2 gaai2 gam2 ge3 joeng2 lai4 doi6 tai3 zong2 gwai2 aa4 ！) |
| David: Right. They mean the same thing, what’s wrong or what’s the matter. |
| Melody: 係，冇錯, 如果有人問你, 你點解咁嘅樣, 你可以問返佢 點呀？ (hai6 ，mou5 co3 , jyu4 gwo2 jau5 jan4 man6 nei5, nei5 dim2 gaai2 gam2 ge3 joeng2, nei5 ho2 ji5 man6 faan1 keoi5 dim2 aa3 ？) |
| David: Right which means why or how so. |
| Melody: 點呀？或者話 咩嘢樣？ (dim2 aa3 ？waak6 ze2 waa6 me1 je5 joeng2 ？) |
| David: Right. Both of those are acceptable. |
| Melody: 所以我哋可以問返佢 點呀?或者咩嘢樣？佢哋可能會同你講你睇下你對眼, 腫到嚇死人。(so2 ji5 ngo5 dei6 ho2 ji5 man6 faan2 keoi5 dim2 aa3 ?waak6 ze2 me1 je5 joeng2 ？keoi5 dei6 ho2 nang4 wui2 tung4 nei5 gong2 nei5 tai2 haa5 nei5 deoi3 ngaan5, zung2 dou3 haak3 sei2 jan4 。) |
| David: Right which is from the dialogue. It’s look at your eyes, they are so swollen. |
| Melody: 你睇下你對眼腫到嚇死人。 (nei5 tai2 haa5 nei5 deoi3 ngaan5 zung2 dou3 haak3 sei2 jan4 。) |
| David: Look at your eyes, they are really swollen. |
| Melody: 咁呢個時候你就可以解釋話 因為我好夜瞓。(gam2 ni1 go3 si4 hau6 nei5 zau6 ho2 ji5 gaai2 sik1 waa6 jan1 wai4 ngo5 hou2 je6 fan3 。) |
| David: Right and that’s what we heard in the dialogue too. She didn’t get much sleep and that’s why her eyes are swollen. Now how do we say, to go to bed really late? |
| Melody: 好夜瞓。(hou2 je6 fan3 。) |
| David: Let’s hear that again. |
| Melody: 好夜瞓。(hou2 je6 fan3 。) |
| David: To go to bed really late. |
| Melody: 好夜瞓，佢嘅反義詞係 好早瞓。(hou2 je6 fan3 ，keoi5 ge3 faan2 ji6 ci4 hai6 hou2 zou2 fan3 。) |
| David: To go to bed very early. |
| Melody: 好早瞓。(hou2 zou2 fan3 。) |
| David: Yeah. |
| Melody: 香港人一般唔會好早瞓，可能12點1點已經係好早瞓㗎啦！ (hoeng1 gong2 jan4 jat1 bun1 m4 wui2 hou2 zou2 fan3 ，ho2 nang4 sap6 ji6 dim2 jat1 dim2 ji5 ging1 hai6 hou2 zou2 fan3 gaa3 laa3 ！) |
| David: Right. So if you are going to bed at midnight, you are not doing badly. A quick review though. The really important phrases in this lesson are |
| Melody: 點解咁嘅樣? 撞鬼。(dim2 gaai2 gam2 ge3 joeng2 ? zong2 gwai2 。) |
| David: Which both mean the same thing. They are ways of asking people what’s wrong. We also have |
| Melody: 好夜瞓，好早瞓。(hou2 je6 fan3 ，hou2 zou2 fan3 。) |
| David: Which mean going to bed late and early respectively. |
| Melody: 你講得好啱，咁我哋而家一齊嚟睇下今日嘅語法重點。 (nei5 gong2 dak1 hou2 ngaam1 ，gam2 ngo5 dei6 ji4 gaa1 jat1 cai4 lai4 tai2 haa5 gam1 jat6 ge3 jyu5 faat3 zung6 dim2 。) |
Lesson focus |
|---|
| David: So our grammar point today is about a verb complement. |
| Melody: 我哋喺對話入面可以聽到 你咁樣出去嚇死人咩！嚇死人咩！ (ngo5 dei6 hai2 deoi3 waa6 jap6 min6 ho2 ji5 teng1 dou2 nei5 gam2 joeng2 ceot1 heoi3 haak3 sei2 jan4 me1 ！haak3 sei2 jan4 me1 ！) |
| David: So we are going to talk about this deadly verb complement. |
| Melody: 死, 嚇死。(sei2 , haak3 sei2 。) |
| David: Right. This literally means to scare someone to death but of course we are not talking about killing anyone. |
| Melody: 梗係啦！其實唔係真係話嚇死咗人， 只不過係一種跨張嘅語法。(gang2 hai6 laa1 ！kei4 sat6 m4 hai6 zan1 hai6 waa6 haak3 sei2 zo2 jan4 ， zi2 bat1 gwo3 hai6 jat1 zung2 kwaa1 zoeng1 ge3 jyu5 faat3 。) |
| David: Right. This is an exaggeration. |
| Melody: 嚇死。(haak3 sei2 。) |
