teach

yourself

teach
yourself cantonese
goal category
all-around confidence language

content
learn tospeak and understand cantonese
progress quickly beyond the basics
explore the language in depth

be where you want to be with teach yourself

 also available in a book/CD package

cantonese
hugh baker & ho pui-kei

• Do you want to cover the basics then progress fast?

• Do you want to communicate in a range of situations?
• Do you want to learn Cantonese in depth?

Cantonese starts with the basics but moves at an energetic pace

to give you a good level of understanding and speaking. You will

have lots of opportunity to practice the kind of language you will

need to be able to communicate with confidence and understand

the culture of speakers of Cantonese.

Hugh Baker is Professor Emeritus of Chinese, School of Oriental

and African Studies, University of London. Ho Piu-Kei is one of

the most experienced language teachers in Hong Kong where he

has been teaching Cantonese for over 30 years.

Why not try • World Cultures: China • Beginner's Chinese Script

• or visit books.mcgraw-hill.com?

Cover • Neil Beer/©Corbis • Bicycle saddles for sale, China

the leader in self-learning with more than 500

titles, covering all subjects
be where you want to be with teach yourself

ISBN-13: 978-0-07-142020-4
ISBN-10: 0-07-142020-7
®
teach
yourself
US $14.95

CAN $18.95
 I
®
teach
yourself

cantonese
hugh baker
and
ho pui-kei

For over 60 years, more than

50 million people have learnt over
750 subjects the teach yourself
way, with impressive results.

be where you want to be

withteach yourself
For UK order enquiries: please contact Bookpoint Ltd, 130 Milton Pah<, Abingdon, Oxon,
0X14 4SB. Telephone: +44 (0) 1235 827720. Fax: +44 (0) 1235 400454. Lines are open
09.00-17.00, Monday to Saturday, with a 24-hour message answering service. Details
about our titles and how to order are available at www.teachyourself.co.uk

For USA order enquiries: please contact McGraw-Hill Customer Services, PO Box 545,
Blacklick, OH 43004-0545, USA. Telephone: 1-800-722-4726. Fax: 1-614-755-5645.
For Canada order enquiries: please contact McGraw-Hill Ryerson Ltd, 300 Water St,
Whitby, Ontario, LIN 9B6, Canada. Telephone: 905 430 5000. Fax: 905 430 5020.
Long renowned as the authoritative source for self-guided learning - with more than
50 million copies sold worldwide - the teach yourself series includes over 500 titles in the
fields of languages, crafts, hobbies, business, computing and education.

British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data: a catalogue record for this title is available
from the British Library.

Library of Congress Catalog Card Number on file.

First published in UK 2006 by Hodder Education, 338 Euston Road, London, NW1 3BH.

First published in US 2006 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.

This edition published 2006.

The teach yourself name is a registered trade mark of Hodder Headline.

Copyright © 2006 Hugh Baker and Ho Pui-Kei

In UK: All from any permitted use under UK copyright law, no part
rights reserved. Apart
of this publication may be reproduced
or transmitted in any form or by any means,
electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording, or any information, storage and
retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher or under licence from

the Copyright Licensing Agency Limited. Further details of such licences (for reprographic
reproduction) may be obtained from the Copyright Licensing Agency Limited, of Saffron
House, 6-10 Kirby Street, London, EC1N 8TS.

In US: All rights reserved. Except as permitted under the United States Copyright Act of
1976, no part of this publication may be reproduced or distributed in any form or by any
means, or stored in a database or retrieval system, without the prior written permission of
the publisher.

Typeset by Graphicraft Limited, Hong Kong.

Printed in Great Britain for Hodder Education, a division of Hodder Headline, 338 Euston
Road, London, NW1 3BH, by Cox & Wyman Ltd, Reading, Berkshire.

The publisher has used its best endeavours to ensure that the URLs for external websites
referred to in this book are correct and active at the time of going to press. However, the
publisher and the author have no responsibility for the websites and can make no
guarantee that a site will remain live or that the content will remain relevant, decent or
appropriate.

Hodder Headline's policy is to use papers that are natural, renewable and recyclable
products and made from wood grown in sustainable forests. The logging and
manufacturing processes are expected to conform to the environmental regulations of the
country of origin.

Impression number 20 19 18 17 16 15 14 13 12
Year 2010 2009 2008 2007
 ^contents

introduction ix

pronunciation guide xii

01 encounters 1

greeting and addressing people

asking questions

descriptive words

02 personal property 9

numbers
classifiers (words which introduce

different types of nouns)

03 family and friends 17

the regular verb: to have

words for family members

final particles

04 eating in and eating out 26

‘lonely verbs’

more about classifiers

verb endings

05 shops and markets 36

more about classifiers and verb endings

two different ways of saying thank you

06 getting around 46
means of transport

how to get to places

 07 revision (1) 57
08 blowing hot and cold 61

contents
talking about hot and cold

09 fun and games 72

leisure activities

going on holiday

10 health care for beginners 82

saying how you are feeling

consulting a doctor

11 the world of fashion 92

passing judgements

expressing likes and dislikes

12 education for life 102

education

colours

making comparisons

describing the position of one thing

relative to another

13 speculation 114
speculating in Cantonese

14 revision (2) 124

15 travelling 129
travelling vocabulary

describing the way in which actions

are performed

16 driving 140
making comparisons
17 the uniformed services 150
complicated descriptive phrases

18 law and order 161

how to report a crime

law and crime vocabulary

19 banking and finance 170

vocabulary for banking transactions

financial matters
 grammar patterns such as the

more ...the more

showing reluctant agreement with
contents

someone
20 using the postal system 180
words relating to money
dates

21 revision (3) 190

22 the office 197
the work environment

colloquial speech patterns

23 eating out in Hong Kong 208

food

24 leisure activities 219

hobbies

dou
25 household affairs 229
accommodation
food

26 revision (4) 238

appendices

grammar summary 243

the Chinese writing system 250
taking it further 254
key to the exercises 256
Cantonese-English glossary 283
English-Cantonese glossary 315
 ^introduction
Welcome to a new experience. If you have never tried to learn a
Chinese language before you are in for a rare treat.

There are some real eye-openers: have you ever met a language
where verbs have only one form and don’t change according
to tense or number or mood?; a language where there are no
cases? (you can forget about vocatives, genitives, ablatives
and their confusing brethren); where no gender differences are
acknowledged? (have you noticed how Chinese people speaking
English frequently get ‘he’and ‘she’ mixed up?); where there
are no agreements of anything with anything else? (‘singular,
third person, feminine’ what’s that?!); where there are no
subjunctives? (Would ’twere so for English!)

Contrariwise, have you ever tried a language which has to be

sung in order to be understood? Or where word orders are
so crucial that if you get them wrong you will be totally
unintelligible? Or where you can’t count objects without first
specifying what kind of objects they are? Or where almost
every single syllable has a meaning? (Unlike English where the
individual syllables of a word such as ‘trousers’ mean nothing
at all.)

Cantonese is a vital living language spoken by upwards of a

hundred million people in southeast China (including Hong
Kong and Macau), Malaysia, Europe, Australia, Fiji, North
America and many other parts of the world where the
adventurous Cantonese people have settled. It is one of a large
family of Chinese languages and retains many more traces of
its ancient roots than do most of the other languages. By way

of contrast, it is a language which seems unafraid to adopt or

adapt, notably from English in the past century or so, and it
invents, evolves and discards slang at a frenetic rate. As a result
it is a very rich language.

The people who speak Cantonese are lively, quick-thinking,

direct and fun-loving. They are tuned into their language so
much that they cannot resist having fun with it - they pun all
the time and often with great ingenuity. They love it when
foreigners stammer out their first words of Cantonese, because
there is bound to be a howler or two which can be punned into
something funny. Don’t be put off, you are brightening their
lives and they will not despise you for it.

And if you have the chance to get help from a Cantonese you

should, of course, seize it. The odds are that he or she will not
want to be bothered with the romanized text which you are
learning from and it is for this reason that we have supplied
Chinese characters for the dialogues and new word lists. We are
not attempting to teach you characters beyond the briefest of
introductions at the end of the text - the reason is that it takes
a great investment of time to learn to read and write Chinese
characters and you will learn to speak and to understand speech
much sooner if you ignore the script. You can always move on
to learning it later.

Most of the units book follow the same pattern:

of this
two dialogues humorous, if you think silly jokes are
(often
humorous), each with a list of the new words used and
explanations of new grammar points, and followed by some
exercises. Units 7, 14, 21 and 26 are revision units, giving more
material based on what has been learned but not introducing
anything new. The appendices summarize the most important
grammar points and refer you to the units of the book in which
they are first explained and they also introduce you to Chinese
writing. At the back will be found the answers to all exercises
and a two-way glossary to help you find your way round the
book.

A few points to note:

• Do not look for consistent characterization of the people
who appear in the dialogues: there is none, the Mr Wong of
one unit being a totally different person from the Mr Wong
who figures in another.
• Do not be put off by the fact that in our system of writing
Cantonese Mr Wong is spelled Wohng, Mr Cheung is spelled
Jeung, etc. - our system is meant to work for you the learner ,
 but the man in the street does not need to be as precise about
pronunciation as you do, so we also show you the spellings
which he would probably normally use.
• You may be puzzled by the numbers of words which are introduction

pronounced the same but which have quite different

meanings (daai, for instance, means both ‘to bring’ and ‘to
wear’). Cantonese, like all the Chinese languages, is full of
homophones (words pronounced the same): it is a fact of life
that you will have to accept - and it is one of the reasons
why punning is so common.
• When you first hear Cantonese it sounds rather ugly and
even a normal chat can seem like a violent argument because
of the vigour and velocity with which ideas are delivered.
Fear not, you will quickly learn to detect beneath that coarse
exterior melodic and beautiful cadences which can be as
romantic, heart-warming or soft as anyone could desire.

We have had fun writing this. We hope you will enjoy studying
it. We know you will get a great kick out of speaking with
Cantonese people.

Symbols
Q= material included on the recording

= information about culture, way of life etc.

pronunciation

A note on romanization
This note is about the sounds of Cantonese and how to
represent them on paper. It should be read with the recording
available so that you can hear a clear demonstration of what the
sounds are.

Cantonese, like all the Chinese languages,

is written in
characters. As you will discover when you
read the appendices
of this book, characters are symbols representing ideas, while
the letters of our alphabet are symbols representing sounds.
guide Written English reproduces the sounds of speech using an
economical 26 symbols, which are quite sufficient to do the job;
but the Chinese writing system pays little attention to the
sounds of the spoken language and tackles the massive problem
of providing instead a separate symbol for most of the ideas
which need to be written.
When you learn to write an English word you learn how to say
it (even the spelling is sometimes a little erratic). If you were
if

to try to learn the basic Cantonese of this book through Chinese

characters, not only would you have the daunting task of
learning nearly 1,500 different symbols, but even when you had
learned them you would be none the wiser about how to speak
the language, because the symbols are generally dumb about
how they should be pronounced.

So generations of foreign learners have struggled to find ways to

romanize’ Cantonese, that is, to represent Cantonese sounds
with the Roman alphabet. Since there are very few sounds in
Cantonese which are difficult for English speakers, this would
be an easy task but for one thing: Cantonese is a tOnal language
,
that is, each one of the sounds of Cantonese can be pronounced

(or perhaps ‘sung’ would be a better word) in seven different

ways (the tones). The Roman alphabet does not have any
devices for representing tones and musical notations added
to letters of the alphabet would be much too awkward to pronunciation

handle.

Romanization is only a tool to enable you to learn how to

guide

speak the language; it is useless outside the classroom, a private

communication system just between us the teachers and you the
learner. There is no ‘official’ romanization of Cantonese, and
many different systems are in existence. In this new edition of
Teach Yourself Cantonese we have chosen to use a version of
the Yale system, which we believe to be helpful for the following
reasons:

• It distinguishes clearly each one of the sounds and each of

the seven tones.
• Only three additional symbols (the macron ["], the grave
1'] and the acute ['] accent) are required to indicate the

tones.
• There are reference materials available which use the same
system and the beginner will thus be able to expand beyond
the scope of this book if desired.

Ifyou intend to go really deeply into Cantonese you will

certainly have to learn Chinese characters and then
romanization will be largely redundant. Meanwhile, try to
familiarize yourself with the principles of the Yale system as
quickly as possible so that it becomes a tool and not an obstacle

to your learning the language.

The Cantonese tones

Cantonese has seven tones which it is essential to master for
fluent and comprehensible speech. Some teachers have been
known to claim that it is possible to be understood even if tones
are totally ignored, but while it is true that a certain limited
communication may be possible given great goodwill on the
listener’s part, in normal circumstances the toneless speaker
would be met by blank incomprehension. The tones occur on
all syllables and are located in three pitches (high, mid, low),

the voice remaining level, rising or falling within those pitches.

The seven tones are:
 High pitch High level
xiv
High falling
Mid pitch Mid rising
Mid level
pronunciation

Low pitch Low falling

Low rising
Low level

guide
• Low pitch words are shown by the addition of h after the
vowel.
• Rising tones are shown by the acute accent ['], falling tones
by the grave accent ['], and the macron ["1 shows the high
level tone.
• The accents are marked on the vowel or (where there is a
vowel chain) the first vowel of the syllable.

Thus the seven tones of the sounds ma and hung would be

written:

High level ma hung

High falling ma hung
Mid rising ma hung
Mid level ma hung
Low falling mah huhng
Low rising mah huhng
Low level mah huhng

Listen to how these are spoken on the recording and do your

best to copy them exactly.

Every now and then a word changes its tone in a particular

context: we have pointed it out when it occurs in this book and
suggest that you try to accept these occurrences as the oddities
they are rather than try to figure out why they change.

The sounds of Cantonese

1 The consonant sounds which begin Cantonese syllables are
simple for English speakers. The only exception is the initial
consonant ng- and that is only difficult because English does
not have syllables which start with this sound. You can
imagine how it is done if you think of the word singalong
and try to pronounce it without the letters si at the front. If
you have the recording you should be able to pick up how
 ng- syllables are pronounced without much difficulty. For
example:

ngan nga ngok ngai ngaam

2 There are very few consonants which can appear at the inundation

end of Cantonese syllables, in fact there are only six (-n, -ng,
-m, -p, -t, -k). Of these, the first three are completely
straightforward, just as you would expect them to be if you
guide

were reading the sounds off in English. For example:

haan seun leng mong taam gam
But the other three (-p, -t, -k) are hardly pronounced at all,

the tongue and the lips getting into position to pronounce

them and then not following through. So your lips should
snap together to get ready to make the -p at the end of the
syllable sap, but you should not open them again to release
the puff of air which has built up to make the full p sound.
Similarly with the sound bat, the tip of your tongue should
make contact with the hard ridge behind your upper teeth,
but the air should not puff out to make a full t and with baak
the flat top of your tongue should go up into your palate but
not allow the air to escape to make the full k sound. Listen
carefully to the recording examples:

sap jaap kat faat sik jek

3 The sounds of Cantonese are a little more

vowel
complicated. The following is a guide to the sounds based
wherever possible on ‘BBC English’ pronunciations, but
please note that this is only a rough guide. The best way
to grasp them is to listen carefully several times to the
pronunciation section of the recording: while your ear is
getting used to hearing the sounds, your eye will be taking
in the system which we use for spelling those sounds. To
start with concentrate on the sound itself without being too
much concerned with tone. You will get more pronunciation
practice later, because each unit’s dialogues and new words
lists are also on the recording. And, of course, if you have the

luxury of a Cantonese friend, ask him or her to make the

sounds for you as well.
-aa is a long vowel sound, rather like the sound of the word
are in English. It combines with -i to make a long vowel as
in a drawled version of eye , and it combines with -u to make
a long version of cow. If there is no final consonant the
Yale system always uses just one a, but it should always be
 pronounced long as if it were aa (ba is pronounced bar). For
example:
ba baai baau baan saam laang a daap
pronunciation
-a is a shorter version
of the aa sound, pronounced
somewhere between the English bat and but. For example:
jam pan hang tai tau sat

guide -e is rather like the English {airy. For example:

be che leng jek

-ei is like the English d ay. For example:

bei sei

-eu is something like English farther. For example:

jeun leung cheut geuk
-eui is rather like her evening (but don’t pronounce the r).
For example:
deui neui heui
-iis not too different from English see, except when it is
followed by -k when it is more like English sick. For
example:
ni tiu tim min ting lip mit sik

-o is somewhere between English thaw and gone. For

example:
fo on bong hok ngoi mou
-u is somewhere between English too and cook. For
example:
fu fun hung juk mui
-yu is like the German fiber or the French t u. In English you

can get close to the sound by saying see you very quickly. For
example:
jyu syun hyut yu
4 Cantonese syllables all carry virtually equal stress and each
therefore sounds more or less discrete; and Chinese characters
each represent one syllable and are all written discretely. Our
romanization, therefore, could spell each syllable separately,
but we have chosen to use hyphens where two or more
syllables are so closely associated that they may be thought
of as one word or one concept, as with pahng-yauh friend ), (

jung-yi (to like) and Jung-gwok-wa Chinese language).(

Signs of change
Language never stands still and Cantonese is changing very
rapidly. There are four important sound changes which seem to
have been developing over recent decades: pronunciation

1 Many people (perhaps even a majority of people) now do

not use an initial n- sound at all and all the words which
appear in this book with an initial n- would be pronounced guide

by them with an 1- instead. So neih becomes leih and

naahm-yan becomes laahm-yan. You are bound to meet
some native speakers who do this constantly or who perhaps
even alternate between the two.
2 Some people now do not distinguish between initial g-
and initial gw-, pronouncing Jung-gwok as Jung-gok. This
change is not so common, but you should be prepared to
understand it if you do hear it.
3 The initial ng- sound seems to have been gradually falling
out of favour over many years and some people have now
dropped it altogether. So you may hear such things as oh for
ngoh or auh-yuhk for ngauh-yuhk.
4 The distinction between the two high pitch tones seems to be
less critical now than it once was and you will meet some
native speakers who use only high level or who quite freely
use one or the other regardless of which is the ‘correct’ tone.

What you hear native speakers say will affect the way you speak
and you may find yourself following some or
all of these
changes as you go on. Meanwhile, you can be confident that if
you speak in the way this book teaches you, you will not be
wrong.
In this unit you will learn
• how to greet and address
people
• how to ask questions
• how to use descriptive
words
2 Dialogue 1

Mr Wong and his boss Miss Cheung meet in the lift on the way up to
encounters
the office.

¥Jt •

° faWM ?

mm - ?

m°
0

Cheung J6u-sahn, W6hng Sln-s&ang.

Wong J6u-s&hn, Jeung Siu-j6. N6ih h6u ma?
Cheung Ngoh h6u hou. N6ih ne?
Wong H6u h6u.
Cheung N6ih taai-t^ai ne?
Wong Keuih dou h6u, y£uh-sam.

¥11 j6u-s£hn good morning

T Wohng a surname: Wong
sin-s&ang Mr, gentleman, husband
Sir,

36 Jeung a surname: Cheung

d'ffl sfu-j6 Miss, young lady
fa n6ih you
h6u very, well, fine, OK, nice, good
HI ? ma? a word that makes a sentence
into a question
$ ng6h 1, me
m ? ne? a word that repeats the same
question about a different matter
AA taai-tdai Mrs, wife, married woman
iM k6uih she, her, he, him, it

ffl dou also

yauh-s£m kind of you to ask

Now that you have read the dialogue, can you say whether
Jeung Siu-je has a husband or not? Has Wohng Sin-saang? Are
any of the three people unwell? How would you address the
person that Miss Cheung enquires about?

(The answers, as if you didn’t know, are no, no, no and Wohng
Taai-taai.)
Grammar
1
3

Identifying people and things

encounters

ngoh I, me
neih you (singular)
keuih
2 he, she , him, her, it

Each of these personal pronouns can be made plural by the

addition of -deih:

ngoh-deih we, us
neih-deih you (plural)
keuih-deih they, them

Addressing people
3
Unlike English, Chinese surnames are always given before
titles:

Wohng Sin-saang Mr Wong

Wohng Taai-taai Mrs Wong
Wohng Siu-je Miss Wong

Q Why does the surname come first?

As as Mr, Mrs, and Miss, other titles, such as president, doctor,

well
professor, ambassador, sister, are also given after the surname.
Personal names follow the surname too, so someone called Mr John
Smith becomes Smith John Mr in the Cantonese order. It all fits in
with the great stress which the Chinese people have traditionally
placed on the family. The surname shows your family line and so it
is the surname which comes first in the Cantonese order, as with

W6hng Gwok M6ih Sln-sdang.

Adjectives or verbs? Both!

Hou means good, nice, well, fine, OK and so on. Just as in
English, such words (they are adjectives) go in front of nouns,
so a good husband is a hou sin-saang. But in Cantonese all
adjectives can also act as verbs to describe things (descriptive
verbs) and so hou means not only good but also to be good:
Keuih-deih hou. They are well.
Wohng Sin-saang hou. Mr Wong is fine.
 ? ?

Remember, itnot only the adjective hou which is also a

is
4 -
descriptive verb all adjectives behave the same. So the word
4
for ugly also means to be ugly, difficult can also mean to be
encounters
difficult and so on.

Simple questions
In Mandarin (now usually known as Putonghua, the official
common language of China) you can ask a question simply by
putting the little word ma? on the end of a statement. Sometimes
you will hear Cantonese speakers do the same, but it is not
common. However, in one expression you will hear this ‘spoken
question mark’ very often, and that is in the polite question:

Neih hou ma? How are you

The practice seems to be extending to asking after other people’s
health as well:

Jeung Taai-taai hou ma? Is Mrs Cheung OK

You will meet the most common way of asking questions later
in this unit.

5 Two for the price of one

When you learned hou you got double value, because it not only
means good, well etc. but very as well. So hou hou means very
good.

6 Follow-up questions
A special kind of shortcut question is formed with the little
word ne? Ne? asks a follow-up question without the tedium of
repeating in full what went before:

Jeung Taai-taai hou ma? Is Mrs Cheung OK?

Keuih hou hou. She’s very well.
Wohng Siu-je ne? And how’s Miss Wong?

7 Dou also
Dou means also, too. It always comes just before a verb:

Ngoh hou. I’m well.

Keuih dou hou. She’s well too.
 z

8 And now for the good news

Itmay have escaped your notice: verbs only have one form! The
same word hou was translated as am welly is well and are well
in our earlier examples and it was no accident. Hou only ever
inters

appears like that even though the English verb to be well takes
many guises (am well, is well are welly will be welly have been
,

well, was welly were well etc.). Regardless of the tense, the
,

mood, the subject or anything else, the verb will always be

simply hou. And, better still, this applies to all verbs, there are
no irregularities to make life difficult!

Q Dialogue 2
When she gets to the office, Miss Cheung is surprised to find a visitor
waiting for her.

m •
mo. •
nm ?

•
(m^mm ?
•
nm i • ?
•
fammm ?
Dgg . Dgg o °

MI •

• mi sa
• •

Cheung 6u, deui-mh-jyuh, gwai-sing a?

Ho Ng6h sing H6h. N6ih haih L6ih Sfu-j6 ma?
Cheung Mh haih, ngdh sing J6ung. H6h Sln-s&ang, n6ih haih
mh haih M6ih-gwok-y&hn a?
Ho Mh haih, ng6h haih Ying-gwok-y&hn. Ng6h maaih M6ih-
gwok che: M6ih-gwok che h6u leng, n6ih yiu mh yiu a?
Cheung Mh yiu, mh yiu. M6ih-gwok che h6u gwai: ng6h yiu
Yaht-bun che. Joi-gin, H6h Sln-s&ang.
Ho N6ih mh yiu, L6ih Siu-j6 yiu rtih yiu a?
Cheung L6ih Siu-j6 dou mh yiu. Joi-gin, joi-gin.

6u oh! (surprise)
deui-mh-jyuh I’m sorry excuse; me; pardon me
? gwai-sing a? what your name?
is

(lit: distinguished surname?)

54 sing surname to be sumamed

;

f6JH6h a surname: Ho
M haih to be
^L6ih a surname: Li
Diihh not
6
MSA M6ih-gwok-yahn American person
JUD Meih-gwok America, USA
Ay^hn person
encounters
nj ? a? word used at the end of a question
MSA Ying-gwok-y^hn British person

MS Ying-gwok Britain, UK, England

S maaih to sell

$ che car, cars

a&leng pretty, good-looking, handsome,
of good quality
H yiu to want
gwai
It expensive distinguished
;

0;$A Yaht-bun-y^hn Japanese person

0 ^ Yaht-bun Japan
MBjoi-gin goodbye

You should be able to answer these questions if you have

understood the second dialogue. Why did Miss Cheung not
want an American car? What kind of car did she want? Could
Mr Ho supply it? Was he going to have better luck with
Miss Li?

(Answers: Too expensive; Japanese; no; no.)

Having read Dialogue 2 again, can you say which of these

statements is/are true and which false?

a Jeung Siu-je haih Meih-gwok-yahn.

b Hoh Sin-saang mh maaih Meih-gwok che.
c Wohng Sin-saang maaih che.
d Jeung Siu-je haih taai-taai.

(Answers: All false.)

Grammar
9 People
Yahn means person but it also means people. In fact, all nouns
in Cantonese are the same whether single or plural and you can
only tell which is meant from the sense of the conversation. There
is usually no problem: by looking at the personal pronouns you

can easily tell which is which in the following examples:

Ngoh haih Ying-gwok-yahn.
Keuih-deih haih Yaht-bun-yahn.
 1

O More on surnames
You have already met a number of surnames (Wdhng, Jdung, Hdh,
L6ih) and you will of course meet others. It is interesting that
although there are several thousand different surnames in existence,
the vast majority of the Chinese share just a few dozen of them. You
will certainly meet many people with the four surnames you’ve just
10
learned, but the most common surname of all among Cantonese
people is Chdhn.

Negatives
The word for not is mh. It always comes in front of the word it

refers to:

Wohng Sin-saang mh leng Mr Wong isn’t handsome.

Ngoh mh yiu che I don’t want a car.

1 Another way to ask questions

The most common way to ask a question in Cantonese is by
using the positive and negative of a verb together and adding the
little word a? at the end of the sentence:

Keuih leng mh leng a? Is she pretty?

What you are really doing is offering your listener a choice of

answers (She pretty? Not pretty? Eh?) and the answer is going
to be either:
12
Keuih leng. She is pretty,
or Keuih mh leng. She’s not pretty.

In the same way you can ask:

Neih maaih mh maaih Are you selling American cars?
Meih-gwok che a?
Cantonese people like to have a comfortable noise to round off
their sentences with and they have a whole string of little words
(usually called particles) which they use. A? has no meaning on
its own, it is just used to punch home the question which has

been asked in the sentence. Ma? and ne? which we have already
met are other examples of particles.

The unspoken if

There are various words for if in Cantonese, but quite often

none of them is used, the meaning seeming to flow naturally
 from the context. In the dialogue the sentence Neih mh yiu, Leih
Siu-je yiu riih yiu a? (literally. You not want. Miss Li want not
want, eh?) should be understood to mean If you don’t want one,
encounters
does Miss Li?

Exercise 1
Here’s a fine mess! The following words have got all jumbled
up. Sort them out and make meaningful sentences of them.
For example, Taai-taai Wohng leng hou does not make sense,
but rearranged into Wohng Taai-taai hou leng it is a correct
sentence meaning Mrs Wong is very beautiful.

a Hou keuih-deih hou

b Sin-saang Wohng hou
c Dou Jeung hou Siu-je

(Answers to all exercises and tests from now on are at the back
of the book.)

Exercise 2
What would you reply?

a Jou-sahn.
b Neih hou ma?
c Joi-gin.

Exercise 3
Fill inthe blanks with words which will make sense. You will
have to think a bit to work out what the sentence must mean!
a Wohng Sin-saang yiu Meih-gwok che.
b Chahn Siu-je leng leng a?
c Keuih-deih haih mh Yaht-bun-yahn a?
d Ngoh mh maaih Yaht-bun che, ngoh maaih .

Exercise 4
Translate these simple sentences into Cantonese. If you can do
so, you can really congratulate yourself on having mastered this
unit.

a Japanese cars aren’t expensive,

b He isn’t nice,
c You are very pretty,
d Do they want cars?
e He is good-looking too.
f They are Americans,
g Mr Wong sells cars,
h British people don’t sell American cars.
personal

chdih-maht
property

In this unit you will learn

• numbers
• classifiers (words which
introduce different types
of nouns)
10 Dialogue 1

Mr Ho is working in his office when a woman comes in.

personal

property

&»£«** • °

Ho w£n bin-go a?
Taai-tdai, n6ih
Lady Ng6h w£n W6hng Gwok M6ih Sin-s&ang, kduih haih
Jung-gwok-y&hn, haih ng6h ge pdhng-yciuh.
Ho N6ih w£n W6hng Sin-sdang y£uh-mat-y6h-sih-a?
Lady Ng6h yiu maaih ng6h ge M6ih-gwok che,
Wdhng Sln-sdang sdung mdaih.
Ho H6u, ng6h daai n6ih heui Wdhng Sln-s&ang ge
sd-jih-l&uh.
Lady Mh-gdi ndih.

1ft wdn to look for

jftfft bin-go who? which person? which one?
^ S3 Jung-gwok China
l?f ge 's (shows possession)

sm ng6h ge my
p&hng-yduh friend
#ySuh tohave
i2if mat-ydh what? what kind of?
$sih matter, business, affair
^urnrnw ? for what purpose? why?
yduh-mat-ydh-sih-a?
& s6ung to want to, intend to, would like to

ft mdaih to buy
$ daai to lead, to bring, to go with
£ heui to go to, to go
3^«s6-jih-lduh office
n!j|£ (ftt) mh-gdi (n6ih) thank you

Q True or false?
Ifyou have understood the dialogue you should be able to pass
judgement on the following statements about it.
 ,

a Wohng Gwok Meih Sin-saang seung maaih che.

11
b Wohng Sin-saang seung maaih Yaht-bun che.
c Hoh Sin-saang, Wohng Sin-saang keuih-deih haih pahng-yauh.
d Wohng Taai-taai wan Wohng Sin-saang. personal

Grammar property

1 Question words
Question words like bin-go? who? and mat-yeh? what? come in
the same position in the sentence as the answer to them does.
In English question and answer have different word orders, but
in Chinese they have the same word order. In the two examples N3
following note how the English is twisted but the Chinese is not:

Keuih sing mat-yeh a? What is he surnamed?

Keuih sing Hoh. He is surnamed Ho.

Keuih wan bin-go a? Who isshe looking for?
Keuih wan Hoh Siu-je. She is looking for Miss Ho.
Some people say mi-yeh? instead of mat-yeh?: there is no
difference in meaning, you can please yourself which you say.
Note how a is used at the end of sentences which are questions.

2 Possession
The word ge shows possession, like the apostrophe s (’s) in
little

English. So ngoh ge is my or mine , neih ge is your or yours

keuih ge is his, her, hers or its and Leih Taai-taai ge is Mrs Li’s:

Wohng Taai-taai ge che Mrs Wong’s car

ngoh-deih ge se-jih-lauh our office
Che haih Wohng Siu-je ge. The car is Miss Wong’s.
Jung-gwok che haih keuih ge. The Chinese car is his.
When there is a close personal relationship with a person, ge is

often left out, but the relationship term must have at least two
syllables, as with taai-taai and pahng-yauh here:
ngoh taai-taai my wife keuih pahng-yauh her friend

3 Mh-goi thank you

Mh-goi literally means ought not, but it is the most common
word for thank you. If someone holds the door open for you,
passes you the soy sauce or tells you your shoelace is undone,
you should politely say mh-goi to them.
12 Dialogue 2
Miss Cheung has found a watch and a pen on her desk. She asks Mr
personal Ho if they are his.

pi i -\m$k •
f5j££ •

fW?
property

:
mfcm&nw °

mm^mm •
-
mummm ?

BpMii • ajiTOfEo
Cheung Ou! Yat go s£u-bTu, yat bat H6h Sin-s&ang, jl . . .

nTgo s^u-blu tuhng-m&aih g6 bat haih mh haih jl

n6ih ga?
Ho NT go s£u-bTu mh haih ng6h ge: g6 bat haih ng6h ge. jl

Cheung NT go s£u-bfu h6u leng, haih M6ih-gwok s£u-bTu.

N6ih gu haih brn-go ga?
Ho Ng6h gu haih W6hng Sin-s&ang ge.
Cheung Ng6h dou gu haih k6uih ge. Ng6h-deih heui mahn
k6uih, h6u mh h6u a?
Ho W6hng Sin-s&ang ylh-ga mh h^i k6uih ge s6-jih-l&uh.
Cheung Mh g&n-yiu. Ng6h chlh-dT mahn k6uih.

— yat one
f@go classifier word for people and
many objects
Sciu-bTu wristwatch
m classifier
things
word for stick-like

m bst a pen, any writing tool

D/b nT this

[5]}I tuhng-m&aih and, with

»ig6 that
<#!ga? = ge + a?
ft gu to guess, reckon
fLI mahn to ask a question
Mti ylh-ga now
m h3i at/in/on, to be at/in/on
Df HHmh gdn-yiu never mind, it doesn’t matter
chlh-dT later on
 ?

Grammar 13

4 This that and which?

,
personal

ni go yahn thisperson
go go yahn that person
bln go yahn? which person property

In English when you specify a word with this ,

that or which?,
you just put it in front of the word (this man ,
that ship, which
pen?), but in Cantonese you need to use a classifier word as well
(this classifier man, that classifier ship, which classifier pen?). It
is not necessarily easy to guess which classifier goes with which
noun, although you can expect, for instance, that almost any
object which is thin, straight and stick-like will be classified with
ji. You will be given the correct classifier for each noun you meet

from now on. The classifier for people is go, so:

ni go yahn this person
bin go Meih-gwok-yahn a? which American?
The classifier for wristwatch is also go:

go go sau-biu that watch

The classifier for pen is ji:

go ji bat that pen

If it is clear what is meant, it is possible to drop off the noun,
but the classifier must still be used. Note the following question

and answer:
Neih yiu bin ji bat a? Which pen do you want?
Ngoh yiu ni ji. Iwant this one.

5 How about it?

Hou mh hou a? literally means is it good?, but it is also used at

the ends of sentences meaning what do you say?, how about it?,
OK? (And there is a at the end of a question sentence again!)

Q6 Numbers
The Cantonese number system is very straightforward. The
numbers one to ten are all single-syllable words; 11 is 10+1,
12 is 10+2, 13 is 10+3, and so on up to 20 which is 2x10;
21 is 2x10+1, 29 is 2x10+9; 30 is 3x10, 31 is 3x10+1 . . .
 Memorize the numbers one to ten and then try counting up to
14
99 (and back again if you are really confident):
1 yat 11 sahp-yat 21 yih-sahp-yat
personal

2 yih 12 sahp-yih 22 yih-sahp-yih

3 saam 13 sahp-saam 23 yih-sahp-saam
4 sei 14 sahp-sei 24 yih-sahp-sei
5 ngh 15 sahp-ngh 25 yih-sahp-ngh
6 luhk 16 sahp-luhk 26 yih-sahp-luhk
7 chat 17 sahp-chat 27 yih-sahp-chat
8 baat 18 sahp-baat 28 yih-sahp-baat
9 gau 19 sahp-gau 29 yih-sahp-gau
10 sahp 20 yih-sahp 30 saam-sahp
40 sei-sahp 41 sei-sahp-yat 47 sei-sahp-chat
50 ngh-sahp 52 ngh-sahp-yih 58 ngh-sahp-baat
60 luhk-sahp 63 luhk-sahp-saam 69 luhk-sahp-gau
70 chat-sahp 74 chat-sahp-sei 75 chat-sahp-ngh
80 baat-sahp 85 baat-sahp-ngh 87 baat-sahp-chat
90 gau-sahp 96 gau-sahp-luhk 99 gau-sahp-gau
When things are counted (one person , three pens , etc.) the
classifier must be used in the same way as with specifying words.
So:

yat go yahn one person

sei bat
ji four pens
sahp-yih go sau-biu twelve watches
The whole number system is nice and regular with one
exception: the number two is not yih but leuhng when it is
followed by a classifier, so:

yat, yih, saam, sei, . . . one , two three , four,

, but . . .

yat ji bat, leuhng ji bat, one pen , two pens , three pens ,

saam ji bat, sei ji bat, . . . four pens , . . .

It isonly the number two itself which plays this trick; complex
numbers which end in a two are not affected, as you can see
from the example of twelve watches. (And don’t feel too hard
done by: English is even crazier about the number two - think
of brace of, pair of couple of twin , duo- and bi-\)

O The magic of numbers

Cantonese people are very interested in numbers and many people
believe that numbers can influence fate. Everybody loves the number
eight because baat sounds rather like faat which means get rich. By
way of contrast, four is considered an unlucky number because sei
sounds like s6i which means to die. Two and eight are good because
15
yih baat sounds like yih faat easy to get rich, but five and eight are
bad because ftgh baat resembles mh faat not get rich. A Chinese
purchaser recently insisted on paying £280,000 for a house in the personal

south of England rather than the asking price of £279,500, believing

that the larger sum was much luckier sounding! For many years the
Hong Kong government auctioned ‘lucky’ car registration numbers property

for charity: an astronomical price was paid for 8888, which adorned
one of the territory’s many Rolls-Royces.

Exercise 1
Try to give answers to the following questions. You cannot be
sure of the answer to the second one, but common sense should
help you.

a Gwai-sing a?
b Wohng Sin-saang haih mh haih Jung-gwok-yahn a?
c Neih maaih mh maaih che a? (Answer: No)
d Neih yauh Yaht-bun pahng-yauh ma? (Answer: Yes)

Exercise 2
See if you can understand what these sentences mean. Practise
saying them out loud until they come fluently.

a Sau-biu tuhng-maaih bat dou haih Hoh Sin-saang ge.

b Go go sau-biu hou leng.
c Hoh Sin-saang chih-dl heui mahn Wohng Taai-taai.
d Bln ji bat haih Jeung Siu-je ga?

Exercise 3
Fill in the blanks to make correct and meaningful sentences.
a Ni sau-biu haih Hoh Taai-taai ge.
b Neih haih mh haih Ying-gwok a?
c Ngoh gu Yaht- che hou gwai.
d Wohng Siu-je leng leng a?
e Neih seung maaih -yeh a?
f -go haih Jeung Siu-je a?
g Keuih mh haih Ying-gwok-yahn, mh haih Meih-gwok-
yahn; keuih haih Yaht-bun-yahn.
h Ngoh Wohng Sin-saang, ‘Neih yauh Ying-gwok che ma?’

Exercise 4
Make up your own conversation. Tell Mr Wong that you want
to go to England to buy a British car. He tells you that British
cars are expensive. Ask him what kind of car he’s got. He says
that he has a British car too.
In the picture all thewomen are American, all the men are
Chinese and all the children are Japanese. Try saying in
Cantonese how many of each there are, say how many watches
Mr Wong is selling and describe what the woman is doing with
her money at the stationery stall.
family ocq mul
QV QV /vi
and

friends
gm
cQ

cBW In this unit you will learn

• one of the only two irregular
verbs in Cantonese: to have
• some important words for
family members
• some final particles
 Dialogue 1

family
Mr Ho meets Mr Wong on the street.

and
5-m •
{5Jft£ • •

friends

0^£«-*ttnr ?
% aPSS
• •
£§£ • •
-tMA-mi °

“M ftttlM-fcSFA* 0

« SPH*
•
o
mo§f± •
•
3££«ft •
ME 0

ME’3Efc£»
s Ho W6hng Sin-s&ang, n6ih heui brn-syu a?
Wong J6u-s&hn, H6h Sin-s&ang, ng6h fean uk-k6i.
Ho N6ih f&an uk-k6i jouh-mat-y6h a?
Wong Ng6h daai ng6h m&h-ma heui tei-yT-sang.
Ho N6ih tuhng m&h-ma yat-ch&ih jyuh &h?
Wong Haih, ng6h tuhng b&h-ba, m&h-ma, hing-daih, ji-muih,
chat go y&hn yat-ch&ih jyuh.
Ho Chat go y&hn yat-ch&ih jyuh . .
.
g£m-y6ung, n6ih-deih
g&an uk yat-dihng h6u daaih lak.
Wong Haih, dou-g6i daaih. Deui-mh-jyuh, H6h Sin-s&ang,
ng6h yiu jciu lak, joi-gin.

Ho Joi-gin, Wdhng Sin-s&ang.

j*&' j»& where? which place?

bln-syu or bln-douh
f&an to return, to return to

Mik uk-k6i family, home

fljfe-felfj jouh mat-y6h why? for what reason?
jouh to do

MM m^h-ma mother
tai-yf-sang tosee the doctor
yT-sang doctor
[a] tuhng with, and (a shorter form of
tuhng-mdaih)
— Hyat-ch&ih together
ii jyuh to dwell, to live
pT ? £h? a question word
(that’s right, isn’t it?)
b&h-ba father
51% hlng-daih brothers
$$kjf-muih sisters *
 ? f

® 1
g^m or g£m-y6ung in that case, so
19
Pel gdan classifier for houses and rooms
Muk house family

yat-dihng certainly

A daaih big and

"Hi »
*W lak or la a statement word (that’s how
the case stands now)
iSJft ' & dou-g6i or g6i quite, rather, fairly
gyiu must, need to
to run to run away, to leave
;

Picture quiz

a b c d e f g

Here is the Wong family. How would C address A? How would

D address B? How
would D address A? How would you address
D? How would you address B? Which one do you think is the
Mr Wong who figures in the dialogue?

Grammar
1 Where?
Bin-syu? where works to the same rules as bin-go? who and
mat-yeh? what? (See Unit 2, grammar point 1.)

Neih heui bin-syu a? Where are you going?

Ngoh heui se-jih-lauh. I’m going to the office.
 : ? :

Bin-syu and bin-douh both mean where and you can use
2
whichever of them you prefer.
family

F£an to return
and

Faan means to return. It combines easily with heui to go as

friends faan-heui meaning to go back , that is to return in a direction
away from me the speaker
3
Neih faan-heui mh faan-heui a? Are you going back?
or in its more commonly shortened form:
Neih faan mh faan-heui a? Are you going back?
Faan also means to go where one usually goes
Wohng Siu-je faan uk-kei. Miss Wong is going home.
Ngoh faan se-jih-lauh. I’m going to the office.

4 Why?
Jouh-mat-yeh? means to do what? but it has come to
literally
mean why? can be positioned quite freely in the sentence
It

without any change of meaning: all the following examples

mean Why must you sell your car?:
Neih jouh-mat-yeh yiu maaih che a?
Jouh-mat-yeh neih yiu maaih che a?
Neih yiu maaih che jouh-mat-yeh a?

Q Yes and no
There are no words for yes Cantonese. You should use the
and no in

positive or negative form of the appropriate verb, so in answer to

N6ih heui mh heui Jung-gwok a? Are you going to China? you can
reply heui yes or mh heui no. If it is not the verb itself which is the
focus of the question, it is useful to use haih it is the case or mh haih
it is not the case, as in the dialogue. Haih and rhh haih come as

close to yes and no as Cantonese gets.

The adverb yat-chaih ‘together’

Yat-chaih together all together is an adverb and like almost
,

all adverbs it comes in front of the verb in the sentence. So

yat-chaih jyuh is to live together and yat-chaih faan Ying-gwok
means to return to Britain together.
5 That’s right, isn’t it?
21
The word ah? comes at the end of a sentence to ask for family

confirmation that what you have said is correct:

Neih haih Jeung Sin-saang Mi? You’re Mr Cheung, aren’t you ? and

Neih heui Ying-gwok ah? I take it you’re going to

England, right ?

6 That’s how the case stands now

Lak (sometimes pronounced la) comes at the end of the sentence
to statewhat the current position is. Naturally enough that
means that often there has been some change before that
position has been arrived at:

Ngoh yiu jau lak. Imust be going now.

Keuih mh seung maaih che lak. He doesn’t want to buy a car
any more.

Dialogue 2
Mr Ho hasn’t seen Mr Cheung for a long while. They meet by chance.
• imm ? ?

•
imm&m ?

» • mmmmw •

Ho J6ung Sin-s&ang, h6u-noih-m6uh-gin. N6ih h6u ma?

N6ih ylh-ga h£i bln-syu jyuh a?
Cheung Ng6h ylh-ga jyuh h&i H6ung-g6ng F^-yuhn Douh
yih-sahp-baat houh s&am I6u.
Ho F^-yuhn Douh h6u mh h6u jyuh a?
Cheung H6u jyuh. F&-yuhn Douh y£uh h6u d6 ba-si tuhng cffk-s(
daap. H6h Sln-s&ang, n6ih jyuh h£i bTn-syu a?
Ho Ng6h juhng jyuh h£i Ga-fe Gaai chat-sahp-s&am houh
deih-h&. N6ih y£uh sih-gaan ch6ng l&ih ch6h la.

Cheung N6ih y£uh-s&m. N6ih g&an uk y£uh m6uh

che-fdhng a?
 . ;

Ngoh rhh haih jyuh yat gaan uk, ngoh jyuh yat
chahng l&u je. NT ch&hng I6u mh-haih-gei-daaih,
family m6uh che-fdhng ge.
Cheung Hou, yauh slh-gaan ngoh laih taam neih. Joi-gin.
and
Ho Joi-gin.

friends

It noih a long time

h6u-noih-m6uh-gin long time no see
m6uh have not (negative of yauh
to have)
#/§ Hfcung-g6ng Hong Kong
F&-yuhn Douh Garden Road
tefSte-yun garden (note the tone change
from yuhn to yun)
5i douh street, road
§)£ . . . houh number . .

m\6u a flat ;
a high building a storey ;

£dd many, much

B± ba-sf bus
W ± dTk-sl taxi

It daap to travel by/catch/take

(public transport)
S juhng still, yet
NR 1

# ga-fe coffee
fligaai street
HfeT deih-ha ground floor, the ground
the floor
0f slh-gaan time
I* ch6ng please
l&ih to come, to come to
^ ch6h to sit
IN li a particle urging someone
to agree with you or to do
something for you
che-fdhng garage
JS chahng classifier for a flat; storey,
deck
o# je or jek only, and that's all
mh-haih-g6i/h6u not very
i® ge makes a statement more
emphatic: that’s how it is and
that's how it’s going to stay
M taam to see, to visit
Haih mh haih a?
Test your understanding of Dialogue 2 by answering haih it is

so or mh haih it is not so to the following statements.

a Fa-yuhn Douh mh hou jyuh.

b Hoh Sin-saang jyuh hai yat gaan uk.
c Hoh Sin-saang jyuh hai deih-ha.
d Hoh Sin-saang ge che-fohng hou daaih.
e Jeung Sin-saang heui Hoh Sin-saang uk-kei.

Q Answer the questions

a Hoh Sin-saang jyuh hai bin-syu a?

b Jeung Sin-saang jyuh hai bin-syu a?
c Hoh Sin-saang ge lau yauh mouh che-fohng a?
d Jeung Sin-saang seung mh seung taam Hoh Sin-saang a?
e Yauh mouh ba-si heui Fa-yuhn Douh a?

Grammar
7 The verb y£uh
The verb yauh to have is an oddity. It is not made negative
with mh: instead the negative of yauh is another verb mouh
not to have. So while Are you English? is Neih haih mh haih
Ying-gwok-yahn a? Have you got an English car? is Neih yauh
mouh Ying-gwok che a? and I haven’t got a car is Ngoh mouh
che.

