Learn how to use classifiers to talk about facial features
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| INTRODUCTION |
| Eric: Hello and welcome to the Lower Beginner series at CantoneseClass101.com. This is season 1, lesson 12, Describing Someone in Cantonese. I’m Eric! |
| Teddy: 哈囉！(haa1 lo3!) And I’m Teddy. |
| Eric: In this lesson, you’ll learn how to describe a face. |
| Teddy: This dialogue takes place at the police station. |
| Eric: ...between a police officer and a victim. |
| Teddy: And this is in casual Cantonese. |
| Eric: Let’s listen to the conversation. |
| DIALOGUE |
| 警察: 個賊乜嘢樣？ (GING2 CAAT3: go3 caak2 mat1 je5 joeng2?) |
| 受害人: 對眼好細，個鼻好大。(SAU6 HOI6 JAN4: deoi3 ngaan5 hou2 sai3, go3 bei6 hou2 daai6.) |
| 警察: 個口呢？ (GING2 CAAT3: go3 hau2 ne1?) |
| 受害人: 好臭。 (SAU6 HOI6 JAN4: hou2 cau3.) |
| Eric: Now let's listen to the same conversation at a slower speed. |
| 警察: 個賊乜嘢樣？ (GING2 CAAT3: go3 caak2 mat1 je5 joeng2?) |
| 受害人: 對眼好細，個鼻好大。 (SAU6 HOI6 JAN4: deoi3 ngaan5 hou2 sai3, go3 bei6 hou2 daai6.) |
| 警察: 個口呢？ (GING2 CAAT3: go3 hau2 ne1?) |
| 受害人: 好臭。 (SAU6 HOI6 JAN4: hou2 cau3.) |
| Eric: Let's now listen to the conversation with the English translation. |
| 警察: 個賊乜嘢樣？ (GING2 CAAT3: go3 caak2 mat1 je5 joeng2?) |
| Police: What does the robber look like? |
| 受害人: 對眼好細，個鼻好大。 (SAU6 HOI6 JAN4: deoi3 ngaan5 hou2 sai3, go3 bei6 hou2 daai6.) |
| Victim: He has small eyes, and a big nose. |
| 警察: 個口呢？ (GING2 CAAT3: go3 hau2 ne1?) |
| Police: How about the mouth? |
| 受害人: 好臭。 (SAU6 HOI6 JAN4: hou2 cau3.) |
| Victim: Very stinky. |
| POST CONVERSATION BANTER |
| Eric: Have you ever gone to the police station? |
| Teddy: Yes, two years ago when I went with my friend to report her lost passport. |
| Eric: Couldn’t she just apply for a new one? |
| Teddy: No, she was from Canada. She went to the Canadian Embassy and was asked to file a loss report with the HK police first. She had to quote that case number when re-applying for a passport. |
| Eric: What if this is a Hong Kong passport or ID card? |
| Teddy: Then you have to report to the immigration office and re-apply for a replacement. |
| Eric: I see. How about reporting a lost driver’s license – where do you go first? |
| Teddy: Oh, for a driving license, you just need to file a lost form and re-apply at the Transport Department. Unless you suspect your lost item will be used in an illegal action, then you need to report to the police. |
| Eric: I see. I hope I never have to go to a police station for a loss report! |
| Teddy: Yes, me neither. Okay, now let’s take a look at the vocabulary for this lesson. |
| VOCAB LIST |
| The first word we shall see is: |
| 樣 (joeng2) [natural native speed] |
| looks, face |
| 樣 (joeng2) [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| 樣 (joeng2) [natural native speed] |
| Next: |
| 眼 (ngaan5) [natural native speed] |
| eye |
| 眼 (ngaan5) [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| 眼 (ngaan5) [natural native speed] |
| Next: |
| 耳 (ji5) [natural native speed] |
| ear |
| 耳 (ji5) [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| 耳 (ji5) [natural native speed] |
| Next: |
| 口 (hau2) [natural native speed] |
| mouth |
| 口 (hau2) [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| 口 (hau2) [natural native speed] |
| Next: |
| 鼻 (bei6) [natural native speed] |
| nose |
| 鼻 (bei6) [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| 鼻 (bei6) [natural native speed] |
| Next: |
| 臭 (cau3) [natural native speed] |
| stinky, smelly |
| 臭 (cau3) [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| 臭 (cau3) [natural native speed] |
| Next: |
| 大 (daai6) [natural native speed] |
| big |
| 大 (daai6) [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| 大 (daai6) [natural native speed] |
| And Last: |
| 細 (sai3) [natural native speed] |
| small |
| 細 (sai3) [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| 細 (sai3) [natural native speed] |
| KEY VOCAB AND PHRASES |
| Eric: Let’s take a closer look at some of the words and phrases from this lesson. What are we starting with? |
