Dialogue

Vocabulary

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Lesson Notes

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Lesson Transcript

INTRODUCTION
Becky: Hello and welcome back to CantoneseClass101.com. This is Lower Beginner, season 1, lesson 3, Make Sure You Buy Your Tickets Ahead of Time in Hong Kong! I’m Becky.
Olivia: 哈囉!(haa1 lo3!) And I’m Olivia.
Becky: In this lesson, you’ll learn how to talk about doing something in advance.
Olivia: The conversation takes place at Karen’s apartment...
Becky: ...between Karen and Olivia.
Olivia: And as usual, the speakers will be using casual Cantonese.
Becky: Let’s listen to the conversation.
DIALOGUE
Karen 我哋係咪搭船去?(ngo5 dei6 hai6 mai6 daap3 syun4 heoi3?)
Olivia 係呀。(hai6 aa3.)
Karen 係咪要買定來回飛?(hai6 mai6 jiu3 maai5 ding6 loi4 wui4 fei1?)
Olivia 最好啦。(zeoi3 hou2 laa1.)
Becky: Let’s hear the conversation one time slowly.
Karen 我哋係咪搭船去?(ngo5 dei6 hai6 mai6 daap3 syun4 heoi3?)
Olivia 係呀。(hai6 aa3.)
Karen 係咪要買定來回飛?(hai6 mai6 jiu3 maai5 ding6 loi4 wui4 fei1?)
Olivia 最好啦。(zeoi3 hou2 laa1.)
Becky: Now let’s hear it with the English translation.
Karen 我哋係咪搭船去?(ngo5 dei6 hai6 mai6 daap3 syun4 heoi3?)
Becky: Are we taking the ferry there?
Olivia 係呀。(hai6 aa3.)
Becky: Yes.
Karen 係咪要買定來回飛?(hai6 mai6 jiu3 maai5 ding6 loi4 wui4 fei1?)
Becky: Should we buy return tickets in advance?
Olivia 最好啦。(zeoi3 hou2 laa1.)
Becky: That'd be better.
POST CONVERSATION BANTER
Becky: Olivia, why do people buy return tickets for Macau trips? I’ve heard that there are ferries every half an hour.
Olivia: Sometimes it can be very crowded during weekends and peak hours. If you know the exact time you’re taking the ferry, it’s better to buy the return tickets beforehand.
Becky: Is it cheaper than buying two single trip tickets?
Olivia: Not really - there’s no discount for buying two-way tickets. But some travel agencies offer different kinds of bonuses.
Becky: What kinds of bonuses would they offer?
Olivia: It may be different depending on the season and promotions. I’ve gotten free lunch coupons once, and another time, I got a discount on souvenirs.
Becky: That sounds pretty good! And I know that there are many places to buy tickets other than the pier. My friend got them from a website last time.
Olivia: That’s right, just make sure you collect your tickets on time.
Becky: Okay, now let’s take move on to the vocabulary for this lesson.
VOCAB LIST
The first word we shall see is:
係咪 (hai6 mai6) [natural native speed]
Is it true that…? Isn’t it…?
係咪 (hai6 mai6) [slowly - broken down by syllable]
係咪 (hai6 mai6) [natural native speed]
Next:
搭 (daap3) [natural native speed]
to take (a form of transport)
搭 (daap3) [slowly - broken down by syllable]
搭 (daap3) [natural native speed]
Next:
船 (syun4) [natural native speed]
ship, ferry, boat
船 (syun4) [slowly - broken down by syllable]
船 (syun4) [natural native speed]
Next:
買 (maai5) [natural native speed]
to buy
買 (maai5) [slowly - broken down by syllable]
買 (maai5) [natural native speed]
Next:
來回 (loi4 wui4) [natural native speed]
round trip
來回 (loi4 wui4) [slowly - broken down by syllable]
來回 (loi4 wui4) [natural native speed]
Next:
單程 (daan1 cing4) [natural native speed]
single trip
單程 (daan1 cing4) [slowly - broken down by syllable]
單程 (daan1 cing4) [natural native speed]
Next:
飛 (fei1) [natural native speed]
ticket
飛 (fei1) [slowly - broken down by syllable]
飛 (fei1) [natural native speed]
And Last:
最好 (zeoi3 hou2) [natural native speed]
best
最好 (zeoi3 hou2) [slowly - broken down by syllable]
最好 (zeoi3 hou2) [natural native speed]
KEY VOCAB AND PHRASES
Becky: Let’s take a closer look at the usage of some of the words and phrases from this lesson. What are we starting with?
Olivia: 係咪 (hai6 mai6)
Becky: Can you break it down?
Olivia: 係咪 (hai6 mai6) is the short form for 係唔係. (hai6 m4 hai6.)
Becky: Which literally means “yes and no”.
Olivia: That’s right. 係 (hai6) is “yes” and 唔係 (m4 hai6) is “not yes”, meaning “no”.
Becky: So together you use this to ask “yes or no”.
Olivia: Right. 係唔係 (hai6 m4 hai6), “yes or no”?
Becky: Then how do you say the short form?
Olivia: 係咪 (hai6 mai6)
Becky: Can you repeat the word for us again? Listeners, repeat after Olivia.
Olivia: 係咪 (hai6 mai6) [pause] 係咪 (hai6 mai6)
Becky: Can you give us an example?
Olivia: Sure! 你係咪女仔? (nei5 hai6 mai6 neoi5 zai2?)
Becky: You're asking me whether I'm a girl? Well the answer is “yes”!
Olivia: (laughs) Ok, our next word is 搭 (daap3.)
Becky: What can you tell us about this word?
Olivia: 搭 (daap3) is a verb. It means “to take” as in taking some type of transportation.
Becky: Taking a bus is…
Olivia: 搭巴士 (daap3 baa1 si2)
Becky: Taking a taxi ….
Olivia: 搭的士 (daap3 baa1 si2)
Becky: So this is the verb for taking any kind of transportation, including an airplane, boat, or train?
Olivia: Yes, this will apply in Cantonese. Once you learn the words for different types of transportation, you can try to use this.
Becky: Can you repeat that please?
Olivia: 搭 (daap3)[pause] 搭巴士 (daap3 baa1 si2) means “to take a bus”, 搭的士 (daap3 dik1 si2) means “to take a taxi”.
Becky: In this lesson, we've talked about return tickets. How do you say that?
Olivia: 來回 (loi4 wui4) is "two-way", or literally “come and return”.
Becky: Which word means “come”, and which word means “return”?
Olivia: 來 (loi4) is “to come” and 回 (wui4) is “to return”.
Becky: How about tickets, how do you say "return tickets?"
Olivia: 來回飛 (loi4 wui4 fei1), in case you forgot, 飛 (fei1) means “tickets”.
Becky: Can you please repeat “come and return” once more?
Olivia: 來回 (loi4 wui4)
Becky: Okay, now onto the grammar.

