Learn how to ask what something means
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| INTRODUCTION |
| Becky: Hello and welcome back to CantoneseClass101.com. This is season 1, lesson 7, This Cantonese Dish Has an Unusual Name! I’m Becky. |
| Olivia: 哈囉！(haa1 lo3)! And I’m Olivia! |
| Becky: In this lesson, you’ll learn how to ask what something means. |
| Olivia: The conversation takes place at a Hong Kong restaurant... |
| Becky: ...between a waiter and a customer. |
| Olivia: And as usual, the speakers will be using casual Cantonese. |
| Becky: Let’s listen to the conversation. |
Lesson conversation |
|---|
| 客人: 嗰碟係乜嘢？ (HAAK3 JAN4: go2 dip6 hai6 mat1?) |
| 侍應: 「老少平安」。 (SI6 JING3: "lou5 siu3 ping4 on1.") |
| 客人: 即係乜呀？ (HAAK3 JAN4: zik1 hai6 mat1 aa3?) |
| 侍應: 即係魚肉蒸豆腐。 (SI6 JING3: zik1 hai6 jyu4 juk6 zing1 dau6 fu6.) |
| Becky: Let’s hear the conversation one time slowly. |
| 客人: 嗰碟係乜嘢？ (HAAK3 JAN4: go2 dip6 hai6 mat1?) |
| 侍應: 「老少平安」。 (SI6 JING3: "lou5 siu3 ping4 on1.") |
| 客人: 即係乜呀？ (HAAK3 JAN4: zik1 hai6 mat1 aa3?) |
| 侍應: 即係魚肉蒸豆腐。 (SI6 JING3: zik1 hai6 jyu4 juk6 zing1 dau6 fu6.) |
| Becky: Now let’s hear it with the English translation. |
| 客人: 嗰碟係乜嘢？ (HAAK3 JAN4: go2 dip6 hai6 mat1?) |
| Becky: What is that dish? |
| 侍應: 「老少平安」。 (SI6 JING3: "lou5 siu3 ping4 on1.") |
| Becky: "Everyone in peace." |
| 客人: 即係乜呀？ (HAAK3 JAN4: zik1 hai6 mat1 aa3?) |
| Becky: What is that exactly? |
| 侍應: 即係魚肉蒸豆腐。 (SI6 JING3: zik1 hai6 jyu4 juk6 zing1 dau6 fu6.) |
| Becky: That is steamed tofu with minced fish. |
| POST CONVERSATION BANTER |
| Becky: And now it’s time to talk about one of my favorite topics in Cantonese culture - food! |
| Olivia: Yes, Cantonese dishes are very tasty! |
| Becky: Don’t be ashamed to ask about the ingredients or preparation, because sometimes a dish may have a funny or confusing name. |
| Olivia: But if you're in an adventurous mood, trying new things in Hong Kong is a lot of fun, so go for it! |
| Becky: So what should you say if the food is delicious? |
| Olivia: You say 好好味 (hou2 hou2 mei6), which literally means “very good taste.” |
| Becky: How about if you come across something you would never dare to try? In my case, that would be chicken feet. |
| Olivia: It’s not a problem! Just say “No, thanks” – 唔使喇，唔該。(m4 sai2 laa3, m4 goi1.) |
| Becky: Thanks! Okay, now let’s move on to the vocab. |
| VOCAB LIST |
| : The first word we shall see is: |
| : 碟 (dip6) [natural native speed] |
| : plate, plate of |
| : 碟 (dip6) [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| : 碟 (dip6) [natural native speed] |
| : Next: |
| : 乜嘢 (mat1 je5) [natural native speed] |
| : what |
| : 乜嘢 (mat1 je5) [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| : 乜嘢 (mat1 je5) [natural native speed] |
| : Next: |
| : 老少 (lou5 siu3) [natural native speed] |
| : everyone (literally “old and young”) |
| : 老少 (lou5 siu3) [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| : 老少 (lou5 siu3) [natural native speed] |
| : Next: |
| : 平安 (ping4 on1) [natural native speed] |
| : peaceful, in peace |
| : 平安 (ping4 on1) [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| : 平安 (ping4 on1) [natural native speed] |
| : Next: |
| : 即係 (zik1 hai6) [natural native speed] |
| : that is, that means, in conclusion |
| : 即係 (zik1 hai6) [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| : 即係 (zik1 hai6) [natural native speed] |
| : Next: |
| : 魚肉 (jyu4 juk6) [natural native speed] |
| : (flesh of) fish |
| : 魚肉 (jyu4 juk6) [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| : 魚肉 (jyu4 juk6) [natural native speed] |
| : Next: |
| : 豆腐 (dau6 fu6) [natural native speed] |
| : tofu |
| : 豆腐 (dau6 fu6) [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| : 豆腐 (dau6 fu6) [natural native speed] |
