Learn four nouns you can use to refer to the past
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| INTRODUCTION |
| Echo: Welcome to cantoneseclass101.com. I am Echo. |
| Oscar: 大家好, 我係Oscar。(daai6 gaa1 hou2, ngo5 hai6 Oscar.) |
| Echo: And we are here today with lower intermediate, season 1, Lesson 23. A Troubled Chinese Past. |
| Oscar: 香港以前嘅居住環境。(hoeng1 gong2 ji5 cin4 ge3 geoi1 zyu6 waan4 ging2.) |
| Echo: Right. This is a lesson all about Hong Kong’s dark and rebellion. It is all about crime and the mob. |
| Oscar: 係呀! 我哋嘅對話呢 就發生喺兩個好朋友身上。(hai6 aa3! ngo5 dei6 ge3 deoi3 waa6 ne1 zau6 faat3 sang1 hai2 loeng5 go3 hou2 pang4 jau5 san1 soeng6.) |
| Echo: Yes. They are talking about how dangerous Hong Kong used to be and they are speaking casual Cantonese as always. |
| Oscar: 咁我哋而家去聽下佢哋點講啦! ( gam2 ngo5 dei6 ji4 gaa1 heoi3 teng1 haa5 keoi5 dei6 dim2 gong2 laa1!) |
| DIALOGUE |
| A: 旺角嘅治安曾經好差。(wong6 gok3 ge3 zi6 on1 cang4 ging1 hou2 caa1.) |
| B: 點解咁講？ (dim2 gaai2 gam2 gong2?) |
| A: 以前成日有黑社會開片。(ji5 cin4 seng4 jat6 jau5 hak1 se5 wui2 hoi1 pin2.) |
| B: 咁誇張？咁而家呢？ (gam3 kwaa1 zoeng1? gam2 ji4 gaa1 ne1?) |
| A: 好咗好多，冇咩大事發生。(hou2 zo2 hou2 do1, mou5 me1 daai6 si6 faat3 sang1.) |
| B: 咁都好啲。(gam2 dou1 hou2 di1.) |
| David: One more time, a bit slower. |
| A: 旺角嘅治安曾經好差。(wong6 gok3 ge3 zi6 on1 cang4 ging1 hou2 caa1.) |
| B: 點解咁講？ (dim2 gaai2 gam2 gong2?) |
| A: 以前成日有黑社會開片。(ji5 cin4 seng4 jat6 jau5 hak1 se5 wui2 hoi1 pin2.) |
| B: 咁誇張？咁而家呢？ (gam3 kwaa1 zoeng1? gam2 ji4 gaa1 ne1?) |
| A: 好咗好多，冇咩大事發生。(hou2 zo2 hou2 do1, mou5 me1 daai6 si6 faat3 sang1.) |
| B: 咁都好啲。(gam2 dou1 hou2 di1.) |
| David: And now with the English translation. |
| A: 旺角嘅治安曾經好差。(wong6 gok3 ge3 zi6 on1 cang4 ging1 hou2 caa1.) |
| A: Mongkok didn't used to be a safe place. |
| B: 點解咁講？ (dim2 gaai2 gam2 gong2?) |
| B: Why do you say so? |
| A: 以前成日有黑社會開片。(ji5 cin4 seng4 jat6 jau5 hak1 se5 wui2 hoi1 pin2.) |
| A: There used to be gun fights there a lot. |
| B: 咁誇張？咁而家呢？ (gam3 kwaa1 zoeng1? gam2 ji4 gaa1 ne1?) |
| B: Really? what about now? |
| A: 好咗好多，冇咩大事發生。(hou2 zo2 hou2 do1, mou5 me1 daai6 si6 faat3 sang1.) |
| A: It's much better now. Nothing too serious has happened. |
| B: 咁都好啲。(gam2 dou1 hou2 di1.) |
| B: That's good. |
| POST CONVERSATION BANTER |
| Echo: So Oscar, where do you live in Hong Kong? |