Q From the general to the particular

When Mr Cheung gives his address in the dialogue, you will see that
he gives it in Hong Kong, Garden Road, No. 28, 3rd floor -
the order
i.e. in the opposite way to English. Chinese always prefers to work
from the general to the particular, from the large to the small. We
shall see later that it is the same with dates and times, so that the
Chinese would translate 3.18 p.m. on 17 May 1995 in the order 1995,
May, 17, p.m., 3.18.
 8
24
Je or jek
family
Je (pronounced by some people as jek) is a very useful little
word which is tacked onto the end of sentences to give the
9
meaning only , that’s all:
and

Ngoh yauh leuhng ji bat. I’vegot two pens.

Keuih yauh yat ji bat je. He’s only got one pen.
friends

Not very
The negative of daaih big is mh daaih not big just as you ,

would expect. The negative of hou daaih very big however, is ,

10
mh-haih-gei-daaih or mh-haih-hou-daaih both of which mean
not very big. So you will need to remember that the verb haih is
slipped into this not very construction:

NT chahng lau mh-haih-gei-gwai. This flat is not very dear.

Wohng Siu-je mh-haih-hou-leng. Miss Wong is not very pretty.

A recap: final particles

You have now met quite a few words like je, that is, words that
are added to the end of a sentence to round it off or to give an
extra meaning. They are usually called final particles and they
are used a great deal in everyday speech. Before you meet any
more of them, here is a reminder of those you already know.
ma? A spoken question mark. It makes a statement into a
question.
ne? The shortcut question word which asks follow-up
questions.
a? The final particle which is added to sentences which already
contain positive-negative-type questions or question words
like mat-yeh?
ga? The particle made when ge is followed by a?
ah? The question word which expects the listener to be in
agreement: That’s right, isn’t it?
lak/la The word which shows that things were different before
but this is how the situation stands now.
je/jek Only.
la The word you use when you are trying to urge someone to do
something for you or to persuade someone to agree with you.
ge Makes a statement more emphatic: That’s the way it is!
Exercise 1
25
Sort out these jumbled words into meaningful sentences.

a bah-ba yl-sang Hoh Sin-saang haih. family

b jouh-mat-yeh hai uk-kei Wohng Taai-taai a?

c tai yl-sang ngoh heui rhh seung. and

d ngoh-deih se-jih-lauh yat-chaih faan.

friends

Exercise 2
Fill in the blanks with words which will make sense of the
sentences.

a Wohng Taai-taai heui tai .

b Ngoh-deih heui Wohng Sin-saang .

c Ngoh bah-ba haih .

d Ngoh-deih jyuh hai .

Exercise 3
You have just bumped into your old friend Mr Wong in the
street in Hong Kong. You haven’t seen him for several months.
How do you greet him? Ask after his wife and where he lives
now. Apologize to him and say that you have to catch a bus to
Garden Road now to visit your father whom you have to take
to see the doctor.
eating

in

and

eating

out

In this unit you will learn

• about ‘lonely verbs’
• some more about classifiers
• some verb endings
 .

O Dialogue 1 27
Mr Ho invites Mr Wong to his home for a meal. eating

in
•
mfe-km ° ?

°ii •
oi§£ ° fsj^^ojb ? ? and

®xxmmnn&&m » »fci®*i«-« • ?
eating

out

RmmmmvmiBo
mm •

« !

Wong H6h Sin-s&ang, n6ih taai hak-hei la, jyu gam d6 sung
ch6ng ngbh sihk-faahn.
Ho Bihn-faahn je, chduih-bin sihk la. Yiu rhh yiu ch&h a?
Wong Mh yiu, rhh-g6i. H6h Taai-teai ne? K6uih h£i
bln-syu a?
Ho K6uih h&i chyuh-f6ng jyu-g^n faahn, mh-s£i d£ng
k6uih la.
Wong Hdh Taai-teai jyu ge sung j&n h6u-sihk lak. H6u-chlh
jdu-teuh ge yat-yeuhng. H6h Sln-s&ang n6ih y£uh m6uh
b6ng keuih sau a?
Ho M6uh a!
Wong H6h Taai-t£ai yat-dihng yuhng-j6 h6u d6 sih-gaan
yuh-beih nT ch&an faahn lak.
Ho K6uih yuhng-j6 bun go jGng-t&uh je.

Wong Jl-haih bun go jung-t&uh &h? Ng6h mh seun.

Ho Haih j&n ga. DT sung dou haih k6uih heui fuh-gahn ge
j£u-l&uh m£aih ge.
Wong Oh!

X (i®) taai... (la) too . . . , exceedingly . .

haak-hei polite
j&jyu to cook
n& gam so
sung food a course or dish other
;

than rice or soup

If ch6ng to invite
sihk-faahn to eat, to eat a meal
sihk ^ to eat
ffii faahn rice ; food
 .

HIS bihn-faahn pot luck, a meal of whatever

28 comes to hand
eating PiH cheuih-bm as you please, feel free
ch&h tea
in
JgM chyuh-f6ng kitchen
and Ig -g^n a verb ending for continuing
action, -ing
eating
rhh-sai no need to, not necessary to
H d^ng to wait, to wait for
out
M (%) jSn(-haih) truly, really, true, real

## h6u-sihk delicious
mx -« just like . .

2 lih . . .
yat-yeuhng
j£u-l«iuh Chinese restaurant
...T b6ng . . . sau to help . . . ,to give ... a hand
yuhng to use, to spend
H£-j6 a verb ending for completed
action, -ed

fllfll yuh-beih to prepare, to get ready

H chaan classifier for food, a meal
¥ bun half

H 9l jung-t^uh an hour (classifier = go)

R (ft) jf(-haih) only
i= seun to believe, to trust
itfldT plural classifier, classifier for
uncountable things
1(5 dou both
all,

fuh-gahn nearby
i® 6h oh, really! oh, now 1

understand!

True or false?

a Hoh Sin-saang cheng Wohng Sin-saang heui jau-lauh

sihk-faahn.
b Hoh Sin-saang jyu-jo leuhng go sung cheng Wohng
Sin-saang sihk.
c Hoh Sin-saang bong Hoh Taai-taai sau jyu-faahn.
d Hoh Sin-saang, Hoh Taai-taai yuhng-jo leuhng go bun
jung-tauh jyu-faahn.
e Hoh Taai-taai mh jyu sung, keuih ji-haih heui jau-lauh
maaih-sung.
Grammar
1 Cheng to invite

In Unit 3 we saw that cheng means please. It has another

meaning of to invite:

Keuih cheng ngoh heui He invites me to go to his home.

keuih uk-kei.

3
2 ‘Lonely verbs’
Some verbs incomplete if they have no object, so Cantonese
feel
will supply an all-purpose object to comfort their loneliness!
In English we have no problem with saying he is eating, but
4
the Cantonese verb sihk is unhappy on its own and if it is not
specified what he is eating then the all-purpose object faahn rice
will be added. The normal translation of he is eating is thus
keuih sihk-faahn. Jyu to cook is another verb which takes faahn
for want of anything more definite and we will meet other such
verbs and other all-purpose objects as we go on.

Adverbs of place
The adverb which says where an action is happening comes

either before or after the subject depending on the sense, but in

any case it always comes before the verb:

Keuih hai uk-kei choh. She is sitting indoors.

Hai se-jih-lauh neih yauh Have you got a pen in the
mouh bat a? office ?

Two new verb endings

-gan is tagged onto a verb to emphasize that the action is

actually going on at the time:

Wohng Sin-saang tai-gan Mr Wong is in with the doctor.

yi-sang.

-jo is tagged onto a verb in the same way to show that the action

has been completed. Usually the particle lak is added at the end
of the sentence to back it up:

Keuih tai-jo yi-sang lak. He saw the doctor.

Ngoh maaih-jo Meih-gwok I bought an American car.
che lak.
 f f
5
An irregular verb: yiu/s^i!
§ To need
Here’s a rare treat, another irregularity in verbs. to is
eating

yiu but not to need to is mh sai:

/

in Ngoh-deih yiu dang keuih. We need to wait for her.

and
Ngoh-deih mh sai dang We don’t need to wait for her.
keuih la.
eating
Ngoh yiu maaih che. I need to buy a car.
Ngoh mh sai maaih che. I don’t need to buy a car.
out
However, when yiu means to want its negative is mh yiu:
Ngoh mh yiu faahn. I don’t want any rice.

2 The question form for to need to

Ngoh-deih sai mh sai dang Do we
is sai mh sai:

need to wait for her

keuih a?
The question form for to want is yiu mh yiu:

Neih yiu mh yiu faahn a? Do you want some rice

8
6 Another use of ge
We saw in Unit 2 that ge shows possession: ngoh ge che my car.
It also is used to link a descriptive phrase to a noun:
hou gwai ge ga-fe very expensive coffee , coffee
which is very expensive
maaih-gan bat ge yahn the person who is buying a pen
keuih jyuh ge uk the house that he lives in

7 Have you done it?

To ask if an action has been completed, Cantonese (like English)

can use the verb to have (yauh):
Neih taai-taai yauh mouh Has your wife gone back f
faan-heui a?
Keuih yauh mouh sihk-faahn a? Has he eaten ?
The answer is a simple yauh yes or mouh no.

More on classifiers
In Unit 2 we met classifiers used with numbers and with specifying
words like this and that. Some nouns are uncountable - think of
water and air for instance - and the classifier to use then is di:

Ni di sung hou hou-sihk. This food is delicious.

 : ? ?

DT is also used as the classifier for all nouns when they are
‘plural but uncounted’. Compare the classifiers in the following:

nl go yahn this person eating

go ji bat that pen

in
go ngh ji bat those five pens
saam go Ying-gwok-yahn three British people and

go dl yahn those people (plural but not

eating

counted)
bin di bat a? which pens (plural but not
out
counted)
When a sentence starts with a definite noun {the pen , the food ,
the Americans) Cantonese uses the appropriate classifier where
English uses the

Pi bat hou leng. The pen is very nice.

Di sung mh gwai. The food is not expensive.
Di Meih-gwok-yahn laih Are the Americans coming
mh laih a?

9 The adverb dou again

In Unit 1 we met the adverb dou meaning also. Other meanings
are alland both. Dou must come immediately before a verb and
it obeys a further rule that it must come after the noun it refers

to. Note carefully the placing of dou in the following:

Neih yauh bat; keuih dou You have a pen, and he has
yauh bat. too.
Ngoh-deih dou yauh che. All of us have cars.
Wohng Sin-saang Wohng Both Mr and Miss Wong have
Siu-je dou faan-jo gone to the office.
se-jih-lauh lak.
Go leuhng go Ying-gwok-yahn Neither of those two British
dou mh seung sihk-faahn. people wants to eat.

O Rice
Rice is the staple food of the south of China and is much appreciated
as the superior grain in the north too. Not surprisingly, rice figures
large inChinese culture: it is offered in religious sacrifices to the
ancestors; it is thrown over newly-weds to bring fertility to them;

bags of it are laid on babies’ stomachs to comfort them and stop

them crying; the language is full of sayings about it. English has only
the one word rice but Cantonese has many words for it. Faahn
means rice only when it is cooked rice. There are different words for
 m
ricewhen growing, nee when harvested but not husked, rice husked
but not cooked, and rice cooked into a gruel, as well as yet other
eating terms for different kinds of rice such as red rice, glutinous rice and
non-glutinous rice.
in

O Dialogue 2
and

eating

out

Mr Ho tries to order a meal from a waiter.

° bmmw °

# •
° iwmm ?
•
mm ° »

0
$fe£ •

WB ? : ^«¥«StiaDQ ! ftflmff&KffiOr !

Ho F6-gei, ng6h sdung yiu yat go t6ng. N6ih-deih ge tdng

s&n rhh s&n-sin a?
Waiter Sin-s&ang, n6ih yiu go ng&uh-yuhk t6ng la. H6u
sdn-sln ga.
Ho H6u, ng6h jauh yiu go ng&uh-yuhk tdng. Jyu-choi y£uh
mat-y6h h6u gaai-siuh a?
Waiter Luhng-ha-faahn la, h6u h6u-meih ga. Yuh-gw6 ndih yiu
nl go faahn, ng6h-deih sung sdang-gw6 sd-l6ut bdi n6ih.
Ho Dlm-g^ai sung sdang-gw6 sd-l6ut a?
Waiter Yan-waih ng6h-deih ge chyuh-f6ng johk-yaht jfng-j6
taai d6, gdm-yaht juhng y£uh mh slu, s6-ylh jauh sung
bei neih sihk la.
 Neih-deih johk-yaht jfng ge saang-gw6 s^-leut gam-
yaht bei ngoh sihk, neih slk rhh slk jouh-saang-yi ga?
Sln-s&ang, neih rhh-h6u nau. Ngoh joi sung gam-jlu-j6u ting

jfngge tihm-ban bei neih, hou ma? Juhng haih h6u

h6u-meih ga. in

Mat-y6h wa? Johk-yaht ge s&ang-gwo s&-l6ut; and

g&m-jiu-jou ge tihm-ban! Neih dong ngoh haih

laahp-saap-tung ah! eating

out
ifctE f6-gei waiter
jitdng soup
£jil#san-sln fresh
4-^1 ng^uh-yuhk beef
4" ngduh cow, ox, cattle
£] yuhk meat, flesh
U jauh then
±3£jyu-choi main course
gaai-siuh to recommend-, to introduce
mm luhng-ha lobster
1 h6u-meih delicious
Wyuh-gw6 if

& sung x b6i y to give x as a present to y

s£ang-gw6 fruit

Sci-I6ut salad
? dfm-gSai? why?
SM y^n-waih because
B johk-yaht yesterday
M jfng tomake; to prepare
a g&m-yaht today
iPslu few; little

ftrlil s6-yfh therefore, so

m sik to know how to, to be able to
jouh-saang-yi to do business, to run a business
rhh-h6u don’t
jSS ndu angry
^ joi in addition; again
$j^jlu-j6u morning; in the morning
¥j6u early
SBpp tihm-ban dessert
£ w* words, language, speech, saying
£ dong to regard as
JfcRfli laahp-saap-tung rubbish bin
laahp-saap rubbish
34 Grammar
eating

10 To give
in
Sung means to present , to make a gift. It usually appears with
and
bei which itself means to give to give to. The word order for
,

giving a present to someone is a comfortable one for an English

eating

speaker:

out Keuih sung yat ji bat bei ngoh. He gives a pen to me (as a gift).

Bei is sometimes used on its own to mean to present but it ,

is more commonly found meaning just to give to, to hand

over to:

Keuih bei yat ji bat ngoh. He hands a pen to me/hands

me a pen.

11 Don’t!
To someone not to do something, Cantonese uses mh-hou
tell

it’snot good to ... or neih mh-hou it’s not good that you
should . . . :

Mh-hou heui! Don’t go!

Neih mh-hou maaih che! Don’t buy a car!

12 Shortcuts
Cantonese is a lively quick-fire language and speakers often find

ways of shortening phrases which seem to them to be too

tediously long. Here is a list of shortened forms of phrases
which you have met so far:

gam-yaht jiu-jou > gam-jiu-jou or even shorter > gam-jiu

johk-yaht jiu-jou > johk-jiu-jou or > johk-jiu
Wohng Sin-saang > Wohng Saang
Wohng Taai-taai > Wohng Taai
mh-hou > maih (both mean don’t but maih is a bit
ruder because it is so abrupt sounding)

Exercise 1
Make meaningful sentences from the jumbled words. You have
done exercises like this before, but it gets more difficult now that
you know more complicated patterns.
 .

a Hoh Taai-taai seung Wohng Sin-saang sihk-faahn dang

yat-chaih.
b chyuh-fong hai jyu-gan faahn Hoh Taai-taai. eating

c ma? mahn Wohng Sin-saang Hoh Taai-taai hou-meih jyu ge

sung keuih. in

d sau Hoh Taai-taai Hoh Sin-saang yauh a? mouh bong, and

e jyu ge sung jau-lauh yat-yeuhng ge hou-chfh Hoh Taai-taai.

eating

Exercise 2
Try to answer these questions in Cantonese. out

a Neih slk mh slk jyu ngauh-yuhk tong a? (Answer: Yes)

b Neih uk-kei fuh-gahn yauh mouh jau-lauh a? (Answer: No)
c Johk-yaht neih yauh mouh bong neih mah-ma sau jyu-faahn
a? (Answer: No)
d Dim-gaai neih gam-jiu-jou gam nau a? (Answer: I’m not)
e Neih ji-haih slk jouh saang-yi mh slk jyu-faahn, haih mh
haih a? (Answer: It’s not so)

Exercise 3

Hai chyuh-fong yauh mat-yeh a? See how many answers

you can make up along the lines of Hai chyuh-fong yauh
luhng-ha, dou yauh . .

Hai chyuh-fong yauh mouh laahp-saap-tung a? If your

answer is yes, try to explain it. If your answer is no, think
again but less seriously!
shops

and

markets

In this unityou will learn

• more about classifiers and
verb endings
• two different ways of saying
thank you
O Dialogue 1
Miss Wong and Miss Cheung are shopping in a fashion store. shops

«ra*a***Y«i ° #m ? and

m-m\ im i

&w Mix#• : ; b.&zm nmm •

• tstiiiti
markets

?m i -

is*®® mm'p'AM®. •
•
mun&¥ °

Wong G^m-yaht haih Uiih-baai-yat, rhh haih Laih-baai-yaht,

dim-g^ai nT g&an pou-t£u gam do y£hn ne?
Cheung NT g£an pou-t£u daaih-g£am-ga a-ma. Ngoh-deih
yahp-heui tai-h£h h6u ma?
Wong H6u a. W&! Neih t^i, go gihn saam-kwahn j£n-haih h6u
p6hng bo!
Cheung Haih bo. Jat-d£i yauh h6u; fun-sTk yauh s£n;
ng^ahn-sTk yauh leng: j&n-haih h6u lak.
Wong G£m, ng6h jauh m£aih nT gihn la.
Cheung Ng6h dou s6ung m^aih g6 gihn huhng-sTk ge.
Wong Yi, nT-syu y£uh siu-siu Iaahn-j6 bo!
Cheung Haih me? Ou! Haih bo! Ng6h nT gihn dou y£uh siu-siu
Iaahn-j6. D£ng ng6h tai-h£h k&ih-ta ge y£uh m6uh
laahn ne.
Wong Mh-s£i t£i la, gihn-gihn dou y£uh siu-siu laahn ge,
y^n-waih k6uih-deih dou haih chi-fo, s6-yih gam pehng.

week
Idih-baai or sing-k&ih
LSih-baai-yat Monday
Laih-baai-yaht Sunday
Mai pou-tau shop
A Mil daaih-gSam-ga a sale
Y P| a-ma final particle, you should
realize, don’t you know
A yahp to enter
8$ t£i to look at
0"F -h3h verb ending, have a little -
t$ ! wa! wow!
ft gihn classifier for most items of
clothing
 . .

saam-kw&hn dress
¥ pdhng cheap
ijf i bo! final particle, let me remind
you, let me tell you
gitb jat-d6i quality

X X yauh . . .
yauh . . both . . . and . .

fftfe, fun-slk style

jj ft sdn new, up to date

fife ng&ahn-sTk colour

$L1*M huhng-sTk ge red
exclamation of surprise, hello,

what's this?
Hgjfi nl-syu here
'p'p sfu-sfu a little bit, somewhat
M laahn broken, damaged
Q¥ ? me? final particle, do you mean to
say that . . .?

H d£ng let, allow

Kftk kdih-ti other
/£$£ chi-fo seconds
a Wohng Srn-je go gihn saam-kwahn pehng mh pehng a? Leng
mh leng a? 39
b Wohng Shi-je go gihn saam-kwahn yauh mouh laahn ga? shops
1
Jeung Shi-je go gihn ne?
and

Grammar
markets

The week
Laih-baai means week: it is classified with go, so one week is yat
go laih-baai, two weeks is leuhng go laih-baai and so on.

The
2 days of the week are simply numbered 1-6 from Monday
to Saturday:

Laih-baai-yat Monday Laih-baai-sei Thursday

Laih-baai-yih Tuesday Laih-baai-ngh Friday
Laih-baai-saam Wednesday Laih-baai-luhk Saturday
3
Sunday is not numbered; instead the word for sun yaht is used,
so Laih-baai-yaht is Sunday. Go very carefully with your tones

or you will mix up Sunday (Laih-baai-yaht) and Monday

(Laih-baai-yat)!

Some people say sing-keih instead of laih-baai and you may do

so too if you wish. Simply substitute sing-keih for laih-baai in
any of the words in the previous list.

Ne? again
You have met ne? as a final particle which asks a follow-up
question (see Unit 1). It is also used after rhetorical questions,
that is when you do not expect an answer or perhaps when you
are wondering to yourself:
Go go yahn haih bin-go ne? I wonder who that can be?

There are two examples in the dialogue.

Coming and going

Laih to come and heui to go are often used with other verbs
of movement to show which direction the movement is in. For
instance:

faan to return yahp to enter

faan-heui to go back yahp-heui to go in
faan-laih to come back yahp-laih to come in
 * : : . f f:

40 4 Another verb ending: -/id/i

In Unit 4 you met the verb endings -jo and -gan. Another one is

-hah, which gives the idea of doing something for a bit

and tai-hah have a glance at (look a bit)

dang-hah wait for a moment (wait a bit)
choh-hah sit for a while (sit a bit)
markets

5 Yauh . .
. yauh . . . both . . . and . .

Yauh basically means furthermore and it is an adverb. It has to

obey the rule for such adverbs and come in front of a verb (see
dou in Units 1 and 4), even when it is being repeated to give the
meaning both and. ... In the dialogue you can see that it
. . .

does obey (the three verbs are hou to be good, san to be new and
leng to be pretty). If you bear that rule in mind you will easily
understand why the translation of both Mr and Mrs Wong are
going might be Wohng Sin-saang yauh heui, Wohng Taai-taai
yauh heui.

6 Colours
Huhng means red, but it is most easily used in combination
with sik colour as huhng-sik red-coloured. Ge is added to link
huhng-sik with a noun (see Unit 4):

Keuih ge che haih mat-yeh What colour’s his car

ngaahn-sik ga?
Haih huhng-sik ge che. It’s a red car.

7 Here and there

In Unit 3 you met bin-syu and bin-douh where Bin means
which and syu and douh both mean place, so which place * and
where*. Logically enough, here and there are made from this
place and that place

nl-syu or nl-douh here

go-syu or go-douh there

8 Final particle me?

Ifyou want to express great incredulity in a question in English
(You can speak 57 languages fluently*!) you raise your voice
 ;

almost to a squeak at the end of the question; but, of course,

it is less easy to do that in Cantonese because of the need to

observe tones. Me? does the job for you. It indicates great
shops

surprise, astonishment, near disbelief, surely that’s not the

case, is it?, do you mean to say that ?. The answer given . . .
and
is almost always haih or mh haih (it is the case or it is not

the case).
markets

9 Dang again
Dang means to wait, as you saw in Unit 4. Dang ngoh means
wait for me or wait for me to, and so dang ngoh sihk-faahn
means wait for me to eat. From wait for me to eat to let me eat
is not a big jump and you will find that Cantonese often uses

dang ngoh where English would say let me Generally, if . . .

dang ngoh comes at the beginning of a sentence it is likely to be

used in the sense of let me and if it comes embedded in a
. . .

sentence then it is likely to mean wait for:

Dang ngoh bong neih sau. Let me help you.

Mh-hou dang ngoh sihk-faahn. Don’t wait for me to eat.

10 Double classifiers
Doubling-up classifiers and adding dou all before the verb is a
useful way of conveying the idea every one of, each one of:
Gaan-gaan uk dou hou leng. All the houses are very nice.
Ji-ji Meih-gwok bat dou gwai. All American pens are
expensive.
Gihn-gihn saam-kwahn dou None of the dresses is cheap.
mh pehng.

O Let me pay!
In restaurants you will often hear Chinese customers vying with each
other to pay the the winner gaining
bill, in ‘face’ what he/she loses in
pocket. The standard wording used is D£ng ng6h b£i! Let me pay!
(lit: let me give!) You too can play that game, but
be sure you
have the money about you in case you should be (un)lucky enough
to win!
 m

42 Dialogue 2
shops
Miss Cheung gets a bargain (perhaps) from the fish seller in the

market.
and

A+Ett—Zf °

mwmm A+stt-/f*Jn# 7

«
• -
markets

! /J'ffl •
• 0
A+Ett-/f “sitTO °

'i-ii-' y bh °

K*K-J8-i»?
o
cnl
eP&H-ffig
ft ng-jr
i »t EfcA+stt
•

• •
JR * 0

£»•«* nm^/figo •

»»i>B£5EJSi* ?

S-/f^7K*g*5H-/f5E«Y Bl»
Cheung NT dl ha gei-do chin yat g&n a?
Seller Baat-sahp-ngh man yat g&n.
Cheung NT dT ha gam sai, baat-sahp-ngh man yat gbn taai gwai
lak. Chat-sahp man yat g&n dak mh dak a?

Seller Mh dak! Sfu-jb, neih t&i, jek-jek ha dou h6u s&n-sin wuih
y&uh-s6ui. Baat-sahp-ngh man yat g&n mh gwai ge-la.
Cheung G6-syu ge dong-h£u jf-haih yiu chat-sahp-yih man yat
g&n je. Dim-g&ai n6ih-deih yiu baat-sahp-ngh man yat
g&n a?
Seller Y&n-waih ng6h-deih haih ‘m£aih-yat-sung-yat’ a-ma.
Cheung Dim-y6ung m^aih-yat-sung-yat a?
Seller JTk-haih m&aih yat g&n ha, mihn-fai sung yat g&n ha la.
Cheung H6u! Ngoh yiu yat g&n la. N&h, nT-syu baat-sahp-ngh
man.
Seller Dd-jeh. N&h, nT-syu Ibuhng gan ha.
Cheung Dim-g&ai gam d6 s6i ha ga?
Seller Maaih yat g&n y&uh-sbui ha, sung yat g&n s6i ha a-ma.

4gha prawn
M&? g6i-do? how much? how many?
it chin money
fr 9^n a catty (= 20 ounces)
$ man dollar
sai small
^dak OK, can do, acceptable
ft jek classifier for animals
ft wuih to be able to, to know how to
 y£uh-s6ui to swim
7jc s6ui water ^
BMge-la final particle giving strong emphasis shops

fiSPdong-hau street stall

? dfm-y6ung? how? in what way? and

gpi£ jlk-haih that is, that is to say

mfhn-fai free of charge
ntndh
mm ‘there’, ‘here you markets

are', ‘here it is, look'

dd-joh (n6ih) thank you
5Es6i dead-, to die

Q Answer the questions

a Jeung Si'u-je hai dong-hau seung maaih mat-yeh a?
b DI ha gei-do chin yat gan a?
c Keih-ta dong-hau ge ha, gei-do chin yat gan a?
d Jeung Sfu-je maaih-jo ha dfm-gaai hou nau a?

Grammar
11 So much each
Note the simple formula for giving prices:

Gei-do chin yat gan a? How much per catty ?

Leuhng man yat gan. $2 a catty.

The same kind of formula can be used with other terms:

Saam-kwahn luhk-sahp Dresses cost $60 each.
man yat gihn.
Yat go yahn saam ji bat. Three pens per person.

1 2 How about it? again

In Unit 2 you met hou mh hou a? as a way of asking someone’s
opinion after making a statement. Dak ihh dak a? is perhaps
even more commonly used for the same purpose, meaning will
that do?, is that OK
by you?, are you happy with that?

13 Thank you
You have now met two words for thank you-, mh-goi and
do-jeh. They are used in different ways and it is important to try
to sort them out.
 Mh-goi is used for everyday minor politenesses, such as
3 thanking someone for holding a door open for you, for passing
shops
you the soy sauce or for doing the washing-up.
Dd-jeh used for more heartfelt thanks, for example in
is
and
gratitude to someone for a present received, for saving your life
or for finding you a job. It is always used when receiving money.
markets

So, when you take the goods from a shopkeeper, you may or
may not say mh-goi (depending how polite you feel like being),
but he will certainly say do-jeh when he takes your money. The
polite response to someone who thanks you is mh-sai there’s no
need to. The longer forms mh-sai mh-goi and mh-sai do-jeh can
be used too.

Q Pidgin English
Pidgin English was developed in the early 18th century in Canton. It
was a strange language which was a kind of halfway house between
English and Cantonese and therefore was presumed to be equally
leam and to speak as they transacted
easy/difficult for both sides to
‘pidgin’ (business) together. used English vocabulary but often in
It

Cantonese grammar patterns. Like Cantonese it didn’t really have

any plural forms, tenses or agreements and it invented the word
piecee to take the place of the Cantonese classifiers (four piecee
man, that piecee pen). Some of its expressions have passed into
regular English, such as to have a look-see, long time no see, chop-
chop and no can do. This last phrase comes from the Cantonese mh
dak which you met in this lesson.

Exercise 1
Insert the bracketed element to make a sentence which is still
meaningful. For example, the answer to the first question would
be Huhng-sik ge Meih-gwok che hou gwai.

a Meih-gwok che hou gwai. (huhng-sik ge)

b Ngoh slk yauh-seui. (bah-ba)
c Wohng Taai-taai heui maaih-yeh. (pou-tau)
d Keuih gam-yaht mh sihk-faahn. (seung)
e Hoh Saang mh sihk Hoh Taai jyu ge sung. (Taai-)
Exercise 2
Here is a test of your understanding of classifiers. See if you can $
put the correct classifier into the blank space. Be aware that
shops

there are two trick sentences so you will need to keep your wits
,

about you!
and

a Go uk haih Hoh Sin-saang ge.

b Keuih ge saam-kwahn yauh si'u-sm laahn-jo.
markets

c Wohng Siu-je ge bah-ba

haihmh Jung-gwok-yahn.
d Ni Meih-gwok bat hou gwai.
e Go luhng-ha dou hou daaih.
f ha dou sei-jo.

Exercise 3
Now try your mathematical skills!

a Luhng-ha sahp-sei man yat jek. Wohng Taai maaih-jo

leuhng jek. Keuih yiu bei gei-do chin a?
b NT go dong-hau ge ha mh gwai: saam-sahp-yih man yat gan,
maaih yat gan sung bun gan. Wohng Taai yiu saam gan -
keuih yiu bei gei-do chin a?
In this unit you will learn
• about means of transport
• how to get to places
Q Dialogue 1 47
Mr Wong is a stranger in town and asks a local person the way.
getting

«
Am
•
•

?
•
i5ll*+E#E±*aM*i»* o around

a*?®£irF«fc ° ?

tms MR£nns«i
°

m m^Atmm tt&mm
’ \ ? ?
£ • «* °

Wong Ng6h yiu daap fai-gdi f&an Ying-gwok, ch6ng-mahn heui

fei-g6i-ch6uhng yiu daap g6i-do houh ba-si a?
Local Ni-syu m6uh bfl-si heui fei-gdi-chduhng bo. N6ih yiu
sin y&uh nT-syu daap siu-ba yat-jihk heui, gwo s&am
go g&ai-h&u dou daaih mah-louh, hai ba-si-jaahm neih
yiu lohk siu-ba, joi jyun daap sahp-ngh houh ba-si heui
f6i-gdi-ch6uhng la.

Wong G6m, y6uh m6uh siu-l&uhn heui f6i-g6i-ch6uhng ne?

Local M6uh siu-lduhn heui gdi-ch6uhng bo.
Wong Ng6h h6u s6ung daap deih-hah-tit-louh. Y£uh m6uh
deih-hah-tit-louh heui gdi-chduhng ne?
Local Dou m6uh bo! Deih-tit ji heui sih-k&ui je.
Wong G6m, ng6h heui Daaih-wuih-tdhng la! Y6uh m6uh deih-tit
heui a? Deih-tit-jaahm h£i bin-syu a?
Local Y£uh, deih-tit-jaahm h&i g6-douh, daahn-haih n6ih wah
yiu daap fai-gdi f&an Ying-gwok. H6i Daaih-wuih-t6hng
m6uh fei-g6i-ch6uhng bo.

The Chinese character for s£uhng board can be seen next to the front door
of the bus and lohk alight next to the exit door.
 :

^ aircraft

WBtfk (f&H gdi-cheuhng airport

Iffy] ch6ng-mahn please, may 1 ask ?
getting
. . .

% sin first

E& yauh from

around

'J'E sfu-bfl mini-bus

— fiyat-jihk straight, directly

3 ® gwo go past, go across, go by

ig gdai-hSu road junction
5J dou to arrive, arrive at, reach
m£h-louh road
E±5£ ba-sf-jaahm bus stop
glohk to alight from
Hjyun to turn, to change to
'J'fn siu-lduhn ferry
deih-hah-tit-louh underground railway
Tfrgi sih-kdui urban area
daaih-wuih-tdhng city hall
deih-tit-jaahm underground station
daahn-haih but
Igwah to say

Q True or false?
a Wohng Sin-saang yiu daap fei-gei faan Ying-gwok.
b Wohng Sin-saang yiu daap sahp-ngh houh ba-si heui fei-gei-
cheuhng.
c Yauh siu-leuhn heui fei-gei-cheuhng.
d Dou yauh deih-hah-tit-louh heui fei-gei-cheuhng.
e Daahn-haih mouh deih-tit heui Daaih-wuih-tohng.

Grammar
1 Cheng-mahn please may ask I . . . ?
Cheng-mahn, a combination of please and ask ,
is the polite way
to begin a question to a stranger and is very useful therefore
when asking directions. It is also the respectful way to begin a
question to someone of higher status than yourself.
2 To travel by
^
In Unit 3 you were introduced to daap to travel by and in the
same unit you met choh to sit. Choh can actually be used like getting

daap to mean to travel by as well, probably because when you

take transport you sit on it (if you’re lucky!). So daap ba-si and
around

choh ba-si both mean to travel by bus. Beware, however: you

cannot do the opposite and get away with making daap mean
to sit\

3 First this, then that

The adverbs first and then are sin and joi. Being adverbs they
come before verbs (see Units 1, 4 and 5):
Keuih sin heui gei-cheuhng He’s going first to the airport
joi choh ba-si faan uk-kei. and then taking the bus home.

4 More shortcuts
Hong Kong’s Chek Lap Kok airport (Chek-laahp-gok fei-gei-
cheuhng) such a common feature of everybody’s life that the
is

shortening of the term was almost inevitable. People mostly

reduce it just to gei-cheuhng. Similarly, the full formal word for
an underground railway deih-hah-tit-louh is far too much of a
mouthful for most people, who reduce it to deih-tit.

O The Mass Transit Railway

The underground railway in Hong Kong, the deih-hah-tit-louh

or deih-tit for short, known in English as the MTR, short for

is

Mass Transit Railway. The first section of it was opened in 1979, 43

kilometres were in service by 1989 and new extensions are
constantly being added. It is air-conditioned throughout (including
the tunnels), clean, fast and efficient and fares are low. Hong Kong
people are noticeably proud of the system. The trains have no
barriers between the coaches, so that you can stand at one end and
look down the full length of the inside of the train as it snakes its way
through the tunnels. For speed of travel through crowded Hong Kong
it cannot be bettered. Since 1998 it has been possible to interchange

onto the very fast Airport Express Line which shuttles at up to 135
kilometres an hour between the new Chek Lap Kok International
Airport and the very heart of Hong Kong in Central district (Jung-
wdahn) next to the famous Star Ferry Pier (TTn-sing Mdh-tduh).
§ Dialogue 2
Mr Wong visits Britain and is met by his friend Mr Chan.
getting

•
mimnmx&mmm ?

around

m • -

ftbb ^ / 1
N gft O

3 mmimAm'nRZtomzMj
0
•
•
mmum
Wong L6uh Chdn, ng6h daih-yat chi l&ih L&uhn-deun,
chdng n6ih wah ng6h tdng heui bTn-syu w£an
h6u ne?
Chan D£ng ng6h daai ndih heui w£an la. Ng6h-deih daap
f6-chd sin heung bak h£hng, heui ch&am-gwun
Gim-kluh Daaih-hohk.
Wong H6u a. Gim-kiuh Daaih-hohk haih sai-gaai jeui
y£uh-m6ng ge daaih-hohk yat. ji

Chan Chdam-gwun-yuhn ji-hauh, ng6h-deih daap ba-si

heui Ylng-gwok dung bouh t£i-h£h g6-syu ge
hdung-h£.
Wong H6u jyu-yi. Ng6h h6u jung-yi heui hdung-h£
deih-fbng w£an.
Chan H£i g6-syu ng6h y£uh yat go h6u pdhng-y£uh,
ng6h-deih h6-yfh h£i kduih uk-k6i jyuh yat m&ahn.
Daih-yih yaht chdng keuih ja che sung ng6h-deih
heui Ylng-gwok n&ahm bouh ge yuh-g6ng
t£i-h£h.
Wong Heung-g6ng dou yauh yuh-g6ng, ng6h heui-gwo h6u
dd chi lak.
Chan Ng6h-deih yauh yuh-g6ng joi daap siu-leuhn heui
Ieih-d6u.
Wong Ng6h rtih sdung heui Idih-d6u lak. Leuhng yaht
ji-noih heui gam do deih-fdng, yauh daap gam noih
ch§ ngoh wah h6u-chfh j^u-naahn rhh-chfh heui
waan g£m.
 . .

=gl6uh elderly, aged, old

Udaih- (makes ordinal numbers)
the first, the second etc.
fwlfc Lduhn-deun London
R tdng to listen
J7E w^an to play, to enjoy, to amuse
oneself
^$f6-ch* railway train
ffi] heung towards
Jkbak north
fr h^hng to journey, to go towards
#M chdam-gwun to visit

tlft Gim-kluh Cambridge

daaih-hohk university
t£# sai-gaai the world
ft joui most
^ £ y£uh-m6ng famous
£— • -fl-yat one of the. .

tc -yuhn finished
£&jl-hauh after

SB bouh area, part, portion

3C dung east
#J"F h6ung-h£ countryside
±* Jyu-yl idea
$ it Jung-yf to like, to be fond of
deih-fbng place
qj y, h6-yfh can, may
m£ahn
B& evening, night
0 yaht day
£mia-che to drive (a vehicle)
&sung to deliver, escort, send
^ n&ahm south
yuh-g6ng fishing port
jS -gwo verb ending, to have experienced
ft chi a time, an occasion
Mg Idih-d6u outlying island
£ftjl-noih within
im to be more like . . . than like . .

h6u-chfh . . . rhh-chfh
£££ jdu-naahn to flee from disaster, to be a
refugee
 :

Answer the questions

a Chahn Sin-saang haih riih haih daih-yat chi laih Leuhn-deun a?
getting b Gim-kiuh Daaih-hohk haih mh haih hai Leuhn-deun
fuh-gahn a?
c Ying-gwok dung bouh yauh hou do yauh-meng ge yuh-gong,
around

haih mh haih a?
d Chahn Sin-saang hou jung-yi heui leih-dou waan, haih mh
haih a?

Grammar
5 Louh
Louh means aged and is used only for people and
elderly ,
animals (that you would not describe a building or a book
is,

as louh). It is often used with the surname as a familiar or

affectionate term of address to a man (rarely to a woman):

Louh Wong, . . . Wong, old chap , . . .

Note that when this is done the tone of the surname is changed
to a mid rising tone from the original low falling tone. So
the surname Wohng becomes Louh Wong and Chahn becomes
Louh Chan.

6 Ordinal numbers
You met the cardinal numbers (one, two, three, four, etc.) in
Unit 2. The ordinalnumbers (the first, the second, the third, the
fourth, etc.) are formed by putting daih- in front of the cardinal
number:
yat go yahn one person
daih-yat go yahn the first person
You will remember from Unit 2 that the number two obeys
becomes leuhng in front of classifiers.
different rules, so that yih
Note that with ordinal numbers there is no such exception:
leuhng go yahn two people
daih-yih go yahn the second person

While we are on the subject we might as well look at a couple

of other peculiarities of two. Daih-yih as well as the second can
quite logically extend to mean the next

Daih-yih yaht keuih jau-jo lak. He left the next day.

 :

It can also logically extend to mean the other.

Ngoh juhng yauh daih-yih ji bat. I’ve still got another pen.
2
But you need to stretch your mind a little further to take in the getting

notion that daih-yih can mean the others:

Daih-yih di bat dou haih keuih ge. The other pens are all hers. around

7 To tell

Tell has variousmeanings in English and they are not all

same word in Cantonese. When tell means
translated by the tell
someone about something you can use wah . teng . . . . .

Keuih wah ngoh teng keuih mh He told me he doesn’t

sik ja-che. know how to drive.

8 Directions
dung east naahm south sai west bak north
Cantonese lists the four directions in the order given here,
though English speakers normally start with north. The
intermediate directions are straightforward provided you
remember that they are always the opposite way round from
English, i.e. Cantonese says eastnorth where English says
northeast:

dung-bak northeast dung-naahm southeast

sai-naahm southwest sai-bak northwest

bak

n&ahm
 ?

9
Another verb ending: -yuhn finished
Yuhn means the end or to finish. It is used as a verb ending to
show that the action of the verb is all over with:
10
sihk-yiihn finished eating
chaam-gwun-yuhn finished visiting

‘Time when’
Time expressions which begin with after are translated with
ji-hauh in Cantonese, but ji-hauh is placed at the end of the time
expression not at the beginning:
Neih jau-jo ji-hauh, keuih After you’d gone she told me
wah ngoh teng neih mh you don’t like prawns.
jung-yi sihk ha.

In English the after you’d gone could come at the end of the
sentence {She told me you
don’t like prawns after you’d gone ),
but with expressions which pinpoint the time when something
happens Cantonese likes to have the information before the verb
of the main statement is given, so you do not have the option of
11
putting neih jau-jo ji-hauh at the end. Other time when
expressions you have met so far, such as gam-yaht today and
Laih-baai-hgh Friday, as well as the many you haven’t yet met
{at 6 o’clock; in May last year; when I got there; before he had
breakfast; in 1492 ad), all obey the same rule:

Laih-baai-luhk neih heui mh Are you going on Saturday

heui a?
Ngoh gam-yaht seung heui I’d like to go swimming today.
yauh-seui.

Can, able to
You met Unit 4 and in this unit comes ho-yih: both mean
sik in
can, able to. They
are not usually interchangeable. Sik really
means to have learned how to and implies that you are able to
do something because you have acquired the skill to do it (speak
a foreign language, ride a bicycle, eat with chopsticks, etc.).
Ho-yih operates in the realm of permission {may) and absence
of obstacles to doing something:

Neih sik mh sik ja-che a? Can you drive ? (Do you know
how to drive?)
Neih ho-yih mh ho-yih Can you drive? (Have you a
ja-che a? licence? Is the car available?)
 ?

Another way to say can be able by using the verb ending

is
,
to
-dak. This is actually the same word that you met in Unit 5,
but in this use it must go directly onto a verb, as in Ngoh mh
getting

heui-dak (I can’t go):

Keuih ja-dak che. He can drive.
around

With -dak there is no guidance whether he can drive

as to
because he knows how to, because his father says he may,
because he has his full physical powers or because there is a car
available, soit is a good all-purpose way of saying can. Do

remember though that -dak can only be put onto a verb, not
onto any other part of speech.

12 Time how long’

§
Time expressions which show how long something goes on for
(as opposed to the time when something happens) come after
the main verb in Cantonese:
daap gam noih che travelling in a car for so long
Ngoh-deih hai Heung-gong We’re staying in Hong Kong for
jyuh leuhng go laih-baai. two weeks.
Keuih choh-jo ngh go He was on the plane for five
jung-tauh fei-gei. hours.

13 Yet another verb ending: -gwo to have had

the experience
Gwo literally means to go past, as you saw earlier in this unit.
As a verb ending -gwo shows that the verb has been experienced
at some time:

Ngoh sihk-gwo ha. I have had prawns (I have

experienced eating prawns).
The following pairs of sentences illustrate the difference
between the two verb endings -jo and -gwo: -jo, as we saw in
Unit 4, shows that an action has been completed at a particular
point in time; -gwo shows that an action has at some time or
other occurred:

Keuih heui-jo Heung-gong. He went to Hong Kong.

Keuih heui-gwo Heung-gong. He has been to Hong Kong.
Wohng Taai-taai gam-yaht Mrs Wong went to the doctor’s
tai-jo yl-sang. today.
Neih tai-gwo yi-sang ma? Have you ever been to the
doctor’s
 Exercise 1
All of the following sentences are already complete, but each
of them will allow one of the lettered elements to be inserted
getting

and still make sense. For example,

if you insert element c into

ai sentence 1 you create a new

sentence which reads: Gim-kiuh
3 Daaih-hohk haih sai-gaai jeui yauh-meng ge daaih-hohk ji-yat.
c
s. Cambridge is one of the most famous universities in the world.
Now try the rest.
1 Gim-kiuh Daaih-hohk haih daaih-hohk ji-yat.
2 Yauh Leuhn-deun heui Gim-kiuh Daaih-hohk chaam-gwun
yiu heung bak hahng.
3 Yauh nl-syu daap ba-sf heui fei-gei-cheuhng yiu gei-do
chin a?
4 Nl-syu ge deih-hah-tit-louh jf heui Daaih-wuih-tohng.
5 Neih yiu daap ba-si heui fei-gei-cheuhng.
a daap che b sahp-ngh houh
c yauh-meng ge d mh heui fei-gei-cheuhng
sai-gaai jeui
e gwo saam go gaai-hau dou Fa-yuhn Douh
Exercise 2

N
Fdi-gdi-chduhng Daaih-wuih-t6hng

ir 4
+++++ o +++++++++++++ o ++++++++++++

Jeung Sin-saang Jeung Taai-taai cheng ngoh sihk-faahn. Mh-goi

neih* wah ngoh teng yauh fei-gei-cheuhng dfm-yeung heui
jau-lauh a?

(*Note that mh-goi neih is used here to mean not thank you
but please. It is very commonly used in this way and quite often
is used to attract someone’s attention as well, rather as we

might say excuse me so it is a kind of all-purpose expression of

,

politeness.)
revision

(1)
 This unit gives you no new vocabulary or grammar rules. Instead
58
it goes back over a lot of the material from the first six units,

presenting it in a new way so that you can become more fluent

revision

through the extra practice. If you are stuck for any of the words,
remember that there is a word list at the end of the book to help
(1)
you. Units 14, 21 and 26 are also revision units, and just to
make sure that you can check on your progress properly you
will find translations and answers in the key at the end of the
book.

Passage 1

Read this passage out loud.

Johk-yaht mah-ma mahn ngoh-deih seung riih seung sihk sa-

leut? Ngoh-deih go-go dou wah hou seung sihk. Mah-ma wah,
‘Hou hou, ngoh jauh jing luhng-ha sa-leut bei neih-deih sihk la.
Nah, yih-ga ngoh heui maaih luhng-ha, neih-deih heui maaih di
san-sin saang-gwo faan-laih la.’ Ngoh-deih maaih-jo hou do
san-sin saang-gwo faan uk-kei, yauh* yat-chaih hai chyuh-fong
yuh-beih go di saang-gwo. Bun go jung-tauh ji-hauh mah-ma
faan-laih lak. Keuih wah, ‘Gam-yaht di luhng-ha yauh sai yauh
mh san-sin, so-yih ngoh mouh maaih, ji-haih maaih-jo di daaih
ha je. Neih-deih jauh sihk daaih ha sa-leut dong luhng-ha sa-leut
la!’

(*See Unit 5: yauh = furthermore.)

Exercise 1
True or false?
a Johk-yaht mah-ma wah keuih hou seung sihk sa-leut.
b Mah-ma jeui slk jing luhng-ha sa-leut.
c Ngoh-deih maaih-jo hou do san-sin saang-gwo faan uk-kei.
d Mah-ma maaih-jo yat jek hou daaih ge luhng-ha.
e Mah-ma jing ge luhng-ha sa-leut hou hou-meih.