Lesson focus

Becky: In this lesson, you’ll learn how to talk about doing something in advance.
Olivia: In Cantonese, we use the word 定 (ding6) to do that. In the dialogue, we heard 買定飛 (maai5 ding6 fei1).
Becky: Which means “to buy tickets in advance”.
Olivia: Yes. 買定 (maai5 ding6), “to buy in advance”.
Becky: Do you add this word “in advance” after or in front of the verb?
Olivia: We add 定 (ding6) after the verb.
Becky: Can you give us more examples, please?
Olivia: OK. For instance, the verb “to eat” 食(sik6) . We say 食定 (sik6 ding6) “to eat in advance”.
Becky: Right, I see some people eat before going to a ball, for example.
Olivia: Yes, 食定飯 (sik6 ding6 faan6), means “eating a meal in advance”.
Becky: How about preparing a meal in advance, how do you say that?
Olivia: 煮 (zyu2) is “to cook”. 煮定飯 (zyu2 ding6 faan6) means “to cook a meal in advance”.
Becky: I see that we're putting this word after the verb as well.
Olivia: Right, this is another simple and handy word to add after a verb.
Becky: Somehow I remember learning about this word before, but it had a different meaning?
Olivia: Well remembered! In our Absolute Beginner series lessons, we talked about 定 (ding6) meaning “or” when it’s placed between two choices. For example, A 定 (ding6) B?
Becky: “A or B?”
Olivia: That’s right. For more examples and how to distinguish different meanings of the word 定 (ding6), please check out the lesson notes.

Outro

Becky: And that’s all for this lesson! Thanks for listening, everyone, and we’ll see you next time! Bye!
Olivia: 下次見! (haa6 ci3 gin3!)

Grammar

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