| Oscar: 我住喺沙田囉。(ngo5 zyu6 hai2 saa1 tin4 lo1.) |
| Echo: How safe is that? |
| Oscar: 治安好好㗎, 香港嘅治安 一直都好好。(zi6 ngon1 hou2 hou2 gaa3, hoeng1 gong2 ge3 zi6 ngon1 jat1 zik6 dou1 hou2 hou2.) |
| Echo: Well, safe is boring. So I guess it is good thing we are talking about the past. Let’s look at our vocabulary. |
| VOCAB LIST |
| Oscar: 旺角。(wong6 gok3.) |
| Echo: Mong Kok |
| Oscar: 旺 角, 旺角, 治安。(wong6 gok3, wong6gok3, zi6 on1) |
| Echo: Public safety. |
| Oscar: 治 安, 治安, 曾經。(zi6 on1, zi6 on1, cang4 ging1) |
| Echo: Used to be. |
| Oscar: 曾 經, 曾經, 點解咁講。(cang4 ging1, cang4 ging1, dim2 gaai2 gam2 gong2) |
| Echo: Why do you say so. |
| Oscar: 點 解 咁 講, 點解咁講, 一度. (dim2 gaai2 gam2 gong2, dim2 gaai2 gam2 gong2, jat1 dou6 ) |
| Echo: Once. |
| Oscar: 一 度, 一度, 黑社會. (jat1 dou6, jat1 dou6, hak1 se5 wui2) |
| Echo: The mob. |
| Oscar: 黑 社 會, 黑社會, 開片. (hak1 se5 wui2, hak1 se5 wui2, hoi1 pin2) |
| Echo: To fight. |
| Oscar: 開 片, 開片, 誇張。(hoi1 pin2, hoi1 pin2, kwaa1 zeong1) |
| Echo: To exaggerate. |
| Oscar: 誇 張, 誇張。(kwaa1 zeong1, kwaa1 zeong1) |
| VOCAB AND PHRASE USAGE |
| Echo: Let’s have a closer look at some of the words from this lesson. Our first word is |
| Oscar: 治安。(zi6 ngon1.) |
| Echo: Public safety. |
| Oscar: 治安。(zi6 ngon1.) |
| Echo: Public safety. |
| Oscar: 香港嘅治安係好好㗎, 平時街上面會有好多警察。(hoeng1 gong2 ge3 zi6 ngon1 hai6 hou2 hou2 gaa3, ping4 si4 gaai1 soeng6 min6 wui2 jau5 hou2 do1 ging2 caat3.) |
| Echo: Yeah if you haven’t been to Hong Kong, don’t let this lesson worry you. It is actually a very safe place. |
| Oscar: 係呀! 絕大部份嘅地方都相當安全嘅。(hai6 aa3! zyut6 daai6 bou6 fan6 ge3 dei6 fong1 dou1 soeng1 dong1 ngon1 cyun4 ge2.) |
| Echo: Yeah pretty much every place is safe except maybe some parts right near the border. So Oscar, tell us about these guns in Mong Kok though. Is that true? |
| Oscar: 唔, 你肯定係睇電影睇太多, 不過我哋而家先嚟睇下 下一個單詞先 - 黑社會. (m4, nei5 hang2 ding6 hai6 tai2 din6 jing2 tai2 taai3 do1, bat1 gwo3 ngo5 dei6 ji4 gaa1 sin1 lei4 tai2 haa5 haa6 jat1 go3 daan1 ci4 sin1 - hak1 se5 wui2.) |
| Echo: This is a word for gang. |
| Oscar: 黑社會。(hak1 se5 wui2.) |
| Echo: Gun or mob. |
| Oscar: 雖然旺角係香港人口最密集嘅地方, 不過唔會好亂。(seoi1 jin4 wong6 gok3 hai6 hoeng1 gong2 jan4 hau2 zeoi3 mat6 zaap6 ge3 dei6 fong1, bat1 gwo3 m4 wui2 hou2 lyun6.) |