Exercise 2
Answer in Cantonese.
a Mah-ma maaih-jo mat-yeh faan uk-kei a?
b Ngoh-deih maaih-jo mat-yeh faan uk-kei a?
c Johk-yaht di luhng-ha san mh san-sin a?
d Neih slk mh slk jing sa-leut a?
e Hai neih uk-kei fuh-gahn ge jau-lauh yauh mouh sa-leut
maaih a?
Exercise 3
59
Translate into Cantonese,

a Have you ever tasted beef salad?

b This American pen is one of the pens I most want to buy. lion

c This is the first time I’ve been to your office. (1)

Exercise 4
Eavesdropping - you can hear one end of a phone conversation:
see if you can guess what the other end might be.

X
Y Mh g^n-yiu. N6ih yih-ga h£i bln-douh a?
X
Y 6u, h&i Gk-k6i. Mat-y6h sih a?
X
Y H6u, h6u. Dd-jeh, dd-jeh. Hai bln-syu sihk a?

Easy, isn’t it? Try this one

X
Y H6u h6u. N6ih ne?
X
Y K6uih dou g6i h6u. Y£uh-sdm. N6ih taai-tdai ne?
X
Y Deui-mh-jyuh, ng6h g&m-yaht rhh f&an sd-jih-l&uh, mh h6-yfh
tuhng n6ih f^an. Slng-k^ih-sei, h6u rhh h6u a?
X
Y Ng6h mh s6ung j&-che heui, s6ung ch6h ba-sf heui.
X
Y Ch6h luhk houh la.

X
Y H6u, LAih-baai-sei joi-gin.

Exercise 5
Fill in the blanks.

a Wohng Saang haih keuih braa-bha, Wohng Taai haih .

b Ngoh mouh bah-ba, mah-ma, hing-daih, jf-muih, uk-kei ji

yauh ngoh go yahn je.

c Choh fei-gei gwai, daahn-haih choh ba-sf .

d Ngoh-deih Laih-baai-yaht sai faan se-jih-lauh.

e Hoh Sin-saang mouh chin, ihh daap dlk-sf.

Exercise 6
Insert the appropriate plugs (i-v, overleaf) to create meaningful
new sentences.
 a Ngoh-deih ni go Sing-keih-luhk daap fei-gei heui Ying-gwok
waan.
revision
b Wohng Taai-taai tuhng Wohng Sin-saang laih ngoh ge
se-jih-lauh.
c Neih ge jyu-yi haih jeui hou ge.
(1)
d NI gaan daaih-hohk haih yauh-meng ge daaih-hohk.
e Leuhn-deun haih Ying-gwok jeui do yahn ge deih-fong.
i sai-gaai ii saam go yahn iii ji-yat

iv yat-dihng v yat-chaih

0
*"^1
Passage 2
Finally, here is another passage for you to read and understand.

When you have understood it, read it out loud several times
until it feels natural and easy on the tongue.

Gam-yaht ngoh faan se-jih-lauh. Hoh Sin-saang wah ngoh teng

Laih-baai-luhk keuih yiu daap fei-gei faan-heui Ying-gwok,
so-yih hai Laih-baai-saam ji-hauh jauh mh faan se-jih-lauh lak.
Hoh Sin-saang haih ngoh jeui hou ge pahng-yauh ji-yat, keuih
ni chi faan-heui Ying-gwok ji-hauh, ngoh gu jauh mh faan-laih
ge lak. Gam, ngoh yiu sung mat-yeh bei keuih hou ne? Ngoh
seung-jo hou noih dou mouh jyu-yi, jauh heui mahn Wohng
Siu-je tuhng Jeung Taai-taai. Wohng Siu-je wah, ‘Ngoh-deih
saam go yahn yat-chaih cheng Hoh Sin-saang sihk-faahn la!
Hou ma?’ Jeung Taai-taai wah, ‘Yuh-gwo Hoh Taai-taai ho-ylh
tuhng Hoh Sin-saang yat-chaih laih, gam jauh jeui hou lak.’

Ngoh wah sfu-je tuhng taai-taai ge jyu-yi yat-dihng haih jeui

hou ge. Neih wah haih mh haih a?
In this unit you will learn
• vocabulary for talking about
 "

^ O Dialogue 1

blowing
A husband and wife agree about the temperature, but not about
much else.

hot

4m ftfflAMAMXSSff
? •

and
me °

8 w&BBwmn&mism ?
s

TOsmuttit fttmviMttif xhv

i
°

mmm mjHWMfflMi*
§ imnm
•

• ?

imimmxm y i

Mr Wong Yih-ga tin-hei jihm-jfm laahng lak. Ng6h h6u pa

laahng: ngoh jeui jung-yi saai-taai-yeuhng ge.
Tin-m&hn-tdih wah gam-yaht wuih lohk-yuh, nT go
Sing-k6ih-luhk juhng wuih lohk-syut tlm.
Mrs Wong Ng6h yih-ging yuh-beih-j6 dF iaahng-tTn saam la.
Mr Wong Ng6h s£ung tlng-yaht maaih go dihn-nyuhn-lduh
faan-iaih, n6ih wah h6u mh h6u a?
Mrs Wong Mh h6u.
Mr Wong Gam, ng6h yiu g6i-sf maaih a?
Mrs Wong Mh-h6u maaih dihn-nyuhn-l6uh la! N6ih maaih ge
y6h sih-sih dou mh saht-yuhng ge.
Mr Wong Ng6h mh tuhng-yi. Ng6h maaih ge y6h jeui
saht-yuhng ge lak.
Mrs Wong N6ih yiu ji-dou maaih mh saht-yuhng ge y6h JTk-haih
saai-chin.
Mr Wong Naih wah ng6h tang, ng6h maaih-j6 mat-yeh mh
saht-yuhng a?
Mrs Wong jai hai jau-l6ng ch£uhng-gok g6 go sau-taih
miht-f6-tung, n£ih gauh-nin maaih ge, yat nihn ji-noih
dou m6uh yuhng-gwo. N6ih wah haih mh haih mh
saht-yuhng a!
 ^&tin-hei weather ^
MM jihm-jfm gradually
/£ laahng cold blowing

B® API saai-taai-yduhng to sunbathe

tfipa to fear, to dislike hot

tln-m&hn-tdih observatory
and
lohk-yuh to rain (lit: to fall down rain)

a juhng in addition, furthermore cold

H wuih it is likely that (future possibility)

3IS lohk-syut to snow

ifttim as well, also, what’s more
(final particle)

ESyfh-glng already
l^ahng-tln cold weather, winter
saam clothing
BB tlng-yaht tomorrow
dihn-nyuhn-lduh electric heater
SIB# ? g6i-sf? or g6i-slh? when?
ff y6h thing, object
B|B# (|») sih-sih (dou) always, frequently
Jf^ saht-yuhng practical
tuhng-yi to agree
$flsl ' jl-dou or jl to know a fact, to understand
sdai to waste
j^i to put, to place
j£u-l6ng passage, corridor
MM chduhng-gok comer (of house, room, etc.)
sdu-tdih hand held, portable
miht-f6-tung fire extinguisher
gauh-nfn lastyear
^ nlhn year
Y ? a? (particle) (triumphantly scoring a
point) didn’t 1 tell you so!

Have you understood?

Read the dialogue again and then select the correct phrases from
the ones in brackets in the following sentences. You will no
doubt feel insulted if we tell you that the answer to the first one
is dihn-nyuhn-lduh ... so we won’t!

a Wohng Sin-saang da-syun maaih (dihn-nyuhn-lduh/miht-fo-

tung).
b Wohng Taai-taai wah Wohng Sin-saang maaih ge yeh sih-sih
dou (yauh-yuhng/mouh-yuhng/mh saht-yuhng).
 ? ; ; ;

c Go go sau-taih miht-fo-tung jai hai (jau-lauh/se-jih-lauh/

3 cheuhng-gok).
blowing
d Go go sau-taih miht-fo-tung (yuhng-gwo yat chi/mouh
yuhng-gwo/sih-sih yuhng).

hot

and
Grammar
cold
1 What’s more
Juhng means furthermore in addition (you met the same word
,

in Unit 3 when it meant still yet). It is an adverb and therefore,

,

as you now know, comes before the verb in the sentence.

The final particle tim is usually added on at the end to give
additional force to juhng:
3
Ngoh juhng yauh leuhng I’ve got two more as well.
go tim.
Keuih juhng seung heui What’s more she wants to go to
Meih-gwok yat chi tim. the States once as well.

2 When?
Gei-si? when is the question word which asks for a time when
answer. Not surprisingly then, you will find gei-si? in the same
place in the sentence where the time when answer comes. If
you have forgotten the rule, refresh your memory by rereading
Unit 6.
Neih gei-siheui a? When are you going ?
Ngoh Laih-baai-yaht heui. I’m going on Sunday.

More on dou
You by now are well aware that dou is an adverb which means
all , both , also and that it is placed like other adverbs
immediately in front of the verb. Sometimes it is used where
there seems no need for it in English: for instance, in the
dialogue Mrs Wong says Neih maaih ge yeh sih-sih dou mh
saht-yuhng ge (The things you buy are always impractical).
What dou is doing is backing up the word sih-sih always , and it
does so because sih-sih feels like a plural idea in Cantonese - it
literally means time-time. You first met this in Unit 5 where dou
was used to back up doubled classifiers. So whenever there are
plural ideas (the cows all ... Mr and Mrs Wong . . electric .

heaters . . ) or ideas of wholeness (the entire population

. . . .
thewhole busload you can expect dou to be thrown in for
§
. .
4 . )

good measure.
blowing

More about most

In Unit 6 you met jeui most and you will have had no difficulty hot

in using it to make superlatives (biggest, coldest, best, etc.). and

5
Quite often you will find that the final particle lak is tacked onto
the sentence to back up jeui, just as tim backs up juhng: cold

jeui daaih lak biggest

jeui hou-sihk lak most delicious
jeui hou lak best
Rolls-Royce haih Ying-gwok
jeui gwai ge che lak
The Rolls-Royce is
most expensive car
Britain’s §
6
Tone changes
Up to now you have met no exceptions to the rule that a word
is always pronounced in the same tone. Alas, Cantonese is not,
in fact, quite so straightforward and, from time to time, you will
come across the odd word which does not obey the rule. In the
last speech of the dialogue you will notice that the word for
year appears in two different tones. The usual tone is nihn (low
falling), but in last year gauh-nm it becomes mid rising. There is
no obvious reason why this tone change should occur, but take
heart that it only happens in the following common words:

gauh-mn lastyear
gam-nrn thisyear
cheut-nin next year
In all other cases year is pronounced in the low falling tone nihn.

Years and days

While we are talking about nihn you might note that it is one of
a very small number of nouns which do not need a classifier.
You have learned that nouns must have a classifier when they
are counted or specified with words like this , that and which
(see Unit 2), so you know that two pens must be leuhng ji bat
and three Americans must be saam go Meih-gwok-yahn. Nihn
year and yaht day, however, along with one or two other nouns
that you have not met, do not have a classifier; they seem
to combine the role of classifier and noun at the same time. So
one day is yat yaht and two years is leuhng nihn.
 .

This is a convenient place to set out in clear form the words for
years and days that you have met so far:

blowing gam-yaht today gam-nfn thisyear

johk-yaht yesterday gauh-nin lastyear
ting-yaht tomorrow cheut-nm next year
hot

and

Dialogue 2
cold

Mr Chan and Mr Cheung demonstrate how buying an air conditioner

can lead to a conflict of stinginess.
"3j?

s
atf »**»# °
fttznma*. • •

&S*s£ otftti&felM °

(a*»*Jia«nBBra*** %wm*.m*ns«. •
w •

stifini? ? *feW »ff«: •

: wmw • !

mum® i i

€»«1I^l» !

•
mu*** •

ft&1iinn«ff !

Chan J6ung Sin-s&ang, n6ih h6u. Heui bln-syu a?

Cheung Ng6h heui m£aih I6ahng-hei-g6i.
Chan Haih a! Tin-hei jihm-jim yiht, m&aih I6ahng-hei-gdi haih
sih-hauh la.

Cheung Ch&hn Sin-s&ang, n6ih y£uh mat-y6h d£-syun ne?

Chan Ng6h m6uh chin m£aih I6ahng-hei-gdi. Tin-hei taai yiht
ge sih-hauh, ng6h wuih heui h6i-t&an y&uh-s6ui, y£m
be-jciu, sihk syut-gou, g&m jauh mh yiht la.

Cheung Daahn-haih yuh-gw6 d£-fung jauh rhh h6-yfh heui h6i-

t&an, lohk-yuh jauh rhh h6-yih heui m£aih syut-gou . .

g£m, jauh dim a? L&ahng-hei-gdi rhh syun h6u gwai,

daahn-haih h6u y^uh-yuhng: n6ih dou rhh m£aih,
j&n-haih haan lak!
Chan Ngoh mh syun haan la! Ng6h wah n6ih taai-t^ai juhng
haan la!
Cheung K6uih dim-yeung haan-faat a?
Chan NT go L6ih-baai-yih ng6h h£i baak-fo-gung-sl m£aih
y&uh-seui-fu ge sih-hauh, gin-d6u n6ih taai-taai, k6uih
h6u hdi-sam gam wah ng6h keuih ji'-haih yuhng-j6 yat
jl

tluh n6ih ge gauh I6hng-t&ai jauh h6-yfh g6i-s6hng yat

tou ‘b6i-gin-neih’ lak. Neih wah k6uih h&an rhh h&an ne?
 iaahng-hei-g6i air-conditioner
(lit: cold air machine)
^yiht hot
sih-hauh time
IT % da-syun to intend intention ;

MM h6i-ttan beach
y^m to drink
n$;'i be-j^u beer
M tfu any alcoholic drink
3$ syut-gou ice cream
IT M da-fung to have a typhoon
& fung wind
% syun to be regarded as, to be
reckoned
£ y&uh-yuhng useful
IS h£an to save to ; be parsimonious,
stingy
M juhng even more
»i« &? in what way . . . ?
dim-yeung . . . -faat?
S S & w] baak-fo-gung-sT department store
gung-sT a company
SItKW y&uh-s6ui-fu swimming trunks
M g»n to see, to meet
-d6u
#J (verb ending) to succeed in
|5fl/C,\ h6i-sam happy
IS- »=a H
wah . . . jl = wah . . . tdng to tell

tluh classifier for long, thin, flexible

things
£ gauh old, used
I6hng-t&ai necktie
Kg6i to alter, to change
(usually for the better)
$ -sdhng (verb ending) . . . to become,
. . . into
gtou classifier for a set of, a suit of

tfcS/S b6i-gln-n$ih bikini

§ Q Typhoons
Itis likely that the word typhoon comes from the Cantonese word
blowing

daaih-fung great wind. The summer monsoon season is the usual

time for these swirling torrents of rain and ferocious winds which can
hot exceed speeds of 160 km/h, and woe betide those who are caught
and
unprepared. In recent years few really bad typhoons have hit Hong
Kong and early warning systems mean that there is usually plenty of
cold time to get to safety and put up shutters. During a typhoon Hong
Kong comes to a standstill, creating an unaccustomed silence which
even the noise of the wind cannot disguise.

Picture quiz

a Neih wah Jeung Taai yuhng nl tiuh lehng-taai goi-sehng bei-

gin-neih dak mh dak a?
b Yat tou bei-gin-neih haih gei-do gihn a?

Grammar
7 In what way?
You first met dim-yeung in what way? how? in Unit 5. In the
dialogue you see that it appears with the verb ending -faat way
of. ... You do not have to use this new form, but it is quite
good racy-sounding Cantonese to do so. Here are two example
sentences each using both forms:
1 Keuih dim-yeung heui fei-gei-cheuhng a?
Fei-gei-cheuhng keuih dim-yeung heui-faat a?
2 Keuih dim-yeung haan chin a?
Chin keuih dim-yeung haan-faat a?
 : ? f

Sentence 1 means How is he going to the airport and Sentence

2 means How does she save money When the -faat form is used,
note how in each case the object of the verb moves to the front
of the sentence and the -faat tacks onto the verb. There is a useful
principle to be learned: Cantonese verbs are sensitive creatures
(remember how some of them feel lonely?) and they don’t feel
happy with too many ideas hanging on them. Verb endings must
add directly onto the verb and so if there is an object as well
and it makes the verb feel overburdened, it often feels more
comfortable to shift that object to the front of the sentence.

8 Sih-hauh time
Haih sih-hauh is a colloquial way to say it is the right time
to Here are two ways of using it, both of which mean it’s
time to go to the office now

Yih-ga haih sih-hauh faan se-jih-lauh la.

Yih-ga faan se-jih-lauh haih sih-hauh la.

Perhaps more common is the expression . . ge sih-hauh, .

which means when ... or while. Study these two sentences

. . .

carefully:

Ngoh jyu-sung ge sih-hauh I don’t want mummy to help

ihh seung mah-ma bong me while I’m cooking.
ngoh sau.
Keuih hdi Ying-gwok She often comes to see me
ge sih-hauh sih-sih dou when she’s in Britain.
laih taam ngoh.

Now look back to Unit 4 and see how . .

.
ge sih-hauh is really
ge phrases:
just like other

hou gwai ge ga-fe coffee which is very expensive

maaih-gan bat ge yahn the person who is buying a pen
keuih hai Ying-gwok ge the time when she is in Britain
sih-hauh

9 Making adverbs from adjectives

Ifyou bracket an adjective with hou . .
.
gam you turn it into an
adverb:

hoi-sam happy —» hou hoi-sam gam happily

haak-hei polite—> hou haak-hei gam politely
Keuih hou nau. He’s very angry.
Keuih hou nau gam wah ngoh ji. He told me angrily.
 .

70 10 -dou to succeed in

not easy to put a specific meaning on the verb ending -dou.

It is
blowing

Sometimes you might want to translate it as to succeed in,

sometimes as successfully, sometimes as actually and quite
hot
often it seems to add nothing much at all to the meaning of the
and
verb to which it is attached. Here are four examples of it with
different verbs:
cold

Ngoh tai-dou Wohng Siu-je / caught sight of Miss Wong

hai go-syu. there.
Ngoh gu-dou neih hai I guessed rightly that you were

§ chyuh-fong.
Keuih daap-dou ba-si.
in the kitchen.
He actually caught the bus.
Ngoh gin-dou neih taai-taai. I met your wife.

1 1 - sehng to become
As a verb ending -sehng means to become or to make into. You
will find an example in the dialogue where Mrs Cheung claims
to make a tie into a bikini. Here is another one:

Ngoh yuhng ngauh-yuhk I’m making the beef into a soup.

jyu-sehng yat go tong.

Exercise 1
Match the correct part B with its part A to make meaningful
sentences.

A Tin-hei jihm-jim yiht . .

Laahng-hei-gei mh syun hou gwai . . .

Yuh-gwo maaih mh saht-yuhng ge yeh . . .

Ngoh yfh-ging yuh-beih-jo . . .

B ... jlk-haih saai chin.

. . maaih laahng-hei-gei haih sih-hauh
. la.

. . . ngoh-deih dl laahng-tin saam la.

. . . daahn-haih hou yauh-yuhng.

Exercise 2
How can you turn these two sentences into one?

Go-syu yauh che. Che hou gwai-

Answer: Go-syu yauh hou gwai ge che.

Try to do the same with the following sentences.
71
a Jeung Sfu-je haih Yaht-bun-yahn. Keuih hou leng.
b Ngoh mh seung maaih bat. Chahn Sin-saang ge pou-tau blowing

maaih Meih-gwok bat.

c Ngoh hou seung sihk luhng-ha. Hoh Taai jing luhng-ha.
hot

Exercise 3 and

From the of words and phrases 1-9 you need to select the
list

right ones to complete sentences a-d. Obviously, that means cold

you will have to reject five of them as unsuitable or less suitable.

1 san-sin 2 Meih-gwok ge 3 Ying-gwok ge
4 sau-taih 5 mfhn-fai 6 yat tou leng ge
7 gaai-siuh 8 huhng-sik 9 yuh-gong
a miht-fo-tung hou yauh-yuhng.
b Hai nl-syu yam seui haih ge: neih mh sai bei chin.
c bei-gin-neih mh pehng.
d Yuh-gwo dl ngauh-yuhk riih ,
ngoh jauh mh seung sihk.

A creative test
 fun

and

games

3 C'
CD In this unit you will learn
• some words for leisure
activities
• some words to do with
going on holiday
 «

Dialogue 1 73
Mr Chan finds out how his colleague Miss Cheung spends her time fun

off.
and

$n§**rr»*s games

aiitiiRfii °

mu • °

Mr Chan J6ung Siu-j6, johk-yaht tuhng chihn-yaht dou

fong-ga. Neih y£uh m6uh heui d&-bo a?
Miss Cheung Ng6h mh jung-yi d£-bo ge.
Mr Chan Yauh m6uh heui k6ih-t& deih-f6ng waan ne?
Miss Cheung Ngoh dou mh jung-yi I6ih-h6i H6ung-g6ng ge,
ng6h jf-haih jung-yi t£i-dihn-yfng je.
Mr Chan Ng6h ji-dou johk-yaht h£i Daaih-wuih-t6hng y£uh
yat cheut h6u y£uh-m6ng ge dihn-yfng. Neih y£uh
m6uh heui t&i a?
Miss Cheung Y6uh a! J&n-haih h6u h6u-t£i a. Y)h-ch6 juhng h6u
chi-gik tim.
Mr Chan Chi-gTk!Ng6h mh gok-dak bo. N6ih gei mh
gei-dak g6 cheut dihn-ying ge noih-yuhng a?
Miss Cheung Deui-mh-jyuh, ng6h yat-df dou mh gei-dak lak,
y&n-waih ng6h tuhng n&ahm-p&hng-y£uh
yat-ch&ih heui t£i ge.

M0 chihn-yaht the day before yesterday

fong-ga to be on holiday, take days off
d^-bo to play a ball game
dihn-yfng cinema film, movie
ft cheut classifier for films and stage plays
mm Idih-hdi to leave, depart from
Mfl yih-ch6 moreover
chi-glk exciting
H'M gok-dak to feel
IBf# gei-dak to remember
ftl? noih-yuhng contents
— W yat-df a little bit

M n&ahm male
 , t

Give the cartoon a caption

74
fun

and

games

Supply the caption for the market researcher’s question. He is

asking: Did you feel that this was an exciting film

Grammar
1 Plurality with dou again
In Unit 8you learned about the use of dou to back up plurals.
Did you spot the new example in the first speech of the dialogue?

2 Fong-ga to have a holiday

Fong-ga literally means to release a day off. It is one of quite a
large group of expressions which are made up of a verb and an
object and these expressions can all be split up if the sense
allows. Here are a couple of examples:

Ngoh nl go sing-keih fong Ihave three days’ holiday this

saam yaht ga. week.
Keuih jouh jau-lauh ge He is in the restaurant business,
sdang-yi.

3 Playing ball
The word bo originally came from the English word ball. Da
means to hit and da-bo is the regular way to say to play a ball
game. The problem is: Which ball game? For a majority of people
it means soccer but if you happen to be a snooker fan then it
,

means snooker or for a basketball fan it means basketball, and

then of course there is table tennis, rugby. For the moment, . . .

da-bo is all you need, but you might note the very logical
4
difference between the following:

Ngoh heui da-bo. I’m going off to play ball.

Ngoh heui tai da-bo. I’m going off to watch the game.

Going to the movies

Tai-dihn-ymg means to see a film and heui tai-dihn-ymg is to go
5
to the movies. You will notice that tai-dihn-ymg is also a verb
plus object expression, so another example for 2 might be:
Wohng
6 Taai seung heui tai Mrs Wong wants to go to see
Meih-gwok dihn-ying. an American film.
There is another expression which means to see a play ,
tai-hei,
but far more people go to the cinema than go to the live theatre
and it is now very common to hear someone say ngoh heui
tai-hei when
7 they mean I’m going to the pictures.

Overkill
You may or may not have realized that in Miss Cheung’s third
speech in the dialogue, she uses three different ways of saying
moreover (yih-che/juhng/tim). This may feel like overkill in
English, but it is perfectly all right, indeed common, in Cantonese.

Taking shortcuts again

In Unit 3 you met the sentence Neih faan riih faan-heui a? and
itwas explained that this was a common shortened form of
Neih faan-heui mh faan-heui a? You can do the same thing with
any two-syllable verb and in the dialogue you will have noticed
neih gei mh gei-dak where Mr Chan might equally well correctly
have said neih gei-dak mh gei-dak. Here is another example:
Neih jung mh jung-yi Leuhn-deun a? Do you like London?

Not even a little bit!

Yat-di means a and combined with dou and the

little bit
negatives mh or mouh
means not even a little bit. In a later
it

unit you will find that this fits in with a regular grammar
pattern, but for the time being you should just accept it as
an idiomatic expression. Along the same lines you can also
say Ngoh-deih yat-di chin dou mouh. If you are like us you
probably need to say it quite often!
 •

76
fun
Q It’s electric!

In this unit we have met the word dihn-yi'ng for movie film. It

and literally means electric shadows and was an ingenious way of

coping with the new concept when it first burst onto the Chinese
scene. The word dihn electric was itself originally borrowed from
games

the word meaning lightning and it has been put to very good use
ever since. You met electric heater dihn-nyuhn-lduh in Unit 8.
Nowadays everyone is familiar with dihn-che (electric vehicle) for
tram, dihn-w£ (electric speech) for telephone, dihn-sih (electric
vision) for television, dihn-n6uh (electric brain) for computer and
many more.

Dialogue 2
Mr Wong and Mr Cheung discuss keeping fit, but Mr Wong is not
sure that the theories apply to his wife!

•
Mm
mmmmm i •
mih •

•
•

-imm • ri #** mmmm • •

MMTEPJt?
Mr Wong J&ung Sln-s&ang, n6ih wah slh-sih wahn-duhng
h6-yfh gdam-siu s&n-t&i I6uih-bihn d6-yuh ge
jl-fong, deui gihn-h6ng h6u h6u, haih mh
haih a?
Mr Cheung Haih a! Ng6h slh-sih dou h&ahng-louh, p&h-s&an,
tuhng d&-bo. Ndih t£i ng6h yih-glng hgh-sahp-g6i
seui lak, juhng haih h6u gihn-hdng, h6u-chih
sei-sahp seui gam-seuhng-h£.
Mr Wong Daahn-haih ngdh gok-dak wahn-duhng deui ng6h
taai-t&ai yat-df yuhng dou m6uh.
Mr Cheung Yat-dihng y£uh yuhng ge. Ji-yiu n6ih taai-t&ai slh-sih
wahn-duhng, san-tai leuih-bihn yat-dihng m6uh
dd-yuh jl-fong ge.
Mr Wong Ng6h taai-taai sehng-yaht g6ng-yeh, h£u-bouh ge
gei-yuhk y&uh h6u d6 wahn-duhng la. Dim-gaai
kduih juhng yauh yat go h6u d6 jl-fong ge seung
hah-pah ne?
 HU) wahn-duhng physical exercise to exercise
;

U'P g^am-sfu to reduce, cut down

#Hsan-tai the body
fiii I6uih-bihn inside
dd-yuh surplus
fl-fong (body)fat
deui with regard to, towards
fill gihn-hdng health
h&ahng-louh to walk
JUSOj p&h-seian to climb mountains, walk the hills
UU sdan mountain, hill

^g6i several
Jfe seui year of age
oft ±T gam-seuhng-ha approximately, thereabouts
RW jf-yiu so long as, provided that
f$ 0 s&hng-yaht the whole day
t* g6ng to speak, talk, say
p h£u-bouh the mouth
g&i-yuhk muscle
S? seung double
"FE hah-p&h chin

Grammar
8 Gei several
You met gei in the expression gei-dd? how many?
in Unit 5 and
gei-si? when? in Unit 8. On its own
can also mean how
gei
many?, but it has the meaning several as well, and that could be
quite confusing. Supposing someone were to say to you gei go
yahn, you couldn’t be sure whether they were saying how many
people? or several people. Obviously the context in which they
said it would help a lot, but in practice if it were a question most
people would add a? on the end and that would of course make
it clear.

In its several meaning, gei gets involved with numbers quite a lot
and you one example in Mr Cheung’s
will see first speech in the
dialogue. Here are a few other examples:

yih-sahp-gei go yahn more than 20 people (i.e. more than

20 but fewer than 30)
sahp-gei seui ge a Chinese in his teens
Jung-gwok-yahn
 1

gei-sahp go yahn dozens of people (several tens of people)

9
gei-sahp nihn several decades
fun

and

Seui years of age

games
There are two points to be noted about seui. First, it is one
of those few words which (like yaht and nihn) do not need a
classifier. Second, it is often used without a verb. Look again at
the dialogue where Mr Cheung says ngoh yih-ging ngh-sahp-gei
seui lak: there is no verb in this expression at all, yet it is
10
perfectly acceptable Cantonese. you want to or feel the need
If
to put in a verb, the most commonly used one is haih to be. Mr
Cheung could have said: ngoh yih-ging haih ngh-sahp-gei seui
lak and it would have meant the same.

Approximately
Gam-seuhng-ha literally means thus up and down and from that
comes to mean approximately. It usually follows whatever it
refers to, as it does where you met it in the dialogue: sei-sahp
12
seui gam-seuhng-ha about 40 years old.

1 Sehng the whole

Sehng- combines with classifiers to make the whole. ... So
sehng-go laih-baai is the whole week , sehng-yaht is the whole
day or all day long and sehng-nihn is the whole year long.
(Remember that yaht and nihn are nouns which act like
classifiers - see Unit 8.)

Another ‘lonely verb’

In Mr Wong’s last speech, he says Ngoh taai-taai sehng-yaht

gong-yeh. Yeh means things as you learned in Unit 8, but here
,

it is merely doing duty as the supplied object for the verb gong

which is one of those which gets lonely on its own. Yeh is quite
handy for this purpose: here are a few more examples of it with
lonely verbs:

Neih seung mh
seung sihk-yeh? Do you want to eat?
Ngoh maaih-yeh.
taai-taai heui-jo My wife’s gone shopping.
Keuih sehng-yaht dou yam-yeh. He drinks all day long.
O A problem of age 79
When someone gives his age he (or of course she) will give it in seui fun

not in nihn -would be wrong to use nlhn in this way. Well, that’s
it
and

easy enough. What is sometimes a problem is sorting out what seui

means, because traditionally Chinese people were bom one seui old
and then added another seui to their age at each lunar new year. So games

a Chinese bom on the last day of the lunar year would already be
I6uhng seui old the next day, while a western baby bom on the same
day would not even have got to ‘one’ yet! Worse than that, if the
Chinese baby were bom just before a short lunar year (the lunar
years vary in length and can be much longer or much shorter than
the solar year), he has time to become s&am seui before the poor
little western baby has opened his score! If it is ever important to be

certain, you can always ask whether the Chinese or the westerner
(s&i-y&hn) seui is meant.

Exercise 1
Here are some jumbled elements from which to make
meaningful sentences.
a gam-seuhng-ha/Hoh Sin-saang/ngh-sahp seui/hou-chih
b hou hou/sih-sih/deui/wahn-duhng/gihn-hong
c ngoh/da-bo/jung-yi/je/pah-saan/ji-haih/tuhng yauh-seui

Exercise 2
There is a relationship between each of the words in A and one
of the words in B. Make the connections.

A sung B yauh-seui
fo-gei san-sin
daaih-gaam-ga jau-lauh
laahn laahp-saap-tung
hoi-taan dihn-nyuhn-louh
lohk-syut baak-fo-gung-sl

Exercise 3
You’ve made it to the big time: you are a professional
interpreter. The hangs in the balance, so make
fate of nations
sure you translate the following remarks by the British Foreign
Secretary accurately or there may be a diplomatic incident with
the state of Cantonia!
FS Good morning, Mr Wong.
You a
Wong J6u-sdhn
FS Would you like to have a beer?
You b
Wong Ng6h rhh jung-yi yam be-j£u
FS Oh, well how about coffee? Or tea?
You c
Wong Ga-fe tuhng ch&h dou deui sdn-t£i mb h6u. Ng6h
jf-haih y£m s6ui je
FS I'm sorry,we have no water. The waiter told me that the
water here is not good to drink. Why don't you have
some beer?
You d
Wong N6ih sdhng-yaht wah ng6h yiu y^m be-j£u. Ng6h
yfh-glng wah n6ih jl ng6h mh jung-yi y^m. N6ih
j^n-haih h6u rhh haak-hei
FS The beer is very good, it’s British beer. Please drink a
little.

You e
Wong NT go ydhn jeui mh haak-hei lak! Ng6h j^u iak!
FS Oh, he’s gone!
You f

Oh dear, it doesn’t look as though that went too well, and you
wasted your breath translating the last remark, didn’t you? Still
it wasn’t your fault, was it? Or was it?

Exercise 4
Pair off the most likely objects in B with their verbs in A. Some
of B of course won’t do at all, but sometimes there may be more
than one possible pairing.

A tai B yeh
jyu dihn-ying
gong tihm-ban
chaam-gwun chyuh-fong
sihk yl-sang
chi-fo
cheuhng-gok
Gim-kiuh Daaih-hohk
Exercise 5
81
fun

and

games

Answer these questions in Cantonese so that all the answers

have one word in common.
a Wohng Saang jouh mat-yeh a?
b Wohng Taai jouh ml-yeh a?
c Wohng Siu-je jouh ml-yeh a?
d Jeung Sin-saang jouh ml-yeh a?
e NT saam go yahn jouh mat-yeh a?
 health

care

for

beginners

In this unit you will learn

• how to say how you are
feeling
• how to consult a doctor
 .

O Dialogue 1 2
Mr Wong phones his family doctor to make an appointment. The
health

nurse answers:

s
m i

i
mm? care

for
•

beginners

0 •
3i8£*?1t

fe®S5?=H Hitt !
?
10

Biff i&ffi ! •
&ffl$St££CII54ft !

Mr Wong W6i! Ni-syu haih rtih haih J6ung YT-sang ge ch&n-s6

a?
Nurse Haih a!
Mr Wong Ng6h s6ung t£i-yT-sang, mh-g6i n6ih bdng ng6h
gwa-houh la.
Nurse N6ih gwai-sing a? Y&uh mat-y6h rhh syu-fuhk a?
Mr Wong Ng6h haih W6hng Yat G6ng Sln-s&ang, ng6h gok-dak
y^uh-dl t&uh-tung, gaan-jung y^uh-dT t&uh-w&hn,
juhng yd»uh-dT jok-£u tlm.
Nurse N6ih ge behng mh syun h6u yihm-juhng. Ng6h wah
n6ih jl, J6ung YT-sang h6u mdhng . .

Mr Wong G&m, ng6h g6i-si h6-ylh t6i-yT-sang a?

Nurse Ng6h gu n6ih yiu d£ng s&am-sei yaht sin-ji h6-yfh
gin-d6u J6ung YT-sang bo!
Mr Wong Mat-y6h w£? S&am-sei yaht ji-hauh! Ng6h gu
g6-jahn-slh ng6h yih-ging s6i-j6 la!

Nurse Mh g&n-yiu. G6-jahn-sih ch6ng neih taai-t&ai d£ go

dihn-w£ l&ih, wah ng6h ji ch6ui-siu gwa-houh jauh
dak la!
Mr Wong Mh dak, mh dak! Ng6h mh seung d£ng lak, ng6h
yih-ga jauh yiu heui yl-yun lak!
S ! wai! hello! (especially on the phone)
i#£fr ch6n-s6 clinic
health

ftbdng on behalf of, for the benefit of

J&Sfc gwa-houh to register
care
syu-fuhk comfortable
for
mh syu-fuhk unwell, uncomfortable
some, a little bit
y^uh-dT or y^uh-yat-dl
beginners

t£uh-tung headache
Ittuh the head
0tung pain, ache
10 P4] 4 gaan-jung
1
occasionally, periodically
Sift tauh-w^hn dizzy
jfeU jok-£u to retch, be about to vomit
3u to vomit
behngM illness
iSMyihm-juhng serious, desperate
ft mdhng busy
sln-ji only then
of® ® Bf g6-jahn-sih at that time
d£-dihn-w£ make a phone call

WM ch6ui-siu to cancel
BK yi-yun hospital

Q Chinese and western medicine

Chinese medicine (Jung-yi) and western medicine (sdi-yi) have very
different traditions and practices. Each has begun to acknowledge
and learn from the other in recent years and some practitioners now
combine elements of both schools in their treatments. The contrast
between Chinese (Jung) and western (sdi) is echoed in a number of
expressions, perhaps most basically in Jung-gwok-ydhn a Chinese
and sdi-ydhn a westerner. Another pair of terms which are more
earthy and less formal are Tdhng-y&hn a Chinese and gw£i-l6u a
ghost fellow. This last term for a westerner is in very common use
and is not really to be considered offensive, although the strictly
politically correct would probably avoid it.
Grammar
1 Bong on behalf of health

You met bong to help in Unit

the verb 4. It can be used with
care

other verbs to mean on behalf of for the

, benefit of, for, but note
that it always comes in front of the other verbs: for

Ngoh bong neih jing sa-leut. I’ll make the salad for you.
Keuih bong ngoh heui She does the shopping for me. beginners

maaih-yeh.

2 Syu-fuhk comfortable
10
Syu-fuhk nicely translates the English word comfortable and
it follows naturally enough that mh syu-fuhk should mean
uncomfortable. Indeed it does, but it is also very commonly used
to mean unwell, poorly, off colour and, rather as in English,
someone may tell you that they are a bit off colour, even if they
are quite seriously ill.

3 Yauh-di a certain amount of

Yauh-dl can be put in front of many other words to indicate a
certain quantity of, some. Here are some useful examples:

yauh-di yahn some people

yauh-di mh syu-fuhk a bit off colour
yauh-di mh seung heui a bit reluctant to go

4 Approximate numbers
Mr Wong he will have to wait
In the dialogue the nurse tells
three or four days (saam-sei yaht). You can make up
approximate numbers like that whenever you want to. Here are
a few chosen at random:

chat-baat go yahn seven or eight people

Keuih sahp-yih-saam seui. She’s 12 or 13.
sei-ngh-sahp jek ngauh 40 or 50 head of cattle
But beware! There is one combination you cannot use in this
way: if you think about it gau-sahp cannot mean nine or ten
 because it already means ninety. So some other way of saying
§ ithad to be found and Cantonese has come up with a real
health
humdinger - sahp-go-baat-go {ten or eight classifiers). So nine
or ten days is sahp-yaht-baat-yaht and nine or ten pens is
sahp-ji-baat-ji bat.
care

for

5 Sin-ji only then

beginners
Sin-ji is an adverb and obeys the usual rule for adverbs: it must

come directly in front of a verb. It is best remembered as

meaning only then, but you will find it very useful in coping
with the English expression not until:
10
Keuih ting-yaht sin-ji heui She’s not going to Japan until
Yaht-bun. tomorrow, (lit: She tomorrow
only then is going to Japan.)

6 Da to hit
Although da does literally mean to hit (keuih da ngoh he hits
me), you will meet it used in many idiomatic ways as a general
purpose verb. Here are a few:

da-bo to play ball

da-lehng-taai to tie a necktie
da-dihn-wa to make a phone call
da-syun to reckon on, to intend to

A word of warning: don’t try to invent idiomatic usages for

yourself (by definition you cannot invent idioms).

Dialogue 2
Mr Wong talks with his sick son, William.

mm Min\m flusaw
m •

i
flw-ki
&& •
• ?
°
?
•
turn#

rfn m&W ? ?

•
nm m •

tm °
Mr Wong Wai-lihm, neih jouh-mat-yeh j6-yiuh-yauh-b£ai,
tiu-gdu-mau-dai a? Neih rhh syu-fuhk ah?
William Haih a! Bah-ba, ngoh hei-san go-jahn-sih gok-dak
health

go touh rhh syu-fuhk. Heui-yuhn chi-so ji-hauh,

dou juhng y^uh-di tung, s6-yih ngoh jauh y6m-jo
care

seuhng-go-l6ih-baai mah-ma m&aih-faan-laih go

jeun yeuhk-seui lak. 0
Mr Wong Yih-ga dim a? Go t6uh
juhng tung rhh tung a?
William Ngoh ngaam-ngaam y6m-jo yeuhk-seui sahp fan 1
3
jung je, juhng meih ji.
Mr Wong G&m, jouh mat-ydh neih yiu j6-yiuh-yauh-baai ne?
William Chi-chi y£m
yeuhk-s6ui ji-chihn, mah-ma dou yiu
ng6h yiuh-wdhn dT yeuhk-sdui sin yihn-hauh ji y£m.
Daahn-haih t&uh-sTn y^m yeuhk-s6ui g6-jahn-sih,
ng6h rhh gei-dak yiuh-wahn, so-yih yih-ga
j6-yiuh-yauh-b&ai, hei-mohng h6-yfh
b6u-fean-sou la.

MU Wai-llhm a Cantonese version of William

j 6 -yiuh-yauh-b 3 ai shaking from side to side
SfeSfiSii tiu-gdu-mau-d&i jumping up and down
5§# h6i-Scin to get up in the morning
ftt t6uh stomach, abdomen
MPft chi-s6 toilet, lavatory
± seuhng-go-l£ih-baai last week
jdun$ (classifier) a bottle of (jeun is a
bottle, classified by go)
M yeuhk medicine
53 yeuhk-s6ui (liquid) medicine
IMff-ttttff? how is it? how’s things?
dim a? = dfm-y6ung a?
ngaam-ngaam a moment ago, a moment before
— $#lyStf&n jung a minute
7^ meih not yet
jl-chlhn before
yiuh-wdhn to shake up
yihn-hauh afterwards, after that
IS 9t ttuh-sTn just now
#li hdi-mohng hope
b6u-tean-sou to make up for
True or false?
Answer haih or mh haih to the following questions. Now spell
out a longer answer in Cantonese. So for the first question, you
could reply Mh
haih. Di yeuhk-seui haih mah-ma seuhng-go-
laih-baai maaih-faan-laih ge.

a Go jeun yeuhk-seui haih mah-ma johk-yaht maaih-faan-laih

ge-
b Chi-chiyam yeuhk-seui ji-chihn, mah-ma dou yiu Wai-lihm
yiuh-wahn di yeuhk-seui sin.
c Wai-lihm gok-dak go tauh mh syu-fuhk.
d Wai-lihm yam-jo yeuhk-seui leuhng go jung-tauh lak.

Grammar
7 Four-character phrases
All the Chinese languages seem to thrive on using combinations
of four characters as set phrases. Mr Wong uses two of them
in his first speech in the dialogue. It can often be misleading
to translate these phrases literally, so we generally will not do
so, but in this case the second four-character phrase is made
up of two common useful words which you might as well learn
now:

tiu-goumeans to jump high (gou = high, tall) and in athletics is

jump
high
mau-dai means to squat down to crouch down
,

8 Last week ,
this week and next week
Seuhng-go-laih-baai means last week. Seuhng means above so ,

it literally means the week above. Logically enough, the word

for next week is the week below hah-go-laih-baai. You now

have the full set:

seuhng-go-laih-baai/sing-keih lastweek
ni-go-laih-baai/sing-keih thisweek
hah-go-laih-baai/ sing-keih next week

And you can go further:

seuhng-go-Laih-baai-sei Thursday of last week

nl-go-Sing-keih-luhk Saturday of this week
hah-go-Sing-keih-saam Wednesday of next week
 1

As a matter of fact you have met seuhng and hah as a pair

meaning up and down above and below before (see Unit 9: the ££
,
9
word hah in that case had changed its tone) and you will meet
health

them again later.

care

Time how long’ again for

In Unit 6 you met the idea of time how long and you will
remember that such time expressions are placed after the verb. beginners

10 hour was yat go jung-tauh and now you can deal in minutes
An
too: a minute is yat fan jung. In the dialogue, William says
Ngoh ngaam-ngaam yam-jo yeuhk-seui sahp fan jung je - I’ve
only had the medicine down me for ten minutes.
10

Before and after

In Unit 6 you met ji-hau meaning after. Its opposite is ji-chihn
before. Both words follow the phrases they refer to, although in
English they come in front of them:
Ngoh sihk-faahn ji-chihn, Before I eat, I would very much
hou seung heui maaih like to go and buy some beer.
be-jau.
Keuih faan uk-kei ji-hauh, After he returns home, you
neih yiu wah keuih ji! must tell him!
Like seuhng and hah (see Point 8), chihn and hauh are a regular
pair. You learned chihn-yaht the day before yesterday in Unit 9,
so you can now make a good guess at what the day after
tomorrow must be ... Of course, it is hauh-yaht!
chihn-yaht the day before yesterday
hauh-yaht the day after tomorrow
chihn-nin the year before last
hauh-nin the year after next

1 S'm-ji again
You met sin-ji earlier in this unit. It is actually made up of two
separate words sin first and ji only then and sometimes they
can be separated, although the meaning remains the same.
In William’s last speech in the dialogue you will see a good
example:
Mah-ma dou yiu ngoh yiuh-wahn di yeuhk-seui sin yihn-hauh ji

yam.
 Translated literally this means mummy requires me to shake the
90
medicine first (and) afterwards only then to drink it. It is a little
more long-winded than mah-ma dou yiu ngoh yiuh-wahn dl
yeuhk-seui sin-ji yam and for that reason sounds slightly more
emphatic, as though William is relaying the lesson his mother
carefully taught him.

Exercise 1
Read these questions aloud in Cantonese, then give the answer
clearlyand as quickly as you can. Remember that most of the
answer will be the same as the question, but there will of course
be no a?!

a Yl-sang hai bln-douh tai behng-yahn a?

b Wohng Sin-saang haih bln-gwok-yahn a?
c Mah-ma hai bin-syu maaih-yeh a?
d Heung-gong-yahn hai bln-douh jyuh a?
e Wohng Wai-lihm ge bah-ba sing mat-yeh a?

Exercise 2
Wohng Saang, Wohng Taai dou yauh-behng. Dim-gaai yauh-
behng ne? Yan-waih Wohng Taai-taai yam ga-fe yam-jo taai do
lak,Wohng Sin-saang yam be-jau yam-jo taai do lak. Leuhng go
yahn dou heui tai Leih Yl-sang. Neih gu yl-sang deui keuih-deih
dim-yeung gong ne?

Make up some lines for a very severe Dr Li, who tells them
that they are both ruining their health and then tells each
of them separately not to indulge their favourite vice any
more.

Exercise 3
You are advanced enough now to translate a suitably modified
nursery rhyme into Cantonese. A pig is jyu and the word for
a son (jai) can be tacked onto any noun to show that it is a
little one, so jyu-jai is a piglet, a piggy, or just a small pig;

and jyu-yuhk is pork. OK, off you go and forgive us for the
. . .

last line!

This little piggy went to market (went shopping).

This little piggy stayed at home.
This little piggy had roast beef (well, you can forget the ‘roast’
bit).
And this little piggy had none.
And this little piggy went ‘Oh! Oh! Oh!’ to see the doctor.
 . ,

health

care

Describe in Cantonese what Mr Chan is doing in each of the five

pictures. Begin the first answer with Chahn Saang . and the
.
.

others with Keuih. . .

the

world

of

fashion

In this unit you will learn

• some more ways of passing
judgements
• how to express likes and
dislikes
 . !

