Learn how to use 定 in combination with a verb to talk about doing something in advance of something else
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| 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！) |
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