| David: To scare someone to death. Now where else do people commonly use this? |
| Melody: 唔，我哋平時會用喺話 笑死人。 (m4 ，ngo5 dei6 ping4 si4 wui2 jung6 hai2 waa6 siu3 sei2 jan4 。) |
| David: To kill someone with laughter. |
| Melody: 笑死人。(siu3 sei2 jan4 。) |
| David: Right. To be really funny. |
| Melody: 或者我哋可以話 餓死人。 (waak6 ze2 ngo5 dei6 ho2 ji5 waa6 ngo6 sei2 jan4 。) |
| David: To starve to death. |
| Melody: 餓死人。(ngo6 sei2 jan4 。) |
| David: But you are not really killing someone. You are just saying that you are really hungry. |
| Melody: 梗係啦！ 如果真係死人 咁就弊囉！ (gang2 hai6 laa1 ！ jyu4 gwo2 zan1 hai6 sei2 jan4 gam2 zau6 bai6 lo6 ！) |
| David: Yeah. |
| Melody: 或者你同朋友約咗食飯，佢遲到嘅話你可以話 撞鬼咩，你咁遲先嚟，想餓死人咩！ (waak6 ze2 nei5 tung4 pang4 jau5 joek3 zo2 sik6 faan6 ，keoi5 ci4 dou3 ge3 waa2 nei5 ho2 ji5 waa6 zong2 gwai2 me1 ，nei5 gam3 ci4 sin1 lai4 ，soeng2 ngo6 sei2 jan4 me1 ！) |
| David: Right. So you have a dinner with friends and you show up late, you are going to hear this. |
| Melody: 撞鬼咩，你咁遲先嚟，想餓死人咩！(zong2 gwai2 me1 ，nei5 gam3 ci4 sin1 lei4 ，soeng2 ngo6 sei2 jan4 me1 ！) |
| David: What’s the matter coming so late, do you want to starve us to death and in addition to starving people to death, you can also |
| Melody: 激死人。(gik1 sei2 jan4 。) |
| David: To make people really angry. |
| Melody: 我太夜瞓， 眼睛腫咗，激死人啦！ (ngo5 taai3 je6 fan3 ， ngaan5 zing1 zung2 zo2 ，gik1 sei2 jan4 laa3 ！) |
| David: I went to bed late last night and my eyes are swollen. How irritating! |
| Melody: 今日熱死人啦！(gam1 jat6 jit6 sei2 jan4 laa3 ！) |
| David: That’s if you have a bad day at the office. |
| Melody: 今日熱死人啦！ (gam1 jat6 jit6 sei2 jan4 laa3 ！) |
| David: Today is so irritating. |
| Melody: 今日熱死人啦！ (gam1 jat6 jit6 sei2 jan4 laa3 ！) |
| David: Right. So there are tons of verbs that we can put into this. |
| Melody: 冇錯。(mou5 co3 。) |
| David: You know, for instance you go out walking, for instance you go out shopping all day and you are walking around for hours on and you might say |
| Melody: 我隻腳腫死人啦！ (ngo5 zek3 goek3 zung2 sei2 jan4 laa3 ！) |
| David: Yeah. My feet are killing me. |
| Melody: 我隻腳腫死人啦！ (ngo5 zek3 goek3 zung2 sei2 jan4 laa3 ！) |
| David: Right or maybe you are trapped in the university library and you’ve got all of this research to do, you could say |
| Melody: 咁多書，睇死人咩！ (gam3 do1 syu1 ，tai2 sei2 jan4 me1 ！) |
| David: So many books, reading them all is going to kill me. |
| Melody: 咁多書，睇死人咩！(gam3 do1 syu1 ，tai2 sei2 jan4 me1 ！) |
| David: Right and when you do this, don’t forget to add that last sound. |
| Melody: 咩！(me1 ！) |
| David: Right. The sound of exasperation. |
| Melody: 睇死人咩！ (tai2 sei2 jan4 me1 ！) |
| David: It’s going to make you sound a lot more native. |
| Melody: 加咗呢個會變到更加地道啲。(gaa1 zo2 ni1 go3 wui2 bin3 dou3 gang3 gaa1 dei6 dou6 di1 。) |
Outro |
| David: So that’s our lesson for today. For now though, that’s all the time we have. I am David. |
| Melody: I am Melody. |
| David: Thanks for listening and we will see you on the site. |
| Melody: 希望我哋下次再見。 (hei1 mong6 ngo5 dei6 haa6 ci3 zoi3 gin3 。) |
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