O Dialogue 1 93
Miss Wong shops for a new hat and finally thinks she has found the f
very thing, but . .

world

njbJUf
of

l Rife • «*eDSf#D*§fj]g o fashion

'h® •
• f§«tbfpn§igi>$ -

& imm% ummifm

m
nmm
m
•

\
i
•

nraogtgu* •
m&xtt • \

tt»e«nr i

7
J'® •
'

Miss Wong NT d6ng m6u ge chit-gai rhh-cho, ng&ahn-sik yauh

h6u - h6-sik taai gwai lak!
Assistant Slu-j6, si-h£h nl d6ng la: haih jeui s&n
wahn-dou ga.
Miss Wong Ng6h mh jung-yi k6uih ge jat-d6i,ng6h gok-dak
taai ngaahng lak, daai-h6i-l&ih h6u mh
syu-fuhk.
Assistant Slu-j6, joi si-h£h nl I6uhng d6ng la. K6uih-deih dou
rhh-cho ga.
Miss Wong Haih, k6uih-deihdou mh-cho, daahn-haih nl I6uhng
d6ng m6u dou ge fun-sik. N6ih-deih
haih gauh-nin
juhng y£uh m6uh df s&n-fun ge a? Yl! NT d6ng
mh-cho bo, yauh s&n-fun yauh daaih-fong.
D£ng ng6h si-h£h!
Customer J&n-haih h6u leng!
Miss Wong N6ih dou wah leng &h! Mh-jl yiu g6i-do chin ne?
Customer G6u-baak-ngh-sahp man.
Miss Wong K6uih dou m6uh ga-chihn-p£ai, n6ih dim a? ji

Customer Slu-j6, n6ih daai-jyuh ge m6u jing-haih ng6h ge!

 '

05 Jlcteng classifier for hats

the *fm6u hat, cap

IS ft chit-gai design, to design
world Dfgtmh-cho not bad, pretty good

of
Wit h6-slk it is a pity that, unfortunately

Us\ to try, to test

fashion
to transport
wahn or wahn-syu
mm to arrive by transport
wahn-dou or wahn-syu-dou
® ngaahng hard, unyielding
?|daai to wear, put on (accessories)
-h6i-l^ih verb ending, when it comes
to, once you start
s^n-fun new style
Aft daaih-fong tasteful, sophisticated
mh-ji 1 wonder
W baak hundred
«0Wga-chlhn-p6ai price tag
ga-chihn price
ft-jyuh verb ending, ongoing state of
IE« jing-haih just happens to be

Grammar
1 -hei-laih when it comes to it

-hei-laih a verb ending which will mean once you start ... or
is

when comes to
it depending on context. Here are two
. . .

examples which should give you the feel of its use:

Gong-hei-laih, ngoh dou slk Now you come to mention it,

Hoh Sin-saang. Iknow Mr Ho as well.

Yuhng-hei-laih, neih jauh When you start using it, you
gok-dak hou syu-fuhk. will find it very comfortable.

2 Higher numbers
Up to now you have been able to count as far as 99 only.
One hundred is yat-baak, 200
gau-baak-is yih-baak, 999 is

gau-sahp-gau and 1,000 is yat-chin; 2,000 is yih-chin, 9,999

is gau-chin-gau-baak-gau-sahp-gau and then there is a . . .

difference from English. The Chinese have a special word for

10.000, which is maahn, so 10,000 is yat-maahn, 20,000 is
yih-maahn, 90,000 is gau-maahn, 100,000 is sahp-maahn and 95
1.000.
000 is yat-baak-maahn. In short, Cantonese goes up t
to 10,000 and then starts counting in units of 10,000, while
English goes up to 1,000 and starts counting in units of 1,000 world

until it gets to units of a million. Here it is in table form: of

1 yat
fashion

10 (yat-)sahp
100 (yat-)baak
1,000 (yat-)chin
10,000 (yat-)maahn
100,000 (yat-)sahp-maahn
1,000,000 (yat-)baak-maahn

Be warned that some overseas Chinese (notably those in

Singapore and Britain) seem to be slipping into western ways, so
that you might hear them saying sahp-chin instead of yat-maahn
for 10,000. The natural progression in Cantonese, then, is
from sahp to baak to chin to maahn. If one or more of these
categories is missed out, as for instance with the number 103

where there is no number in the sahp column, Cantonese

indicates this by throwing in the word lihng zero. So 103 is yat-
baak-Iihng-saam. If more than one category is missed out it is
still only necessary to put in one lihng, so 10,003 is yat-maahn-

lihng-saam.

O Round numbers
Chinese loves round numbers. May you have a hundred sons and a
thousand grandsons was a very common good wish to someone at
New Year or on other happy occasions. The Old Hundred Surnames
is a regular way of talking of The Chinese People. Thousand Mile

Eyes was the name of a protective god who acted as lookout for
trouble. The Ten Thousand Mile Long Wall is what is known in
English as the Great Wall of China. None of these numbers is meant
to be taken literally: they all mean something like lots of.

3 The verb endings -jyuh and -gdn compared

In Unit 4 -gan was introduced as a verb ending which showed
continuing action. At first sight -jyuh does not seem so different,
but they are not interchangeable, -gan tells us that activity is
still going on, but -jyuh says that the activity has come to a halt
 and that we are left with a steady ongoing state. The following
§ examples should make it clear:
the

Wohng Taai daai-gan yat Mrs Wong is putting on a

world
deng hou leng ge mou. beautiful hat.
Wohng Taai daai-jyuh yat Mrs Wong is wearing a
of
deng hou leng ge mou. beautiful hat.

fashion
Ngoh tai-gan keuih. I’m taking a glance at her.
Ngoh tai-jyuh keuih. I’m keeping an eye on her.

Q Dialogue 2
Mrs Wong explains to her husband why she talked so much at a
party.

xx • •

m&m i •
wmmM’b •

mmmvmtm • •
®xx •

imm® • •
x»***tt*h«i*

\m& • mmmm • •

Mr Wong Taai-teai, g&m-maahn ng6h-deih ch&am-gd ge

sih-jong jfn-l6ahm j£u-wui ndih yat-dihng gok-dak
h6u hdi-sam lak.
Mrs Wong Mh haih bo! Ngaam-ngaam sdung-fean. Ng6h
gok-dak h6u rhh hdi-sam.
Mr Wong Mh haih a: ng6h t6i-gin ndih ch6h h£i so-fe-yl syu,
rhh tihng g&m tuhng Jdung Taai-t£ai, H6h Taai-t£ai,
Wohng Sfu-j6 kduih-deih king-g^i. Ndih juhng
daaih-sdng jaan Wohng Sfu-je gihn saam-kw&hn
h6u leng, yauh jaan Jeung Taai-t£ai gihn ngoih-tou
ge fun-sik h6u s&n.
Mrs Wong Ng6h haih beih-bik yiu rhh tihng gam daaih-sdng
king-gai je, saht-joih ng6h mh sdung ga.
Mr Wong Dim-gaai ne?
Mrs Wong Y&n-waih ng6h jeuk go tou saam-kw&hn ge
ngaahn-slk tuhng fa-ydung, tuhng di so-fd-yi ge
bou-h'u yat-yeuhng. Ngdh choh hai so-fd-yi syu,
yuh-gwo rhh gong-ydh, yduh-ydhn ging-gwo
yfh-wdih yauh yat jeung hung yi, sdung
chdh-lohk-laih tim.
 i

7 ^ gdm-maahn tonight, this evening

#iP ch£am-ga to take part in
the

BISS sih-jong fashion

MRjfn-ldahm show, exhibition world

}]III jciu-wui reception, cocktail party

seung-faan on the contrary of

«SHk»s6-tt-yf sofa, easy chair

my chair fashion

1? tihng to stop
klng-gSi to chat
A 5$ daaih-sdng loud, in a loud voice
IX jaan to praise
ngoih-tou jacket
beih-blk to be forced to, compelled to
R^± saht-joih in fact, really

# jeuk to wear (clothes )

?£&fa-y6ung pattern
bou-lfu material, fabric
yat-yeuhng the same
M A ySuh-yahn somebody
*$ 5® ging-gwo to pass by
&& yfh-w^ih to think, to assume, to regard as
3S i^ung classifier for flat things
(paper, chairs, tables, sheets etc.)
^ hung empty
-lohk-ldih verb ending: downwards

The Chinese character for tihng to stop.

 Questions
§ 1 Have you understood? What does the cartoon caption
the

mean?
world

of

fashion

2 Quickly decide which of the alternatives in brackets to strike

out, so that you leave a correct statement.

a Wohng Sin-saang tuhng Wohng Taai-taai chaam-ga ge

haih (jouh-saang-yi/dihn-ymg/sih-jong) jau-wui.
b Wohng Taai wah, keuih (rhh hoi-sam/hou hoi-sam).
c Wohng Taai jaan Jeung Taai (san-tai hou hou/hou slk
jyu-sung/hou slk yauh-seui/gihn ngoih-tou hou leng).
d Wohng Taai-taai tou saam-kwahn ge ngaahn-slk, fa-
yeung tuhng (so-fa-yi/laahp-saap-tung/dihn-nyuhn-louh)
yat-yeuhng.

Grammar
4 Late in the day
Maahn means evening ,
late in the day (not late for an
appointment). This evening or tonight is gam-maahn and from
there you can build another little set of terms:

gam-maahn this evening , tonight

johk-maahn yesterday evening, last night
ting-maahn tomorrow evening, tomorrow night
chihn-maahn the evening of the day before yesterday
hauh-maahn the evening of the day after tomorrow
 ? f ?

5 Ngaam-ngaam again
§>
In Unit 10 we met ngaam-ngaam meaning
a moment ago. It the

has a second meaning of exactly precisely. In the dialogue

,

Mrs Wong says ngaam-ngaam seung-faan - its exactly to the world

contrary - and you might note these other examples:

of

ngaam-ngaam yat go jung-tauh exactly one hour

fashion

ngaam-ngaam hou exactly right

6 Hai-syu/hai-douh at the indicated place

You met ni-syu/ni-douh here , go-syu/go-douh there and
bin-syu/bin-douh where in Units 3 and 5. Hai-syu and hai-
douh (lit: at the place) are used rather loosely to mean either

here or there and really seem to mean at the place we both know
about. So you might say Neih hai-syu jouh mat-yeh a? to
someone on the phone and it would mean What are you doing
there or you might say it to someone who is in the same room
as you and it would mean What are you doing here

Hai-syu or hai-douh can be split to surround a noun and then

they indicate a rather vague relationship with the noun, like
in/on/at/in the general vicinity of. In the dialogue Mr Wong says
ngoh tai-gin neih choh hai sd-fa-yi syu I saw you sitting there on
the sofa and on seems the most likely place for Mrs Wong to be;
but if you were to ask someone where they had thoughtlessly
left their keys, they might reply hai che syu and you would

not be sure whether the keys were in, on top of, under or just
somewhere on the ground near the car. It can be quite useful
to be able to be so vague, so hai-syu and hai-douh are worth
remembering.

7 Three verbs for to wear

You have now met three verbs which can all be translated as to
wear in English:

jeuk is to wear clothing , that is shirts, jackets, trousers,

underclothes, shoes and socks
daai is to wear accessories , that is hats, spectacles, watches,
rings, jewellery, gloves, etc.
da is the least common and means to wear something which has
to be tied on like a necktie or headscarf
100 8 Yih-waih to think wrongly
the Yih-waih means to assume or to think , to consider but it is ,

probably most often used when the speaker already knows

world that what he/she thought was actually wrong. In the dialogue

of
Mrs Wong says that she was was talking so much so that no one
would fail to know she was there and think (wrongly) that there
fashion
was a vacant chair. Here are some more examples:
Ngoh yih-waih keuih haih I thought she was Japanese
Yaht-bun-yahn. (but now I know that she is
actually Korean).
Keuih yih-waih gam-yaht He thought that today was
haih Laih-baai-yaht Sunday (but of course it’s
actually Saturday).

And you might very slangy expression: Neih

like to learn a
yih-waih which corresponds to the English You reckon !,
la!,

That’s what you think /, Think again, pal!

9 Verb ending -lohk-liiih

You met lohk lohk siu-ba to alight from the mini-bus and
in
in lohk-syut to snow. The basic meaning of lohk is to come
down to fall down, to go down. As a verb ending -lohk-laih
,

shows that the action of the verb is happening in a downward

direction:

choh-lohk-laih come sittingdown

yauh fei-gei go-syu tai-lohk-laih looking down from the
aircraft

Exercise 1
Try your number skills by putting these figures into Cantonese.
You probably know that one of the hardest things to do is to
count naturally in a second language, so the more practice you
do the better.
a 16 young ladies b 200 sheets of paper
c $5,600 d 1,000,000 Chinese people
e 12,750 f 8,034
g 11 hours h 2 lobsters

Exercise 2
Warning: only do this if you are not driving! When you are in a
car or a bus, watch the vehicles that come towards you and try
to read off their number plates in Cantonese before they have
gone by. Until you get better at it, you can do it by saying saam-
baat-chat rather than the full version saam-baak-baat-sahp- 101
chat. It’s quite an addictive little game, you’ll find, but very good the

for making you slick with numbers.

world

Exercise 3
of
Give the opposites of the words on the left by filling in the
blanks on the right. fashion

a san-fun fun
b taaigwai taai
c maaih uk uk
d ji-hauh ji

e laahng
f dung-bak

Exercise 4
Here’s a brain-teaser for you. Miss Ho’s cryptic answer to my
question does contain enough information to reveal all the facts,
but you will have to work hard to find them out!

Hah-go-sing-keih Hoh Sin-saang, Hoh Taai-taai, Hoh Sfu-je

dou wuih fong yat yaht ga. Ho-slk keuih-deih mh haih yat-chaih
fong: yat go fong Laih-baai-yat, yat go fong Laih-baai-yih, yat
go fong Laih-baai-saam. Keuih-deih fong-ga seung jouh mat-yeh
ne? Yat go seung heui tai-hei, yat go seung heui pah-saan, yat
go seung heui jau-lauh sihk luhng-ha. Ngoh mahn Hoh Sfu-je
bin-go seung hai bln yat yaht heui bln-douh a? Keuih wah:

‘Bah-ba seung heui pah-saan. Ngoh Laih-baai-yih fong-ga.

Yauh yahn seung Laih-baai-yat heui sihk luhng-ha.’

Nah! Neih ho mh ho-yfh wah ngoh ji ni saam go yahn leuih-

bihn bin-go seung heui tai-hei? Bin-go seung heui sihk luhng-ha?
Sing-keih-saam fong-ga haih bin-go a?
education

for

life

In this unit you will learn

• some of the termsyou will
need to carry on a
conversation on education
• colours
• how to make comparisons
• how to describe the position
of one thing relative to
another
 «

Dialogue 1 103
Parents chat about the hardships of education.

mm
m nmmi
-
•

*
nx * *
±feg m^iii
education

for

a*m i
life

tiWi + M*
a«ff^¥R«+*2H Bfll'hM* •
m&<Eift«fc*PSffi£iM£
rafsa^ftsnmtt^ttas*
^• d s °

VO
M£ft* «*

Mr Wong Ng6h gok-dak H6ung-g6ng hohk-saang duhk-syu

j&n-haih san-fu lak.
Mr Cheung Haih a! Ng6h dou tuhng-yi. K6uih-deih muih yaht
dou yiu duhk Jung-m&hn, Ylng-m&hn, Sou-hohk,
Deih-I6ih, Lihk-sl tuhng Fo-hohk. Yih-ch6 pihng-
gw&n muih go dou y£uh I6uhng-s&am fo
I6ih-baai
yiu chaak-yihm.
Mr Wong Juhng y£uh a! K6uih-deih ge fo-bun yauh chuhng
yauh d6, muih yaht yiu daai-f&an hohk-haauh ge
fo-bun tuhng Iihn-jaahp-b6u jauh mh wuih siu-gwo
sahp bohng chuhng.
Mrs Lee Ng6h go j£i g&m-nln jf-haih sahp seui Jf-ma, h£i
siu-hohk duhk-syu, daahn-haih k6uih m&ahn-maahn
dou yiu w&n-jaahp ch^-mh-do sei go jGng-t&uh sin-ji
h6-yfh jouh-yuhn di gung-fo. Ng6h mh mlhng-baahk
di sin-s&ang s6uhng-t6hng ge sih-hauh dlm-yeung
gaau-syu ge.
Mr Wong Ngoh wah h£i jung-hohk gaau-syu juhng m&ah-
f&ahn a! Yauh yiu gaau keuih-deih yauh yiu gwun

k6uih-deih, yauh-k6ih-sih gwun k6uih-deih, yan-

waih yih-ga df hauh-saang-j^i go-go dou mh jung-yi
beih y&hn gwun ge la.
Mr Cheung H6u-ch6i ngoh-deih go-go d5u mh haih gaau-syu
sin-saang je. Yuh-gw6-mh-haih, ng6h-deih dou
m6uh sih-gaan yat-ch&ih h£i nl-syu king-gai la.
 hohk-saang student, pupil
m duhk to read
Ssyu a book
mS duhk-syu to study
sdn-fu hard, distressing
f§muih each, every
% Jung-m&hn Chinese language
j&JtYlng-mdhn English language
fjfg sou-hohk mathematics
i&if deih-l6ih geography
Jg£lihk-sf history
fo-hohk science
¥*3 pihng-gw&n average, on average
a subject, a discipline
$iji& chaak-yihm to test evaluation
;

fo-bun textbook
chuhng
jg heavy
hohk-haauh school
l&WM Iihn-jaahp-b6u exercise book
® gwo
5 than
$ bohng pound (weight)
£*UT-ma particle (only)
/Jn^ siu-hohk primary school
jSII wan-jaahp to revise lessons
It of & cha-mh-do almost
5b^gung-fo homework
afl 0 mlhng-baahk to understand, be clear about
5fc£ sin-s£ang teacher
±1; s6uhng-tdhng to attend class
4>^ jung-hohk secondary school
gaau-syu to teach
m&ah-f&ahn trouble, troublesome
H gwun to control, be in charge of
y£uh-k6ih-sih especially
hauh-saang-j£i youngsters
hauh-saang young
% beih by; to endure, suffer
h6u-ch6i lucky, fortunately

(«) otherwise
yuh-gw6-mh-haih(-ne)
Whoops! Something is wrong!
Each of the following sentences contains an error either in the 105
sense or in the grammar. Can you spot the deliberate mistakes? &
c
a Go dl hohk-saang jek-jek dou slk gong Ying-mahn.
b Ngoh mh slk gong Jung-mahn.
c Wohng Taai go jai mh yauh lihk-si fo-bun.
d Go leuhng Meih-gwok sfu-je mh jung-yi jeuk huhng-slk ge
saam-kwahn.
e Wohng Sin-saang ge bah-ba gam-nin ji-haih baat seui jl-ma.

Grammar
1 Muih each, every
There are two things to remember about using muih. First, it

requires the use of a classifier:

muih go yahn each person everybody

,

muih ji bat each pen

muih yaht every day (refer back to Unit 8
if this one puzzles you)

Second, because muih involves wholeness and inclusiveness it is

almost always backed up by dou placed before the verb:

Muih gihn saam-kwahn dou Each one of the dresses is

yauh siu-sui laahn-jo. slightly damaged.

2 Simple comparisons with gwo

The same word gwo which you met in Unit 6 (meaning to go past
—
,

to go by) is used to make simple comparisons (X is er than Y ):

Ngoh ge che daaih-gwo My car is bigger than yours.

neih ge che.
Ying-gwok che gwai mh Are British cars more expensive
gwai-gwo Yaht-bun che a? than Japanese carsf
The pattern, then, is X adjective gwo Y and you can probably
see how logically it works - X is adjective surpassing Y:

Ngoh gou-gwo keuih. (I am tall surpassing him)

I am taller than he is.
In the dialogueMr Wong talks about the heavy load of books
and exercise books carried by students and he says mh wuih
stu-gwo sahp bohng chuhng they cannot be less than ten
pounds in weight.
106 3 Classifiers as possessives
You learned in Unit 2 that that useful word ge shows possession,

education
so that my pen is ngoh ge bat. There is a minor snag with this:
as you know, nouns can be either singular or plural without
changing their form and so ngoh ge bat can mean either my pen
or my pens. In many cases it doesn’t matter that this is unclear
for

life
or else the context makes it obvious whether you mean pen or
pens. If you wish to be more precise, however, you can be and
it is the classifier which gives you the power:

ngoh ge bat my pen or my pens

ngoh ji bat my pen (singular only)
to ngoh di bat my pens (plural only)
In the dialogue Mrs Lee talks about ngoh go jai and that tells
you that she only has one son or at least that she is only talking
about one son in this instance.

4 Beih the passive construction

Beih literally means to suffer to endure , but you will seldom
,

need to worry about that. You will usually only meet it used like
word by in the passive construction. The following
the English
two examples should suffice to show how it works:
Hoh Sin-saang cheng Wohng Sin-saang heui sihk-faahn.
Wohng Sin-saang beih Hoh Sin-saang cheng heui sihk-faahn.
The first sentence is active (Mr Ho invites Mr Wong out for a
meal) and the second is passive (Mr Wong is invited out fora
meal by Mr Ho). Cantonese does not use this passive construction
very often, but you need to be aware that it exists so that you
will not be taken by surprise when you meet it.

5 Recap on classifiers
You have now met all the major uses of classifiers, so perhaps
this little checklist will be helpful to you:

1 When you specify a noun with ni, go, bin, muih, gei, sehng-
( this , that, which ?, each ,how many?/several, the whole) you
should use the correct classifer between the specifier and the
noun:
ni go yahn go tiuh lehng-taai
bin jek luhng-ha? muih gihn saam-kwahn
gei ji bat sehng-go laih-baai
 )

2 When you count nouns you should use the correct classifier
between the specifier and the noun:
yat go Yaht-bun-yahn leuhng chaan faahn
saam gaan uk yih-sahp-sei
ji bat
education

3 The classifier for uncountable things (like water is di. Di

for
also is the plural classifier, that is the classifier used when a
noun is plural but uncounted:
life

go di seui ni di sung
ni di Ying-gwok-yahn bin di Jung-mahn syu?
4 The classifier can be used at the beginning of a sentence
where English uses the definite article:
Di sung hou hou-sihk Gihn saam leng mh leng a?

5 Doubling the classifier and adding dou before the verb gives
the meaning every one of, each one of:

Gihn-gihn saam-kwahn dou hou leng.

Gaan-gaan uk leuih-bihn dou mouh yahn.
6 The correct classifier or the plural classifier di can be used to
indicate possession:

keuih gaan uk
Wohng Sin-saang di che
7 A very few words seem to act as noun and classifier
combined. Of these you have already met the most common
- nihn, yaht and seui:

saam nihn leuhng yaht sahp seui

8 Finally, here are three new classifiers which you will find
useful:

bouh classifier for books (interchangeable with bun)

bun classifier for books (interchangeable with bouh)
ga classifier for vehicles, aircraft and machinery

0 Large, medium and small

Have you noticed how neatly Cantonese copes with the different
levels of the school education system? Primary or junior school is
sfu-hohk small learning middle or secondary school is jung-hohk
;

middle learning-, and university is daaih-hohk large learning. You

will find the same set (daaih, jung, sfu) on Chinese restaurant

menus, showing that you can have different size dishes of the
 same order and, of course, the menu will also show different prices
for the three sizes. Quite often off-the-peg clothes are marked in the
same way.
education

for
O Dialogue 2
life
An encounter with a traffic policeman shows that education does not
always succeed in getting the main point across.

BSJY !

BfJY !

« •
ttftftMMftEJtli; ?

Mr Wong H6ung-g6ng jing-fu gaau-yuhk H6ung-g6ng

sih-m&hn j&n-haih sat-baaih lak.
Mr Cheung N6ih g6ng bln f6ng-mihn ge gaau-yuhk ne?
Mr Wong H6u d6 f6ng-mihn la, y&uh-kdih-sih yat-bun ge
gung-guhng diht-jeuih fdng-mihn.
Mr Cheung Yl! Chihn-bihn y£uh go ging-chaat h6u-ch(h yiu

gim-hung go hei-chd sT-gei bo! Ng6h-deih heui

t£i-h£h la.

Policeman Sin-s&ang, n6ih t£i rhh t£i-d6u g6 j&an g&au-tung-

dang a?
Driver T&i-d6u a!

Policeman N6ih t£i mh t£i-d6u haih huhng-dang a?

Driver T6i-d6u a!
Policeman G£m, dfm-g£ai n6ih juhng yiu chung huhng-dang
ne?
Driver Y&n-waih ng6h t6i-mh-d6u n6ih!
Mr Wong Jeung Sin-s&ang, n6ih t6i-h&h, nT df jauh haih
H6ung-g6ng-yahn deui yat-bun gung-guhng
diht-jeuih ge gaau-yuhk lak!
Mr Cheung Muih go s6h-wui dou y£uh-yat-di waaih-fahn-jl, rhh-
h6u wah go-go y&hn dou yat-yeuhng. H6ung-g6ng
ge gaau-yuhk dou y£uh h6u ge fdng-mihn ge.
 j&/frjing-fu government 109
MM gaau-yuhk to educate-, education
&
fcK sfh-m&hn
7 citizen c
sat-baaih a loss, a failure
fdng-mihn aspect
yat-bun general, common, the general
run of
&& gung-guhng public
ftj? diht-jeuih order
chihn-bihn in front ; the front side
gfng-chaat policeman
gfm-hung accuse
JPZf. hei-chd vehicle, car VO
sT-gei driver
Sj^an classifier for lamps and lights
XlftjS gSau-tung-dang traffic light

Xii g^au-tung traffic, communications

dang a light

§r chung to rush, dash against, jump

fr# s6h-wui society
if? waaih bad
ft-Tfahn-jf element, member

Grammar
6 Colours
Huhng-dang is a red light. The other important traffic light

colour luhk green and luhk-dang is a green light. It would be

is

useful now to introduce all the major colours. You should note
that they work with -slk ge in the same way as does huhng (see
Unit 5).
baahk-slk white huhng-sik red
chaang-slk orange jf-slk purple
fui-stk grey laahm-slk blue
ga-fe-sik brown luhk-sik green
gam-sik gold ngahn-sik silver
haak-sik or hak-sik black wohng-slk yellow
110 O Colour symbolism in Chinese culture
The most dominant colour in Chinese culture is red. It stands for
education
happiness and good luck. Brides traditionally have dressed in red
and wept into red handkerchiefs, their grooms wear red sashes, and
the house where they set up home is decorated with auspicious
for

sayings written on red paper. White is the colour for funerals

life

(although most people wear a flash of something red about them in

order to offset the luck which surrounds death and burial). Yellow
ill

was the Imperial colour, and the roofs of the Forbidden City in Beijing
are still covered with yellow tiles: yellow also stands for China,

probably because it is the colour of the loess soil which covers the
northern homeland of the Chinese, the same soil which is carried
VO
along by the Yellow River and deposited in the Yellow Sea. You will
have noticed that the word for brown is coffee colour, clearly a
comparatively recent import. In the traditional colour scheme, red
ran into yellow uninterrupted by brown and browns were classified
either as huhng or wdhng. What English calls a brown cow,
Cantonese calls a wdhng-ngduh and dark tan shoes are deemed to
be huhng-sTk.

7 Telling your whereabouts

In the dialogue you met the word chihn-bihn in front , in front
of, the front side. You had better now meet its friends:
chihn-bihn in front , in front of, the front side
hauh-bihn the back, behind, the rear side
seuhng-bihn the top, on top of, above,
the top side
hah-bihn the underneath, under, beneath,
the underside
jo-(sau-)bihn on the left, the left (-hand) side
yauh-(sau-)bihn on the right, the right(-hand) side
leuih-bihn or yahp-bihn inside, in, the inside
ngoih-bihn or cheut-bihn outside, out, the outside
dung-bihn the east side
naahm-bihn the south side
sai-bihn the west side
bak-bihn the north side
deui-mihn opposite, the opposite side

Note that deui-mihn is exceptional in that -bihn gives place to

-mihn. All these whereabouts words combine happily with hai
(at, in, on, to be at, to be in, to be on):
Keuih hai leuih-bihn. She is inside.
Ill
Gaan uk hai fei-gei-cheuhng The house is on the south side
ndahm-bihn. of the airport.
Bouh syu hai sd-fa-yih The book is on the sofa. education

seuhng-bihn.
Wohng Siu-je hai neih Miss Wong is behind you. for
hauh-bihn.
life

Hai uk jo-bihn yauh There is a garage on the left of

che-fohng. the house.
Choh hai go gaan jau-lauh There are two bad lots sitting
cheut-bihn yauh leuhng outside that restaurant.
go waaih-fahn-ji.

Notice that in the last two examples the verb yauh to have is IO
used to mean there is or there are. If you have learned French,
you will find a similarity with the expression il y a (there is,
there are) which also uses the verb to have.

Another whereabouts word is jung-gaan in the middle of, in

between. When it means in the middle of it acts just like the
other words:

Keuih choh hai fa-yun She is sitting in the middle of

jung-gaan. the garden.

But when it means in between it has a pattern all to itself (hai X

Y jung-gaan or hai X tilling Y jung-gaan):

Keuih choh hai Wohng She is sitting between Mr Wong

Saang (tuhng) Chahn Taai and Mrs Chan,
jung-gaan.

Exercise 1
Go back and read the first dialogue of this unit once more.
Then without looking at it again try to choose from the
brackets the words which will complete the following sentences
correctly.

a Wohng Sin-saang wah di hohk-saang ge fo-bun (yauh gwai

yauh leng/yauh pehng yauh san/yauh chuhng yauh do),
b Leih Taai-taai go jai maahn-maahn dou yiu wan-jaahp (sei
go jung-tauh/saam go jung-tauh/yat go jung-tauh).
c Wohng Sin-saang wah gaau (siu-hohk/jung-hohk/daaih-
hohk) juhng maah-faahn.
d Jeung Saang wah hou-choi keuih-deih rhh haih (gfng-chaat/
sl-gei/gaau-syu sin-saang /jau-lauh fo-gei).
 1

Exercise 2
112
Imagine you are a worried parent trying to place your son in a
Hong Kong school. You have an interview with the headmaster
education tomorrow and are preparing some questions to ask him, but you
are nervous that your newly acquired language will let you down,

for
so you had better write out the questions in Cantonese on a slip
of paper in case you get stuck. Go ahead and translate them now:
life

a Does my son need to study Chinese?

b How many hours of homework must he do each evening?
c My son has studied at junior school in London for five years.
British pupils do not go to secondary school until they are 1
years old. Is it the same in Hong Kong?
d How much a year does it cost to study in your school?
e Does the pupil need to buy textbooks and exercise books?

Exercise 3
Here are the answers which we happen to know the headmaster
will give to your questions, but he is so bored with hearing the
same thing from every parent who sees him that he deliberately
gives the answers in the wrong order. You will have to try to
match the lettered answers with the numbered questions before
you know what is what, but our advice is to try another school
for your son!

i Yiu. Hou gwai tim!

ii hohk saam-sahp go jung-tauh.
Yiu. Keuih yat go sing-keih yiu
iii Heung-gong ge gaau-yuhk tuhng Ylng-gwok ge cha-mh-do
lak.
iv Mh-sai hou do je. Ngh-luhk go jung-tauh je.
v Mh-sai hou do je. Yat nihn sei-baak-maahn man je.

Exercise 4
Describe the scene you see here by answering the questions in
Cantonese.
a Hai uk ngoih-bihn yauh mat-yeh a?
b Wohng Saang hai Wohng Taai bln-bihn a? education

c Bouh syu hai bln-douh a?

d Neih gu Wohng Saang Wohng Taai jouh-yuhn mat-yeh faan- for

laih a? life

e Hai Wohng Taai chihn-bihn yauh mat-yeh a?

f Neih gei mh gei-dak go go miht-fo-tung haih bin-go maaih
ga?
g Wohng Saang Wohng Taai go jai hai bln-douh a?
h Neih wah Wohng Taai hoi mh hoi-sam a?
speculation

In this unit you will learn

• how to speculate in
Cantonese!
 '

O Dialogue 1 115
Mr Cheung lets slip that he is not entirely immune from Hong Kong’s
passion for gambling.
speculation

\i.7t •
AJW*»«AIMK=W=+«A !

m £ fa+m+nmmm °

mm
i •

° mm mm
mmm ' «
°

\
•

WA£ •
! #f£D£iTO
w?

MW !
^p°p fing»Si«?

5$ ! tt*05*ftjit&i£ ?

Mr Cheung Johk-yaht dihn-t6ih ge s&n-m&hn gw6ng-bo wah,

gauh-nin H6ung-g6ng sfh-m&hn t&uh-jyu h£i choi-
m£h ge chin y£uh yat-baak-s&am-sahp-yih-ylk
yuhn, yahp m£h-chduhng ge y&hn-sou haih
s&am-baak-yih-sahp-maahn y&hn!
Mr Wong W&h! H6ung-g6ng-y&hn j&n-haih yduh-chfn
lak. Jdung Sin-s&ang, n6ih jung mh jung-yi

d6u-m£h ga?
Mr Cheung Mh jung-yi. D6u-m6h, d6u-g&u, dou-pe-paai,
d6u-gu-piu yeuhng-yeuhng ng6h d5u mh
. .
.

jung-yi.
Mr Wong N6ih j&n-haih gw&ai lak! H6i H6ung-g6ng h6u-chih
n6ih yat-yeuhng ge y&hn yih-ga j&n-haih h6u siu lak.
Mr Cheung Y£uh-y&hn wah, H6ung-g6ng gam f&ahn-wihng
haih tuhng H6ung-g6ng-y&hn jung-yi d6u-chin
ySuh gw&an-haih ge bo! N6ih wah ngaam mh
ngaam a?
Mr Wong Ng6h wah m6uh gw&an-haih, daahn-haih
d6u-chin tuhng jeuih-on ge j&ng-ga jauh y£uh
gw&an-haih lak.
Mr Cheung Deui-rhh-jyuh, W6hng Sin-saang, ng6h yih-ga
gau-jung yiu heui ch&am-g& yat go chih-sihn
ch&uh-fun ch&u-j6ung-wui.
Mr Wong Ch&u-j6ung-wui &h! J6ung-b£n fang mh fang-fa ga?
Mr Cheung T&uh-j6ung haih yat g&an uk, yih-j6ung haih yat
ga che.
Mr Wong Yfl G£m, syun mh syun haih d6u-chin ne?
 9 £ dihn-tdih radio station
HrK sdn-m&hn news
JlJf gw6ng-bo broadcast
speculation
&>itauh-jyu to stake, to bet
choi-mdh to race horses, horse racing
m£h a horse
«ync a hundred million, a billion

7L yuhn dollar
,11# mah-ch&uhng racetrack
ASiy^hn-sou number of people
y£uh-chin rich
d6u-m£h to bet on horses
Hd6u to gamble on, to bet on
B£3fijd6u-g£u to bet on dogs
ftjgSu a dog
d6u-pe-p£ai to gamble at cards
of pe-p£ai playing cards
Sf d6u-gu-piu to gamble on shares
K^flu-piu stocks and shares
&& yeuhng-yeuhng all kinds of, all sorts of
gwdai
IfE well behaved, obedient, a ‘good boy’
fdahn-wlhng prosperous
gf£$d6u-chin to gamble with money
gwfcan-haih relationship, connection, relevance
ngaam correct
P^jeuih-on criminal case
igiJQ J'^ng-g^ increase, to increase
gau-jung time’s up, it’s time to
&£ chlh-sihn charity
Uf£ ch&uh-fun to raise money, fund raising
ch£u-j6ung lucky draw
wui# meeting; club, association
&np j6ung-b£n prize
§1 fung-fu rich, abundant
SiM tduh-j6ung first prize

O The Cantonese as gamblers

The Cantonese have been renowned for their love of gambling for a
long while and they pursue their love with dedication and not
infrequently with recklessness. A 19th-century missionary reported
that the city of Canton (Gw6ng-jdu) the orange sellers would take
in

bets with their customers on the number of pips which the oranges
they bought might contain, offering different odds on various
numbers. It would hardly be an exaggeration to say that next to
117
eating, the favourite pastimes of Hong Kong have for many years
been mahjong and horse racing and since the 1960s the stock
speculation

exchange has become a fourth passion. At weekends high-speed

ferries, jet-driven hydrofoils and helicopters carry thousands of Hong
Kong people the 40 miles to Macau where other forms of gambling
are legally available; and many Cantonese high rollers are to be
found in casinos all over the world.

Grammar
1 Different dollars
CO
In Unit 5 you learned the word man for dollar. you have Now
a different word yuhn which has the same meaning. There
are in fact two different systems for talking about money, a
colloquial system (man) and a more formal written system
(yuhn). When people write they always use the formal system
and when they speak they usually (but not always) use the
colloquial system. It is perhaps closest to the American dollars
and bucks system, where no banknote carries the word bucks
but where, in speech, either bucks or dollars is acceptable. In the
dialogue Mr Cheung uses yuhn because a figure as large and
important as 130 billion seems to command more formality and
the radio newscaster he quoting would certainly not descend
is

into the colloquial man an important item. The money

for such
system will be explained further in Unit 20.

2 Dropping classifiers
In Mr Cheung’s first speech you will notice that he talks of
saam-baak-yih-sahp-maahn yahn 3,200,000 people ), but he
(

does not use the classifier go which you would expect between
the number and the noun. The larger numbers get, the less likely
it is that a classifier will be used: as a rule of thumb you can

assume that the classifier will be used up to 100 and will seldom
be used for numbers greater than 100, but if you are in doubt
put it in; it is never wrong to do so.

3 Striking it rich
The reason why yauh-chin means rich is clear enough - it comes
from having money. But notice that although yauh-chin is made
up of a verb plus a noun (yauh + chin) it acts as if it were any
other adjective:

Hoh Sin-saang hou yauh-chin. Mr Ho is very rich.

Yauh-chin yahn choh hai che The rich ride in the back.
hauh-bihn.

4 The same, almost the same and related to

In the dialogue Mr Cheung says tuhng Heung-gong-yahn
jung-yi dou-chin yauh gwaan-haih - is related to Hong Kong
people’s loving to gamble. Notice how tuhng introduces the
construction. You have met similar constructions before, and
you might like to consolidate your understanding of them
here:

hou-chih jau-lauh ge seems like restaurant food

yat-yeuhng (Unit 4)
tuhng dl sd-fa-yi ge bou-liu the same as the material of
yat-yeuhng (Unit 1 1 ) the sofa
hou-chih sei-sahp seui seem like about 40
gam-seuhng-ha (Unit 9)
tuhng Ying-gwok ge almost like the British
cha-mh-do (Unit 12)

Dialogue 2
Why Mr Chan is welcomed at the mahjong table.

ki»?
°

mm
mm
•

m JKMRgftM?
mm
•

s *i$>r
-M*r»**i* «* •

• mm ?
Mr Lee L6uh Chdn, neih gam jung-yi heui Ou-mun d6u-chfn,
I6uh-saht wah bei ng6h tdng, ndih yehng chin ge
sih-hauh dd dihng-haih syu chin ge sih-hauh dd ne?
Mr Chan Ddng-yfn haih yehng chfn ge sih-hauh dd la.
speculation

Daahn-haih muih chi dou haih ydhng sfu-sfu je.

Mr Lee Ndih jung-yi d6u Lduhn-pun dihng-haih Yah-yat-dfm a?
Mr Chan Lduhng yeuhng dou rhh jung-yi; ngoh jung-yi d6u
Faan-taan.
Mr Lee Ndih heui ddu-chduhng dihng-haih hdi uk-kdi
dou-chfn a?
Mr Chan Ng6h yduh-sih heui ddu-chduhng, yduh-sih hdi uk-kdi,
daahn-haih ngdh yat-dihng mh heui daaih-dong
d6u-chin, ydn-waih haih fdi-faat ge.
Mr Lee Gdm, d6u-bo tuhng d6u-ngoih-wuih ne?
Mr Chan Ng6h gu ndih wah ‘ddu-bo’ jauh haih d6u Ylng-gwok
juk-kduh lak. NT yeuhng ydh ng6h m6uh hing-cheui.

D6u-ngoih-wuih jauh yat-dihng yiu yduh h6u d6 bun-

chlhn. Sd-yfh Iduhng yeuhng dou rhh sTk-hahp ng6h.
Mr Lee Hdung-gdng-ydhn jeui jung-yi dd-Mdh-jeuk ge lak:
gdm ndih ne?
Mr Chan Ng6h gok-dak dd-Mdh-jeuk jeui hdu-wdan, jeui kap-
ydhn ng6h, daahn-haih ng6h h6u siu ydhng chfn ge.
Mr Lee Jdn h6u lak! Hah-go-ldih-baai yuh-gwd ndih dak-hdahn
chdng Idih ng6h Gk-kdi, ng6h-deih yat-chdih dd
chduhng Mdh-jeuk la!

Ou-mun Macau
I6uh-saht honest, honestly
ft y&hng to win
%% dihng-haih or, or rather
ft syu to lose
ddng-yin of course
ftM Lduhn-pun roulette
tf— ft Yah-yat-dfm blackjack, pontoon
ft yeuhng kind, sort, type
Faan-taan fantan
ft ft ddu-chduhng casino
^ B# yduh-sih sometimes
Aft daaih-dong gambling den
fdi-faat illegal

ft» ddu-bo to bet on football

81 £MS d6u-ngoih-wuih to gamble on foreign exchange
ngoih-wuih foreign exchange
juk-kduh soccer
 .. .. ? ? .. .. ?

120
A& hing-cheui interest
bun-chihn capital
slk-hahp suitable to, fitting
MSh-jeuk to play mahjong
speculation

Itf-ijz hou-waan good fun, amusing, enjoyable

n&§| kap-ydhn to attract
dak-h&ahn to be free, at leisure

if cheuhng classifier for performances,

bouts, games

Grammar
CO
5 Telling options
In Unit 6 you met wah teng meaning to inform someone to
. . . ,

tellsomeone about something and in Unit 8 you were told that

wah . ji meant the same. Now you can add other variants,
.
.

because gong to speak which you met in Unit 9, can be ,

substituted for wah in either of the phrases and you can add in
bei to to any of them. So all the following forms mean the same
- she tells me :

Keuih wah ngoh teng . . Keuih wah bei ngoh teng . .

Keuih wah ngoh ji . . Keuih wah bei ngoh ji . .

Keuih gong ngoh teng . Keuih gong bei ngoh teng .

Keuih gong ngoh ji . . Keuih gong bei ngoh ji . .

6 Dihng-haih or rather
Dihng-haih nicely translates or when a question is being asked,
and the final particle ne? is usually there to back it up:
Keuih haih Jung-gwok-yahn Is she Chinese or Japanese
dihng-haih Yaht-bun-yahn ne?
Neih Laih-baai-yat dihng-haih Is it Monday or Tuesday
Laih-baai-yih heui Ou-mun ne? that you are going to
Macau
Neih seung sihk ngauh-yuhk Which do you want to
dihng-haih jyu-yuhk ne? have, beef or pork

But remember that it is only in questions that dihng-haih will

translate or. Ifyou think back to Unit 10 you will remember
that seven or eight people was translated by chat-baat go yahn.
The difference can be shown by comparing the following two
examples:
 ,

Go-douh yauh chat-baat There are (approximately)

go yahn. seven or eight people over there.
121
Go-douh yauh chat dihng- Are there seven or eight people
haih baat go yahn ne? over there, which is it?
speculation

7 Blackjack teaches you numbers!

The card game Blackjack, sometimes known as Pontoon or
Vingt et un is popular among the Cantonese, who call it yah-
yat-dim (21 spots). Dim means a dot a spot and yah-yat is an ,

alternative way of saying yih-sahp-yat 21. Here is a list of the

alternative forms of numbers, all of which really consist of
nothing more than slurring over the word sahp in numbers
CO
above 20:
yih-sahp-yat= yih-ah-yat = yah-yat = yeh-yat
saam-sahp-yat = saam-ah-yat = sa-ah-yat
sei-sahp-yat = sei-ah-yat
righ-sahp-yat = righ-ah-yat
luhk-sahp-yat = luhk-ah-yat
chat-sahp-yat = chat-ah-yat
baat-sahp-yat = baat-ah-yat
gau-sahp-yat = gau-ah-yat

We have only shown 21, 31, 41 etc., but the same shortcuts
work for 22, 32, 42 and any other such number up to 99.
. . .

You can use these alternatives quite freely provided you observe
one rule - you should not use the shortcuts for the round
numbers 20, 30, 40, 90, which are always said in their full
. . .

yih-sahp, saam-sahp, sei-sahp . . gau-sahp form.

.

8 Making adjectives with hou

In the dialogue you met the word hou-waan good fun,
enjoyable. You may have realized that this was a new word
made up of two that you already knew: hou good and waan to
play, enjoy, amuse oneself and hence good to enjoy, good to
play. If you are brave enough, you can make up such words for
yourself, but here are a few common ones which you can hardly
avoid:

hou-sihk ‘ good to eaf delicious

’
hou-yam ‘ good to drink delicious
hou-tai ‘
good to look af good looking, attractive
*
hou-teng ‘ good to listen to harmonious, melodic
122 9 At leisure
Dak-haahn literally means attaining leisure and so not busy. In
Unit 10 you learned the word mohng busy. Cantonese usually
speculation

seem to like to take shortcuts with their language, but many

people prefer to say mh dak-haahn and hou mh dak-haahn
rather than mohng and hou mohng despite the extra syllables
involved.

10 Another shortcut: dropping yat

In the dialogue Mr Lee delightedly invites Mr Chan to da
cheuhng mah-jeuk (have a round of mahjong). You might
la!
CO have expected the Cantonese to read da yat cheuhng mah-jeuk
la! and, of course, that would be grammatically correct, but
quite often yat is missed out when it comes between a verb and
a classifier with its noun:

sihk chaan faahn have a meal

maaih ga che buy a car

O Mahjong and fantan

Fantan is a Chinese gambling game which consists of guessing how
many stones will be left when a random pile is diminished by taking
away four stones at a time - that is, the gamblers bet on whether
there will be one, two, three or four stones
left at the end. There is no

skill involved at pure gamble. Mahjong is played by four

all, it is just a
players with heavy plastic or bone tiles which are crashed down onto
a deliberately resonant table to enhance the noise and excitement. It
can be equally well played with paper cards, but that would be quiet
and far less fun! Luck plays its part, but skilled players have an
advantage over unskilled. While to play fantan is called d6u-Faan-
taan, the far more active process of playing mahjong is called
d£-Mdh-jeuk.

Exercise 1
In the following sentences interchange mohng and dak-haahn
without altering the sense.
a Chahn Taai gam-maahn hou mohng.
b Ngoh bah-ba sehng-mhn dou mohng.
c Mh-goi neih wah bei ngoh teng neih go jai ting-yaht dak mh
dak-haahn a?
d Keuih Laih-baai-yih hou mh dak-haahn.
e Ngoh jeui mohng ge sih-hauh haih jiu-jou.
Exercise 2
Insert the correct classifiers in the gaps.

a Jung-mahn syu dou haih Hoh Saang ge.

b Hai go uk chihn-bihn yauh ngh jyu-jai. speculation

c Johk-yaht go juk-kauh hou hou-tai ah.

d Bln leuhng che haih Chahn Saang maaih ga?

Exercise 3
Find the words in A which are the opposites of the words in B.
A gwaai, sra-sra, tauh-jyu, dak-haahn, syu, san-fu, sin-saang,
jang-ga, sfh-mahn, gwong-bo, sih-sih, fei-gei, dihn-wa.
B mohng, syu-fuhk, gaan-jung, yehng, hohk-saang, jing-fu,
fung-fu, gaam-sfu.

Exercise 4

'GAu houh!
IA Gdu houh!'