| Echo: Right. Mong Kok – Mong Kok is most densely populated place in Hong Kong but it isn’t really very messy, it’s pretty safe. |
| Oscar: 電影裏面嘅 只不過係誇張手法, 現實生活裏面係根本唔會有㗎! (din6 jing2 leoi5 min6 ge3 zi2 bat1 gwo3 hai6 kwaa1 zoeng1 sau2 faat3, jin6 sat6 sang1 wut6 leoi5 min6 hai6 gan1 bun2 m4 wui2 jau5 gaa3!) |
| Echo: Right. Hong Kong movies usually exaggerate crime in the city. |
| Oscar: 誇張。(kwaa1 zoeng1.) |
| Echo: To exaggerate. |
| Oscar: 誇張。(kwaa1 zoeng1.) |
| Echo: To exaggerate. |
| Oscar: 係呀! 嗰度嘅犯罪真係冇咁嚴重㗎。(hai6 aa3! go2 dou6 ge3 faan6 zeoi6 zan1 hai6 mou5 gam3 jim4 cung4 gaa3.) |
| Echo: No. So we might say, movies exaggerate the amount of crime in Hong Kong. |
| Oscar: 電影誇張咗香港嘅犯罪情况。(din6 jing2 kwaa1 zoeng1 zo2 hoeng1 gong2 ge3 faan6 zeoi6 cing4 fong3.) |
| Echo: Movies exaggerate the amount of crime in Hong Kong. |
| Oscar: 電影誇張咗香港嘅犯罪情况。(din6 jing2 kwaa1 zoeng1 zo2 hoeng1 gong2 ge3 faan6 zeoi6 cing4 fong3.) |
| Echo: So if you are coming to Hong Kong, you don’t need to work. |
| Oscar: 係呀! 因為嗰度嘅治安真係好好㗎! (hai6 aa3! jan1 wai6 go2 dou6 ge3 zi6 ngon1 zan1 hai6 hou2 hou2 gaa3!) |
| Echo: And the mob that is left is usually doing things like selling DVDs these days. Not hurting people. |
| Oscar: 冇錯喇! (mou5 co3 laa3!) |
| Echo: So with that said, let’s move on to our grammar section. |
Lesson focus |
|---|
| Oscar: It’s grammar time. |
| Echo: Today we are going to review ways to refer to the past. |
| Oscar: 冇錯喇! (mou5 co3 laa3!) |
| Echo: In our dialogue, we heard this. |
| Oscar: 旺角嘅治安 曾經 好差。(wong6 gok3 ge3 zi6 ngon1 cang4 ging1 hou2 caa1.) |
| Echo: Mong Kok didn’t used to be a safe place. |
| Oscar: 旺角嘅治安 曾經 好差。(wong6 gok3 ge3 zi6 ngon1 cang4 ging1 hou2 caa1.) |
| Echo: Listen to this word. |
| Oscar: 曾經。(cang4 ging1.) |
| Echo: Used to be |
| Oscar: 曾經。(cang4 ging1.) |
| Echo: We can also say |
| Oscar: 一度。(jat1 dou6.) |
| Echo: Once. |
| Oscar: 一度。(jat1 dou6.) |
| Echo: So you can either say |
| Oscar: 旺角嘅治安 曾經 好差。(wong6 gok3 ge3 zi6 ngon1 cang4 ging1 hou2 caa1.) |
| Echo: Or |
| Oscar: 旺角嘅治安 一度 好差。(wong6 gok3 ge3 zi6 ngon1 jat1 dou6 hou2 caa1.) |
| Echo: Let’s look at some more examples. |
| Oscar: 好呀! 咁我哋睇下 咿句吖! 我一度差啲入咗 黑社會. (hou2 aa3! gam2 ngo5 dei6 tai2 haa5 ji1 geoi3 aa1 ! ngo5 jat1 dou6 caa1 di1 jap6 zo2 hak1 se5 wui2.) |
| Echo: Once I almost joined the mob. |