| Teddy: 樣 (joeng2) |
| Eric: What does that mean? |
| Teddy: 樣 (joeng2) means “appearance” or “look”. It usually refers to the face or facial features. |
| Eric: Right, in the dialogue the police officer was asking what the robber looked like. |
| Teddy: He asked 乜嘢樣 (mat1 je5 joeng2). |
| Eric: Meaning “What does he look like?” |
| Teddy: Right, let’s break it down. 乜嘢 (mat1 je5) is “what” and 樣 (joeng2) is “the look”. So together 乜嘢樣 (mat1 je5 joeng2) is “What is the look?” or “What does ….look like?” |
| Eric: Teddy, Can you repeat that? |
| Teddy: 樣 (joeng2) [pause] 乜嘢樣? (mat1 je5 joeng2?) |
| Eric: Let’s learn some words for facial features. |
| Teddy: I want to introduce two words. They both mean “mouth”. |
| Eric: What are they? |
| Teddy: 嘴 (zeoi2) and 口(hau2). |
| Eric: Is there any difference in their usage? |
| Teddy: When we describe the mouth, we can use either one, like 個嘴好大 (go3 zeoi2 hou2 daai6) or 個口好大 (go3 hau2 hou2 daai6). However, 口 (hau2) includes a sense of the hollow area that we can put something inside. Whereas, 嘴 (zeoi2) often include the lips area as well. |
| Eric: So how do you say “eat with the mouth”? |
| Teddy: We say 用口食 (jung6 hau2 sik6). And for “kiss with the lips”, we say 用嘴錫 (jung6 zeoi2 sek3). |
| Eric: How does it sound like when we say kiss with the mouth? |
| Teddy: 用口錫 (jung6 hau2 sek3), it sounds like you are biting someone’s face. |
| Eric: So when I praise someone that has beautiful lips, I don’t say “beautiful mouth”, right? |
| Teddy: Yes, you can say 個嘴好靚 (go3 zeoi2 hou2 leng3), but not 個口好靚 (go3 hau2 hou2 leng3 ), because we're talking about the shape of the lips, too. 嘴 (zeoi2) |
| Eric: Yet, when we complain about someone having bad breath… |
| Teddy: Then we use 口 (hau2), because the smell is from inside. 個口好臭 (go3 hau2 hou2 cau3) |
| Eric: Ok, can you repeat the two “mouth” words for us? Listeners, repeat after Teddy. |
| Teddy: 口 (hau2) [pause] 嘴 (zeoi2) [pause]. |
| Eric: And now let's move on to the grammar. |
Lesson focus |
|---|
| Eric: In this lesson, you’ll learn how to use the classifiers for facial features and body parts. |
| Teddy: Yes, we describe the face, mouth, eyes, ears and nose with different classifiers. |
| Eric: Ok. What do you use for mouth? |
| Teddy: Just like what we mentioned before, we use 個 (go3). |
| Eric: Yes, I remember you mentioned the mouth was big. |
| Teddy: 個口好大 (go3 hau2 hou2 daai6) |
| Eric: How about for nose, which classifier do you use? |
| Teddy: It’s the same, it’s 個(go3).. |
| Eric: So “one mouth” would be… |
| Teddy: 一個口 (jat1 go3 hau2) |
| Eric: ... and “one nose” is... |
| Teddy: 一個鼻 (jat1 go3 bei6) |
| Eric: How about eyes and ears, which we have a pair of? |
| Teddy: For pairs, we use the classifier 對 (deoi3) |
| Eric: “A pair of eyes” is… |
| Teddy: 一對眼 (jat1 deoi3 ngaan5) |
| Eric: And “a pair of ears” is… |
| Teddy: 一對耳仔 (jat1 deoi3 ji5 zai2) |
| Eric: What about other pairs of our body parts, like hands and legs? |
| Teddy: They’re all using the same classifier, 對 (deoi3). So “a pair of hands” is 一對手 (jat1 deoi3 sau2), and “pair of legs” is 一對腳 (jat1 deoi3 goek3). |
| Eric: What if I only want to say one hand? |
| Teddy: Then we use the classifier 隻 (zek3). |
| Eric: Okay, “one hand” is… |
| Teddy: 一隻手 (jat1 zek3 sau2) |
| Eric: And “one leg” is... |
| Teddy: 一隻腳 (jat1 zek3 goek3) |
| Eric: Is it the same for eyes and ears? |
| Teddy: Yes, luckily, they're the same, 一隻眼 (jat1 zek3 ngaan5) “one eye”, 一隻耳仔 (jat1 zek3 ji5 zai2) “one ear”. |
| Eric: Excellent. So how about fingers? |
| Teddy: It’s also 隻 (zek3). For example, 一隻手指 (jat1 zek3 sau2 zi2) “one finger”, 兩隻手指 (loeng5 zek3 sau2 zi2) “two fingers”, 三隻手指 (saam1 zek3 sau2 zi2) “three fingers”, and so on. |
| Eric: Great! So it’s not too difficult, only 3 kinds of classifiers. |
| Teddy: Yep, and you can find more examples in the lesson notes. |
Outro |
| Eric: Thanks for listening, and we’ll see you in the next lesson! |
| Teddy: 拜拜! (baai1 baai3!) |
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