Neih gu haih Wohng Saang yehng chin dihng-haih Wohng

Taai yehng chin ne?
Wohng Sin-saang hou hoi-sam, haih mh haih a?
Daih-luhk jek mah haih gei-do houh a?
Bln jek mah yehng a?
Neih wah haih Wohng Taai-taai hou slk dou-mah dihng-
haih Wohng Sin-saang hou slk dou-mah ne?
Sei houh mah hou-gwo gau houh mah, ngaam mh ngaam a?
Saam houh mah ne? Hou ihh hou-gwo gau houh a?
Jeui hou go jek mah haih mh haih luhk houh mah a?
NT yat cheuhng choi-mah yauh gei-do jek mah a?
Wohng Sin-saang dou-mah muih cheuhng dou jung-yi dou
hou daaih, yiih-gwo yehng jauh yehng hou do, syu jauh syu
hou do. Wohng Taai mh haih gam ge, keuih cheuhiig-cheuhng
dou dou hou sai je. Gam, neih gu, ni cheuhng keuih-deih
haih syu do-gwo yehng dihng-haih yehng do-gwo syu ne?
revision

(2)
 5

Another six units under your belt. It all gets more interesting
now; you can say so many more things and begin to have some 12
flexibility in your language. Remember that what you are
revision

learning is a living colourful language spoken by a very dynamic

people, not a bookish sober exercise in style and complex
(2)
grammar. Try to speak what you learn so that you can hear the
cadences and become familiar with the zest of it. Cantonese
people enjoy life, they talk loudly and laugh a lot - a Cantonese
whisper is almost a contradiction in terms. Start by reading this
first passage through, then read it out loud several times until it

begins to feel part of you. Even better, learn it off by heart so

that you can recite it.

Passage 1
Wohng Sin-saang chat seui ge johk-yaht faan hohk-haauh
jai
go-jahn-sih hou hoi-sam gam wah ngohji, keuih bah-ba seuhng-

go-laih-baai maaih-jo yat gaan san uk. Go gaan uk yauh daaih

yauh leng, yauh saam gaan fan-fong,* gaan uk chihn-bihn juhng
yauh go fa-yun tuhng-maaih yat gaan che-fohng tim. Keuih
wah: ‘Yih-ga ngoh yat-go-yahn yuhng yat gaan fan-fong, jan-
haih syu-fuhk lak. Daahn-haih mah-ma jauh yiu tuhng bah-ba
yat-chaih yuhng yat gaan. Ngoh gu mah-ma yat-dihng mh hoi-
sam lak. Ngoh mh ji dim-gaai bah-ba mh bei mah-ma yuhng
daih-saam gaan fan-fong ne? Go gaan fan-fong yih-ga mouh
yahn yuhng, jf-haih bah-ba jai-jo hou do syu hai go-syu je.’
(* fan-fong = bedroom)

Exercise 1
Try to answer these questions now without referring back to the
passage.

a Wohng Sin-saang ge jai gei-dd seui a?

b Wohng Saang seuhng-go-sing-keih maaih-jo mat-yeh a?
c Ok chihn-bihn yauh di mat-yeh a?
d Bin-go yahn yiu tuhng bah-ba yat-chaih yuhng yat gaan fan-
fong a?
e Daih-saam gaan fan-fong leuih-bihn yauh di mat-yeh a?
f Yauh mouh yahn yuhng daih-saam gaan fan-fong a?

Exercise 2
time to remind you that you should be paying attention to
It is

your tones: if you don’t you will never sound like a Cantonese!

Put the correct tone marks on the following words. You will
 have to look up those you have forgotten, but that at least will
help to cement them in your mind.

revision a hei-mohng b tin-hei c laahng-tin

d da-syun e dihn-ying f wahn-duhng
(2) g gei-yuhk h do-yuh i gihn-hong
j
noih-yuhng k siu-leuhn 1 pihng-gwan

Exercise 3
Hunt the yaht. All the words here use yaht sun or day. What are
they?

a tomorrow b Sunday c the day before yesterday

d the whole day e yesterday f Japan
g today h every day i the day after tomorrow

Exercise 4
The following sentence pairs differ by only one word, but the
sense changes a great deal. Try to put them into English which
will bring out the meanings clearly.

a i Daih-yat jek mah jlk-haih gau houh mah.

ii Daih-yat jek mah mh haih gau houh mah.
b i Jung-saan Siu-je jing-haih Yaht-bun-yahn.
ii Jung-saan Siu-je jan-haih Yaht-bun-yahn.
c i Keuih ting-yaht jauh heui Gwong-jau.
ii Keuih ting-yaht sin-ji heui Gwong-jau.
d i Chahn Taai-taai heui-gwo Meih-gwok sahp-gei chi lak.
ii Chahn Taai-taai heui-gwo Meih-gwok gei-sahp chi lak.

Exercise 5
Choose the right element from the brackets to complete the
sense of the sentences.

a Yat go yahn yuhng yat gaan fan-fong hou (san-fu, yauh-

meng, yauh-yuhng, syu-fuhk).
b Che-fohng yuhng laih (jai syu ge, jyu-faahn ge, wahn-duhng
ge, tihng-che ge).
c Hai go gaan gung-sl jouh-yeh hou hou yan-waih wuih yauh
(hou do chin, mh slk jyu-sung, hou siu chin, hou mah-
faahn).

Exercise 6
Make one sentence out of each of the following pairs using the
words make the link and making whatever other
in brackets to
slight adjustments are necessary. For instance, the first pair
would give the sentence: Keuih seuhng-tohng ji-chihn, sih-sih
dou heui taam keuih naahm pahng-yauh. 127

a Keuih seuhng-tohng. Keuih sih-sih dou heui taam keuih revision

naahm-pahng-yauh. (ji-chihn)
b Wohng Taai seung maaih go ga che. Ga che hou leng. (yan- (2)

waih)
c Ngoh mh mihng-baahk. Go go yahn laahng-tin seung maaih
laahng-hei-gei. (jouh-mat-yeh?)
d Go di ha mh san-sin. Chahn Taai mh seung maaih. (so-yih)
e Keuih sihk-gan yeh. Keuih mh gong-wah. (ge sih-hauh)

Exercise 7
Here are the answers. What were the questions?

a Maaih go ga che yiu sahp-ngh-maahn man je.

b Wohng Saang Smg-keih-luhk leih-hoi Yaht-bun.
c Hai Leih Taai jo-sau-bihn go jek gau-jai haih Leih Sin-saang
sung bei keuih ge.
d Go di yahn jt-haih Hdh Siu-je haih gaau-syu je.

Passage 2
This little anecdote finishes with a pun, but you may as well get
used to it - Cantonese people love punning. The particular pun
involved is one that all gamblers know about and it is safe to say
thatno one other than the naive Mr Ho would have taken the
bad advice which his wife gives him here!

Hdh Sin-saang Maaih-Mah

Yuh-gwo yat go yauh-chm yahn seung maaih mah, keuih jauh
heui maaih mah, daahn-haih gam-yeung maaih mah hou gwai
bo! Hai Heung-gong neih sih-sih dou wuih teng-dou mouh chin
ge yahn dou wah ‘Gam-yaht ngoh seung maaih-mah.’ Dfm-gaai
ne? Neih gu-hah, mouh chin ge yahn wah ‘maaih-mah’ haih
mat-yeh ne? Ngaam lak, ‘maaih-mah’ jik-haih ‘dou-mah’, so-yih
mouh chin ge yahn wah keuih seung heui maaih-mah jik-haih
wah keuih seung heui dou-mah.
Hoh Sin-saang mh haih hou yauh-chm. Yauh yat yaht keuih ge
hou pahng-yauh Jeung Sin-saang da-dihn-wa laih mahn keuih:
‘Gam-maahn choi-mah. Ngoh seung cheng neih tiihng ngoh yat-
chaih heui mah-cheuhng waan-hah, neih wah hou riih hou ne?’
Hoh Saang hou hoi-sam gam wah: ‘Hou! Hou! Hou jyu-yi!’
 Teng-yuhn dihn-wa ji-hauh keuih wah bei Hoh Taai teng. Hoh
128
Taai wah: ‘Neih mouh heui-gwo tai choi-mah, nl chi haih neih
daih-yat chi je. Mh ji-dou neih wuih mh wuih jung-yi tai ne?’
Hoh Saang wah: ‘Ou! Haih bo! Haih ngoh daih-yat chi heui tai
revision

choi-mah bo! Yuh-gwo mh hou tai, gam ngoh yiu choh hai-
(2)
douh, mouh yeh jouh bo! Dim-syun-hou-ne?’* Hoh Taai wah:
‘Neih jeui hou maaih bun syu sin-ji heui mah-cheuhng lak. Neih
yuh-gwo gok-dak tai choi-mah hou-waan, jauh ho-yfh mh-sai
tai-syu. Yuh-gwo-mh-haih-ne, gam neih jauh ho-yih choh hai-
douh tai-syu la. Neih wah hou mh hou ne?’ Hoh Saang hou
gwaai: taai-taai wah mat-yeh, keuih jauh jouh mat-yeh. Dong-
yfn keuih go maahn heui mah-cheuhng ji-chihn maaih-jo bun
syu sin.

Hou-choi Hoh Sin-saang gok-dak choi-mah dou gei hou-waan,

mh-sai tai-syu. Daahn-haih keuih yat-dl chin dou mouh yehng,
seung-faan juhng syu-jo ho do chin tim! Keuih faan uk-kei, hou
nau gam wah bei taai-taai teng: ‘Ngoh daih-yih chi heui dou-
mah mh wuih teng neih gong lak! Maaih-mah yiu maaih yehng,
mh-hou maaih syu a-ma!’
(^Dim-syun-hou-ne? = What’s to be done about it f What can
I do?)

Exercise 8
That second passage was just to get you used to the idea of puns
and wordplay. When you are sure that you understand how
the pun worked, try this one. This time the only clue you have
is ‘a hyphen’!

Jeung Sin-saang yauh gau-cheuhng dou-yuhn gau faan uk-kei.

Keuih go jai mahn keuih:
‘Bah-ba, neih gam-yaht dou-gau dim a? Yehng mh yehng chin a?’
‘Sahp cheuhng gau cheuhng yehng!’

‘Wah! Bah-ba, neih jan-haih hou slk dou-gau bo! Dou sahp
cheuhng ji-haih syu yat cheuhng.’
‘Louh-saht gong, ngoh yat-dl chin dou mouh yehng. Ngoh dou
sahp cheuhng dou haih gau-cheuhng yehng bo!’
travelling

leuih-yauh

In this unit you will learn

• useful vocabulary for the
traveller
• an important grammar
pattern which helps to
describe the way in which
actions are performed
 •

i3oj Q Dialogue 1
Mrs Lee talks of an inclusive hotel deal.
travelling

nm&xwmmm* °
‘mnmam' •

«*n5cFB0-tt •
I

° ‘
mil *
HAft
m • •
m -

<^1 imxfixmmim&ffis&iji •
mnuxnmmm •

Mr Chan L6ih T6ai, n6ih h&ahng-dak gam faai, gon-jyuh heui

bln-syu a?
Mrs Lee Ng6h g6n-jyuh heui maaih I6uih-y&uh fei je. L6uih-y&uh
gung-sl yih-ga g6ui-baahn yat go ‘Ou-mun I6uhng yaht
y&uh’ jit-muhk, h&i Ou-mun w£an I6uhng yaht yat
m£ahn, fai-yuhng ji-haih yat-chin man ji-m^h.
Mr Chan Gam p6hng, ng6h mh seun. NT go I6uih-y&uh jit-muhk
y6uh df mat-y6h fuhk-mouh tuhng h6ung-sauh ne?
Mrs Lee Yaht-t&u y£uh df mat-y6h fuhk-mouh tuhng h6ung-
sauh ng6h mh jl, daahn-haih yeh-m£an h£i ngh-sfng-
kap j£u-dim jyuh yat m&ahn jauh yfh-ging h6u d£i lak.
NT dr j£u-dim fdhng-g&an d6ng-yin mh-siu-dak y£uh
dihn-sih-gdi la, syut-gwaih la, s6ung-y&hn-chdhng la,
s£i-s&n-f6ng la; j£u-dim juhng y&uh nyuhn-s6ui wihng-
chih, d£ng-d£ng.
Mr Chan L6ih T&ai, n6ih deui Ou-mun ge j£u-dim fuhk-mouh
tuhng chit-beih dou h6u suhk-srk bo!
Mrs Lee Ddng-yin la, ng6h haih Ou-mun yat g&an daaih j^u-dim
ge gung-gw&an ging-l6ih bo.
Mr Chan N6ih haih noih-h6ng-y&hn dou wah nT go I6uih-y&uh
jit-muhk d£i waan, g^m ng6h dou heui mdaih fei
ch&am-g& lo.
fr (&) h£ahng(-louh) to walk
f#-dak verb ending, in such a way that
l&faai quick, quickly, fast
g6n-jyuh hurrying to
I6uih-y&uh to travel-, tourism
Mfei a ticket, a fare
geui-baahn to run, hold, conduct
3!y&uh a tour, to tour
§ft g jit-muhk programme
H^fai-yuhng cost, fee
j]g$ fuhk-mouh service, to give service
h6ung-sauh to enjoy, enjoyment,
entertainment, treat
0 H yaht-teu daytime, by day
8ft yeh-m3an nighttime, at night
£MiS ngh-sTng-kap five-star grade, top class

;fj j£u-dim hotel

&d4i to be worth it, a bargain,
a good buy
AM f6hng-g&an a room
mh-siu-dak not less than, must be at least
dihn-sih-g&i television set
341 syut-gwaih refrigerator
sdung-yahn-chdhng double bed
^ chdhng bed
s3i-sdn-f6ng bathroom
s£i-s&n to wash the body, to bathe
&s$i to wash
f£ nyuhn warm
wihng-chih swimming pool
^^d^ng-d^ng etcetera, etc., and so on
Sfll chit-beih facilities, appointments,
equipment
&sgsuhk-slk familiar with, well acquainted
with
-2> US gung-gwdan public relations
4®J1 ging-l6ih manager
fo'ilk ' *TftA insider, expert
noih-h6ng-y&hn
or hdhng-noih-y&hn
<1 lo final particle: agreement with
previous speaker; strong
emotion
 , :

Answer the questions

a Jau-dim fdhng-gaan leuih-bihn yauh mouh laahng-hei-gei a?
Miht-fo-tung ne?
b JVIat-yeh haih ‘ngh-sing-kap’ jau-dim a?
c Ngh-sing-kap jau-dim leuih-bihn yauh mouh chan-so a?
Wahn-duhng-fong ne?

Grammar
1 To walk
Haahng means to walk but
it is a lonely verb and the normal

object supplied for louh road so haahng-louh also means to

it is

walk. Louh is used for any grade of road or path, while mah-
louh literally means horse road and generally is used for a main
road, often with daaih big in front. You might note two other
common uses of haahng:
haahng-saan ‘ walk hills' to go for a country walk
haahng-gaai ‘ walk street ’ to go out into the streets

2 Making adverbs with the verb ending -dak

Adding -dak to a verb enables you to describe in what way that
verb is performed, that is it gives you a way of forming adverbs.
It might be helpful to think of -dak as meaning something like

in such a way that, to the extent that

Keuih haahng-dak faai. He walks quickly. (He walks in

such a way that it is quick.)
Neih gong-dak ngaam. You spoke correctly.
Wohng Siu-je jeuk-dak leng. Miss Wong is dressed beautifully.
Each of these three examples converts a simple adjective into an
adverb, but what comes after -dak does not have to be so simple.
In fact this is a very flexible pattern, as the following show:

Keuih haahng-dak hou faai. He walks very quickly.

Keuih haahng-dak He walks not very quickly.
mh-haih-gei-faai.
Keuih haahng-dak taai faai la. He walks too quickly.
Keuih haahng-dak He walks faster than I do.
faai-gwo ngoh.
Remember that -dak must be added direct to a verb, nothing can
come between them. If the verb has an object that you want to
put in, you should give the verb and its object first and then give
 ? ?

the verb again so that -dak can be added to it. Compare these
two sentences:
Keuih gong-dak hou faai. He speaks very fast. travelling

Keuih gong Jung-mahn He speaks Chinese very fast.

gong-dak hou faai.

3 Questions expecting a plural answer

In the dialogue Mr Chan says nl go leuih-yauh jit-muhk yauh di
mat-yeh fuhk-mouh tuhng heung-sauh ne? (what services and
entertainments does this tour programme offer?). Note how the
use of the plural classifier di presupposes that the answer is
going to list more than one item. You can do this whenever you
ask a question if you are expecting a plural answer and, of
course, you can show that you expect a singular answer by using
the appropriate classifer for whatever you are talking about:

Neih seung maaih mat-yeh What kind of book/books do

syu a? you want to buy
Neih seung maaih bun What kind of book do you
mat-yeh syu a? want to buy
Neih seung maaih di What kind of books do you
mat-yeh syu a? want to buy?

4 Double and single

Inseung-yahn-chohng double ( person ) bed, seung means double
and it can also mean a pair of. The opposite word single is daan
and a single bed is daan-yahn-chohng.

Q A bargain may not be cheap

You now know two similar words, p&hng cheap and d£i a bargain,
but be careful not to confuse them. A Rolls Royce bought at a
bargain price might still be several years’ salary for most of us, so

it would not really be appropriate to say that it was cheap and

Cantonese would be unlikely to use p&hng to describe it either. If you
are treated to a meal in a restaurant by a friend and you see the bill
and think it small, it would give offence to say it was h6u p&hng - that
would sound as though your friend should have spent more money
on you. You could happily comment h6u d£i, though, because that
sounds as if it was a very good meal and your friend was clever
to choose it and not to get cheated into paying over the top.
Interestingly, your friend could say h6u pdhng je, because it is quite
good manners to belittle one’s own efforts as a host.
134 Dialogue 2
A tourist checks in at the airport.
travelling

'has •
•
mwm
mMztovtmm •

wmmnm mnnmm
%$l •
•

i
•

?
0
SWfr*Mte*£W» 7

*»*
If •
RttMfflft •

»f tt •
•
fto* ?

mmm* • °

fEttMfflftJIIIN*
ns 7 &$*;sxoi*j*&injb ?

•
fflif#M2JfE 0
f .

Yriuh-haak S(u-j6, ng6h yiu daap houh

yat-righ-llhng
baan-grii heui Lriuhn-deun. Chring-mahn ng6h
h&i nl-syu bou-dou, ngaam rhh ngaam a?
Fuhk-mouh-yuhn Yat-righ-llhng houh baan-grii h^i hah-jau sei-
d(m-bun-jung hrii-frii heui Lriuhn-deun. Nriih
hrii nT-syu bou-dou jauh ngaam lak. Chring

nriih griau nriih ge wuh-jiu, chlm-jing tuhng

frii-grii-piu brii ng6h la.

Yriuh-haak Ni Iriuhng gihn haih ng6h ge hrihng-lriih,

chring nriih bring ngrih gwo-bring la.
Fuhk-mouh-yuhn Sln-sriang, nriih ge hrihng-lriih gwo-chuhng
bo! Juhng yriuh mriuh kriih-tri hrihng-lriih a?
Yriuh-haak Juhng yriuh Iriuhng gihn sriu-triih hrihng-lriih
dou haih hriu hring ge. Ngrih ge hrihng-lriih
gwo-chuhng-jri grii-do bohng a?
Fuhk-mouh-yuhn Mh syun hriu dri, jl-haih Iriuhng bohng je.
Yduh-haak Deui-mh-jyuh, chring nriih tung-yuhng yat-hrih
la, dak ma?

Fuhk-mouh-yuhn Mahn-triih rhh daaih, daahn-haih hah chi nriih

jauh yiu dri-cfi jyu-yi hrihng-lriih ge chuhng-
leuhng la. Hriu lak, nriih 16-frian nriih ge wuh-
jiu tuhng grii-piu la.

Y&uh-haak Mh-grii nriih wah ngrih jl Iriuih-yriuh briu-hlm

ge gwaih-trii hrii bTn-syu a? Mfhn-seui
yriuhng-jriu yauh hrii bTn-syu mriaih ne?
Fuhk-mouh-yuhn G6 Iriuhng go gwaih-trii dou hrii sei houh jaahp-
hriu fuh-gahn, nriih rhh wuih wrin-mh-d6u ge.
Yduh-haak Mh-grii-saai.
 )

jS?£ y&uh-haak tourist

8E8I baan-gdi scheduled flight
bou-dou check in, register, report travelling

for duty
Sxf&Jt fuhk-mouh-yuhn attendant, clerk, steward,
one who serves
T S hah-jau afternoon, p.m.
sei-dim-bun-jung half past four o'clock
h6i-fdi to take off (of aircraft)

£ gdau to hand over

ISM wuh-jiu passport
USE chlm-jing visa
OR) mm (fdi-)gdi-piu air ticket
hdhng-ldih luggage
gwo-b6ng to weigh
M gwo-chuhng overweight
IS hdng light (in weight)
jilt tung-yuhng stretch a point, get round
the rules, make an
accommodation
—OT yat-hcih a little bit, one time
Hfi mahn-tdih problem, question
dd-df a little more
jyu-yi pay attention to
MS chuhng-leuhng weight
» 16 to collect, to take
bdu-hfm insurance
ISte gwaih-t6i counter
mlhn-seui tax free, duty-free
yduhng-jdu liquor, (non-Chinese
alcoholic drinks
M P jaahp-hdu gate, gateway
ag -saai verb ending, completely

Grammar
5 Seuhng and hah again
In Unit 10 you met seuhng-go-laih-baai last week and hah-go-
laih-baai next week. In the dialogue there are two more cases
where hah appears. Hah-jau means afternoon , p.m and you
willnot be surprised to learn that a.m. is seuhng-jau. Hah chi
or hah yat chi means next time , on the next occasion and as
 ,

expected seuhng chi or seuhng yat chi means last time, on the
previous occasion.

6 Clock time
Telling the hours by the clockis very simple; they are called dim
dots (you met that in Unit 13) and, of course, there are 12 of
them on the clock (jung). One o’clock is one dot of the clock
that is yat-dim-jung, two o’clock is leuhng-dim-jung and so on
up to 12 o’clock sahp-yih-dim-jung. What time is it? is How
many dots of the clock? Gei-do dim jung a?
Half past uses the word bun half, which you met in Unit 4.
So half past one is yat-dim-bun(-jung), half past two is leuhng-
dim-bun(-jung) and half past 12 is sahp-yih-dim-bun(-jung). The
brackets around jung are to show that people do not usually
bother to say it unless for some reason they want to speak
particularly clearly.

You met the word for minutes (fan) in Unit 10 and you can give
precise times to the minute as follows:

1.01 yat-dim-lihng-yat-fan-jung (for lihng see Unit 11)

1 . 09 yat-dim-lihng-gau-fan-jung
1.10 yat-dim-sahp-fan-jung
1.59 yat-dim-ngh-sahp-gau-fan-jung
In practice, rather than bothering to give such precise times,
people normally deal in five minute periods only, just as you
might say Oh, it’s 20 past 2 even if your watch showed that it
was 2.19 or 2.22. The five-minute periods are called characters
(jih) after the figures which appear on clock faces:

1.05 is yat-dim-yat-go-jih 1.10 is yat-dun-leuhng-go-jih

1.25 is yat-dun-ngh-go-jih 1.50 is yat-dim-sahp-go-jih
Some people like to use the word gwat (from the English word
quarter) in the following way:

yat-dim-yat-go-gwat quarter past one

yat-dfm-saam-go-gwat quarter to two
But if you prefer, you can always say:

yat-dim-saam-go-jih quarter past one

yat-dun-gau-go-jih quarter to two
Finally, remember that Cantonese likes to put the large before
the small and that applies to time as well, so: 4.35 p.m. on
Tuesday is Sing-keih-yih hah-jau sei-dim-chat-go-jih.
7 Fei and piu tickets
The formal word for ticket is piu, but generally Cantonese
people prefer to use the colloquial word fei. (Fei is probably a travelling

corruption of the English word fare.) In the case of the word for
air ticket most people now simply say gei-piu or if there could
be any doubt what that means they would use its fuller form fei-
gei-piu. Fei-gei-fei sounds rather odd and is not common.

8 Sau-taih portable
In Unit 8 you met sau-taih miht-fo-tung portable fire extinguisher
and in the dialogue you met sau-taih hahng-leih hand baggage.
Sau-taih can be used freely with many other nouns, but probably Ol
themost common nowadays is the sau-taih dihn-wa, the portable
phone, mobile.

9 Mahn-taih a problem
Mahn-taih mh daaih means the problem is not a big one, no
great problem. You will frequently hear people respond to a
request by saying mouh mahn-taih, a phrase echoed almost
precisely in the English no problem!

10 Verb ending -saai completely

The verb ending -saai is a very useful one. In the dialogue it has
attached itself mh-goi thank you. Mh-goi-saai really means
to
thank you totally, but has been devalued so that many people
say it rather than just mh-goi, much as many English speakers

say thank you very much rather than just thank you without
meaning to show any great degree of gratitude. In the same way
do-jeh-saai is very common. Otherwise, -saai means what it

says, as the following illustrate:

Di yahn dou jau-saai. All the people left.

Ngoh mouh-saai chin. I’ve gotno money at all.
Keuih ge sau haak-saai. His hands were completely black.

Exercise 1
Change the following pairs of sentences into single sentence
questions using dihng-haih . . . ne? The first one would become
Neih haih Ying-gwok-yahn dihng-haih Meih-gwok-yahn ne?
a Neih haih Ying-gwok-yahn. Neih haih Meih-gwok-yahn.
b Fo-che faai. Fei-gei faai.
c Keuih Laih-baai-saam laih. Keuih Laih-baai-sei laih.
 d Hoh Sin-saang seung heui Heung-gong. Hoh Sin-saang
138
seung heui Gwong-jau.
3 e Leih Taai mouh chin. Chahn Taai mouh chin.
I Exercise 2
S Give the opposites of the following words.
a yeh-maan
b mh-siu-dak
c nyuhn-seui
d chuhng
e ging-leih

Exercise 3
Make adverbial sentences from the following using -dak and
your translations of the phrases in brackets. The answer to the
first one is Keuih gong-dak faai. Careful now!

a Keuih gong, (quickly)

b Wohng Saang maaih ha. (very cheaply)
c Neih haahng-louh. (faster than Miss Cheung)
d Neih yam yeuhng-jau. (more than I do)
e Leih Sin-saang ja-che. not very well)
(

Exercise 4
What are the correct classifiers for the following? Some of them
you have not been by now you should be
specifically told, but
able to make a guess with a very good chance of being right.

a daan-yahn-chohng b gau-jai c dihn-sih-gei

d wahn-duhng-fong e mah-louh f fei-gei

g jau-dim h fei-gei-piu i hahng-leih

Exercise 5
These questions are quite difficult. Answer them in Cantonese.
a Yat gan tuhng yat bohng bln yeuhng chuhng a?
b Hai Ying-gwok maaih gihn-hong bou-him gwai mh gwai a?
c Hai fei-gei-cheuhng leuih-bihn tuhng-maaih hai bln-syu
yauh mihn-seui yeuhng-jau maaih a?
d Daap fei-gei ge sih-hauh, sau-taih hahng-leih yiu mh yiu
gwo-bong a?
e Hai Leuhn-deun yauh gei-do go fei-gei-cheuhng a?

Exercise 6
Here are some clock times. How do you say them in Cantonese?
See if you can come up with three different ways of saying the
last one!
 travelling

Exercise 7
A question of time. Can you give the answer (in Cantonese) to
this puzzle?

Gam-yaht haih Sing-keih-yih.

Ngoh saam yaht ji-chihn heui-jo mah-cheuhng.
Ngoh hai mah-cheuhng waan-jo saam go bun jung-tauh.
Ngoh luhk-dim-jung leih-hoi-jo mah-cheuhng.
Gam, ngoh seung mahn neih: Ngoh Laih-baai-gei gei-do-dim-
jung dou-jo mah-cheuhng ne?
In this unit you will learn
• how to make comparisons
 m

Dialogue 1

Mr Lee has just come back from his driving test.

SUjAjjp

nn.t ?

mvEmz
m
•

#m\ •

£*#»« •
wmm
iewism aii*&]iitt«KA«*¥Mi*B$ iPitguni
!
?
•

® •

gaR€«rai)ipfiiiA-^}&{E»m • °

Mrs Lee N6ih gam

h6i-sam, ng6h gu n6ih g&m-jlu-jbu ch&am-g&
ge hei-ch6 ga-s^i haau-sih slhng-jTk yat-dihng h6u h6u
iak.

Mr Lee Ng6h dou gu ng6h ge sihng-jTk g6i h6u.

Mrs Lee H£au-sfh-gwun h£au-j6 neih df mat-y6h a?
Mr Lee K6uih heiau-j6 ng6h h6u d6 yeh, pei-yuh paak-Weii la,
che-l6u h6i-che la, maahn s£i la, tlhng-che la, jaak-louh
diuh-t&uh la, s^u-jai tuhng geuk-jai yuhng-dak h6u rhh
h6u la, deui louh-mi'n ge chihng-fong fdan-ying gau mh
gau d£ng-d6ng.
faai la,

Mrs Lee Git-gw6 haih d(m-y6ung, n6ih jl mh jl a?

Mr Lee K6uih m6uh g6ng-y6h bo! Ng6h j^-che f&an Ga-s6i
H6au-slh-guhk ge s6-jih-l&uh g6-jahn-sih, k6uih h6-
n&hng gok-dak h6u syu-fuhk, fan-j6 h£i che leuih-bihn
juhng-meih s6ng, yiu ng6h tuhng k6uih ge tuhng-sih
I6uhng go y&hn yat-ch&ih tdih k6uih lohk che.

ga-s^i to drive, driving

h£au-sfh examination, test, to sit an
examination
slhng-jik result, score, report

W gwun an official, an officer

% hSau to examine, to test
If $0 pei-yuh for example, for instance
paak-w£i to park a car
che-i6u steep road
$ che steep
hdi-che to start a car, to drive a car
If maahn slow, slowly
If s£i to drive
 . :

142 ^ jaak narrow

diuh-t&uh to turn to face the other way
driving
sau-jai hand brake
Mgeuk-jai foot brake
llgeuk foot, leg
louh-mm road surface
tt3fcchihng-fong situation, circumstances
Ix&fdan-ying reaction, response to respond,
;

react
gau enough
git-gw6 the end result
M guhk a bureau, department, office
oj h6-n^hng it is possible that, possibly,
possibility
IM ' BSKK fan or fan-gaau to sleep-, to lie down-, to go to bed
juhng-meih still not yet
SI s6ng towake up, recover
consciousness
[5] Jg tuhng-sih colleague
% t6lh to carry, to lift

H£au-sfh
Ngoh-deih seung mahn neih: neih gu go go haau-sih-gwun jan-
haih fan-jo gaau dihng-haih yan-waih Leih Saang ja-che ja-dak
mh hou so-yfh keuih pa-dou tauh-wahn fan-jo hai che leuih-
bihn ne?

Grammar
1 Reactions to . .

You first met deui (with regard to , towards) in Unit 9 and

further examples of its use are to be found in Units 10, 12 and

15. In the dialogue here it teams up with faan-ying to mean
reactions to road conditions when you have understood that,
you will find it easier to make sense of the long section deui
louh-mm ge chihng-fong faan-ying gau mh gau faai la - whether
reactions to road conditions are fast enough.

2 Gau enough
Gau means enough. It works very consistently becauseit always

goes in front of the word it refers to, whether that word is a

 ' ?

noun or an adjective, but as you will see from the translations

of the examples, English is not so consistent:
143

Neih gau mh gau chin Do you have enough money to driving

maaih fei a? buy the tickets

Go deng mou gau mh gau Is that hat big enough f
daaih a?

Q Carrying things
Cantonese uses a number of different verbs meaning to carry. To
carry slung over the shoulder is one, to carry in the arms is another,
to carry on the back is another, to carry on a pole over one shoulder
is another and so on. Tdih is used between two people
for to carry o>
either holding the load or having it suspended from a pole between
them.

Dialogue 2
A lucky escape?
ms. •
9t± •
?

stitta mzzmw ?
m
•
•
\

i •
fUriffw® \

•
imm i

•
mm
mmmmm •

Mr Chan Deui-mh-jyuh, sin-saang, ng6h yat-sih rhh siu-s&m

yuhng ga daan-che johng-dou neih. Neih y£uh mouh
sih a?
 Victim Daaih mahn-taih jauh mouh, daahn-haih ng6h jek
144
geuk yih-ga h6u tung, y£uh-di seung. Neih tai, juhng
driving
lauh-g^n hyut tim.
Mr Chan N6ih j&n h6u-choi lak, ji-haih beih ga daan-che
johng-d6u je.

Victim Hei-y&uh-chi-l6ih, n6ih chi-sin g&h. Neih rhh siu-s&m

johng-d6u ng6h, juhng wah ngoh h6u-ch6i?!
Mr Chan Haih a, sin-saang! Ng6h haih yihng-jan ga, rhh haih
g6ng-siu ga. Chin-kdih mh-h6u ngh-wuih a!
Victim Ng6h dim-y6ung ngh-wuih a? N6ih g6ng la!
Mr Chan Ng6h haih dik-si sT-gei, yauh haih dihn-daan-che choi-
che-sau. G&m-yaht h6i dik-s( gung-sT Iduhn-dou ng6h
fong-ga, s6-yih rhh-s£i j& dik-si, ngaam-ngaam ng6h
o>
ga dihn-daan-che yauh waaih-j6, ning-j6 heui s&u-l6ih,
s6-yih ng6h sin-ji yuhng ng6h go j£i ge daan-che ja.
Vuh-gw6 haih ng6h ge dik-si waahk-j6 dihn-daan-che
johng-d6u n6ih, g£m n6ih jauh m6uh gam h6u-ch6i la.

— B# yat-sih momentarily, briefly

siu-s^m careful
daan-che bicycle
jfijohng run into, knock into

W? y£uh sih to have something wrong with you

M sdung a wound ; to wound
'M l^uh to flow
Ifll hyut blood
h6i-y$uh-chi-l6ih that’s ridiculous-, how could
thatbe?
chi-sin crazy, mixed up-, off the rails
Eg yihng-jan serious, sincere
tiH g6ng-siu to joke
£siu to smile, to laugh, to laugh at
=F#fchln-k&ih whatever you do don’t, don’t ever
ngh-wuih misunderstand, get it wrong
dihn-daan-che motorbike
choi-che-s4u racing driver
choi-che motor racing
Iduhn-dou the turn of, it has come to the
turn of
waaih to go wrong, break down
W ning to bring, to take
Seiu-I6ih to repair, mend
sE# waahk-j6 or, perhaps
3
Grammar 145

Jek one of a pair driving

Things that come in pairs are classified with seung or with deui:
yat deui sau a pair of hands, pair of arms
yat seung faai-ji a pair of chopsticks
(faai-ji = chopsticks)

One
4 of a pair is usually jek regardless of the shape:

yat jek sau a hand, an arm

yat jek faai-ji a chopstick

An exception is the case of human beings (such as husband and

wife), where as a couple they are
seung but where one of the
pair is still referred to as go. Other exceptions are trousers,
spectacles and scissors which the Cantonese do not consider to
be pairs at all - logically enough, since each is a single object -
and so do not use deui or seung for them.

Accentuating the negative

Chin-keih is a useful word when you want to make a negative
command particularly strong:

Chin-keih mh-hou gong-siu la! Whatever you do don’t joke!

Chin-keih mh-hou mh You really must not forget!
gei-dak la!

5 When electric is not electric

In Unit 9 you met a number of useful words which were made
up using dihn ( electricity electric). Cantonese seems to have
,

got rather carried away with the idea, though, and has applied
dihn to things which have very little to do with electricity. So
when motorbikes came along they dubbed them electric bikes
dihn-daan-che. Here is another example:

dihn-yauh petrol, gasoline

yahp dihn-yauh to refuel, put petrol in

6 Broken and broken down

You met waaih meaning bad in Unit 12. Waaih-jo means
gone bad or broken down and can be applied to fruit, meat,
 . f

machinery, watches, radios and so on. But if the object is clearly

physically damaged, then the word to use is laahn-jo which you
met in Unit 5:
7
Ngoh ge dihn-daan-che waaih-jo. Something’s gone wrong
with my motorbike.
Ngoh ge dihn-daan-che laahn-jo. My motorbike is smashed.

More on or
Remember dihng-haih? Now you have also met waahk-je and
they both mean or. The difference is that dihng-haih means
or is it the case that and always appears in questions, while
8
waahk-je means or maybe it is, or perhaps and appears in
statements:

Keuih gei-si laih a? When is she coming ? Is it today

Haih gam-yaht dihng-haih or tomorrow that she iscoming?
ting-yaht laih ne? ( Which is it? It must be one or
the other)
9Keuih(waahk-je) gam-yaht She’s coming today or maybe
waahk-je ting-yaht \kih. tomorrow. (It could be either)
Keuih yiu ga-fe dihng-haih Does he want coffee or tea?
chah ne?
Keuih waahk-je yiu ga-fe He may want coffee or he may
waahk-je yiu chah. want tea. (I’m not sure)

Negative comparisons
Mr Chan says neih jauh mouh
In the last line of the dialogue
gam hou-choi la(you wouldn’t be as lucky then) and this
gives you the clue to how to make negative comparisons. The
pattern is:

X mouh Y gam . . X isn’t as ... as Y

Keuih mouh ngoh gam gou. He’s not as tall as I am.
Hei-che mouh fei-gei gam faai. Cars aren’t as fast as planes.
Ngoh haahng-dak mouh neih I don’t walk as slowly as
gam maahn. you do.

A recap on comparisons
Now we can set out the full range of comparisons so that you
can bring real subtlety into your speech:
Ngoh hou gou. I am tall.
Keuih gou di. He’s taller.
Keuih gou hou-do. He’s a lot taller.
Neih juhng gou. You are even taller.
Keuih mouh gam gou. He’s not so tall.
Keuih gou gwo ngoh. He is taller than I am.
Keuih gou gwo ngoh siu-siu. or He is a bit taller than I am.
Keuih gou gwo ngoh yat-di.
Keuih gou gwo ngoh hou-do. He is a lot taller than I am.
Keuih mouh ngoh gam gou. He is not as tall as I am.

And, of course, there is also the equivalent and the superlative:

Keuih tuhng ngoh yat-yeuhng He is just as tall as I am.

gam gou.
Keuih mouh ngoh yat-yeuhng He is not just as tall as 1 am.
gam gou.
Keuih jeui gou lak. He is tallest.

Q Laughing and smiling

The word siu is heavily used
Cantonese, and Chinese culture in
in

general stresses the need to smile. You will notice that Chinese
people smile a great deal and sometimes in circumstances where
westerners would think it inappropriate, in the face of tragedy or
horror, for example. Chinese novels are full of / smiled, she smiled
coldly, he smiled sadly and so on, where English novels use another
set of words such as he said, she exclaimed, they expostulated,
I sighed. One of the reasons why Chinese faces are said to be
inscrutable may well be because westerners do not know how to
read the various subtleties of smiling. Chinese people often find
western faces disconcerting too - Why doesn’t he smile? Have I said
something wrong?

Exercise 1
Here are five English sentences. Which of the two possibilities
given you is the correct translation?

a I think he is also Japanese.

i Ngoh gu keuih dou haih Yaht-bun-yahn.
ii Ngoh dou gu keuih haih Yaht-bun-yahn.

b I give him ten dollars.

i Ngoh bei sahp man gwo keuih.
ii Ngoh bei keuih sahp man.
 c Mrs Lee is going to Japan by air.
i Leih Taai-taai daap fei-gei heui Yaht-bun.
driving
ii Leih Taai-taai heui Yaht-bun daap fei-gei.

d Mr Wong and I are going to dine at City Hall.

i Ngoh tuhng Wohng Sin-saang heui Daaih-wuih-tohng
sihk-faahn.
ii Wohng Sin-saang tuhng ngoh heui Daaih-wuih-tohng
sihk-faahn.

e Which lady is ill?

i Bin-go taai-taai yauh behng a?

ii Bin-go ge taai-taai yauh behng a?

Exercise 2
Now write out the translation of the above sentences which you
think are incorrect.

Exercise 3

A really tough one. Can you say who is sitting in each of the six
seats?

Gam-maahn Luhng Saang, Luhng Taai cheng Leih Saang,

Leih Taai tuhng-maaih Chahn Saang, Chahn Taai sihk-faahn.
Leih Saang choh hai bak-bihn; Chahn Saang hai Luhng Taai
yauh-bihn; Chahn Taai hai Luhng Saang deui-mihn;.Leih Taai
hai Luhng Saang jo-sau-bihn.
Exercise 4
Can you match each of the 149
six verbs a-f with a suitable noun
from the list i-xii? driving

a da b dou c chau
d teng e chung f tai

i jeung-ban ii tin-hei iii gwong-bo

iv pe-paai V dihn-ying vi mah-jeuk
vii hoi-taan viii noih-yuhng ix huhng-dang
x sou-hohk xi yauh-haak xii jit-muhk

Exercise 5

Use Cantonese to describe Mr Wong’s height in comparison

with each of the other five people. How would you describe
Mr Lee in comparison with Mrs Wong? How would you
describe Mr Lee without reference to anyone else?

Exercise 6
Here are definitions of four words which you have learned in
this unit. Can you work out what they are?

a yahn gong ge yeh, jouh ge yeh, seung ge yeh

Jlk-haih yat go
dou mh ngaam.
yat-dl
b Jlk-haih neih gong nl yeuhng yeh, keuih mh mihng-baahk,
yih-waih neih gong go yeuhng yeh.
c Jlk-haih dl yeh laahn-jo, waaih-jo ji-hauh, joi yat chi jing-
faan hou.
d Jlk-haih ‘sih-sih’ ge seung-faan.
the

uniformed

services

In this unit you will learn

• complicated descriptive
phrases
O Dialogue 1 151
the
Problems with a photograph on an immigration application.

'J'fc •
!

uniformed

mmm&w a • •

* •
? services

W !

'm
0H|£O$
&£A*£$a9K«A«Hi*£ffliNJBi?ffi
o
•
mu
-tiff is ? i ttwa«*!mniMsifr 7 -si
“H *B & fa fanSfftt* °

MUM !

Official Siu-j6, n6ih nT j6ung yuhng l&ih s&n-ching yih-m&hn ge

seung-pinmh hahp-kw&i-gaak bo!
Applicant Dim-y6ung mh hahp-kw&i-gaak a?
Official Yih-m&hn-guhk kw&i-dihng s&n-ching y&hn ge
seung-pin mh j6un jeuk gw&n-fuhk.
Applicant H6u-ch6i ng6h mh haih gw&n-y&hn, ng6h yih-ging
I6ih-hdi-j6 gw&n-d6ui I6uhng nlhn lak.
Official G£m, n6ih ylh-ga jouh-g^n mat-y6h a?
Applicant Ng6h yih-ga haih n6uih-ging, bat-gwo hah-go-
yuht-m6ih ng6h wuih g^-yahp Siu-f6hng-guhk jouh
n6uih-slu-fdhng-yuhn Baih! Ging-chaat tuhng . . .

siu-fdhng-yuhn dou yiu jeuk jai-fuhk ge bo! Ng6h

dim-syun-h6u-ne?
Official Siu-j6, Yih-m&hn-guhk kw&i-dihng s&n-ching
yih-m&hn ge y&hn mh j6un jeuk yahm-h6h jai-fuhk
ying-seung. N6ih h6-yfh mh jeuk ga.
Applicant Mat-y6h w£?! N6ih giu ng6h mh jeuk saam l6-t£i
ying-s6ung &h?
Official Mh mh
. . haih
. N6ih. .n6ih mh-h6u
. . . . . . .

ngh-wuih. Ng6h ge yi-sl haih giu n6ih mh jeuk

jai-fuhk, jeuk bihn-fuhk je!
 $ fg san-ching to apply
the yih-mahn to migrate immigration, emigration
;

seung-pfn photograph
£ hahp-kwai-gaak to qualify, meet requirements
^5? kwai-dihng
uniformed

to regulate, lay down a rule

services
M
SA gwan-yahn
it
gwan-fuhk
j6un to allow, permit
military uniform
soldier, military personnel
WM gwan-deui army
& n6uih female
£1? n6uih-ging policewoman
Tj® bat-gwo but, however
R yuht moon, month
M m6ih tail, end
iJQAgS-yahp to join, recruit into
slu-f6hng-guhk fire brigade
M K M siu-f6hng-yuhn fireman
! baih! oh dear! oh, heck! alas!
ftJJK jai-fuhk uniform
lifRl yahm-hdh any
yfng-s6ung to take a photograph, have a
photo taken
ms i6-tai naked, nude
yi-sl meaning, intention
Pi] giu to tell someone to, to order
someone to
dM bihn-fuhk plain clothes

Grammar
1 Adjectives
In Unit 4 you first met ge used to link descriptive phrases or
clauses to a noun (hou gwai ge ga-fe - very expensive coffee ;

maaih-gan bat ge yahn - the person who is buying a pen).

The first line of the dialogue in this unit has a more complicated
version of that ge pattern (nl jeung yuhng laih san-chmg
yih-mahn ge seung-pm). At first sight this is rather frightening,
but keep cool; you can quite easily break it down to see how it
works. The basic unit is ni jeung seung-pm - this photograph
(remember jeung is the classifier for sheet-like things). Splitting
ni jeungand the noun seung-pm is the adjective yuhng laih
san-chmg yih-mahn used for applying for immigration and
ge does the same job that it was doing when you met it in
Unit 4, that is, it is linking the complex adjective to the noun.
153
So the whole thing means this photograph which is being the

used for applying for immigration. In fact, although it looks

complicated, when you break it down it is really only the same uniformed

basic pattern as ni go Meih-gwok-yahn - specifier-classifier-

2
adjective-noun. Here are some more examples:

go ga Wohng Saang seung that Japanese car which Mr Wong services

maaih ge Yaht-bun che wants to buy

ni cheut naahm-yan hou this movie that men love watching
jung-yi tai ge dihn-ying

Possessives with adjectives

Look again at thesame speech by the immigration official and
you you is positioned in front of that complex
will see that neih
adjectival pattern and it all means this photograph of yours
which is being used for applying for immigration. This is the

regular position for the possessive in such cases and the normal
possessive indicator (ge) is not necessary:

neih go ga Wohng Saang that Japanese car of yours which

seung maaih ge Mr Wong wants to buy
Yaht-bun che

3 Jeun: a two-way verb

Jeun can mean either to allow or to be allowed so , it can work
two ways, both actively and passively:
Keuih mh jeun yam-jau. He’s not allowed to drink alcohol.
Keuih mh jeun (ngoh) He doesn’t let me drink alcohol.
yam-jau.
As you become more familiar with Cantonese you will find
other two-way verbs like jeun; and already in this unit you
will find ying-seung, which can mean to photograph or to be
photographed.

4 Vive la difference!
You met naahm male in Unit 9 and now you have met his
mate neuih female. As you can see from the dialogue, neuih can
be attached fairly freely to nouns - neuih-ging policewoman ,
neuih-siu-fohng-yuhn firewoman. In these cases the nouns
are assumed to be males, so that you would only meet the
 .,

terms naahm-ging and naahm-siu-fohng-yuhn if someone were

154
specificallymaking a contrast between the two sexes. In other
the
cases there is no assumption that a noun is male - yahn person
for example, is completely non-commital and so you will meet
uniformed
naahm-yan man just as often as you will meet neuih-yan woman
(note the tone changes from yahn to yan). Here are some more:

naahm-pahng-yauh/ boyfriend/girlfriend
services
neuih-pahng-yauh
naahm-chi(-so)/ gentlemen’s/ ladies' toilet
neuih-chi(-so)
naahm-hohk-saang/ boy/girl pupils
neuih-hohk-saang
^1
While on the subject, you might note that neuih changes its tone
to become neui daughter the pair to jai son.
,

5 Yuht month
Yuht means the moon and by extension has also come to mean
a month. The classifier for it is go, so one month is yat go yuht,
two months is leuhng go yuht and so on. As with laih-baai
and sing-keih, last this and next are seuhng, ni and hah, so last
,

month is seuhng-go-yuht, this month is ni go yuht and next

month is hah-go-yuht.
The months of the year do not have fancy names as in English,
they are just numbered without classifiers. The two sets that
follow should make the system clear to you:
Yat-yuht January yat go yuht one month
Yih-yuht February leuhng go yuht two months
Saam-yuht March saam go yuht three months
Chat-yuht July chat go yuht seven months
Sahp-yih-yuht December sahp-yih go yuht twelve months

6 To tell

To has different meanings in English and different words are

tell

used for them in Cantonese. When to tell means to inform, to

tell a fact, you have learned that it is translated by wah/gong . .

ji/teng (see Unit 13). When to tell means to tell someone to do

something, to order someone to do something, then giu is used:
Sin-saang giu hohk-saang The teacher told the children to
Ying-mahn syu.
tai read their English books.
Ngoh giu keuih mh-hou laih. 1 told him not to come.
 °

Sometimes English uses to tell when it would be more fitting

to use ask or invite (cheng in Cantonese). Note the following
sentence carefully: the

Ging-leih giu fo-gei cheng The manager told the waiter to

Wohng Yi-sang yahp-laih. tell Dr Wong to come in.
uniformed

A waiter is unlikely to feel able to order a doctor around,

although the manager feels quite happy with ordering the waiter
around, so in this example told and tell become giu and cheng services

respectively.