| : And Last: |
| : 蒸 (zing1) [natural native speed] |
| : to steam |
| : 蒸 (zing1) [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| : 蒸 (zing1) [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: First is 老少 (lou5 siu3) |
| Becky: What can you tell us about this? |
| Olivia: It’s an expression that is very close to the English “young and old”, because it's composed of the words 老 (lou5) which means “old”, and 少 (siu3) which means “young”. |
| Becky: Like in English, it’s used to mean “everybody” or “every person”. Will you repeat it again for our listeners? |
| Olivia: 老少 (lou5 siu3) |
| Becky: Great! What’s next? |
| Olivia: Next is 平安 (ping4 on1). |
| Becky: What does each word mean? |
| Olivia: 平 (ping4) means “flat” or “smooth”, while 安 (on1) means “tranquil” and “safe”. |
| Becky: So together, we have “peaceful”, or “in peace”. Can you repeat the word again? Listeners, repeat after Olivia. |
| Olivia: 平安 (ping4 on1) [pause] |
| Becky: Okay, now onto the grammar. |
Lesson focus |
| Becky: In this lesson, you’ll learn how to ask what something means. |
| Olivia: In Cantonese, we say 即係乜呀？ (zik1 hai6 mat1 aa3?) |
| Becky: In most cases, it can be translated as “What does it mean?” or “What is it exactly?” |
| Olivia: When you want to ask for a definition or some details about an object, you can ask the question 即係乜呀？ (zik1 hai6 mat1 aa3?) in Cantonese. |
| Becky: We already learned the word for “what”... |
| Olivia: As a reminder, it’s...乜 (mat1). And 即係 (zik1 hai6) means "that is to say” or “that means”. |
| Becky: How about the last character? |
| Olivia: 呀 (aa1) is a common final particle used in neutral questions. So altogether, 即係乜呀？ (zik1 hai6 mat1 aa3?) |
| Becky: …means “What does it mean?” |
| Olivia: Listeners, repeat after me, 即係乜呀？ (zik1 hai6 mat1 aa3?) |
| Becky: You can use this phrase to ask about definitions and explanations. Or, like in the dialog, the ingredients of a dish. |
| Olivia: So when you're faced with a new word or term, and you don’t know what it means. You would want to ask... |
| Becky: ..."What does [A] mean?” |
| Olivia: Yes, like this – 「老少平安」即係乜呀？ (“lou5 siu3 ping4 ngon1” zik1 hai6 mat1 aa3?) |
| Becky: "What does ‘Everyone in peace’ mean?" |
| Olivia: Yes, since you don’t know the word’s meaning, you ask about it like this. |
| Becky: Can you give us another example please Olivia? |
| Olivia: Sure!「炒麵」即係乜呀？(“caau2 min6” zik1 hai6 mat1 aa3?) |
| Becky: This is "What does ‘chow mein’ mean?" |
| Olivia: Right, and that’s another typical Cantonese food. |
| Becky: And now let’s hear the set phrase again... Listeners, repeat after Olivia. |
| Olivia: [something] 即係乜呀？ (zik1 hai6 mat1 aa1?) |
| Becky: “What does [something] mean?” |
| Olivia: Right, and to answer the question, you can use 即係 (zik1 hai6) before the answer. |
| Becky: Which is “It means that…” |
| Olivia: For example, the question「老少平安」即係乜呀？(“lou5 siu3 ping4 ngon1” zik1 hai6 mat1 aa3?) can be answered with 即係魚肉蒸豆腐。(zik1 hai6 jyu4 juk6 zing1 dau6 fu6.) |
| Becky: So we have "What does ‘Everyone in peace’ mean?" and the answer "It means steamed tofu with minced fish." |
| Olivia: Here’s another example, IM 即係乜呀？(IM zik1 hai6 mat1 aa3?) And the answer, IM即係即時通訊。 (IM zik1 hai6 zik1 si4 tung1 seon3.) |
| Becky: "What does ‘IM’ mean?” and the answer “IM means Instant Messaging.” Listeners, for more examples, please check the lesson notes. |
| Olivia: Yes, because practice makes perfect! |
Outro |
| Becky: And that’s all for this lesson. Thanks for listening, everyone, and we’ll see you next time! Bye! |
| Olivia: 拜拜！(baai1 baai3!) |
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