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Lesson Transcript

大家好(daai6 gaa1 hou2)! Hello and welcome to Cantonese Survival phrases brought to you by cantoneseclass101.com, my name is Nicole and I will be your language teacher and culture guide throughout this course. This course is designed to equip you with the language skills and knowledge to enable you to get the most out of your visit to Hong Kong or anywhere else in the Cantonese world. You will be surprised at how far a little Cantonese will go. Now before we jump in, remember to stop by cantoneseclass101.com and there you will find the accompanying PDF and additional info in this post. If you stop by, be sure to leave us a comment.
In today’s lesson, we will continue to learn more phrases that will help you with basic etiquette. Even though you may not get a chance to use 唔 使(m4 sai2) that is you are welcome in Cantonese during a trip to Hong Kong or anywhere else in the Cantonese world, there is a very good chance you hear it. So let’s have a closer look at it. In Cantonese, you are welcome is 唔 使(m4 sai2) ,唔 使(m4 sai2) . Let’s break it down by syllable. 唔 使(m4 sai2) That sounds very familiar with the last word we just learned. In last lesson, we learned thank you 唔該(m4 goi1) and in this lesson, we learn 唔 使(m4 sai2). They share the same first syllable 唔 ( m4 ). When you say it, you can feel your throat vibrating 唔 ( m4 ). The second syllable is 使(sai2). It’s the second tone. It’s a high rising tone. It’s like you are asking a question 使(sai2) and together it sounds like 唔 使(m4 sai2). That’s you are welcome. Now let’s hear it once again 唔 使(m4 sai2). 唔 使(m4 sai2) means you are welcome. You can also respond to someone that has thanked you by using two other expressions. They are 唔使唔該 (m4 sai2 m4 goi1) and 唔使客氣 (m4 sai2 haak3 hei3). Now the first phrase 唔使唔該 (m4 sai2 m4 goi1) literally means no need for thanks. 唔使唔該 (m4 sai2 m4 goi1) It’s so simple. We are combining two phrases we just learned together 唔 使(m4 sai2) and 唔該(m4 goi1). So that’s you are welcome or no need for thanks and the second phrase is 唔使 客氣 (m4 sai2 haak3 hei3) which means no need for formalities. 唔使 客氣 (m4 sai2 haak3 hei3) If you break it down 唔 使(m4 sai2) is the phrase we learned at the beginning of our lesson. That means no need or you are welcome 唔 使(m4 sai2) and 客氣 (haak3 hei3) is being polite or formalities.
So 唔使客氣 (m4 sai2 haak3 hei3) means no need for formalities or you are welcome. 唔使客氣 (m4 sai2 haak3 hei3) So by far, we’ve learned three phrases that means you are welcome. Now let’s hear all of them together. 唔 使(m4 sai2), 唔使唔該 (m4 sai2 m4 goi1), 唔使客氣 (m4 sai2 haak3 hei3) Now so you can see the easiest one is the first one. It’s only two syllables 唔 使(m4 sai2) and the other two phrases are just variations of the first one. 唔使唔該 (m4 sai2 m4 goi1) no need for thanks or 唔使客氣 (m4 sai2 haak3 hei3) no need for formalities. Actually the word 唔 使(m4 sai2) has two uses and we’ve learned one of them today. That’s when we want to say you are welcome, we say 唔 使(m4 sai2) and the second meaning of 唔 使(m4 sai2) is literally no need like no need for sugar or no need for reservation et cetera which can be quite useful too. When someone asks if you want milk with your coffee, you can say 唔 使(m4 sai2) that will mean, no I don’t want milk with my coffee or you can say 唔該(m4 goi1) if you do. That means yes please or thank you 唔該(m4 goi1). Okay to close out today’s lesson, we’d like you to practice what you’ve just learned.
I will provide you with the English equivalent of the phrases and you are responsible to shouting it out loud. You have a few seconds before I give you the answers. So 加 油(gaa1 jau2) that’s good luck or go for it in Cantonese 加 油(gaa1 jau2). Now the first one, the simplest and most common you are welcome. 唔 使(m4 sai2) The second one, don’t worry about it or no need for thanks. 唔使唔該 (m4 sai2 m4 goi1) The last one, no need for formalities or you are welcome 唔使客氣 (m4 sai2 haak3 hei3). All right, that about that’s it for today. Remember to stop by cantoneseclass101.com and pick up the accompanying PDF. If you stop by, be sure to leave us a post. Bye bye.

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