O Dialogue 2
Plain-clothes police have a tough time with some suspects.

i immm • \ t

(fast-
sa* &®mvn

® m ° •

mm
i

i immr • \

Sergeant Wai, n6ih-deih g6i go, mh-h6u yGk a! Faai-dT m&u-d&i,

ning n6ih-deih ge s&n-f£n-jing cheut-l&ih.
Youth N6ih-deih haih mat-y6h y&hn a? N6ih-deih m6uh
kyuhn ng6h-deih ge s&n-f&n-jing bo!
t&i

Sergeant Ng6h haih Wdhng S&-jin, nT w£i haih ng6h seuhng-sT

Ch&hn B6ng-b6an. Ng6h-deih w&aih-yih n6ih-deih
feahn-duhk. N6ih-deih k6ih-m&aih louh-bln, b6i ngbh
s£u-s&n.
Youth N6ih-deih dou m6uh jeuk jai-fuhk, yauh rtih haih
ch6h ging-chaat ch6uhn-ldh-che. N6ih-deih wah
haih ging-chaat, yiu l&ai-y&hn, yiu s£u-san, bin-go
seun n6ih a?
Sergeant Ng6h-deih m6uh jeuk ging-chaat jai-fuhk, haih
y&n-waih f6ng-bihn ngdh-deih jouh-y6h. Ng6h-deih
leuhng go dou haih bihn-yi ging-chaat. Neih-deih
d&ng-daaih-deui-ng£ahn t&i-h&h ng6h-deih ge
ging-yuhn-jing la!
 . .

8 Youth N6ih-deih lihn sau-cheung dou m6uh, gfng-yuhn-jing

dou ho-nahng haih g£ ge, yiu ng6h-deih seun neih-

the
deih haih ging-chaat jauh naahn la. Wai, sau-juk!
Ng6h-deih saan-seui lo!
uniformed
Sergeant M&ih jau a! Neih baan s6i-j£i, ddng ngoh l&ai-saai
neih-deih s6uhng ging-chaat-guhk sin!

servi
og ! wai! hoy! hey!
IPyuk to move, make a movement
s£n-tan-jing identity card
H jing a certificate, a pass
tb cheut out
S kyuhn right, authority, powers
YJs'M. s^-jin sergeant
ft w^i polite classifier for people
-tW] seuhng-sT superior officer, direct boss
KM bdng-b£an inspector
w&aih-ylh to suspect
PS# faahn-duhk to peddle drugs
±k6\b to stand
if -m^aih verb ending, close up to
Slit louh-bln the roadside
® # s^u-s^n to conduct a body search
chfcuhn-ldh-che patrol car
ftlfcai to arrest, to pull
(I fdng-bihn convenient
(I# bihn-yi plain clothes, civilian clothes
n*tm take a good look
ddng-daaih-deui-ngdahn
B§ddng to stare, open the eyes
8g ng£ahn eye
•USE gfng-yuhn-jing warrant card
M IP- Rhn . dou .
. . . even . .

^ tl s6u-cheung handgun, pistol

IS g3 false
H n&ahn difficult, hard
^5Lsdu-juk brothers (secret society slang)
saan-seui to scatter away
3Eb&an classifier for a group of,

gang of
5E f? s6i-jSi deadbeats, bastards, rats
(strong abuse)
You are a Hong Kong immigration official
A foreign national in army uniform, wearing a handgun, comes
up to your desk. Ask him for his passport and visa, ask him the

when he will be leaving Hong Kong and tell him that he is not
allowed to bring a handgun into the territory and
7 will he please uniformed

hand it to that police sergeant at Counter No. 41.

8
Grammar services

Hurry up!
means quicker
Faai-di , faster , as you willremember from your
work on comparatives in Unit 16, but has become the most
it
9
common way of saying get a move on!, hurry up! Harassed
mothers say it to their children constantly.

W£i: the polite classifier

The normal people is of course go, but if you wish
classifier for
to be polite to someone or about someone, you should use
wai instead. So you might say nl go yahn {this person), but you
would almost certainly say nl wai sin-saang this gentleman and
go wai siu-je that young lady. In the dialogue the sergeant uses
wai when he refers to his superior officer, Inspector Chan. If you
are introducing someone, you say NT wai haih Wohng Taai-taai,
go wai haih Leih Siu-je etc.. . .

-maaih close up to
The verb ending -maaih can be used to indicate movement
towards something or location close up to something. Its
opposite, showing movement away from something, or location
away from something is -hoi. You can use these two words quite
freely where you feel them to be appropriate.

Keuih haahng-hdi-jo He’s walked away (= He is not here.

Often said by secretaries over the
telephone when you want to talk to
their boss)
Choh-maaih-dl Sit a bit closer (Cuddle up to me!)
Choh-hoi-dl Sit further away (Stop crowding me!)
 . . .

10 Laai to pull
the
Laaiis the normal verb to pull and it is the character which you

seemarked on doors: the opposite is teui push. Laai is also used,

uniformed
meaning to pull someone in, to arrest.

11 Pihn . . dou . . even . .

services

Lihn is a very useful word provided you remember how to

position it. The golden rules are that lihn
placed before the is
word which it refers to and that they both must come before
dou. You will also remember from as far back as Unit 1 that
"""-I
|
dou must itself always come before a verb, so there is a certain
rigidity about this pattern. A few examples will show you how
to use it:

Lihn Wohng Sin-saang dou Even Mr Wong doesn’t like

mh jung-yi Wohng Siu-je. Miss Wong.
Ngoh lihn yat man dou mouh. I haven’t got even one dollar.
Keuih lihn faahn dou mh She doesn’t fancy even rice.
seung sihk.

12 s6uhng to go up
The real meaning of seuhng is to go up, to ascend. Seuhng-saan
means to go up the hill and seuhng-che is to get (up) onto the
vehicle. In some cases, though, seuhng is used meaning to go to.
In Unit 12 you met seuhng-tohng to go to class and in the
dialogue there is another example, seuhng ging-chaat-guhk to
go to the police station. You are advised not to make up your
own phrases using seuhng in the sense of to go to, only use the
ones you meet in this book.

Q Secret society slang

One of the biggest influences on contemporary Cantonese language
has been the great popularity of gangster films and programmes on
television and in the cinema. The racy slang which gives authenticity
to the shows passes rapidly into ordinary people’s speech, but
equally quickly is discarded again. At the end of the dialogue we
have included just a couple of terms which seem to be likely to stay
around, but there is little point in your learning any more - by the time
that you are able to use it it may well not be current any longer!
Try to describe in Cantonese what Mr Wong is doing in each of
these pictures.

Exercise 2
Fillin the blanks to show the occupations of each of the
following people.

a Chahn Sin-saang faahn-duhk ge yahn: keuih haih

laai .

b Wohng jung-hohk gaau-syu: keuih haih

Siu-je hai .

c Leih Saang sehng-yaht ja dik-si: keuih haih .

d Jeung Saang hai jau-lauh ning yeh bei yahn sihk: keuih
haih .

e Ngoh bah-ba hai chan-so jouh-yeh: keuih haih .

Exercise 3
Into each of the following sentences put one of the randomly
listed inserts i-v (overleaf), then translate the sentence into
English.

a Keuih wah keuih Sing-keih-yat wuih faan-laih, daahn-haih

keuih Sing-keih-saam faan.
b Neih jau-jo ,
ngoh jauh da dihn-wa bei neih taai-taai lak.
 c Seuhng-go-yuht Wdhng Taai yat ga che dou maaih-mh-
160
dou: keuih ge ging-leih hou mh hoi-sam.
the
d Keuih yaht-yaht da-mah-jeuk, so-yih mh dak-haahn tuhng
ngoh heui maaih-sung.
uniformed
e Yauh-seui ge sih-hauh mh haih gei fong-bihn.
Inserts: i dou ii lihn iii jeuk saam-kwahn iv sin-ji v ji-hauh

Exercise 4
services

Answer the following briefly in Cantonese.

a Yat nihn yauh gei-do yaht a?

b Chihn-yaht haih Laih-baai-sei: ting-yaht ne?
c Sei-yuht yauh gei-do yaht a?
^1 d Saam go sing-keih do mh do yaht gwo yat go yuht a?
e Yat-chin yaht noih dihng-haih saam nihn noih ne?

Exercise 5
Three complicated sentences laden with adjectives for you to
put into Cantonese. Remember, keep cool - they aren’t so bad
if you work out what the basic patterns must be.

a That young lady who is standing on the left of Mrs Chan is

Mr Wong’s 1 7-year-old daughter.
b Which is the Japanese car you bought when you were
touring in the States f
c This old fire extinguisher of yours is not big enough. How
about buying a bigger one?
law

and

order

In this unit you will learn

• how to report a crime
• vocabulary dealing with law
and crimes
162 Dialogue 1

I Three friends discuss the crime rate.

a
3 -
mmmm\ •
a.
o j •
Mm •
nzm •
Mm •

H j||D$! o

•
raattW&jft •
• ifitu
is«M« •
mumtonn*
$\mmm \

&x mmmm • •
\mmnxm
00 m nmnxm
tti !

• •
ma^iiAM-iAm*
Mrs Lee Ng6h muih yaht t£i bou-ji dou yat-dihng t£i-d6u

df lihngng6h h6u mh h6i-sam ge sdn-mdn ge,

pei-yuh haih m&uh-saat la, kduhng-g&an la, kap-
duhk la, d£-gaau la, d£-gip la, d£-h6h-baau la,
d£ng-d£ng.
Mrs Wong g£m ge chihng-fong rfih-ji h£i
L6ih T6ai, nl di
H6ung-g6ng h6u p6u-pin, h£i ngoih-gwok h6u
d6 daaih sihng-sih dou yat-yeuhng p6u-pin ga.
Mrs Jeung Chihn-g6i-nlhn ng6h jyuh h£i N£u-yeuk, h£i ng6h
jyuh ge fuh-gahn, gdi-fuh muih yaht dou y6uh
jeuih-on faat-sdng, ylh-ch6 dou haih ng6h
ch&n-ngdahn t£i-gin ge, daahn-haih dou mh
gin bun-deih bou-ji yduh bou-douh. Ndih h6-yih
sdung-jeuhng jeuih-on d6 dou gdi-gam yihm-juhng
laak!
Mrs Wong Jdung Tdai, tdng ndih g£m-y6ung g6ng, Hdung-g6ng
ge jih-dn sdui-yihn mh haih sahp-fdn h6u daahn-haih
dou mh syun taai waaih bo!
Mrs Jeung Haih a, jdn-haih mh syun taai waaih. Jeui-siu
dou-yih-ga-wdih-ji ng6h-deih p6u-tung-ydhn
juhng g&m yat-go-ydhn h£i yeh-maan cheut-gaai
mdaih-yeh.
 law

and

order

O Things foreign
Ngoih means outside, as you will remember from ngoih-bihn.
Ngoih-gwok outside country is the standard word for foreign
country and as you might expect, ngoih-gwok-ydhn means a
foreigner and ngoih-gwok-w£ means a foreign language Ngoih-
.

gwok is contrasted with jung-gwok central country, the country

around which all others revolve, China. The Chinese have always
considered themselves to be at the centre of the world, just as the
Romans did with their tellingly named ‘Medi-terranean’ sea and this
means that it is something of a contradiction in terms for Chinese
in another country to describe themselves as ngoih-gwok-ydhn -

wherever they go they remain Chinese and so the indigenous

peoples tend to be called foreigners in their own lands.
 ,

164 Grammar
law

1 Pou-tung and pou-pin ‘common* :

and
Both pou-pin and pou-tung mean common but there is a
order
difference between them. Pou-pin means common in the sense
of widespread, universal, two-a-penny: and pou-tung means
common in the sense of ordinary, normal. A pou-tung-yahn is
an ordinary chap, the man on the Clapham/Shanghai omnibus.

Q Pou-tung-wa
P6u-tung-wa is common language, that is, the language which is to
00 be used throughout China, what in English is usually called Mandarin
and in China is known officially as Putonghua. One use of p6u-tung
is as a way of responding to a compliment: How beautiful your
handwriting is, Mr Wong! - P6u-tung je. (It’s just run of the mill.) But

sometimes modest response is said with a cock of the head

this very
which belies apparent humility and Mr Wong can be understood
its

in a boastful way to be saying something like I'm just an ordinary

genius, you know!

2 Pou-tung-wa and other languages

Wah means to say, as you learned in Unit 6, but when its tone
is changed to wa it means speech, language and often appears as

gong to speak. To speak Mandarin

the object of the lonely verb
is gong Pou-tung-wa and to speak a foreign language is gong
ngoih-gwok-wa. You can add wa to the name of any country to
give the language spoken in that country:

Ying-gwok-wa English language

Yaht-bun-wa Japanese language
Jung-gwok-wa Chinese language
You already know the words Ying-mahn and Jung-mahn for
English and Chinese languages and the addition of -mahn can be
made to the roots of other countrynames too, but it is a risky
thing to do you have not met the word before - could you
if

have predicted that the -mahn word for Yaht-bun is Yaht-mahn,

for instance? So you are safer to stick to the -wa words.

The mahn and wa forms are not quite the same in meaning.
Mahn refers to the whole notion of spoken and written
language together, while wa really refers only to the spoken
language, but in practice they are mostly used interchangeably.
3 Up to now
Dou-yih-ga-waih-ji seems an awful mouthful to represent up
to now: it may help you to remember it if you analyse it. Dou
means to arrive at, yih-ga means now, waih-ji means as a stop,
so arriving at now as a stop - up to now. You can adapt the
expression to some extent, for instance, dou gam-nin waih-ji up
until this year and dou johk-yaht waih-ji up until yesterday.

Dialogue 2
A thoughtful prisoner makes a special pleading.

•
MlIZfctL ° o
|5)i;nJ&
±sfF 0
iKWB*. ?
>£t*A • ^ •
-5tM§ij
mi& •
•
ft Atira**; •

•
t s&tte m •
\

•
aa •
nxttmmm •
mmimmmm

Judge N6ih faahn-j6 t&u-y6h jeuih, yih-ch6 jeuih-mihng slhng-lraap.

Ng6h pun ch6h I6uhng nihn gaam. N6ih yuh-gw6 mh
n6ih
tuhng-yi h6-yfh seuhng-sou. N6ih mlhng-baahk meih?
Prisoner Faat-gwun Daaih-y&hn, ng6h mihng-baahk, bat-gwo
yuh-gw6 ng6h ch6h-yuhn I6uhng nlhn gaam j)-hauh
cheut-l&ih, yat-dihng w6n-riih-d6u yeh jouh, y&n-waih
ng6h ch6h-gwo gaam, mduh y£hn wuih ch6ng ng6h
jouh-y6h. S6-yih ng6h w£n-mh-d6u chin, m6uh
baahn-faat s&ng-wuht, wuih joi-chi t&u-y6h . . g£m,
.

yauh wuih joi-chi ch6h-gaam ge bo!

Judge G6m, n6ih s6ung dim-y6ung ne? Haih mh haih mh
s6ung ch6h-gaam, s6ung faht-chin ne?
Prisoner Mh haih a, Daaih-y&hn. Ng6h saht-joih m6uh chin b6i neih
faht. Ngaam-ngaam s6ung-f6an, ng6h h6i-mohng n6ih
yih-ga jauh pun ng6h ch6h yih-sahp-hgh nihn gaam je.
Judge Dim-g6ai n6ih jih-yuhn yiu ch6h yih-sahp-hgh nihn gaam
gam noih ne?
Prisoner Y&n-waih ch6h-yuhn yih-sahp-hgh nihn gaam ji-hauh,
g6-jahn-sih ng6h wuih sihng-waih yat go luhk-sahp seui
ge I6uh-yahn, h6-yih heui 16 I6uh-yc»hn gau-jai-gam, mh
s6i joi jouh-yeh laak.
 2jQ faahn to offend, commit a crime
Him tau-y6h to steal things, theft
P jeuih a crime
P£ jeuih-mihng charge, accusation
slhng-lraap established, to establish
pun to sentence
ch6h-gaam to be in prison
seuhng-sou to appeal to
a higher court
faat-gwun a judge
AA Daaih-y^hn Your Honour, Your Excellency,
Your Worship
baahn-faat method, way, means
s^ng-wuht to live, livelihood

MX joi-chi another time, a second time

fi]gt faht-chfn to fine, to be fined
jih-yuhn voluntarily, willing
sihng-wdih to become
I6uh-y^ihn the elderly, the aged
gau-jai-gim relief money

Grammar
4 More on lonely verbs’
You have met plenty of verbs which normally require objects
and you will recognizemore as your Cantonese improves. Tau
to steal is another one and you will notice that yeh things is the

supplied object. But you should not feel that because a verb has
a fall-back object assigned to it you cannot embellish it - you
could, for instance, say keuih tau-jo hou do yeh (he stole a lot
of things). The same applies to other verb-object pairings: choh-
gaam (to sit in prison) means to be imprisoned but you can see ,

from the dialogue that the verb and its object can be split (keuih
choh leuhng nihn gaam - he’s doing two years).

5 Meih and mduh

Both meih not yet and mouh have not are used to form
questions with the verb ending -gwo:

Neih yauh mouh sihk-gwo luhng-ha a?

Neih sihk-gwo luhng-ha meih a?
 ?

These two examples can both be translated by Have you ever

bad lobster ?, but note that the second one implies that at some 167
time you probably will try it, so that you might prefer to
I
translate the first one as Have you ever had lobster and the Q>

second as Have you had lobster yet?

Meih (but not mouh) can happily be used also with the verb a
$
ending -jo when you want to know whether something has
taken place yet. It is very common to greet someone with:

Neih sihk-jo faahn meih a? Have you eaten yet?

6 Can do/no can do?

In Unit 12 you met tai-mh-dou could not see and in Unit 15
00
came wan-mh-dou cannot find. In both cases you were left
to guess what they meant, but you were owed an explanation
and it is time you had one. In the dialogue the prisoner says
yat-dihng wan-mh-dou yeh jouh I’ll certainly not be able to find
work to do. Wan, of course, means to look for and dou you met
in Unit 8 meaning to succeed in, so wan-mh-dou means to look
for but not succeed in it - to be unable to find. Here are a few
more examples:
tai-mh-dou unable to see
daap-mh-dou ba-si unable to catch the bus
gu-mh-dou keuih haih bin-go can't guess who she is
The positive form of this pattern uses dak instead of mh, so
tai-dak-dou means able to see, daap-dak-dou means able to
catch and gu-dak-dou means able to guess. To ask a question
you can, of course, as always, put positive and negative
together:

Neih daap-dak-dou Can you catch the bus?

daap-mh-dou ba-si a?

But it would save breath to say:

Neih daap-mh-daap-dak-dou ba-si a?

7 As much as that
To stress the size of numbers quite common to add a gam
it is

(so) expression, just as in the dialogue the judge says choh

yih-sahp-ngh nihn gaam gam noih. Gam noih means so long a
time and the effect is to say as long as 25 years in prison. Here
are some other examples:
 Keuih yauh saam-maahn He’s got as much as $30,000.
man gam do.
law
Neih yauh yih-baak bohng You weigh as much as 200 lbs.

and
gam chuhng.
Ngoh gau-sahp-yat seui I’m all of 91 years old.
order
gam louh.

8 Older and younger

You need to be careful with old. Louh means really old
will ,

elderly,aged and is therefore the appropriate word in the term

for old age relief. But when you are comparing ages (Jack is
00 older than Jill) it would be absurd to use louh if both of them
are young. Cantonese prefers to use daaih big for old in such a
case:

Wohng Siu-je daaih-gwo Miss Wong is older than

Jeung Siu-je. Miss Cheung.
Ngoh mouh neih gam daaih. I am not as old as you.

not impossible to say Keuih louh-gwo ngoh, but only

It is if I am
already very elderly and he is even more so.

Exercise 1

Mr Wong is insatiably curious. Unfortunately, although he

writes down the answers, his memory is so bad he can’t
remember what his questions were afterwards. Can you help
him by supplying them (in Cantonese of course)? Here is his list
of answers:

a Gam-yaht haih Sing-keih-yih.

b Leuhn-deun Fei-gei-cheuhng hai sihng-sih sai-bihn.
c Ngoh sing Jeung.
d Dl ha sei-sahp-luhk man yat gan.
e Yauh mh haih chat-dim-jung heui, yauh mh haih baat-
dim-jung heui, yan-waih keuih saht-joih mouh cheng ngoh
heui.

Exercise 2
A quick and simple test. What are the opposites of the
following?

a naahm-bihn b naahm-yan c m-syu

d cheut-bihn e cheut-nin f chihn-yaht
g jan h jai i
NT saam go yahn leuih-bihn, bin-go jeui daaih a?

Exercise 4
Tone practice time again. Put in the tone marks on the following
where necessary.
a faai-di! (hurry up!) b fong-ga (be on holiday)
c seuhng-bihn (on top of) d suhk-sik (familiar with)
e yihng-jan (sincere) f yi-sang (doctor)
g ngoih-tou (jacket) h ngaam-ngaam (a moment ago)
Exercise 5
Positive word power: dig into your vocabulary memory and find
a word you know which is similar in meaning for each of the
following.

a bihn-yi b ging-chaat-che
c mh haih jan ge d bat-gwo
e mh ho-yih

Exercise 6
Complete the unfinished words, remembering to get the tones
right.

a -wihng (prosperous)
b fong- (aspect)
c -leih (to repair)
d yahm- (any)
e -seui (duty-free)
f -bihn (convenient)
 . .

banking

and

finance

In this unit you will learn

• some vocabulary for your
own banking transactions
• how to discuss higher
financial matters
• grammar patterns for making
your speech more lively,

such as the more . .

themore . .

• how to show reluctant

agreement with someone
 • "

O Dialogue 1 171
A customer has problems with his bank account.
banking

'J'$B •
***££**«ft*ra£te€
and

ft* • £4 •
MfrfeJM* ?
a* •
•
&^¥«jpei ay±m**ig* °
finance

• *®fl<
K&S-S BlTF***** •

ft •
IPS»H • •

*$mm • a#sttttfttfe£aMttJiM*tt* • CO
•
ftp/&
a§^® o aasfttxan-flthHfis^n ft* ?

mm
ft
"JJ
•

•
M •

!
•

*#££=*****£*'>£* !
?

Customer Siu-j6, nT j6ung yihn-gam jl-piu mh-g6i n6ih

bdng ng6h deui-j6 k6uih, ylhn-hauh yuhng g6 di
chin m&aih hgh-chln man M6ih-gam I6uih-y&uh
jl-piu.

Teller H6u ak. Sln-s&ang, juhng ytuh mat-y6h sih ne?

Customer N&h, nT j6ung haih ng6h ge ng&hn-hdhng yuht-git-
daan, haih g&m-jlu-j6u Sciu-d6u ge. J6ung daan
seuhng-bihn s6-mlhng ng6h go I6ih-w6hng wuh-h£u
seuhng-go-yuht y£uh chek-jih, ylh-ch6 juhng heung
ng&hn-h6hng tau-jl-j6 yat-maahn-s&am-chln man
tlm. Ng6h m6uh heung ng£hn-hdhng
saht-joih
tau-jl-gwoyahm-h6h chin. Ng6h sdung-seun ng6h
ge wuh-h^u yat-dihng mh wuih ytuh chek-jih.
Mh-g6i n6ih bdng ng6h ch&h-ySt-ch&h, t£i-h£h
h£i bln-syu cho-j6.
Teller H6u, chdng n6ih gdau jdung yuht-git-daan bdi ng6h
la, ng6h wuih g&au bdi y£uh-gwdan ge bouh-muhn.

Y6uh git-gw6 jl-hauh, ngdhn-hdhng jauh wuih s6-

seun b6i n6ih ge lak.
Customer Mh-g6i-saai. Ng6h hdi-mohng ndih jeuhn-leuhng
faai-dTwah ng6h tdng go git-gw6 haih dim-y6ung.
Teller H6u ak. Ng6h jl-dou lak.
Customer Mh-g6i-saai. Ng6h juhng s6ung ndih bdng ng6h
go ngoih-wuih chyuh-chuk wuh-hdu,
h6i yat
h6u ma?
 Teller H6u, mouh mahn-taih.
Customer A, juhng yauh. Gcim-yaht Mah-haak deui Ying-b6ng
tuhng-maaih Gong-ji deui Yahn-m&hn-baih ge
banking

deui-wuhn-l6ut haih g6i-do a?

Teller Ng6h rhh jl bo! Ch6ng neih heui daih-s&am-houh
and
gwaih-t6i mahn g6-syu ge sfu-j6 la!

finance
il£yihn-gam cash, ready money
jl-piu cheque
& deui to cash a cheque, to exchange
currency
M6ih-gam American dollars
fgfr ngdhn-hdhng bank
M yuht-git-daan monthly statement
455'J s^u-dou to receive
#s6 to write
MW s6-mihng written clearly
515® I6ih-w6hng coming and going-, current
(account)
Z
3 wuh-h£u bank account
chek-jih (red characters)
in the red, deficit
M^tau-jl overdraft, to overdraw
*§f= sdung-seun to believe, to trust
S ch&h to check, investigate
la cho error, wrong, incorrect
£Bfl y3uh-gw&an relevant,concerned
SAP'] bouh-muhn department
ft seun a letter
jeuhn-leuhng to the best of one's ability,

so far as possible
mhdi to open
fit ft chyuh-chuk savings, to save
m£h-hak or mdh-haak Deutschmark
% 0 ying-b6ng pound sterling
G6ng-jl Hong Kong dollars
y^hn-m^ihn-baih renminbi, RMB
deui-wuhn-l6ut exchange rate
O When red is not auspicious 173
It is hard to find red-coloured things which are not considered lucky
by the Chinese, but to be in the red at the bank is no more desirable
in a Chinese context than in a western one. It is perhaps significant

that the usual word for red (huhng) is not used, but instead the word
chek (which also means red) appears in the expression chek-jih.
Chek
1 has another meaning (naked) and appears in the term chek-
geuk-yl-sang barefoot doctors, the practitioners who were trained
to an elementary level in an effort to bring medical benefits down to
the most deprived areas of China as it strove to develop after the
Communist Revolution of 1949. There is a link of poverty between
these two uses of chek, it seems.
CO

Grammar
Positive commands with -jo
You met the verb ending -jo in Unit 4. It indicates that an
first

action has been completed. The same verb ending also gives the
idea go ahead and do it!, a polite and gentle exhortation. You
will see an example in the dialogue where the customer says mh-
goi neih bong ngoh deui-jo keuih - please cash it for me. Often
the final particle la gives additional force to the exhortation:

Sihk-jo keuih la! Eat it up!

You should note that this use of -jo is always accompanied by
an object, either keuih or a more specific noun:
Da-jo dihn-wa la! Make the phone call!

2 Loih-wohng
Loih-wohng means coming and going so a current account is
,

literally a coming and going account. You will sometimes hear

people saying 16ih-16ih-w6hng-wohng, meaning great to-ings
and fro-ings.

3 Look one look!

As you will remember from Unit 15, yat-hah conveys the idea of
doing something for a little while. You can also show this same
idea by doubling a verb with yat in the middle:

chah-yat-chah run a little check

tai-yat-tai have a peep
 » ,

174 4 Cho mistake

Cho is a very useful little word. Its basic meaning is incorrect
banking

mistaken and this the meaning which you will find in the
is

dialogue (tai-hah hai bin-syu cho-jo - and see where the error
and has occurred). It can also be attached to other verbs as a verb
ending:
finance

Ngoh teng-cho lak. I misheard.

NT go jih neih se-cho lak. You've written this character
wrongly.

In Unit 11 you met the same word cho

in mh-cho not bad,
pretty good; and it appears again in another useful yet
CO expression mouh-cho there’s no mistake, quite right.

Dialogue 2
Two puzzled friends discuss world finance.

mmm > •

m m&m mm t^jput^a
:
• •
•

m i
° •
Mf&m

%wmmm . ^ ftftiins&BMtt • ? •
m
fc#wiwr*» £jrm ? •

»«« •
•
qHkXJM •

«** ! ng»l - «J ! *IN '

Mr Wong Seuhng-go-L£ih-baai-ngh y£uh g6i gaan daaih ng&hn-

hdhng dou gung-bou yiu j&ng-g& leih-sTk. H£ung-
g6ng-y&hn jouh s&ang-yi jauh wuih yuht-l&ih-yuht-
n&ahn lak. Ngoh gu hah-go-l&ih-baai H6ung-g6ng
gu-piu sih-ch6uhng yauh wuih yauh daaih j6i-naahn
lak.
 . .

Mr Lee Ng6h gu H6ung-g6ng g&m-nln ge tung-fo-p&ahng-

175
jeung yat-dihng wuih chiu-gwo baak-fahn-ji-sahp.
Mr Wong Ng6h dou gu wuih lak. Yuh-gw6 haih g&m-y6ung,
banking

g&m-nin wuih haih H6ung-g6ng llhn-juhk daih-s&am

nihn tung-jeung chlu-gwo baak-fahn-ji-sahp ge lak.
Bat-gwo tung-fo-p&ahng-jeung saht-joih haih mat-y6h and

l&ih-ga, ng6h rhh ji.

Mr Lee L6uh-saht g6ng, ng6h dou mh ji-dou haih mat-y§h finance

l&ih-ge. Ng6h jf-haih jl-dou ngdh ge chin yuht-l&ih-

yuht-mh-gau. Au-j&u ge Faat-gwok, Dak-gwok,
Yi-daaih-leih tuhng-m&aih Ying-gwok, keuih-deih
ge tung-jeung juhng g6u-gwo H6ung-g6ng ge la!
Daahn-haih ng6h gok-dak M6ih-gwok ge tung-jeung
<D
b6i-gaau Au-j&u gwok-g& ge juhng ylhm-juhng-dT tim.
Mr Wong G6ng-h6i-l&ih, ng6h mh mlhng-baahk dim-g£ai
jeui-gahn-g6i-nlhn M6ih-gwok ge glng-jai bin-dak
gam waaih, M6ih-gam bin-jihk-dak gam d6 ne?
Mr Lee Haih a! Ng6h dou rhh mlhng-baahk. Jeui-gahn-g6i-
nihn M6ih-gwok dou m6uh ch&am-g& daaih-kw&i-
mduh jin-j&ng la. Dim-g6ai glng-jai fean-ylh
s6ui-teui ne?
Mr Wong Deui nT go mahn-t&ih, ng6h-deih I6uhng go dou haih
ngoih-h6ng. Ng6h-deih mh-h6u joi g6ng la! Bat-yuh
g6ng dl b6i-gaau yuhng-yih mlhng-baahk ge y6h la.
N&h, n6ih g6i-si tuhng ng6h heui t£i p^au-m^h a?
N6ih s6hng-yaht dou wah s6ung heui, daahn-haih h6u
noih dou m6uh heui-gwo. L6uh-saht g6ng, n6ih s6ung
mh s6ung heui a?
Mr Lee S6ung-haih-s6ung, daahn-haih jeui-gahn ng6h m6uh
mat chin, rhh g^m m&aih-m&h lak.
Mr Wong Mh g£n-yiu ga! N6ih h6-yih t&i, rhh-s^i m£aih. Li»ih la!

L&ih la! Slng-k6ih-luhk n6ih yat-dihng yiu tuhng ng6h

yat-chaih heui w£an.

gung-bou to announce
M& loih-slk interest
yuht yuht
. .
. . . the more ... the more . .

rfjifsih-ch6uhng market
li- H
j6i-naahn disaster
inflation
tung(-fo-p&ahng)-jeung
chlu-gwo to exceed
baak-fahn-jl-sahp 10 percent
 : .

g** Rhn-juhk in succession, consecutively

176 n
^ 6t //D^ ? I&ih-ge/ga?
n
final particle: for identification

3 WtM Au-j^u Europe

S
3 Faat-gwok France
<Q
to
US Dak-gwok Germany
3 Yl-daaih-leih
a Italy
3>
3 fcfc® b6i-gaau comparatively, to compare
11^ gwok-g£
Q)
3 country, state
O
® *$£ jeui-gahn recent, recently
J39I glng-jai economy, economic
gbin to change
bfn-jihk to devalue

CO daaih-kw^i-mduh large scale

jin-j^ng war
£W fSan-yih on the contrary, despite this
s&ui-teui to go into decline

ft'a ngoih-h6ng layman, outsider

bat-yuh it would be better if

8&,1 p£au-m£h to race horses, horse racing

Grammar
5 The more . . . the more . .

There are two similar patterns using yuht . yuht. . There is .

.
. .

an example of the first one in the dialogue: yuht-laih-yuht-

naahn (literally, the more comes the more difficult) it gets more
and more difficult. You can add any adjective to the yuht-laih-
yuht- phrase:

Choh fo-che It gets more and more expensive

yuht-laih-yuht-gwai. to travel by train.
Keuih go jai Her son gets taller and taller.
yuht-laih-yuht-gdu.

The second pattern does not use laih but instead uses two
different adjectives or verbs to give the sense the more it is this
then the more it is that

Tai-bo, yahn yuht do When watching football, the

yuht hou-waan. more people there are the more
fun it is.

Wohng Taai yuht gong The more Mrs Wong talks the
yuht hoi-sam. happier she is.
6 Making fractions 177
Baak-fahn-ji-sahp literally means ten of 100 parts and therefore
ten parts in 100 or more normally 10 per cent. All percentages banking

are done the same way, so 12 per cent is baak-fahn-ji-sahp-yih,

and 75 per cent is baak-fahn-ji-chat-sahp-ngh. In fact, all and

fractions are made in this way too:

saam-fahn-ji-yat one third finance

8
sei-fahn-ji-saam three quarters
sahp-ngh-fahn-ji-sahp-sei fourteen fifteenths

7 Final particle for identification

When something
is defined or described for recognition by the

speaker uses the final particle laih-ge that’s what it

listener, the
is. The question form is laih-ga? what is it? and is most often
9
heard in haih mat-yeh laih-ga? what is it?

Reluctant agreement
In the dialogue, Mr Lee is pressed to join Mr Wong at the races
and he has to admit that he would like to go but has a money
problem. Note the neat little pattern which allows reluctant
agreement to be shown: it is verb-haih-verb, daahn-haih . . . :

Ngoh jiing-yi-haih-jiing-yi Yes, I like him all right, but

keuih, daahn-haih ngoh I still don’t want to go to the
dou mh seung tuhng pictures with him.
keuih heui tai-hei.
Wohng Siu-je leng-haih-leng, Miss Wong is pretty all right,
daahn-haih mouh Jeung but she’s not as pretty as Miss
Siu-je gam leng. Cheung.

Mouh mat not much

Ngoh mouh mat(-yeh) chin means I haven’t got much money.
Mat-yeh case changes its spots and instead of being a
in this
question word, comes to mean whatever (/ haven’t got any
money whatever). All the question words can perform the same
trick - bin-go whoever, bin-syu wherever, gei-do however
much ,
gei-si whenever, dim-yeung however:
Neih heui bin-douh a? Where are you going?
Ngoh bin-douh I’m not going anywhere. ( I’m
dou mh heui. not going to any wherevers)
Neih gei-si heui Ying-gwok a? When are you going to Britain?
Ngoh gei-si dou mh heui. I’m not going anytime.
 Exercise 1
178
Mr Wong is on the phone to his stockbroker, and you can

hear his end of the conversation. Can you supply what the
banking

stockbroker is saying (in Cantonese of course)?

and
Mr Wong Chdng-mahn, gdm-yaht Ylng-bong deui Gdng-jl haih
mh haih gou-gwo johk-yaht a?
finance
Broker a No, it’s not as high as yesterday.
Mr Wong Dfm-gdai Ying-b6ng bin-jihk-jd gam dd ne?
Broker b The British government recently said they wouldn't
raise interest rates.
Mr Wong N6ih gu hah-go-ldih-baai Ylng-bdng wuih mh wuih
hdu-fdan-dT ne?
Broker c / think the pound is sure to go a lot higher then.

Mr Wong Neih gdng-dak dou-gdi ngaam. H6u, ng6h jauh hah-

go-ldih-baai s)n-ji mdaih Ying-b6ng la.

Broker d No problem. Phone me again at that time.

Mr Wong Mh-gdi-saai. Joi-gin.

Exercise 2
Give simple answers to these simple alternative questions.
You have a 50-50 chance of being right even if you do not
understand the question!

a Daaih-wuih-tohng haih hai heung-ha dihng-haih hai sihng-

sih ne?
b Neih yauh-behng ge sih-hauh gok-dak syu-fuhk dihng-haih
san-fu ne?
c Geuk-jai yuhng-laih tihng-che dihng-haih hoi-che ne?
d Neih gu jou-chaan haih mat-yeh a? Haih yeh-maahn sihk ge
dihng-haih yaht-tau sihk ge ne?

Exercise 3
Which of i and ii is the correct translation of the English
sentence?

a I can’t go there with you.

i Ngoh mh ho-yih tuhng neih heui go-syu.
ii Ngoh tuhng neih mh ho-yih heui go-syu.

b / can’t drive to the outlying islands.

i Ngoh mh ho-yih hai leih-dou ja-che.
ii Ngoh mh ho-yih ja-che heui leih-dou.

c / won’t be able to come until this afternoon.

i Ngoh hah-jau jauh laih-dak lak.
ii Ngoh hah-jau sin-ji laih-dak.
d I like eating fruit salad.
i Ngoh jung-yi sihk saang-gwo tuhng sa-leut. 179
ii Ngoh jung-yi sihk saang-gwo sa-leut.
banking

e What do you intend to do when you go Japan?

to
i Neih gei-sf heui Yaht-bun, seung jouh mat-yeh a?
and
ii Neih heui Yaht-bun ge sih-hauh, seung jouh mat-yeh a?

Exercise 4 finance

Write out the English translations of the five sentences which

you decided were incorrect.

Exercise 5

<o

a Chahn Saang uk-kei, bin-go jeui daaih a?

b NT dl yahn leuih-bihn neuih-ge haih baak-fahn-ji-gei a?
c Naahm-ge ne?
d Haih Chahn Saang gou ne dihng-haih Chahn Taai gou ne?
e Chahn Saang, Chahn Taai yauh gei-do go jai a?
In this unit you will learn
• words relating to money
 O Dialogue 1
A post office clerk patiently explains something to an anxious customer.
•
p-tJ-EiS®Ai«a5JiS ° ISfSJ

+£+A»*
urn i m •
fitting ?

•
i nfan$tmvf •
gmzmn ?

? sifimhuj} ?
gEfS-^H £iff$S=fla3 o «

« ?
OffiafUteg
"Eif
MA
&+£&
+
*
o

•
m*# •
3ift£9!ftjM9i9i o

Customer Mh-gdi bdi sahp go yduh-g£an, yah-ngh go yat man

ge y&uh-piu, tuhng yah-ngh go go-baat ge y&uh-piu
ng6h. Ch6ng-mahn gdi-sih y£uh sdn gdi-nihm yduh-
piu maaih a?
Clerk Sahp-yuht sahp-baat-houh.
Customer H6u ak! G&m, hah-go-yuht gdi-sih y&uh s&n s&u-yaht
seun-fung maaih a?
Clerk Hah-go-yuht sahp-yih-houh.
Customer NT fung seun ng6h gei hung-y&uh heui Ying-gwok,
ch6ng ndih bdng ng6h bohng-h£h, yiu g6i-do y&uh-fai?
Clerk Sahp-yih-go-luhk la.

Customer Yuh-gw6 haih plhng-yduh yiu g6i-do chin a? Yiu gei

g6i-noih a?
Clerk Yiu sdam-go-yih ngdhn-chin. Yiu sdam go gei Idih-baai.
Customer NT fung seun yuh-gw6 gei gwa-houh yiu g6i-do chin a?
Clerk Gwa-houh-seun ge s£u-juhk-fai haih sdam man.
Customer G&m, nl fung seun ng6h yat-guhng yiu bdi g6i-do chin a?
Clerk Hahm-baahng-laahng yiu sahp-sei go luhk.
Customer Nf-douh haih sahp-ngh man.
Clerk J6au-fean sei houh-ji bdi n6ih, d6-jeh.
Customer Neih-deih yauhm6uh dahk-faai yduh-daih fuhk-mouh a?
Clerk Ng6h-deih nl g&an yduh-guk taai sai lak, jaahm-sih
meih y£uh, cheng ndih heui y&uh-jing-jung-guk la.
 MM y£uh-g£an an airletter form
y&uh-piu postage stamp
(BA go-sei one dollar 40 cents
&1t g6i-nihm memorial, to commemorate
5& -houh day of the month (in dates)
If 0 sau-yaht first day
f=it seun-fung envelope
it fiing classifier for letters
hung-y&uh airmail
y&uh-fai postage
¥1$ plhng-y&uh surface mail
If 9®' to post
J&B ? g6i-noih? or g£i-n6i? how long?
igit ng&hn-chin dollar
^$1# s^u-juhk-fai procedure fee, handling charge
— & yat-guhng altogether
tG ^ P& hahm-baah(ng)-laahng all told, altogether, all

$ (IS) m j^au(-f^an)-chin to give change

4$ ft® US dahk-faai yduh-daih express mail
dahk-faai express
iUM yduh-guk a post office
SfB# jaahm-sih temporary, temporarily
SBittltJS y£uh-jing-jung-guk general post office

Grammar
1 Subtleties of classifiers
You now happily at home with the idea of classifiers and the
are
way which they help to describe or categorize the nouns
in
which follow them. Sometimes their ability to categorize makes
them of use in conveying shades of meaning. In the first line of
the dialogue the customer asks for yah-ngh go go-sei ge yau-piu
(25 one dollar 40 cent stamps). Now if you think about it,
the ‘correct’ classifier for stamps should be jeung because of
their flat sheet-like nature, but in this case the customer is not
thinking of them as physical shapes but rather as items, so he
uses go instead of jeung. Don’t be alarmed if you occasionally
hear people doing such things - mostly it is clear enough what
is meant.
2 More on money
When whole dollars are involved, the word for dollar is man as using

you know; but when there is a sum of dollars plus cents, the
word for dollar becomes the classifier go with or without the the

noun ngahn-chin. So:

leuhng man = $2 and sahp-sei man = $14

postal

But: system

leuhng-go-sei (ngahn-chm) = $2.40c

sahp-sei-go-gau (ngahn-chm) = $14.90c

Fifty cents more conveniently expressed as a half (bun) in such

is
20
sums, so it is usual to say saam-go-bun (ngahn-chm) for $3. 50c,
sahp-ngh-go-bun (ngahn-chm) for $15. 50c and so on.

Ten cents as a sum is yat houh-ji or yat houh, so:

Keuih yauh luhk houh-ji He’s got 60 cents

Ngoh yauh hgh houh-ji je I’ve only got 50 cents

The smallest coin now in circulation in Hong Kong is the

10 cent piece, so that there is no need to deal in single cents. The
10 cent piece is called yat go houh-ji and the one dollar coin is
yat go ngahn-chm.

3 Dates
The months are simply expressed with numbers (see Unit 17).
Days of the month use the same number word (-houh) that
you met for addresses (Fa-yuhn Douh yih-sahp-baat-houh) and
bus numbers (sahp-ngh-houh ba-si), so 1 January is Yat-yuht
yat-houh, 23 May is Ngh-yuht yah-saam-houh, etc. The years
are given in ‘spelled out’ number form followed by nihn, as for
example with yat-gau-gau-chat-nihn (1997). Remember that
the general always comes before the particular, so 30 June 1997
is:

Yat-gau-gau-chat-nihn Luhk-yuht saam-sahp-houh

And don’t forget to add nihn on the end when giving the
year!
a 1997
The date 30 June 1997 was an important one for Hong Kong. At
midnight, Britain’s rule of more than 150 years came to end, and
under the yat-gwok leuhng-jai (one country, two systems) policy
Hong Kong became a Special Administrative Region (Dahk-biht
h&hng-jing k&ui or Dahk-kdui for short) of the People’s Republic of
China. The government of the SAR is headed by the Chief Executive
(H&hng-jing j6ung-gwun) or Dahk-sdu (Special Head as he is more
informally known). An impressive midnight handover ceremony was
televised all over the world, and Wuih-gw&i (Reversion, Handover)
has become a date marker for Hong Kong people, who now talk
of Wuih-gwdi-chlhn (before the Handover) and Wuih-gw&i-hauh
(after the Handover).

4 How long a time?

In Unit 6 you met gei-si? when?, the question word asking for
a time when answer. The question word asking for a time how
long answer is gei-noih?:

Neih gei-si heui Yaht-bun a? When are you going to Japan?

Ngoh Sahp-yuht sei-houh I’m going on 4 October.
heui.

Neih hai Yaht-bun seung How long do you intend to stay

jyuh gei-noih a? inJapan?
Ngoh hai go-douh seung For two months.
jyuh leuhng go yuht.

5 A word you cannot forget

Hahm-baah(ng)-laahng just has to be the strangest word in the
Cantonese language. It is peculiar because each of the three
syllables is completely meaningless on its own and because it
doesn’t even sound much like a Cantonese word. Once heard it
is very hard to forget, so we don’t think you will have any

difficulty with it. One of its meanings is altogether, as you will

have seen from the dialogue:

Luhng-ha, gau-sahp-sei $94 for the lobster; $32.50 for

man; ha, saam-sahp-yih- the prawns: $126.50 altogether.
go-bun; hahm-baah-laahng
yat-baak-yih-sahp-luhk-
go-bun ngahn-chin.
 m

Itsother meaning is the whole lot or all and in this it is usually

accompanied by dou (the adverb meaning all with which you 185
are now very familiar): using

Keuih-deih sehng-ga yahn The whole family went away, the

hahm-baahng-laahng every last one of them.

dou jau-saai lak.
postal

6 Not for the time being system

The last line of the dialogue contains the expression jaahm-sih

meih yauh (lit: temporarily not yet got) for the time being it
hasn't got it. The expression is much used as a polite way of 20
saying not in stock or nothing yet and it appears to offer hope
that soon everything will be alright, but it would be best not to
put too much faith in that hope; sometimes it seems to be merely
a kindly way of saying no.

Dialogue 2
A tourist plagues his hotel clerk with questions about mail.

araMEttftfflm • 7 % i mm
W ! ?
• %$ •

mmwfix •
•
»«$>* n* 7
•
mm$&m • • •

°
m&mmzfc imm-
m&mmm *m*x*itm*st •
bvtw
mm
• •

•
mkwmm &±®m mwmm • • i

•or 7
% tB&m
• •

Tourist Ng6h gaan f6ng ge seun-ji yuhng-saai lak, n6ih-deih

juhng y£uh mouh a? Yi! NT di mihng-seun-pin chit-gai-
dak g6i leng bo! Ngoh seung maaih ngh jeung yiu g6i-do
chin a?
Clerk Do-jeh sahp-yih-go-bun la, sin-saang.
Tourist Hai jau-dim fuh-gahn yauh mouh yauh-guk a?
 .