| Oscar: 我一度差啲加入咗 黑社會。(ngo5 jat1 dou6 caa1 di1 gaa1 jap6 zo2 hak1 se5 wui2.) |
| Echo: How about he used to be unlucky in word. |
| Oscar: 佢曾經喺工作上面好唔順利. (keoi5 cang4 ging1 hai2 gung1 zok3 soeng6 min6 hou2 m4 seon6 lei6.) |
| Echo: So our first two ways to refer to the past are |
| Oscar: 曾經。(cang4 ging1.) |
| Echo: And |
| Oscar: 一度。(jat1 dou6.) |
| Echo: What about some more difficult ways. |
| Oscar: 我哋可以話 - 以前。(ngo5 dei6 ho2 ji5 waa6 - ji5 cin4.) |
| Echo: In the past. |
| Oscar: 以前。(ji5 cin4.) |
| Echo: In the past. |
| Oscar: 冇錯喇! 我哋睇一句例句, 我以前就經常去旺角行街。(mou5 co3 laa3! ngo5 dei6 tai2 jat1 geoi3 lai6 geoi3, ngo5 ji5 cin4 zau6 ging1 soeng4 heoi3 wong6 gok3 haang4 gaai1.) |
| Echo: I used to go shopping in Mong Kok all the time. |
| Oscar: 我以前就經常去旺角行街。(ngo5 ji5 cin4 zau6 ging1 soeng4 heoi3 wong6 gok3 haang4 gaai1.) |
| Echo: In the past, I often went to Mong Kok to go shopping. |
| Oscar: 「以前」係比較口語化嘅, 而正式一啲嘅就係「從前」。(“ji5 cin4” hai6 bei2 gaau3 hau2 jyu5 faa3 ge3, ji4 zing3 sik1 jat1 di1 ge3 zau6 hai6 “cung4 cin4”.) |
| Echo: Right. This is more formal. |
| Oscar: 從前。(cung4 cin4.) |
| Echo: So we see this in written Cantonese more than spoken Cantonese. |
| Oscar: 冇錯喇! 從前。(mou5 co3 laa3! cung4 cin4.) |
| Echo: In the past. |
| Oscar: 從前。(cung4 cin4.) |
| Echo: In the past. |
| Oscar: 從前香港就只不過係一個好細嘅漁港。(cung4 cin4 hoeng1 gong2 zau6 zi2 bat1 gwo3 hai6 jat1 go3 hou2 sai3 ge3 jyu4 gong2.) |
| Echo: In the past, Hong Kong was only a small fishing port. |
| Oscar: 從前香港就只不過係一個好細嘅漁港。(cung4 cin4 hoeng1 gong2 zau6 zi2 bat1 gwo3 hai6 jat1 go3 hou2 sai3 ge3 jyu4 gong2.) |
| Echo: In the past, Hong Kong was only a small fishing port. |
| Oscar: 或者係, 從前旺角嘅治安唔算太好。(waak6 ze2 hai6, cung4 cin4 wong6 gok3 ge3 zi6 ngon1 m4 syun3 taai3 hou2.) |
| Echo: In the past, Mong Kok didn’t used to be very safe. |
| Oscar: 從前旺角嘅治安唔算太好。(cung4 cin4 wong6 gok3 ge3 zi6 ngon1 m4 syun3 taai3 hou2.) |
| Echo: So let’s review these words. |
| Oscar: 一度, 曾經, 以前, 從前。(jat1 dou6, cang4 ging1, ji5 cin4, cung4 cin4.) |
| Echo: We are done with our lesson for today. |
| Oscar: 冇錯。(mou5 co3.) |
Outro |
| Echo: And we are looking forward to seeing you on the site. |
| Oscar: 咁我哋網上見啦! (gam2 ngo5 dei6 mong5 soeng6 gin3 laa1!) |
| Echo: Thanks for listening. Bye bye. |
| Oscar: 下次見。(haa6 ci3 gin3.) |
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