Dialogue

Vocabulary (Review)

Learn New Words FAST with this Lesson’s Vocab Review List

Get this lesson’s key vocab, their translations and pronunciations. Sign up for your Free Lifetime Account Now and get 7 Days of Premium Access including this feature.

Or sign up using Facebook
Already a Member?

Lesson Notes

Unlock In-Depth Explanations & Exclusive Takeaways with Printable Lesson Notes

Unlock Lesson Notes and Transcripts for every single lesson. Sign Up for a Free Lifetime Account and Get 7 Days of Premium Access.

Or sign up using Facebook
Already a Member?

Lesson Transcript

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!)

Grammar

Cantonese Grammar Made Easy - Unlock This Lesson’s Grammar Guide

Easily master this lesson’s grammar points with in-depth explanations and examples. Sign up for your Free Lifetime Account and get 7 Days of Premium Access including this feature.

Or sign up using Facebook
Already a Member?

Comments

Hide