Clerk Gei mihng-seun-pi'n rhh-sai heui y&uh-guk, h&i nT-syu

waahk-j6 h£i jau-dim daaih-muhn-h£u yauh-bihn dou
yauh yduh-tung.
Tourist Ng6h mh haih gei mihng-seun-p(n ng6h sdung gei yat f

go baau-gw6 fean Ying-gwok, dim-y§ung gei-faat a?

Clerk Oh, yuhn-l6ih n6ih sdung gei bdau-gw6. G6m, h6u
yuhng-yih je. N6ih s£u-sin yuhng baahk-jf bdau-h6u
go go b&au-gw6, yihn-hauh s6-seuhng deih-jf . .

Tourist Jeui k&hn j£u-dim ge yduh-guk h£i bln-syu a?

Clerk H£i j£u-dim muhn-h&u heung j6-bihn hdahng daaih-yeuk
sahp f&n-jung jauh dou lak. Dou-j6 yduh-guk ji-hauh,
neih yiu tihn-s6 yat jdung gei bdau-gw6 ge biu-gaak,
bat-gwo g6 jdung b(u-gaak h6u g£an-ddan je. Bdau-gw6
gwo-b6ng ji-hauh, t6i-h&h yiu g6i-do chin, yihn-hauh
m^aih yduh-piu, tip-seuhng y&uh-piu, g^m jauh dak lak!
Tourist Ng6h ge bdau-gw6 rhh-haih-h6u-daaih, daahn-haih h6u
yuhng-yih laahn ge bo!
Clerk G&m jauh m&h-feiahn lak, ydn-waih y&uh-guk mh
bdu-jing bdau-gw6 I6uih-bihn ge y6h m6uh laahn ge.
Tourist G6m £h? D£ng ng6h n£m yat-h^h sin. Mh-gdi-saai.

seun-ji letter paper

nnlhng-seun-pin postcard
A PIP daaih-muhn-hau main doorway
P^ P muhn-hdu doorway
muhn
P'j door, gate
yduh-tung pillar box
fell bdau-gw6 parcel
jj^$yuhn-l6ih originally, actually, in fact
yuhng-yih easy
If %s£u-sln first of all

&
G baahk-jf blank paper
paper
febdau to wrap up
ift it deih-jf address
jftkShn near, close
A$ daaih-yeuk approximately
illtlhn-sd to fill in a form
im bfu-gaak a form
fSn g^an-ddan simple
tip-s6uhng to stick on
b6u-jing to guarantee
& n4m to think, to think about, to think over
7
Grammar 187
using

Yuhn-ldih
the
The meaning of yuhn-loih is originally, but you will
basic
probably most often meet it meaning in fact, so now 1
understand how it is. When people use the phrase they usually postal

are acknowledging that they had been under a misapprehension

about something, so it is a natural partner of the verb yih-waih system

to assume which you met in Unit 11:

Ngoh yih-waih keuih haih I thought she was Japanese but

Yaht-bun-yahn, daahn- actually she is Chinese. 20
haih yuhn-loih keuih
haih Jung-gwok-yahn.

8 The verb ending -hdu

Hou of course means good and very, but as a verb ending it
gives the idea that the action of the verb has been completed
satisfactorily:

Neih di mihng-seun-pin Have you written your postcards

se-hou meih a? yet?
Di seun ngoh da-hou lak. I’ve typed the letters.

There is only a slight difference between -hou and -yuhn as

verb endings: they both show that an action has come to an end,
but -hou indicates that the result of the action is a satisfactory
one.

9 Seuhng as a verb ending

Seuhng means onto, to go up. As a verb ending it also means
on or onto and you will find that it often matches English usage
quite closely:

se-seuhng deih-ji to write the address on

tip-seuhng yauh-piu to stickon stamps
Mh-goi neih daai-seuhng Please put on that hat.
go deng mou.
 Exercise 1
188
Some of the words in this exercise you have not met for quite a
using while. Try writing out your translations of the sentences and if
you have to look up some of the words make a list of them for
the
special study later.

postal
a Wohng Saang jeui ihh jung-yi yam yeuhk-seui.
b Mh-hou dang-daaih-deui-ngaahn tai-jyuh ngoh.
system
c Mh hahp-kwai-gaak ge bou-liu ddu dong haih chi-fo.
d Hai daaih-dong dou-chin dong-yin haih fei-faat la.
e Ngoh-deih yiu do-dl jyu-yi ngoh-deih dl jai tuhng neui ge
duhk-syu chihng-fong.

Exercise 2
Give the Cantonese for the following dates and times.

a 4 June b 1 July 1997 c 15 May 2004

d 6.15 p.m. Sunday 11 December e 31 August next year

Exercise 3
Choose which of the items in brackets best fits the sentence.

a Jeui sin yauh yauh-piu ge gwok-ga haih (Jung-gwok/Ying-

gwok/Yaht-bun).
b Sai-gaai daih-yat gaan yauh-guk haih hai (Leuhn-deun/Nau-
yeuk/Gwong-jau).
c Yih-ga sai-gaai seuhng jeui gwai ge yat go yauh-piu haih
(chiu-gwo yat-maahn Ying-bong/yat-maahn Ying-bong/mh
gau yat-maahn Ying-bong).
d Yauh-dT deih-fong, yauh-piu dong haih (yihn-gam/san-fan-
jing/fo-bun).

Exercise 4
Find suitable two-syllable Cantonese expressions using the clues
supplied. The answer to the first one would be cheut-gaai or
perhaps haahng-gaai.

a Leih-hoi uk-kei. ( )

b Yat go gwok-ga tuhng daih-yih go gwok-ga

da-gaau. ( )

c Cha-mh-do, jlk-haih . . . ( )

d Yuhng fei-gei wahn

ge seun. ( )

e Hai se-jih-lauh gwun-jyuh neih ge yahn. ( )

f Yat go yahn mh jeuk saam. ( )

 using

the

postal

system

Dou-cheuhng ge ging-leih hou mh hoi-sam lak! NT ngh go

pahng-yauh dou Leuhn-pun, hahm-baahng-laahng dou yehng-
gan chin. Dou-yih-ga-waih-ji keuih-deih yat-guhng yehng-jo
hgh-maahn-sei-chin-luhk-baak man Meih-gam. Yehng jeui do
ge haih Jeung Taai-taai, keuih yehng-jo hgh-maahn-sei-chin-
luhk-baak man ge saam-fahn-ji-yat. Daih-yih haih Hoh Sin-
saang, keuih yehng-jo sei-fahn-ji-yat. Daih-saam haih Wohng
Sin-saang, yehng-jo ngh-fahn-ji-yat. Daih-sei haih Leih Taai-
taai, yehng-jo luhk-fahn-ji-yat. Yehng jeui siu ge haih Chahn
Sin-saang, keuih bat-gwo* yehng-jo yih-sahp-fahn-ji-yat je.
(Chahn Saang wah mh-gan-yiu, yehng ge chin rhh do daahn-
haih dou haih hou-gwo syu!)

a Mh-goi neih nam-yat-nam, tai-hah muih yat go pahng-yauh

yehng-jo gei-do chin ne?
b Juhng yauh ne . Jeung Taai yehng-jo gam do chin seung
.
.

cheng di pahng-yauh yam-jau. Dl jau mh pehng, maaih ngh

go yahn ge jau yat-guhng yiu bei sei-ah-chat-go-bun gam do.
Jeung Taai gaau-jo yat jeung yat-baak man jf bei fo-gei, yih-
ga dang keuih jaau-faan gei-do a?

(*bat-gwo means but however but it also can mean only and
, , is
most often usedin this way with numbers.)
revision

(3)
Two short anecdotes about horses. The first is an old story about
and unflappability. The second is a typical Chinese joke about
faith
someone who gets things wrong through being literal-minded.

Passage 1
Gei baak nihn ji-chihn, hai Jimg-gwok bak-bouh deih-fong,
yauh yat go sing Wohng ge yauh-chin-yahn. Keuih yauh hou do
yauh gou yauh daaih yauh leng ge mah, keuih dou hou jung-yi
ni dl mah tim. Yauh yat yaht, yat jek hou leng daahn-haih gei
louh ge mah mh-gin-jo.* Wohng Sin-saang di pahng-yauh go-go
dou gok-dak hou ho-slk, keuih-deih dou gu Wohng Saang wuih
hou nau, hou ihh hoi-sam, daahn-haih ngaam-ngaam seung-
faan, keuih mh-jl ihh nau, yih-che juhng seung-seun jek mah
hou faai jauh wuih faan-laih tim. Gei yaht ji-hauh, jek louh mah
jan-haih faan-jo-laih lak. DI pahng-yauh dou wah Wohng Saang
hou-choi, keuih ji-haih siu-hah-gam wah: ‘Go jek louh mah slk
louh, keuih wuih wan louh faan-laih je.’

(* mh-gin-jo (no longer could be seen) lost, go missing)

Passage 2
Hou noih ji-chihn hai Gwong-jau yauh yat go yl-sang. Yauh yat
yaht keuih se-jo yat fung hou gan-yiu* ge seun bei jyuh hai daih-
yih go sihng-sih ge yl-sang. Go-jahn-sih Jung-gwok juhng-meih
yauh yauh-guk, yih-che keuih hou mohng mh dak-haahn ning
seun heui go-douh, so-ylh keuih giu keuih go jai bong keuih
ning-heui. Keuih deui go jai wah ‘NT fung seun hou gan-yiu, yiu
jeuhn-leuhng faai sung-dou bo! Nah, geuk yuht do yuht faai:
neih jl-yauh leuhng jek geuk mh gau sei jek geuk faai ge. Neih
bat-yuh yuhng ngoh jek mah heui la! Faai-dl a!’

Go hauh-saang-jai jau-jo laak, bah-ba dang keuih faan-laih. Keuih

mah loih-wohng go go deih-fong dou yiu baat go
ji-dou yat jek
jung-tauh gam-seuhng-ha. Gu-mh-dou keuih go jai gwo-jo leuhng
yaht sin-ji faan-laih, deui bah-ba hou hoi-sam gam wah: ‘Bah-ba,
ngoh faan-laihlak. Neih wah faai mh faai ne? Ngoh seung-laih-
seung-heui git-gwo seung-dou yat go hou faai ge baahn-faat.
Neih wah geuk yuht do yuht faai, leuhng jek geuk mh gau sei
jek geuk faai a . gam, ngoh laai-jyuh jek mah tuhng keuih
. .

yat-chaih haahng leuhng jek geuk mh gau sei jek geuk faai,
. . .

luhk jek geuk yat-dihng faai-gwo sei jek geuk, haih mh haih a?’

(* gan-yiu means important. You met it in Unit 2 in mh gan-yiu

never mind, it doesn’t matter or literally it is not important.)
 Exercise 1
192
Did you manage to work out what seung-laih-seung-heui
means? If you skipped over it, go back and try again. And then
revision

make an intelligent guess at the English equivalents of the

following.
(3)

a haahng-laih-haahng-heui
b jau-laih-jau-heui
c Ngoh-deih gong-ga gong-laih-gong-heui dou gong-mh-
maaih lak
Exercise 2
Perhaps you know something about horses? Can you say which
of the alternatives offered are correct?
a Yat jek pou-tung ge mah daaih-yeuk yauh (ngh-baak bohng/
chat-baak bohng/yat-chin bohng) chuhng.
b Yat jek mah daaih-yeuk dou (sahp-ngh seui/yih-sahp seui/
yih-sahp-ngh seui) jauh wuih sei ge lak.
c Yat jek mah muih yaht jeui-siu yiu wahn-duhng (bun go
jung-tauh/yat go jung-tauh/sei go jung-tauh) sin-ji wuih
gihn-hong ge.
d Yat jek mah muih yaht jeui-siu yiu sihk (sahp bohng/yih-
sahp bohng/saam-sahp bohng) yeh.

Exercise 3
Oh dear, it’s my memory again! I have to keep a diary or I will
forget what I have to do, but it seems that when I was filling it 193
in for 23 May I forgot to write down what it was I had to
remember! think this scrap of paper I found in my pocket has
revision

the information on it, but it’s hard to understand. Can you fill
(3)
in the diary entries for me in English, please?

Hai Daaih-wuih-tdhng tuhng Jeung Siu-je sihk an-jau.

Tuhng Hoh Heung-gong Jau-dim yam-jo baat go jih
Sfu-je hai
jau, yihn-hauh jauh yat-chaih haahng ngh fan jung louh heui
tai-hei.
Dou leuih-yauh gung-sl 16 gei-piu.
Heui Wohng ging-leih se-jih-lauh bun go jung-tauh ji-chihn jauh
yiu da-dihn-wa giu dlk-si laih lak.

Exercise 4
You have learned a lot of vocabulary now, so much that you
know more than one way of saying some things. Try finding
another word with the same or almost the same meaning as the
following.

a daaih-yeuk b yat-guhng c bat-gwo

d tauh-sln e gaan-jung f dim-gaai

Exercise 5
A few more Chinese children’s puzzles to make you groan.
What are the (fiendishly difficult) answers - in Cantonese please?
a Johk-yaht tin-hei hou yiht. Jeung Sin-saang hai uk ngoih-
bihn jouh wahn-duhng, jouh-jo yat go jung-tauh gam noih.
Keuih dou wah mh-haih-hou-san-fu, mh taai yiht. Dim-gaai
ne?
b Jeung Sin-saang haih yat go laahp-saap-che sl-gei, muih yaht
keuih ja laahp-saap-che cheut-gaai ge sih-hauh dou yauh hou
do yahn ning dl laahp-saap laih keuih ga che syu. Ji-haih
gam-yaht keuih ja-che cheut-gaai, mouh yahn ning laahp-
saap laih. Dim-gaai ne?
c Wohng Sin-saang mh jouh-yeh. Keuih yaht-yaht dou yuhng
hou do chin, nihn-nihn dou heui leuih-yauh, sih-sih dou
maaih jeui gwai ge san che. Yih-sahp nihn ji-hauh keuih
sihng-waih yat go yauh yat-baak-maahn man ge yauh-chin
yahn lak. Dim-gaai ne?

Exercise 6
No two people seem to agree exactly on anything. Here are
some comments by different people about Mr Wong’s new car.
Can you put their different views accurately into Cantonese?
 a It’s a very handsome car.
194 Mr
b It’s handsome, it’s true, but not as handsome as
Cheung’s new car.
revision

c It’s not very handsome.

d It’s not big enough.

(3)
e It’s too expensive.
f It’s the most handsome car in the world.

g It’s much more handsome than my car is.

h It’s just as large and just as expensive as Mr Cheung’s new car.

Exercise 7
Supply the missing words in the following sentences. Be careful:
there may be more than one possibility and you should try to get
the best.

a NT sin-saang haih Wohng ging-leih.

b Keuih yat man dou mh hang bei go go mouh chin ge
yahn.
c Ngoh mah-ma haih baat-sahp-ngh seui gam .

d Keuih laih-jo -noih a? Ngoh mh ji, daaih-yeuk leuhng-

saam go sing-keih, waahk-je yauh sei go sing-keih gam
lak.
e Ngoh ngh-sahp-chat seui, neih bat-gwo haih sei-sahp-gau
seui je. Ngoh -gwo neih baat seui.

Exercise 8
Usually one person picks up the bill when Cantonese people
dine out, and ‘going Dutch’ is rare. Still, sometimes it is felt that
for one person to pay for everyone would be too much, so
different shares are agreed. Someone draws a ghost’s leg waahk-
gwai-geuk (gwai is a ghost), a ladder diagram with one vertical
line for each person and a share written at the bottom of each.
With the shares covered up, each person can add a horizontal
line anywhere in the diagram or indeed can choose not to add a
line at all. Then one by one they trace out their fate, going down
their vertical until the first horizontal, which they must follow
to the next vertical, down that to the next horizontal, follow
that . and so on down to the bottom. Six friends have recently
. .

had two meals each costing $2,000. On each occasion they

agreed to make one share of $800, one of $500, one of $400,
one of $300 and two zero-sum shares. Diagram A shows the
ghost’s leg asdrawn at the first meal and Diagram B shows four
additional lines, which four of the participants decided to put in
at thesecond meal. You should have no difficulty in working
out to pay how much each time and how the situation
who had
was changed by the extra lines.
Diagram A
Wohng L6ih J6ung Hoh Chahn Heui

a Wohng Sin-saang A-geuk yiu bei do-dl dihng-haih B-geuk

yiu bei do-dl ne?
b B-geuk haih bln wai yiu bei baat-baak man a?
c Jeung Sin-saang A-geuk yiu bei, B-geuk dou yiu bei. B-geuk
keuih yiu bei do gei-do chin a?
d Keuih-deih yat-chaih waan A-geuk tuhng B-geuk, gam, bin
wai yiu bei jeui siu chin ne? bln wai yiu bei jeui do chm ne?

Exercise 9
Each of the sentences in this exercise uses one of the new
grammar patterns from the last six units. If you can put them all
into good Cantonese you can congratulate yourself on having
really mastered some difficult material.

a When my mother speaks on the telephone she speaks quite

slowly.
b Waiter, this coffee is not hot enough,
c Would you like beer or water?
d That pen of yours which you bought last month is not as
expensive as this one of mine,
e She told me to tell you what time you should come,
f Mr Wong doesn’t even like eating lobster,
g Two-thirds of these books are in Chinese,
h He gets richer and richer.
 Exercise 10
196
Translate into English.

revision Heung-gong ge tin-hei Chat-yuht, Baat-yuht, Gau-yuht hou

yiht. Tin-hei yihtge sih-hauh dl yahn hou jung-yi choh dik-si,
(3) yan-waih dik-si yauh do yauh syu-fuhk. Dim-gaai syu-fuhk ne?
Yan-waih ga-ga dou yauh laahng-hei. Yat ga dik-si ho-yih
choh-dak sei waahk-je ngh go yahn, mh-sai hou do chin, hou
pehng je. Pou-tung hei-che yauh laahm-slk ge, yauh luhk-slk ge,
baahk-slk, huhng-slk, hak-slk, wohng-slk, mat-yeh slk dou
yauh, daahn-haih dik-si mh tuhng, ga-ga dou haih huhng-slk
tuhng-maaih ngahn-slk ge.
the

office

In this unit you will learn

• some useful terms for the
work environment
• two or three really colloquial
speech patterns to add
liveliness to your
conversation
198 Dialogue 1

? Two friends discuss office working conditions.

i
S #?

m
* •
•

ftttttxtf ?
•

XfcmnMM*** &#S«Pp1Stf;*Ssi>?A jSBIx^^^d^

! - ?

W SfSil£«JIHW£+tt
° •

Mtt-tawiflis ?

s**-+0fc***«*a ° •
*?ft&

• X 5fc£&M;bDAm*ft£I]JS$ •

Mr Wong A-Ch£n, yih-ga cha-mh-do g^u-dim lo bo, dim-gaai

n6ih juhng h£i nT-syu sihk j6u-ch&an ne? Mh-s6i
f&an-gung me?
Mr Chan Mh haih, ng6h yiu f^an-gung, ng6h f&an g£u-dfm-
bun a.
Mr Wong N6ih-deih gung-sT y£uh daahn-sing sduhng-baan
jai-douh me?
Mr Chan Haih a. Y6uh gau-dim tuhng g£u-dim-bun leuhng
baan.
Mr Wong G&m, gei-dim fong-gung a?
Mr Chan Luhk-dim fong-gung. H£i hah-jau y&uh g£u go jih

sihk an-jau.
Mr Wong Gung-jok sih-gaan dou-gdi cheuhng bo! Sihk an-jau
ge sih-gaan jauh taai dyun lak. Gwo-sih gung-jok
yauh mouh chin bdu ga?
Mr Chan Yauh. Muih go jung-t&uh bou-faan saam-baak-righ-
sahp man.
Mr Wong Juhng yauh dl mat-ydh fuk-leih a?
Mr Chan Muih nihn yauh yih-sahp yaht haih yauh s&n-seui ge
ga-keih. Nihn-meih yauh seung-san, yauh yi-liuh jeun-
tip, yauh j&i-neui gaau-yuhk jeun-tip, neuih-jlk-yuhn

juhng y£uh sahp go laih-baai fan-mfhn ga-kdih.

Teui-yau ge sih-hauh juhng hd-yih dak-dou teui-yau-
gam tim. Wohng Sin-saang fun-yihng neih g^-yahp
ngoh-deih gung-sT fuhk-mouh.
Mr Wong Neih g6ng-siu me!? Ngoh taai louh, mouh yuhng la!
 m A- familiar prefix for names and
relationships the
^#j6u-ch&an breakfast
iHl fdan-gung to go to work office

$|!t£ daahn-sing flexible

_tij£ s6uhng-baan to go to work, go on shift
$JS jai-douh system
fong-gung to finish work
an-jau midday, early afternoon,
lunchtime-, lunch
I ft: gung-jok work, job: to work
M chduhng long
$2 dyun short
gwo-sih overtime
Mb6u to compensate
$I#J fuk-leih benefits, welfare
|fi7.K shn-s6ui salary
ga-kdih holiday
£§r sdung-shn double salary
or sdung-lduhng
mm yi-nuh medical
j&un-tip allowance, grant
ff £ jai-n6ui sons and daughters, children
jTk-yuhn staff, employee, clerk
^£fcfhn-mfhn to give birth
teui-ydu to retire
teui-ydu-gam pension
Sf Iffi fun-yihng welcome, to welcome

Grammar
1 Familiar terms of address
In Unit 6 you learned that Louh old is used with surnames as a
familiar way of addressing someone. You can refer to a younger
person or a child by putting Shi- (little) in front of their name.
In both cases a surname which has a mid level, low level or low
falling tone changes to a mid rising tone. Another way is to put
A- in front of the surname (again with the same tone changes).
In fact the sound A- seems to be intimately connected with
referring to or addressing people. It can be used with personal
names as well (someone with the name Chahn JI Bak, for
instance, might be addressed as A-Bak by his family and friends)
and it can be used with kinship terms (you could address your
father as A-ba instead of bah-ba). It is almost as though when
you
2 say A- you are warning your listener that you are about to
talk to them or to talk about a person.

Faan-gung and fong-gung

In Unit 3 you met faan meaning to return or to go where you
usually go: one of the examples was faan se-jih-lauh to go to the
Gung means work and jouh-gung means to do work, to
office.
work. Faan-gung means to go to work in the same way that
faan se-jih-lauh means to go to the office, but to finish work and
to leave the office at the end of the day are both expressed the
same way - fong-gung.
It is worth noting for your own use the colloquial way in which
in the dialogue Mr Chan says that he goes in to work at 9.30:
ngoh faan gau-dim-bun.

O Fun with characters

me?
The Chinese character used for me? is an interesting one: it shows
a mouth and a sheep and so indicates the bleating of a sheep, which
is rather what me? sounds like. The character for ma? shows a

mouth and a horse, but you may find that a less convincing sound
guide - everyone English-speaking person knows that horses go
‘neigh’ not ‘ma’, don’t they?

3 The long and the short of it

Another pair of opposites: cheuhng long and dyun short. Both

of them can be used for periods of time, as they are in the
dialogue, but they are equally good for distances (a long piece
of string, a short pencil) and even for more abstract things like
a long novel and a shortcoming.

4 The tail again

In Unit 17 you met yuht-meih the end of the month and in this
unit there is nihn-meih the end of the year. Meih literally means

the tail, but since tails are found at the end, it is logical enough
that it should also mean the end and you will probably meet it
One common expression is daih-mei the last (note the
quite often.
tone change), which of course contrasts with daih-yat the first.
5 Sons and daughters
Jai-neui means sons and daughters and you need to bear that in the
mind when translating the word children. Only use jai-neui
where sons and daughters would be appropriate. In English it office

would sound odd to say Oh look, there are several hundred sons
and daughters over there in the school playground - you would
say children. Similarly in Cantonese you would not use jai-neui
in this case, you would use sai-man-jai children.

O Double salary
The Chinese have traditionally used two separate calendars, a lunar
and a solar one. To keep them roughly in step it has been necessary
to add an extra month into 7 years in every 1 9. So lunar years consist
of either 12 or 13 months. Chinese monthly salaries are nowadays
usually paid according to the western solar calendar in which,
of
course, the years always have only 12 months, but it has become
a custom among some employers to pay an additional month’s
salary every solar year as if it were a 13-month lunar year: it is the
equivalent perhaps of a western ‘Christmas bonus’. That is what is
referred to in the dialogue as sdung-s&n double salary.

Dialogue 2
Interviewing a secretary for a job.

mm ? i

m • ?
mm*m$i*.**a.* •
***eiKfl]*i •

ta attfft&aw
• °

mnn •

9t ° «»
pj
UVPBZitt -

Manager L6ih Siu-j6, neih s&n-chfng jouh ng6h-deih gung-sT ge

bei-syu, ng6h ngaam-ngaam gin-gwo neih d£-jih lak,
biu-yihn dou-g6i h6u. Neih sTk mh slk yuhng dihn-nouh a?
 Miss Lee Glng-I6ih sin-s&ang, deui-mh-jyuh, ngoh rhh sTk.
Manager Mh slk me? Gam-sih-gam-yaht yuhng dihn-nouh
rhh slk
the
rhh dak bo! Gam, neih slk rhh slk yuhng chyuhn-j&n-g&i a?
Miss Lee NT-dT sin-jeun ge chit-beih ngoh gin dou meih gin-gwo,
office

dong-yin rhh slk yuhng la. Bat-gwo yuh-gw6 ging-leih hang

bei gei-wuih ngoh, ngoh wuih h6u b6i sam-gei hohk ge.
Manager N6ih h£i Seuhng-h6i jouh-gwo gei-do nihn bei-syu a?
Miss Lee Chd-rhh-do yauh sahp-chat nihn lak.
Manager Hai Seuhng-h6i ge s6-jih-lduh yauh g6i-do w£i bei-syu a?
Miss Lee Ji yauh ngoh yat go haih bei-syu, ng6h yiu duhk-laahp

chyu-l6ih yat-chai gung-sT ge mahn-gin, yih-ch6 yiu jihk-

jip heung ging-l6ih fuh-jaak.

IS Manager H6u la! Ng6h jauh ch6ng ndih la! Bat-gwo daih-yat go
yuht haih si-yuhng-kdih, ng6h sdung t£i-h£h n6ih ge
gung-jok biu-yihn sin. K6ih-t& ch&uhng-sai ge fuk-leih
tuhng gung-jok tiuh-gin, d&ng gwo-j6 si-yuhng-kdih joi
g6ng la. Neih ting-yaht h6-yfh laih hdi-gung lak.
Miss Lee D6-jeh ging-ldih. Ting-yaht gin.

bei-syu secretary
£T? dd-jih to type (lit: to hit characters)
#J?«d4-Jih-g« typewriter
d£-jih-yuhn typist

H5& bfu-yihn performance, to perform

m,m dihn-n6uh computer (lit: electric brain)
gdm-sih-g&m-yaht nowadays
chyuhn-jdn-gdi fax machine
chyuhn-jdn fax, to fax
sin-jeun advanced
r Mng to be willing to
M’S? gdi-wuih chance, opportunity
&4S sdm-gdi mind, thoughts
Seuhng-h6i Shanghai
Si duhk-laahp independent, independently
chyu-l6ih to handle, manage, deal with

—ty yat-chai every single one of, the whole

run of, all

m&hn-gfn document
jihk-jip direct, directly
fuh-jaak to be responsible
si-yuhng-kdih probationary period, trial period
pjffl ch&uhng-sai detailed, minute, fine
ft ft Cuh-gln a condition, terms
MI hdi-gung to start work, to start a job
 . . .

Grammar
6
203
the

Simply must
office

You probably found no with the sentence Gam-sih-

difficulty
gam-yaht ihh sik yuhng dihn-nouh mh dak bo! (In today’s
world you simply must know how to use a computer!). Note
how the pattern works: it is mh + verb + mh dak, that is, if you
7
don’t verb it won’t do! or you simply must verb! Here are some
other examples:

Go di ha neih mh You really must eat those

sihk mh dak. prawns.
8
Wohng Taai wah neih mh Mrs Wong says you simply
heui taam keuih mh dak. must go to visit her.

Never even . .

In the dialogue gam sin-jeun ge chit-beih ngoh

Miss Lee says
gin dou meih gin-gwo haven’t even seen such newfangled
I
9
equipment. The pattern gin dou meih gin-gwo may have struck
a chord with you - do you remember the lihn dou . . . . .

pattern which you met

Unit 17? Here instead of lihn + dou
in
the same verb appears twice + dou, but the meaning is still not
even. . .

Sam-gei
Sam-gei is word
quite a difficult to grasp. Its closest equivalent
in English is mind but perhaps
, the following examples of its
most common usage will be the easiest way to come to terms
with it:

Ngoh wuih hou bei I will do my best to give my

sam-gei hohk. mind to learning it.

Ngoh mouh sam-gei heui. I have no enthusiasm for going.

Keuih hou mouh sam-gei. She’s very out of sorts/listless/
without enthusiasm/
non-committal.

Direct and indirect

Jihk-jip literally means directly in contact and so directly. Its
opposite is gaan-jip touching at an interval, that is, indirectly.
 . .

204 10 Fuh-jaak to be responsible to

the Note the way in which this word
used with heung.
fuh-jaak is

Miss Lee says heung gmg-leih

in the dialogue that she jihk-jip
office
fuh-jaak was directly answerable to the manager. You met
heung first in Unit 6 where it meant towards , but here it may
be better to think of it as meaning something like vis-a-vis or
as regards. There was a similar example in the first dialogue
of Unit 19: heung ngahn-hohng tau-ji to be overdrawn at
(vis-a-vis) the bank.

Exercise 1
The following questions all use me? The short answer (either
Haih or Mh haih) has been supplied. In each case supply the
long full answer after the short one. For instance, the first
answer would be Mh haih, ngoh mh haih Meih-gwok-yahn.
Easy? Well, you may need to watch your step . . .

a Neih haih Meih-gwok-yahn me? Mh haih, . . .

b Wohng Sin-saang dl jai-neui yuht-laih-yuht-waaih me?

Haih, . .

c Neih meih sihk-gwo jou-chaan me? Haih, . . .

d Keuih mh-haih-gei-jung-yi faan-gung me? Mh haih, . .

e Ying-gwok-yahn tuhng Jimg-gwok-yahn yat-yeuhng gam

jung-yi tai-bo me? Haih, . . .

Exercise 2
Fill in the blanks.

a Gau go yahn yat-go-yat-go-gam haahng-louh, daih-yat go

ho-yih wah haih ‘tauh-yat go’: daih-gau go ne? Ho-yih wah
haih ‘daih- go’.
b Wohng Siu-je sehng-yaht da-dihn-wa ngoh, saai ngoh
hou do sih-gaan!
c Chahn Taai baat-dim-gau-go-jih sin-ji faan se-jih-lauh.
Ngoh baat-dim.
d ‘Keuih bah-ba ji-haih jouh-gwo yih-sahp nihn yl-sang jauh
teui-yau lak.’ ‘Wah, gam sih-gaan! Keuih dl behng-yahn
tai yi-sang yat-dihng yiu bei hou do chin la!’

Exercise 3
Supply an appropriate verb ending in each of the blanks.
a Wai-lihm yih-ga sihk- faahn, chih-dl ho-yih cheut-gaai
waan.
b Laahng ah? Dong-yin mh gok-dak laahng. Ngoh jeuk-
hou nyuhn ge saam a.
c Ngoh meih si- luhng-ha. Hou mh hou sihk a?
d DI ha sihk- lak; yih-ga lihn yat jek dou mouh lak.
205
e Wai! Neih wan bln wai a? Hoh Sfu-je ne? £)u, Hoh Sfu-je
ngaam-ngaam haahng- -jo lak. Keuih faan-laih ngoh !
wuih wah keuih jl neih da-gwo dihn-wa laih lak. I
Exercise 4
Some higher mathematical problems for you to solve (in
Cantonese, of course).
a Wohng Sfu-je ge san-seuimh gou, bat-gwo haih ngh-chln-
sei-baak man yat go yuht. Hou-choi keuih nihn-meih yauh
seung-san. Gam, keuih yat mhn yat-guhng 16 gei-do chin a?
b Chahn Saang Sei-yuht ge san-seui haih yih-maahn-ngh-chin
man. Hoh Saang Sei-yuht faan-jo baat yaht gimg, muih yaht
16 ge chin yauh saam-chin man gam do. Go go yuht Chahn
Saang dihng-haih Hoh Saang 16 ge chin do ne?
c Wohng Taai hou haan. Yan-waih choh deih-tit gwai-gwo
choh ba-sf, keuih juhng-meih choh-gwo deih-tit. Choh sfu-ba
dou mouh choh ba-sf gam pehng, so-yfh keuih hou sfu daap
sfu-ba. Gam-yaht keuih haahng-louh heui sfh-cheuhng,
maaih-jo jeui pehng jeui pehng daahn-haih mh san-sln ge ha
tuhng-maaih bun-gan ngauh-yuhk, yauh maaih-jo yat-dl
keih-ta sung. Ngauh-yuhk maaih sahp-ngh man yat gan, dl
ha bat-gwo yiu chat-go-bun, keih-ta sung jf-haih sei-go-baat
ngahn-chfn je. Keuih maaih-jo ge yeh hou chuhng, mh choh
ba-sf faan uk-kei rhh dak. Daap ba-sf yiu leuhng-go-luhk.
Nah, Wohng Taai gam-yaht yat-guhng yuhng-jo gei-do
chin a?
d Ngoh bah-ba sei-jo hou noih lak, mah-ma juhng hai-syu;
yauh sei go hlng-daih, saam go jf-muih; yauh ngoh taai-taai
tuhng-maaih ngh go jai-neui. Ngoh-deih hahm-baahng-
laahng dou jyuh hai yat chahng mh daaih mh sai ge lau.
Cheng-mahn yat-guhng yauh gei-do go yahn a?
Exercise 5
The idea of this silly game is to climb the Peak. But it is a game
full of social significance: to live on the Peak (saan-deng) is the
height (so to speak) of ambition for many people in Hong Kong!
You will need a die and at least one opponent (if he/she/they
cannot read the instructions, so much the better for you!). Start
at the airport where you arrive penniless. Just as in real life, it’s

very hard to win!

By the way, hei-dfm lift-off point and jung-dfm end point mean
startand finish in board games like this.
eating

out

in

Hong

Kong

In this unityou will learn

• more about food
 •

O Dialogue 1 209
A food-loving visitor talks with a Hong Kong gourmet. eating

out

in

Hong

wm*mm%Psm®% •
mmw- •

i
OS o
Kong

m& ym \ smsm •

• f*****feOTf ?
23

pq '
VftffMfim*'
flUMSSB**
M-» •
Stiff £«;MI3fffftittft±ftff •
ft**®® rn °

SO§*flift«Sit£ffgB BftiffffMnJS ?

Visitor Ng6h I&ih-j6 H6ung-g6ng ch^-mh-do y&uh I6uhng

go I6ih-baai lak, deui Heung-gong ge jau-ga tuhng
chaan-teng dou y£uh h6u-g&m. Ng6h gok-dak yat go
l&ih H6ung-g6ng w£an ge y&uh-haak yuh-gw6 mh heui

j&u-ga si-h£h Jung-gwok-choi, g£m, j&n-haih yat go

daaih syun-sat lak.

Local N6ih h6u jung-yi sihk Jung-gwok-choi me?

Visitor H6i H6ung-g6ng Jung-gwok-choi mh-ji jung-leuih d6,
fun-sik ch&ih-chyuhn, ga-chihn pdhng, ylh-ch6
sik-h6ung-meih dou haih yat-l&uh ge.
Local Ch6ng-mahn n6ih h£i gwai-gwok jouh mat-y6h
s&ang-yi ga?
Visitor Ng6h haih Faat-gwok-y&hn, ng6h h6i
chaan-t§ng ge.
Local Mh-gwaai-dak n6ih deui sihk-maht gam y&uh yihng-sik
la. N6ih jeui jung-yi sihk mat-y6h a?

Visitor Gw6ng-dung dim-sam tuhng h6i-sTn.

Local H6-slk jeui-gahn-gei-nlhn H6ung-g6ng ge h6i-sTn
yuht-l&ih-yuht-gwai. H6i j£u-ga sihk-j6 h6i-sTn ji-hauh
ng6h y^uh-sih mh g£m giu ‘M&aih-daan\ rhh jl

daai-l&ih ge chin gau rhh gau. ‘Wu-yihm’ ng6h gu

jauh haih jihk-jip ying-h6ung hdi-sln ga-chihn ge
yuhn-y&n lak.
 Visitor Juhng y&uh yat dim, ngoh gu Heung-g6ng ge jau-l&uh
210
tuhng chaan-teng haih sai-gaai seuhng jeui dd, jeui
eating jaahp-jung ge lak. N6ih t£i, Hdung-gong y£uh yat tiuh
gaai bat-gwo Iduhng gung-l6ih gam chduhng j7-m£h,
out
j£u-lduh tuhng chaan-teng jauh chiu-gwo ngh-baak gdan
in lak. Ng6h mh ji bln-syu y£uh gam d6 gu-haak yaht-yaht

dou Idih bdng-chan ne?

Hong
Local N6ih hai Heung-g6ng jyuh noih-dF, ndih jauh j) dfm-g&ai
ge lak.
Kong

;H % j3u-ga Chinese restaurant

23 SB chaan-teng restaurant serving

non-Chinese food
h6u-g£m favourable impression, good
opinion
choi food, cuisine vegetables
;

jf&syun-sat a loss
&3Ijung-leuih type, kind, species, variety
chdih-chyuhn complete, all embracing
feSHfc slk-hdung-meih appearance, aroma and flavour
If hdung fragrant, nice smelling
— yat-lduh
3ft first rate
It 9 gwai-gwok your country
Mhdi to run a business, start a business
mh-gwaai-dak no wonder
sihk-maht food
yihng-sTk to recognize, to be
knowledgeable about,
to understand
fllJC Gw6ng-dung Guangdong (province)
dim-sam ‘dim sum', hot delicacies for
breakfast or lunch
MM h6i-sTn seafood
if ^ Mdaih-daan May 1 have the bill?
(in restaurants)
wu-yfhm pollution, to pollute
*2#yfng-h6ung to affect, influence
® 0 yuhn-y&n reason
dim a point, a spot, a dot
H4 3 jaahp-jung concentrated, centralized
gung-l6ih a kilometre
HI? gu-haak customer, client
bdng-chan to patronize, give custom to
 ?

Grammar 211

1 Sung and choi eating

In Unit4 you met the term jyu-choi for main course and it is the out
same word choi which appears in this unit meaning food or cuisine :
in

Jung-gwok-choi Chinese food Hong

Gwong-dung-choi Cantonese food

Bak-ging-choi Peking food (Bak-ging = Beijing/ Peking)
Kong
Sei-chyun-choi Sichuan food
(Sei-chyun = Sichuan/Szechwan)

The basic meaning of choi vegetables:

is
23
Ngoh-deih yauh yuhk, We have meat why , don’t we
dim-gaai mouh choi a? have any vegetables
Both meat and vegetables are included in the word sung (see
Unit4), but maaih-choi and maaih-sung mean the same thing -
shopping for food. Confusing isn’t it?

Q Where does Cantonese come from?

The word Canton probably comes from a Portuguese romanization
of the Cantonese word Gw6ng-dung. Gw6ng-dung is the name of
the province of which the capital city is Gw6ng~jdu. It is somewhat
confusing that Canton became the name by which the city rather than
the province was known to the west. It is even more confusing that
in the province there are a number of Chinese languages spoken, of

which what we call Cantonese is only one. Casting the history aside,
the situation now the province is called Gw6ng-dung, the
is clear:

capital city is Gw6ng-jdu and the language which you are

called
learning, which is the language of Gw6ng-j&u, is known as Gw6ng-
jau-Wci. By the way, the official name of the city is actually Guangzhou,
which is the Putonghua (Mandarin) version of Gw6ng-jdu.

2 Not only . . . but also

The pattern which but also ... is quite
translates not only . . .

straightforward: mh-ji
yih-che. (dou).
.
.
Dou is not
. . . . . .

essential to the pattern, but as so often when plural ideas are

mentioned it is likely to be used:
Wohng Sin-saang mh-ji sik Mr Wong cannot only
gong Ying-mahn yih-che Yaht- speak English, his
mahn dou gong-dak hou hou. Japanese is very good too.
 ?

212 3 Sik-heung-meih
eating
You met meih in Unit 4 in the term hou-meih delicious. Its
basic meaning is flavour. Sik means colour or appearance ,

out
and heung means nice smelling, fragrant (as in Heung-gong
in Fragrant Harbour = Hong Kong). The three together make up
the three qualities which ideally all Chinese food is supposed
Hong
to have - good appearance, good aroma, good flavour. As
with other set phrases, do not be tempted to use the individual
Kong
words outside this phrase. Of the three, only heung is a ‘free’
word which you can use in normal speech like any other
adjective/verb:
23
Chahn Taai, nl dl sung hou Mrs Chan, this food smells
heung. Neih jan-haih wonderful. You really know
hou sik jyu-sung bo! how to cook!

4 Honorific words
Way in Unit 1 you met gwai-sing a? what is your surname
back
and was explained that this actually meant what is your
it

distinguished name? (Later you met the same word gwai

meaning expensive.) Chinese politeness traditionally demanded
that other people’s attributes and belongings were always
spoken of as precious honourable , distinguished and so on,
,

while one’s own were always mentioned as despicable , humble ,

miserable etc. In the dialogue the Hong Kong man is properly

polite when he asks the visitor what his occupation is in his
honourable country (gwai-gwok). Much of the very fancy
honorific terminology is no longer used, you will be relieved to
hear, but it is still polite to ‘cry up’ other people and to ‘play
down’ yourself. You will find that when you try out your halting
Cantonese on someone, he or she will inevitably come back at
you by saying what wonderful Cantonese you speak - that is the
polite thing for them to say. Do not be fooled into believing
them and, above all, even if you happen arrogantly to think
them to be correct, do not reply I know I do or Thank you very
much, I am a genius at languages. You should always respond
by saying, for instance, how poorly you speak it, how ashamed
you are at speaking so little or how you can only say a very few
words.
O The extremes of politeness 213
Arthur Smith in his famous book Chinese Characteristics, published eating

in 1 900, tells a Chinese story of a visitor who, while waiting in his best

robes for his host to come in, is drenched in oil when a rat knocks out

a jar off the beam above his head. When his host enters, the in

guest explains what has happened: ‘As entered your honourable I

Hong

apartment and seated myself under your honourable beam, I

inadvertently terrified your honourable rat, which fled and upset your
Kong
honourable oil-jar upon my mean and insignificant clothing, which is
the reason of my contemptible appearance in your honourable
presence.’ Now, that is politeness!
23

Dialogue 2
William has his own way of beating inflation.

m •
fts^***^ m •
i

sriBfc®
rn •
•
9t*.
JflAftfltREB***
•
m • °

•
-/fl*B **]«»*« •

Mr Ho Wai-lihm, dim-g^ai n6ihgam haak-hei ch6ng ng6h

l&ih nTg&an chaan-teng sihk-faahn a? Haih rhh
haih n6ih g&m-yaht s&ang-yaht a? Gung-h6i!
Gung-h6i!
William Ng6h mh haih g&m-yaht s&ang-yaht. M6uh dahk-biht
yi-yih ge, jf-haihng6h t6ng-d6u yat go siu-slk wah nT
g&an chaan-teng jauh-faai yiu chaak la, ng6h yauh h6u
jung-yi h£i nT gaan chaan-teng sihk-y6h, s6-yih ng6h
jauh yiu-ch6ng neih l&ih yat-chaih sihk-faahn je.

Mr Ho Ng6h mh ji-dou n6ih gam jung-yi nT g&an gauh

chaan-teng ge bo.
 .

William Haih a, ngoh juhng h6u jung-yi waaih-gauh tim. Yfl .

214 .

dim-gaai g&m-yaht chaan-pdtai dT sung gwai-gwo johk-

eating yaht ge gam d6 ge? Ngoh johk-yaht ngaam-ngaam
sin-ji hai nl-syu sihk-gwo faahn je!

out
Waiter Deui-rhh-jyuh la, sin-saang, neih-deih j&n-haih rhh hou-
in ch6i lak. Ngoh-deih g&an chaan-teng ngaam-ngaam

yauh g&m-yaht hoi-chi g&-ga. Yuh-gw6 n6ih-deih

Hong
johk-yaht laih sihk-faahn, ngoh-deih ge chaan-teng
juhng-meih g&-ga.
Kong
William N6ih-deih johk-yaht ge sihk-maht chyuhn-bouh dou haih
maaih gauh ga ah?
Waiter Haih a.
23 William Hou ak. Ng6h yiu yat tiuh jok-yaht n6ih-deih maaih-jihng
ge y&uh-s6ui g&n johk-yaht maaih-jihng ge
yu, yat
y&uh-s6ui ha, tuhng-m&aih yat df johk-yaht maaih-jihng
ge s^ang-gwo tim.
Mr Ho H&! Yuhn-ldih n6ih deui sihk-maht dou w&aih-gauh ge.

£0 sdang-yaht birthday
! gung-h6i! congratulations!
dahk-biht special, especially
MM yi-yih meaning, significance
MM siu-slk news, item of news, information
sfc$jauh-faai soon
fit chaak to demolish, tear down
yiu-ch6ng to invite
tSff wdaih-gauh nostalgia, to be nostalgic
chaan-p£ai menu
M&hdi-chf to begin, to start
g^-ga
infll to increase price
± chyuhn-bouh all, the whole lot
M -jihng verb ending: left over, surplus
fa yu fish

! hd! 'the sound of laughter', ha! ha!

Q Different restaurants
You have now met three different words for restaurant: j£u-l£uh, j^u-
ga and chaan-teng. The first two are used in the titles of restaurants
serving Chinese food and both include j£u in the name, probably
reflecting the fact that Chinese people generally only drink alcohol
when they are eating on special occasions. Restaurants which call
themselves chaan-teng serve styles of cuisine other than Chinese.
 . f

There is a similar distinction in words for eating. Sihk-faahn would

normally imply eating a proper meal of Chinese food, whereas 215
sihk-chaan means to have a meal of western food or some other eating

non-Chinese variety. English-style breakfast is quite popular with

many Chinese and the word for breakfast used nowadays is usually out

j6u-chaan, but the evening meal is m£ahn-faahn or mdahn-chaan in

depending on the style of food eaten.
Hong

Oddly, there no distinction in the normal pair of words which

is

contrast western and Chinese cuisines. Western food is sdi-chaan, Kong

as you might expect, but Chinese food is Tdhng-chaan.

23
Grammar
5 Birthdays
Saang means either to be born or to give birth to. Saang-yaht
is the day of birth birthday. Saang-yaht is unusual in that
,

although it doesn’t appear to be a verb it doesn’t seem to need

any other verb either. Note the first speech of Mr Ho in the
dialogue: Haih mh haih neih gam-yaht saang-yaht a? - Is it your
birthday today ? What he actually seems to be saying is Is it the
case that you are birth day ing today Don’t worry about it, just
accept that this is how saang-yaht is usually used.

6 Inviting people
Yiu-chmg means to invite and so does cheng (which is actually
a colloquial version of the second element in yiu-chmg). There
is no real difference in meaning, but yiu-chmg is slightly more
formal than cheng.

7 Starting from . .

Yauh means from (see Unit 6) and it pairs with hoi-chi to begin
to make a pattern for starting from. ... In the dialogue the
waiter says yauh gam-yaht hoi-chi meaning starting from today.
You can use the pattern quite freely:
Yauh luhk-dim-jung hoi- There are lots of trains
chi yauh hou do fo-che. from 6 o’clock onwards.
Yauh sahp-baat seui hoi-chi keuih She hasn’t had meat
jauh meih sihk-gwo yuhk la. since she was 1 8.
216 Q Swimming seafood
eating
Cantonese cuisine excels treatment of seafood, but the food
in its
is only considered properly fresh if it is alive until the last possible

out
moment before cooking. The best seafood restaurants (h6i-sTn j£u-
in ga) have large saltwater tanks in which the fish, prawns and shellfish
are kept alive and customers can select what they wish to eat from
Hong
this swimming seafood (y£uh-s£ui h6i-sTn).

Kong Exercise 1

Select the words which will make sense of the following

sentences.

23 a Heung-gong yauh hou do (yat-guhng/yat-chai/yat-lauh/

yat-sih) ge jau-dim.
b Jeui-gahn-gei-nihn Heung-gong ge (ging-leih/ging-gwo/
ging-jai) yuht-laih-yuht-hou.
c Hai Heung-gong, ging-chaat (gwan-yahn/daaih-yahn/
laai-yahn/louh-yahn) yat-dihng yiu yauh leih-yauh.
d Heung-gong ge ba-si sl-gei hoi-gung ge sih-hauh yiu jeuk
(gwan-fuhk/bihn-fuhk/syu-fuhk/jai-fuhk).
e Ngoh-deih gei-sih yauh (san-seui/yauh-seui/saan-seui/yeuhk-
seui) 16 a?

Exercise 2
When you have read the following passage carefully, answer the
two questions in Cantonese.

Hai Hoh Sin-saang uk-kei bak-bihn leuhng gung-leih go-syu

yauh yat gaan hohk-haauh. Hai hohk-haauh dung-bihn ngh
gung-leih haih yat gaan yi-yun. Hai yi-yun naahm-bihn leuhng
gung-leih jauh haih ging-chaat-guhk lak. Meih-gwok ngahn-
hohng hai ging-chaat-guhk sai-bihn saam gung-leih go-syu.
Cheng-mahn:
a Yauh ngahn-hohng heui Hoh Saang uk-kei yauh gei-do
gung-leih a?
b Ngahn-hohng hai Hoh Saang uk-kei bln-bihn a?

Exercise 3
Here are some Chinese brainteaser ‘old chestnuts’ for you to solve:

a Siu-Jeung wah: ‘Ngoh san-tai chuhng-leuhng ge yat bun joi

ga yih-sahp bohng jauh haih ngoh san-tai ge chyuhn-bouh
chuhng-leuhng lak. Cheng-mahn ngoh haih gei-do bohng a?’
b Yauh yat yeuhng yeh, neih ji ho-yih yuhng jo-sau ning, mh
ho-yih yuhng yauh-sau ning. Neih gu haih mat-yeh ne?
 —
c Sni-Wong wah: ‘Ngoh yih-ga gei-do seui ngoh rhh wah neih
ji,daahn-haih saam nihn ji-chihn go-jahn-sih ngaam-ngaam 217
jauh haih ngoh saam nihn ji-hauh ge baak-fahn-ji-saam- eating

sahp-saam. Gam, neih ji mh ji ngoh yih-ga gei-do seui a?’

d Wohng Sin-saang daai-jo yat-baak man cheut-gaai. Hai pou- out

tau maaih-jo saam bun syu, muih bun dou haih yih-sahp-righ in
man. Daahn-haih pou-tau ge fo-gei ji-haih jaau-faan ngh
man keuih. Dim-gaai ne?
Hong

Exercise 4 Kong

Can you remember your colours? Give the answers to the

following in Cantonese.

a Neih ja-che gin-dou huhng-dang yiu jouh mat-yeh ne? 23

b Laahm-slk ga mat-yeh slk haih luhk-slk a?
c Laahm-slk ga huhng-slk haih mat-yeh slk a?
d Hou do hou do nihn ji-chihn hou gauh ge dihn-ying haih
mat-yeh slk a?

Exercise 5
Can you interpret for your friend who is about to foot the bill
for a meal in a restaurant? Unlike you he has not taken the
trouble to learn Cantonese.

Friend Waiter, the seafood here is really delicious, very fresh and
beautifully cooked. All three of the ideal qualities were
superbly realized.
You a
Waiter Ng6h-deih nT-douh df yii dou haih y&uh-s6ui ge, ddng-yin
s&n-sin la!

You b
Friend May have1 the bill, please?
You c
Waiter D6-jeh. Yih-chin-baat-baak-g^u-sahp man.
You d
Friend What?! So much? That’s really not cheap!
You e
Waiter Sin-s&ang n6ih yiu jl-dou, yih-ga y&uh-seui yu dahk-biht
n&ahn-m£aih. Juhng yauh ne, ng6h-deih j£u-ga sung
faai-jf, muih go gu-haak sung yat deui.

You f

Friend 1have never bought such expensive chopsticks before.

OK. It wasn’t cheap but it was worth it. Here’s $3,000.
You —9
Waiter Dd-jeh.
You h
 f

Exercise 6
218 1
eating

out

in

Hong

Kong

23

Supply the bubble caption in Cantonese: This is a beautiful fish,

sure to be very tasty. Who will give $ 1,000
 ilt
leisure

sih-hou $5
activities

In this unit you will learn

• about hobbies and the
hidden dangers therein
• a final word on dou
220 Dialogue 1

leisure
Mr Cheung has changed his habits and Mr Wong wonders why.

activities

im • •

•
tn« •

n§jLfc®»* •

£ i

»if@g ?
•

£JtsMF«*l •
: a***#*
S^njfc?
Mr Wong L6uh-Jeung, ng6h ji-dou n6ih ge sih-hou haih
ch6uh-y&uh-piu tuhng juk-k6i, y£uh-sih dou gin n6ih
ying-s6ung tuhng waahk-w£, daahn-haih h6u siu gin
n6ih tiu-m6uh waahk-j6 saan-bouh ge bo!
Mr Cheung Haih a! Y&uh-kdih-sih nT-g6i-go-yuht ng6h waahk-j6
h6u dd fuk w&. Daahn-haih wahn-duhng ne, l)hn yat
chidou m6uh jouh-gwo. Ng6h jeui j&ng wahn-duhng.
Mr Wong Dim-g6ai jeui-gahn ng6h gin n6ih m6ahn-m£ahn
sihk-yuhn faahn ji-hauh jauh yat-go-y&hn I6ih-h6i
uk-k6i heui fe-yun saan-bouh ne? Daih-yat chi gin-
d6u n6ih, ng6h juhng yih-w&ih n6ih rhh-gin-j6 y6h,
cheut-l&ih w£n, daahn-haih n6ih rhh wuih m^ahn-
m&ahn dou mh-gin-j6 yeh ga.
Mr Cheung Ai! Ng6h heui saan-bouh haih y£uh go muhk-dik ge.
Mr Wong G6 go muhk-dik haih mh haih bei-maht ga? H6 mh
h6-yih g6ng b6i ng6h teng a?
Mr Cheung Mh haih bei-maht, ngoh ji-haih s6ung Ieih-h6i uk-k6i
yat-jahn je.

Mr Wong J&n keih-gwaai lak! N6ih yat-heung dou jung-yi l^uh

h£i Gk-k6i, hou siu cheut-gaai ge bo!
Mr Cheung Louh-saht gong n6ih t6ng la, jeui-gahn ng6h go neui
ch&am-g&-j6 chd-kap gong-k&hm fan-lihn-baan;
ng6h taai-t£ai yauh ch&am-g&-j6 go-kehk fan-lihn-
baan. Maahn-faahn ji-hauh jauh haih keuih-deih
lihn-jaahp sih-gaan lak. Neih wah ng6h dim h6-yih
l&uh h£i Gk-kei ne?
 .

uts# sih-hou hobby

If MW ch6uh-yauh-piu to collect stamps
£&juk-k6i to play chess leisure

Mi waahk-wa to paint, to draw

g^tiu-m6uh to dance
saan-bouh to stroll, to go for a walk activities

fuk classifier for paintings, drawings

and photographs
j^ng to hate, detest
DaMtemh-gin-j6 lost, to lose, to mislay
! &i! alas! (a sigh)
@ muhk-dik purpose, aim, goal
bei-maht secret
-W- (H) yat-jahn(-gaan) a moment, in a moment,
for a moment
kdih-gwaai strange, weird, odd
— [5] yat-heung all along, up to now
g l£uh to stay, to remain to leave behind
;

WtR chd-kap elementary, first grade

gong-kdhm piano
ali|&SE fan-lihn-baan training class
i)i|*$ fan-lihn training, to train
gd-kehk opera
lihn-jaahp to practise

Grammar
1 These last few . .

In Unit 19 you met jeui-gahn-gei-nihn meaning in the last few years.

Another way of saying the same thing is ni-gei-nihn and you can
extend either of the patterns to days, weeks and months too:
jeui-gahn-gei-yaht = ni-gei-yaht these last few days
jeui-gahn-gei-go-laih-baai = these last few weeks
nl-gei-go-laih-baai
j
eui-gahn-gei-go-yuht = ni-gei-go-yuht these last few months
And gei is not you can be more specific
essential to these patterns:
if you wish, although normally only small numbers are involved:
jeui-gahn leuhng-saam yaht = these last two or
leuhng-saam yaht
ni three days
jeui-gahn sei-ngh nihn = these last four or five
ni sei-ngh nihn years
 !

222 2 Mh-gin-jo lost

leisure
Mh-gin-jo literally means became unseen, not seen any more
and it is a useful way of saying that you have lost or mislaid
something:

activities
Ngoh mh-gin-jo ngoh dl I can't find my money;
chin; ihh-ji haih thh I wonder if it’s been stolen?
haih bei yahn tau-jo ne?
Keuih mh-gin-jo yahn lak. She went missing.

3 For a moment
Yat-jahn (or its longer form yat-jahn-gaan) means a moment of
time. It can be used as either a specific time or a duration of time
and its position can therefore be either in front of or after the
verb in a sentence:

Ngoh yat-jahn lohk-laih la! I’llbe down in a moment!

Hou la! daahn-haih ngoh OK, but I can only come down
ji ho-yth lohk-laih for a moment
yat-jahn je!

4 In your opinion
Just in caseyou have not picked it up without being told, neih-
wah or neih-tai (you say or you see) both are used in the sense
in your opinion. Similarly, ngoh-wah or ngoh-tai can mean in
my opinion.

O It’s the same the whole world over!

The hobbies mentioned in the dialogue are much as you might find
anywhere in the world: Cantonese people like sport and games and
collecting things. Mind you, the chess may well be Chinese Chess,
which is played on a different board with different pieces and
operates with different rules from western chess or it might be W&ih-
k6i Surrounding Chess, which is played with black and white stones
on the intersections of the lines on a multi-squared board: it tends
to be known in the west under its Japanese name Go. One hobby
which is much more common with the Chinese than with westerners
is calligraphy (syu-faat). Writing Chinese characters with a brush is a

very high art form in China and Japan and many people spend hours
painstakingly cultivating their skill.
 !

Dialogue 2 223
Two mothers discuss the changing leisure pursuits of the young.
leisure

mmmmm
m • *&•*£ activities

•
^&ok •

ftVNttflt -
tittMMF •

£BEgB5UBtttt*«2PSiJA?*ia •
«)«rafc#ftj3cM$iiK14
ft •

ama&m*** •

prw«» ° « •
a-isfjMife«PNafflffisifiiiic*»ai«itt •

Mrs Wong Ng6h gok-dak yih-ga df hauh-saang-jdi tuhng

ng6h-deih hauh-saang ge sih-hauh h6u mh tuhng.
Mrs Lee Ndih g6ng bln fdng-mihn mh tuhng ne?
Mrs Wong Ng6h g6ng ge haih sih-hou fdng-mihn. Ng6h-deih
hauh-saang ge slh-hauh h6u jung-yi jung-fa,
yduhng-yu, yduhng-jeuk, yduhng-gdu, yduhng-maau
ddng-ddng. Daahn-haih yih-ga dT hauh-saang-jdi
jauh jung-yi heui dik-sih-gou, ka-laai-ou-kei, wdan
dihn-n6uh yduh-hei, nT dl gdm-ydung ge ydh.
Mrs Lee Haih a, ng6h go jdi hd-yfh yat-go-ydhn deui-jyuh
ga dihn-n6uh yduh-hei-gdi wdan yat mdahn dou mh
gok-dak guih. Ndih-wah, kduih deui nT fdng-mihn gdi
yduh hing-cheui n§.
Mrs Wong Ldih Tdai, ndih yiu hyun ndih go jdi rhh-hdu wdan
gam dd dihn-nduh yduh-hei lak. Jyun-ga wah yuh-
gwd yat-go-ydhn jaahp-gwaan jih-gdi tuhng jih-gdi
wdan yduh-hei, jauh wuih kyut-faht tuhng biht-yahn
kdu-tung jihm-jfm jauh wuih yduhng-slhng gu-duhk
ge sing-gaak, gdm-ydung haih hdu ngaih-him ge bo!
Mrs Lee Ngdh dou gok-dak fo-hohk yuht jeun-bouh, ngdh-
deih jauh yuht yi-laaih fo-geih. Yih-ga lihn ngoh-deih
ge sih-hou dou sauh-dou fo-geih ge ying-hdung,
maahn-mdan gdi-bin, yih-chd yuht bin yuht faai, yuht
goi yuht dd, jeung-ldih haih dim-ydung mduh ydhn
hd-yih yuh-jl. Haih lak, ngdh yat fdan-dou uk-kdi
jauh giu ngdh go jdi rhh-hdu joi wdan dihn-nduh
yduh-hei lak.
 . . . .

224 [h] tuhng the same, alike

Sft jung-fa to cultivate flowers
c S y^uhng to rear, to keep (pets)
(D
£jeuk bird
a la maau cat

i fft±i§5 dik-sih-gou discotheque

8 -£&OK ka-laai-du-kei karaoke
9£M y^uh-hei games
^Sguih tired, weary
H) hyun to advise, to urge, to plead with
H^jyun-ga expert, specialist
IO l^tl jaahp-gwaan to be accustomed to, to get
used to; habit
§ H jih-g6i self, oneself
3$ 5 kyut-faht to lack, be short of
SiJA biht-y&hn other people
k^u-tung to communicate
)c y6uhng-sihng to inculcate, to form, breed
MS gu-duhk solitary, lone
sing-gaak temperament, disposition
ng^ih-hfm dangerous; danger
jeun-bouh progress
yHaaih to rely on
fo-geih science and technology
§ sauh to suffer
ȣg6i-bin to change, alter
^3|5j6ung-ldih future, in future
yuh-jl to predict
- St yat . . jauh . . as soon as .. then . .
 .

Grammar 225

5 Ge/ machine leisure

The full word for a machine or machinery is gei-hei, but there

are plenty of instances where gei on its own also means
machine , usually when it is tacked onto other words:
activities

yauh-hei games —> yauh-hei-gei games machine

dihn-sih television —> dihn-sih-gei television set
fei to fly -> fei-gei (flying machine) aircraft
da-jih to type —» da-jih-gei typewriter
7 —>
da-fo to strike fire da-fo-gei cigarette lighter

6 Dou does it again!

In Unit 22 you saw how dou could still convey the idea of even
without the assistance of lihn. In the dialogue there is another
rather trickier example: ngoh go jai waan yat maahn dou
. .

mh gok-dak guih my son can play the whole evening and still
not feel tired. You may find it easier to see how dou achieves its
effect if you twist the English slightly - my son even though he
plays the whole evening does not feel tired.

Self
Jih-gei means self and is a very useful word for giving stress
to individuality, usually coming after a person’s name or a
personal pronoun:

Wohng Sin-saang jih-gei Mr Wong himself cannot speak

mh sik gong Ying-mahn. English.
Neih jih-gei seung mh Do you yourself want to go?
seung heui a?

Jih-gei yat-go-yahn means all by oneself alone:

Keuih jih-gei yat-go-yahn He sat there all alone.
choh hai-douh.

O Helping yourself
When you are eating a Chinese meal with chopsticks from communal
bowls in the middle of the table, you will find that the host or other
people will often select tasty morsels and put them in your personal
bowl. Don’t find this odd; it is meant as a great politeness. Of course,
 it could be that they give you something^ which you do not want to
226
eat, in which case you are at liberty to leave it lying there. However,
whether you want it or not, it can be embarrassing to be constantly
waited on in this way and it is polite to try to stop people doing it. Try
saying mh-s£i gam haak-hei no need to be so polite and following
it with ng6h jih-g6i l&ih I'll come at it myself. If you have a really

persistent host nothing you say will deter him, but at least you will
have made the right disclaiming noises.

8 As soon as
One of the beauties of Cantonese grammar is that patterns of
some complexity are often made up from very simple words.
Yat means one and jauh means then you met them both long
:

ago, but put them together in a grammar pattern and they

produce as soon as .. . then .

Keuih yat choh che He gets dizzy as soon as he

jauh tauh-wahn. gets in a car.
Ngoh yat gin-dou keuih, As soon as I saw him he ran
keuih jauh jau-jo lak. away.
Wohng Taai-taai yat No sooner had Mrs Wong got
cheut-jo gaai, jauh outside than she forgot what
mh gei-dak-jo yiu food she had to buy.
maaih mat-yeh sung.
Note that in this pattern both yat and jauh act as adverbs and
each comes before a different verb.

Q Exercise 1

Let’s start with a couple of Chinese riddles.

a Can you guess (in English) what this represents?
Yauh yat yeuhng yeh mouh chuhng-leuhng ge, daahn-haih
sahp go yahn dou mh ho-yih toih-hei keuih. Yuh-gwo yeh-
maahn yat laih-dou, keuih jauh mh-gin-jo. Neih gu haih
mat-yeh ne?
b And what is the answer to this one (in Cantonese)?

Siu-Leih deui Sfu-Wong wah: ‘Ngoh ge saang-yaht hai johk-

yaht ge johk-yaht ge ting-yaht.’ Siu-Wong wah: ‘Mouh cho,
neih ge saang-yaht haih ting-yaht ge chihn-yaht. Gung-hei!
Gung-hei!’ Siu-Leih haih gei-si saang-yaht a?

Exercise 2
Make the following pairs of sentences into one by incorporating
the bracketed idea. The first answer would be: Wohng Siu-je
sihk jou-chaan ji-chihn, jaahp-gwaan heui saan-bouh sin.
 )

a. Wohng Sfu-je sihk jou-chaan. Keuih jaahp-gwaan saan-bouh.

(before
b Ngoh hai uk-kei. Ngoh mh daai mou. (when) leisure

c Naahm-yan luhk-sahp-ngh seui. Keuih-deih ho-yfh 16 teui-

yau-gam. ( not until)
d Ngoh gam-jiu-jou tai bou-ji. Ngoh ji-dou ngoh-deih gung-sl
activities

ge chihng-fong hou ngaih-hfm. (as soon as)

e Chahn Sin-saang yam be-jau. Keuih jung-yi yam. (the more
. . . the more)

Exercise 3

Cheng neih yuhng Gwong-dung-wa gong m sei fuk wa leuih-

bihn faat-sang dl mat-yeh sih a.

Exercise 4
A quick test of your place words. Supply the missing words as
rapidly as you can.

a Ngoh hai neih hauh-bihn, gam neih hai ngoh .

b Seuhng-hoi hai Bak-ging naahm-bihn, gam Bak-gmg hai

Seuhng-hoi .

c Neih hai go-douh, gam ngoh hai .

d Wohng Saang hai Wohng Taai jo-sau-bihn, gam Wohng

Taai hai Wohng Saang .

e Bouh syu hai baahk-ji leuih-bihn, gam baahk-jf hai syu

 Exercise 5
You are on Hong Kong Island and you want to get to the
leisure
airport. You have managed to get through on the phone to
the airport enquiry office, but the person answering can only
speak Cantonese. You have a plane to catch, so you had better
produce your best accent and keenest understanding to ask the
following.

a Is there a bus which goes to the airport?

b How much is the fare from City Hall?
c How long will take to get to the airport?
it

d Is on the bus?
there a toilet
e Whattime does flight 25 1 take off?
f When does flight 251 get in to London?
In this unit you will learn
• basic words for living
accommodation
• a little more about food
230 Dialogue 1
3-
O Mr Wong’s friend Mr Cheung lives alone in a large flat.

•
mmmvm ° \

m immn&xm
• • • mrmfimmmm ?
w=w«i* iMiMmp&jj-jf -n«i-nfii pa-®
•
•
•

*m*«i •
=**« •
m
II •
• fc&fpniSI** •

»$ -
•
flUMfttseffl

<£ i
•

am mm o •
ttMiweaHEx"*** •

Cheung Louh-W6ng, fun-yihng n6ih l&ih taam ng6h.

Ch6ng yahp-l&ih ch6h la!
Wong Yi! Dim-g6ai mh gin J6ung T6ai tuhng n6ih-deih di

j£i-n6ui ga?
Cheung Oh, k6uih-deih bun nihn ji-chlhn yih-ging ylh-j6 mahn
heui Ying-gwok la! Yih-ga ji-y£uh ng6h yat-go-y&hn jyuh
h&i H6ung-g6ng j7-m£h.
Wong W&, n6ih g&an Ok j&n-haih daaih lak. Ng6h jeui jung-yi
n6ih ge louh-t6ih. NT g&an uk y£uh g6i-do g&an
fan-f6ng a?
Cheung Y6uh s&am g&an fan-fdng, I6uhng go chi-s6 tuhng
sai-san-f6ng, yat gaan haak-teng, yat g&an faahn-teng,
tuhng-maaih yat go chyuh-f6ng.
Wong Neih-deih ge chyuh-f6ng chit-beih dou h6u ch&ih-
chyuhn bo yauh s£i-yi-g6i, s4i-wun-g6i, jyu-sihk-
. .
.

I6uh, wun-gwaih, juhng y£uh m6ih-bd-louh tim.

Cheung NT df y6h ng6h tuhng taai-t^ai dou d^-syun wahn-heui
Ying-gwok ge, daahn-haih hauh-ldih ji-dou wahn-fai taai
gwai lak, yih-ch6, yuh-gw6 h£i Ying-gwok maaih san
ge, ga-chihn dou rhh syun taai gwai, so-yih ngoh-deih
jauh kyut-dihng mh wahn lak, l&uh h&i H6ung-g6ng
jih-g6i yuhng.
Wong DT cheung-h'm-bou tuhng deih-jTn dou juhng haih hou
san bo! Dim-gaai mh wahn-heui Ying-gwok ne? 231
Cheung Mh-h6u taih deih-jTn tuhng cheung-h'm-bou lak.
Aai! 0
Ng6h g6-jahn-sih dou tuhng neih yat-yeuhng, wah yiu 1
wahn-heui Ying-gwok, daahn-haih ng6h taai-taai gin- £
o
chlh yiu l&uh-faan k£uih-deih h£i Heung-g6ng. Keuih ge a
teih-yauh jauh haih df ch§ung-lim-bou ge ngaahn-slk
|
taai sam lak, mh hou-tai, df deih-j7n ge fa-yeung keuih 3
yauh mh jung-yi.
Wong Ng6h iaih-j6 gam noih, neih dou mouh jam chah bei
ng6h yam. Ng6h gu hai nT bun nihn neih yat-go-yahn
jyuh yat-dihng h6u gu-duhk lak. Louh-Jeung, dang
ng6h gam-yaht puih n£ih yat-chaih cheut-gaai heui
y^m-chah kwaang-gung-sT la.

IS a louh-tdih
-
balcony
haak-teng living room, lounge
faahn-teng dining room
&#!# sai-yl-g6i washing machine
sai-wun-gai dishwasher
a bowl
XX 14 jyu-sihk-lduh cooking stove
wun-gwaih cupboard, dresser
Mfll mdih-bo-lduh microwave oven
hauh-ldih later, afterwards
MX wahn-fai transportation costs
kyut-dihng to decide
cheung-h'm-bou curtains
i&K deih-jTn carpet
jf taih to mention, bring up
gin-chih to insist, insiston
l&uh-f&an to leave behind
if E& I6ih-yauh reason
fife ng2iahn-slk colour
deep
©jam to pour into a cup, glass or bowl
PS puih to accompany, keep
company with
yam-chah = to have a
to drink tea
di'm-sam snack meal
81 £W] kwaang gung-sT to go window shopping
52 kwaang to cruise
 ,

232 Grammar
1 Verb + object verbs
You may have found Mr Cheung’s remark yih-ging yih-jo mahn
heui Ying-gwok la grammatically strange because -jo has split
yih and mahn. The reason is quite simple: the verb yih-mahn to
migrate is composed of yih to move and mahn people so that it
is actually a verb + object verb and, of course, -jo is an ending
3
which must be attached to a verb, not to an object.

2 Another classifier oddity

Mr Cheung uses the classifier gaan for fan-fong and for haak-
teng and for faahn-teng, but uses go for chi-so and chyuh-fong.
Somehow toilets and kitchens do not seem to qualify as proper
rooms (rooms in which people socialize, perhaps), so they are
often not given gaan status.

Bowls and other containers

Wun bowl is a very handy word, because bowls are so much
used at the Chinese table. There are faahn-wun rice bowls,
tong-wun soup bowls and chah-wun tea bowls , not to mention
daaih-wun big bowls and sai-wun little bowls. But wun is even
more useful because it is also a classifier, as in yat wun tong a
bowl of soup and leuhng wun baahk-faahn two bowls of boiled
rice (baahk-faahn literally means white rice , hence steamed
or boiled rice as opposed to chaau-faahn fried rice). You can
see how the two functions of wun operate in the following
comparison:

saam wun faahn three bowls of rice

saam jek faahn-wun three rice bowls (the classifier
for a bowl can be either jek or go)

Other container words or measure words work the same way.

Most common perhaps is bui a cup, a glass, a mug:

leuhng jek chitfi-bui two teacups (note the tone change

on bui)
leuhng bui chah two cups of tea
4 Not any more
233
In Unit 3 you were given an example of the use of lak with
mh. In the previous dialogue Mr Cheung
says ngoh-deih kyut-
dihng mh wahn lak we
decided not to transport them after all,
that is, they had at first decided otherwise but not any more.
Mh + lak is a very convenient way of conveying the notion not
any more.
3

5 Deep and shallow: dark and light

Sam literally means deep (Neih yiu si'u-sam bo! Go-syu di seui
hou sam! You should be careful the water is very deep there!)
,

and the opposite word shallow is chin. Both words are capable
of being extended in use, so that you can describe someone’s
thought as sam, for example. With colours, sam means dark
or deep and chin means light, so sam-huhng-sik is crimson or
dark red and chln-laahm-sik is the colour sported by Gim-kiuh
Daaih-hohk on boat race day.

O More than a cup of tea

Cantonese people never say let’s go and have some dlm-sam,
they always say let's go and drink tea (y^m-ch^h). Y6m-ch&h goes
on in specialist teahouses and restaurants from early morning to
about 2.30 p.m. You order your preferred tea from the waiter -
Dragon Well Tea, Jasmine Tea, Iron Guan-Yin Tea, Chrysanthemum
Pu-er, or whatever - and you then sit back and wait till someone
comes by with a tray or trolley of steaming hot dfm-sam from the
kitchen. If you fancy what is there you ask for it, but otherwise you
wait until another trolley comes round with something on it that you
do want. There is great variety and you will find it hard to stop
ordering. Until about 30 years ago the bill was calculated according
to the number of little dishes left on your table when you had finished,
but smart customers would slip dishes onto other people’s tables
and get up to other tricks to cut down the bill, so that nowadays a
running tally is kept on a menu slip in a holder on your table. And of
course the tea will be charged for as well. Ydm-ch&h is a Cantonese
must: one of the great gastronomic treats in a land where food is
king.
 °

234 Dialogue 2
zr
o Mr Wong looks at house purchase.

9t$. ’
\

aimw* •
•
nmamAfamm
!

« • mm • ?
° 5fc£ •
fJB& •
- IWltJf AH
ISAffSNW •

"B» !«» • a«IAM#ffF« •

a* •
fa® §fi|5]®«XAX7feffi
•
•
•
X^IS« °

D§if » W1£«EA*£“# *>

•
*EnX%m StifeSSP^A^TO 0 MViE&BirTOmra
•

m °

m • ?
£a/e .
iAMSfc^lS •
H* • ftOTtimiH 0

Pi ’ •

• 4n«ftDiif>ft ftBTWg-fflg-f 0
frtt •
±AH
n&SfJS ifeAPMH •
-n^SPoiPS •
««jKMJt-£*9ff9e •

nmm* ° m«d&* sassit tmi&Mttx• •

Salesman Sin-siang, niih tii nT joh liu ge gwun-liih mh cho bo!

Yah-sei siu-slh dou yiuh biu-on fuhk-mouh, muih-
yaht b6u-on yihn-yuhn wuih liih liuhng chi, yiuh
chlng-gitgung-yihn di-sou jiu-ling tuhng liuh-tii,
muih go yuht dou yiuh yihn gim-chih nT Siam ga ITp
. h6u dn-chyuhn ga!
. .

Mr Wong Haih, dou mh-cho. Yiuh m6uh che-wii a?

Salesman Yiuh yat go che-wii biau-kwut hii uk-ga liuih-bihn.
Sin-siang, dou la, ching cheut ITp la. Niih tii nT douh
daaih-muhn yiuh Faat-gwok dihn-jl-s6, waaih-yihn
h6u niahn h6i ga.
Mr Wong Mh-cho, rhh-cho. Ng6h-deih yahp uk tii-hih lo.
Salesman Nih, niih tii, haak-teng tuhng faahn-teng yauh daaih
yauh gwdng-miahng, go louh-tdih deui-jyuh go hii,
jin syu-fuhk lak.
Mr Wong Mh-cho. H6-sTk liuh-dii taai ngii jek.
Salesman Sin-siang, mh syun taai ngii la, liih deih-min dou
yiuh giu chek ge la. Ching gwo-liih nT-syu tii-hih
dT fihng-gaan la.
Mr Wong Yi, dim-giai miuh tou-fing chi-so tuhng chung-

leuhng-fong ge me?
Salesman Yiuh ak, jyu-yihn-fong jauh yiuh la. Nih, ching tii-
hih nT gaan la.
Mr Wong Wah, juhng haih yuhng muih-hei yiht-seui-lduh gam
lohk-hauh ge.
235
3*
Salesman Sin-s&ang, yuh-gw6 n6ih rhh jung-yi, ngoh h6-yih 0
c
wuhn yat go dihn-jf yiht-s6ui-l6uh b6i neih. N6ih t&i,
jyu-y&hn-f6ng gam syu-fuhk, deih-f6ng gam jihng,
1
2.
a.
dou rhh chduh. H&i nT-syu fan-gaau yat-dihng
yat-cfi

wuih faat h6u muhng ge.

Mr Wong Ng6h wah rhh haih lak. Uk-ga gam gwai, yuh-gw6
ng6h maaih-j6, wuih fan-rhh-jeuhk-gaau jauh-j&n.

M joh classifier for massive things

(large buildings, mountains etc.)
Iffl gwun-l6ih management, to manage IO
0# sfu-slh an hour CXI
b6u-on security, keep secure
AMy£hn-yuhn personnel, staff
chlng-glt cleanliness, to clean
IA gung-ydhn worker, servant
¥J If da-sou to sweep
l^uh-t^i staircase
gfm-chah check, inspect
*$rrp lift, elevator
dn-chyuhn safe, safety
che-wai parking space
b&au-kwut to include
Mil uk-ga house price
Jg douh classifier for doors
H? dihn-jf electronic
II s6 a lock, to lock
gwdng-m£ahng bright
m h6i the sea
Ifcuh-dai the ceiling
& ngai low, short in height
Stldih distant from
deih-mfn the floor
A chek
a foot (length)
SMtou-fbng en suite
chung-lfcuhng-f6ng bathroom
± AM jyu-yahn-f6ng master bedroom
tttSi muih-hei town gas
&7Ktt yiht-s6ui-lduh boiler,water heater
W4k lohk-hauh backward, old fashioned
$ wuhn to change, exchange
P jihng quiet
ofchduh noisy
faat-muhng to dream
(«) unable to get to sleep
fan-mh-jeuhk(-gaau)
236 Grammar
6 Yah-sei siu-sih
Siu-sih is an alternative word for jung-tauh hour which you

have met and yah-sei siu-sih is the regular way to say 24 hour
(as in 24-hour service).

7 Workers
Giing-yahn means quite simply work person, but just like
worker in English it implies that the person works for someone
else, that he or she is not in charge. In Hong Kong it is the
common word for a house servant and there is a general
assumption
8 that house servants are female, so that if you have a
male house servant you would refer to him as a naahm-gung-
yahn (compare this with the police situation described in
Unit 17).

O The English invasion

Lip is the Cantonese attempt at the English word lift, the proper

Cantonese word being tediously long (slng-gong-gdi rising and

falling machine). You have met bo ball, ba-sf bus, dlk-sf taxi, s&-l6ut

salad and fei fare. Fei-I£m is film, sih-dd is a store, bo-sf is the boss,
baht-laan-ddi is brandy and there are many many more, but it is
possible that the trend is away from using such words and towards
a more pure Cantonese vocabulary. Incidentally, to ride in a lift is
ch6h-ffp, though few lifts have seats in them.

Distant from
Leih means to be distant from , to be separated from and it is
very handy for showing distance relationships. In the dialogue
the salesman says that the ceiling leih deih-min dou yauh gau
chek ge la is nine feet from the floor. Similarly, you might say:

Leuhn-deun leih Heung-gong London is 1 1,000 kilometres

(yauh) yat-maahn- from Hong Kong.
yat-chin gung-leih.

Yauh to have is the verb which appears with numbers most

often. Its use in this pattern is optional, although you are more
likely to put it in if you are trying to stress the notion is all of
11,000 kilometres.
 1 .

The word most often associated with leih is yuhn far, distant:
Gwong-jau leih Heung-gong Canton is not very far from
mh-haih-gei-yuhn Hong Kong.
Neih uk-kei leih Daaih- Is your home far from the City
wuih-tohng yuhn mh Hall ?
9 yuhn a?

You will remember from Unit 20 that to be close to is a different

pattern:

Ba-si-jaahm hou kahn The bus stop is very close to the

Daaih-wuih-tohng. City Hall.

A last look at dou

In the dialogue the salesman is put in a difficult situation - he
has to contradict Mr Wong who claims that the ceilings are too
low when in fact they are the usual height. What he does is to
an otherwise unnecessary dou and that somehow takes
slip in
10
the confrontational edge off the contradiction. It is a standard
politeness not to disagree too violently with someone else, but
rather to show that while you cannot agree with them you
do not wish to be offensive about it. In English you might say
that’s not quite right when what you mean is that’s wrong!: in
Cantonese you would add in a dou. So mh haih! sounds abrupt
and rude (it’s not!), but dou mh haih gives the same answer in
an acceptably soft way (I’m afraid that’s not the case).

Bathrooms
In Unit 15 you learned that the word for bathroom is sai-san-
fong and now you have met another and newer word chung-
leuhng-fong. It seems that this newer term is slowly driving out
the older one, but you are bound to come across both of them.
There is a difference in their origins: sai-san to wash the body is
to have an all over wash or to have a bath , while chung-leuhng
is really to have a shower but the distinction is becoming
,

blurred.

1 And that’s for sure!

Jauh-jan means then that would be true and it is used at the ends
of statements to make them more emphatic. It coincides quite
nicely with the English and that’s for sure!, and that’s the truth!
revision

(
This is the shortest unit in the book - just a few exercises and a
couple of passages of Cantonese for you to understand and to
help you realize how far you have come in the space of 25 units.
As usual you will find translations of these passages in the key
at the back, but probably you will not need them.

Of course you are not yet at native-speaker standard, but

you should find that you have reached the stage where you
know enough to be able to hold a conversation and, more
importantly, to find out more for yourself by asking and by
working out what some of the things you hear must mean on the
basis of what you already know.

Persevere - having come this far you have shown that you are
capable of learning Cantonese: it would be a great pity to stop
just when you have reached ‘critical velocity’ for take off into
the cheerful exciting world of Cantonese conversation.

Exercise 1

Name the buildings or rooms which you associate with the

following. The first answer would be ging-chaat —>
ging-chaat-
guhk.

a ging-chaat b sai-yi-gei
c yeuhk-seui d gong-kahm
e bei-syu f ji-piu
g leuhn-pun h yauh-gaan

Exercise 2
Make the following sentences less aggressive by using dou,
other polite words such as mh-goi, cheng and deui-mh-jyuh or
perhaps by rephrasing in a softer way.

a Maih yuk!
b Neih gong-cho.
c Neih mh mihng-baahk.
d Ngoh mh tuhng-yi.
e Gim-kiuh Daaih-hohk mh haih sai-gaai seuhng jeui yauh-
meng ge.

Exercise 3
Here are the estate agent’s details and plan of a flat which you
want to buy. Using Cantonese explain to your partner what
it is like, giving the size of the rooms, the address and other

details.
 )

240 A TWO -BEDROOM FLAT

AT No. 27 CANTON ROAD, 8TH FLOOR
I. Parking space included in the price
»
o
3
Only HK$5,500,000!
£ Lift Lift

Master bedroom Dining room Living room

Bathroom Bathroom Bedroom

Kitchen

Exercise 4
Make meaningful sentences with these pairs of words. (We have
given simple models in the key to the exercises at the back of the
book.)
a gwun-leih ging-leih
b hoi-chi' hoi-che
c hoi-sin san-sin
d yat-lauh jau-lauh

Exercise 5
a Bln yeuhng yeh tuhng keih-ta ge yeh mh tuhng jung-leuih a?
(yauh-gaan/yauh-seui/yauh-piu/yauh-guhk/yauh-fai)
b Bln yeuhng yeh hai se-jih-lauh leuih-bihn mouh ge ne?
(dihn-wa/dihn-nouh/dihn-dang/dihn-ymg/dihn-nyuhn-louh)
c Bin yeuhng deui ngoh-deih ge san-tai hou ne?
(da-bo/da-gaau/da-gip/da-jih/da-dihn-wa)
d Bln yeuhng haih jeui gwai ne?
( bou- l/baahk- i/seun- i/Gong- l/mh-j i
j j j j

e Yuh-gwo neih seung heui ngoih-gwok, neih yat-dihng yiu

yauh bln yeuhng ‘jing’ a?
( bou-j ing/san-fan-jing/ging-yuhn- ing/chim-j ing)
j
Exercise 6
Put suitable final particles in the blanks.
241

a Gam-yaht ge tin-hei ihh hou, ngoh-deih ihh heui yauh-seui

b NT ga che gam pehng, neih dou ihh jung-yi ? Dim-gaai ?

c Keuih mh jung-yi ngoh heui ? Gam, ngoh jauh ihh heui .

d Ja dihn-daan-che hou ngaih-him Dim-gaai neih juhng

. bei
neih ge jai ja ?

Exercise 7
Hai bln-douh.
a sihk-dak-dou hoi-sin a?
b maaih-mah a?
c daap-dou ba-si a?
d sihk-dak-dou ngoh taai-taai jyu ge sung a?
e gin-dak-dou Wohng Bei-syu a?

Exercise 8
Insert the missing classifiers.

a yat deih-jln b yat wa

c yat yiht-seui-louh d yat chaan-toi tuhng yf
e yat jai-fuhk f yat daaih-muhn

Exercise 9
There are deliberate mistakes in each of the following. Can you
spot them?

a Leih Saang hou yauh-chin, keuih lihn yat man dou mouh.
b Ngoh daaih-gwo ngoh mah-ma.
c Go cheut dihn-ying ngoh ihh tai-gwo.
d Keuih haahng sahp-fan faai.
e Keuih seui-yihn haih ging-leih, yih-che slk da-jih.

Passage 1

Luhng Dragons
Hou noih hou noih ji-chihn hai Jung-gwok yauh yat go hou
jung-yi waahk-wa ge yahn. Keuih ge wa waahk-dak hou hou,
yauh-keih-sih waahk Luhng, jan-haih hou-chih wuih yuk ge
yat-yeuhng. Yauh yat chi, yat go daaih-gwun ji-dou keuih hou
slk waahk Luhng jauh hou hoi-sam gam deui keuih wah: ‘Ngoh
jih-gei dou hou jung-yi Luhng. Yuh-gwo neih hang bong ngoh
waahk yat tiuh Luhng, ngoh wuih bei hou do chin neih.’
Gei yaht ji-hauh, git-gwo tiuh Luhng jauh waahk-hou lak, yih-
che waahk-dak hou hou, juhng kap-yahn-jo hou do yahn laih
chaam-gwun tim. Daahn-haih jeui ho-slk jauh haih tiuh Luhng
mouh ngaahn ge. Daaih-gwun mh mihng-baahk jauh mahn
keuih dim-gaai riih waahk ngaahn ne? Keuih wah, yuh-gwo
waahk-jo ngaahn ji-hauh, tiuh Luhng jauh wuih fei-jau ge la!

Dong-yin keuih gong ge yeh mouh yahn wuih seung-seun la.

Daaih-gwun hou nau, yat-dihng yiu keuih waahk-maaih deui
ngaahn. Jan keih-gwaai, keuih yat waahk-yuhn deui ngaahn,
tiuh Luhng jauh yuk-jo gei hah, jan-haih yauh jeung ji syu
tiu-jo cheut-laih, fei-jau-jo lak.

Passage 2
Sei-ngh-sahp nihn ji-chihn, go-jahn-sih Seuhng-hoi syun haih
yat go hou sin-jeun ge daaih sihng-sih, daahn-haih Jung-gwok
keih-ta hou do sihng-sih tuhng-maaih heung-ha deih-fong dou
juhng haih hou lohk-hauh ge. Yat yaht, yauh yat go heung-ha-
yahn, Leih Sin-saang, yauh sih yiu heui Seuhng-hoi taam keuih
ge pahng-yauh Wohng Daaih Gwok. Wohng Sin-saang jyuh hai
yat gaan yauh daaih yauh leng, chit-beih yauh chaih-chyuhn ge
jau-dim leuih-bihn.

Leih Saang laih-dou jau-dim, hai daaih-tdhng* dang Wohng

Sin-saang ge sih-hauh, gin-dou yat go louh taai-taai maahn-
maan gam haahng-yahp yat gaan fong-jai leuih-bihn. Leih Sin-
saang meih gin-gwo lip, so-yih keuih mh ji go ga haih lip laih-ge.
Leuhng fan jung ji-hauh, fong-jai ge muhn hoi-jo lak, yat go
yauh leng yauh hauh-saang ge siu-je haahng-cheut-laih.
Leih Saang hoi-chi ge sih-hauh gok-dak hou keih-gwaai, yihn-
hauh keuih jauh hou hoi-sam gam wah: ‘Sihng-sih yahn jan-
haih sin-jeun lak: hah chi ngoh yat-dihng daai-maaih taai-taai
laih.’

(*daaih-tohng = lobby ,
great hall.)
 CD
3
This Grammar summary gives some of the basic principles of
3
Cantonese grammar, which you can use for quick reference.
Where helpful it refers you back to earlier parts of the book
BV
where particular points are discussed in greater detail. These
references are in the form 1.3, where the first number is the unit
number and the second is the number of the heading in the
Q)
grammar section of that particular unit.

1 Adjectives
a Adjectives go before the nouns they limit (yat jek daaih bui
a large cup). [1.3]
b Adjectives can also function as verbs. [1.3; 13.3]
c Adjectival clauses and phrases go before the nouns they limit
and are linked to them with ge:
ngoh hou seung maaih the car I very much want to
geche... buy . .
. [4.6; 17.1]

2 Adverbs
Fixed adverbs such as dou all, both also , jauh then, joi again
,

come immediately before verbs (although the negative mh

can be placed between a fixed adverb and a verb). [1.7; 4.9;
6.3; 8.3; 10.5; 24.8]
b Adverbs of degree such as hou very and taai too go
immediately in front of adjectival verbs and auxiliary verbs
such as seung want to and yiu need to (but again the negative
mh can intervene).
c Adverbs of time when something occurs must come before
the verb, but not necessarily directly before the verb. [6.10;
8.2; 24.3]
 ,

d Adverbs of duration of time come after the verb, but not

244
necessarily directly after the verb. [6.12; 10.9; 20.4; 24.3]
e Adverbs of location normally come before the verb, although
grammar not necessarily directly before the verb, but if the location is
the result of the action of the verb then the adverb comes
after the verb:
summary

Hai Ytng-gwok Wohng Mr Wong has not got a house

Saang mouh uk. in Britain.
Keuih choh hai sd-fa-yi She seats herself on the sofa.
seuhng-bihn. [4.3; 12.7]

f Adverbs of manner can be made by joining them to a verb

with the verb ending -dak:

Keuih jau-dak hou faai. He runs very quickly. [15.2]

g Adverbs can be made from adjectives by the formula hou

adjective gam:

hou leng gam very prettily [8.9]

3 Alternatives
a When or occurs in a question it is translated by dihng-haih:

Neih ting-yaht heui Are you going tomorrow or the

dihng-haih hauh-yaht day after ? [13.6; 16.7]
heui ne?

b When or occurs in a statement it is usually translated by

waahk-je:

Keuih waahk-je laih He’ll come or he won’t. [16.7]

waahk-je mh laih.

c When or occurs with numbers, indicating an approximate

figure,two numbers are given together without other device
(although it is possible to separate them with waahk-je):

luhk-chat yaht six or seven days [10.4; 13.6]

4 Classifiers
a Whenever nouns are counted or specified with this, that
which?, each, the whole the correct classifier must be placed
between the number or specifier and the noun. [2.4; 2.6; 4.8;
12.1; 12.5; 13.2; 16.3; 17.8; 20.1; 25.2; 25.3]
b The plural classifier and the classifier for uncountable things
245
is di. [4.8; 12.5; 15.3]
c The classifier can be used to form possessives in place of ge.
[12.3; 12.5] grammar

d At the beginning of a sentence the classifier can be used with

definite reference (like the in English). [12.5]
e The can be doubled in conjunction with the adverb
classifier summary

ddu meaning each one of. [5.10; 12.5]

to give the
f A very small number of nouns do not need a classifier.
[8.6; 9.9; 12.5]

5 Commands
a Negative commands (don’t!) are made with mh-hou or its
more abrupt form maih. [4.11; 16.4]
b Positive commands (do!) use abruptly spoken verbs (jau!
go!), or (rather less forcefully) the final particle la!, or the
verb ending -jo with a following object, or some adjectival
verbs and verb endings with the comparative -di ending.
[3.10; 17.7; 19.1]

6 Comparatives and superlatives

a Comparatives are formed with -gwo surpassing. The pattern
is X adjective-gwo Y. A bit more is expressed with sui-sfu

and a lot more with hou-do:

Ngoh gou-gwo neih. I am taller than you.
Ngoh gou-gwo neih siu-siu. I am a bit taller than you.
Ngoh gou-gwo neih hou-do. I am a lot taller than you.
[12.2; 16.9]

b Negative comparison uses the pattern X mouh Y gam

adjective:

Neih mouh ngoh gam gou. You are not as tall as I am.
[16.8; 16.9]

c If there is only an X and no Y the patterns are:

Ngoh gou-dl. I’m taller.

Ngoh gou hou-do. I’m a lot taller.
Neih mouh gam gou. You’re not so tall. [16.9]
d Superlatives make use of jeui most, often adding lak after the
adjective:

Keuih jeui gou lak. He is tallest. [8.4; 16.9]

246
e Equivalence is expressed by X tuhng/mouh Y yat-yeuhng
gam adjective:

Ngoh tulmg neih yat- I’m just as tall as you are.

grammar 7 yeuhng gam gou.
Keuih mouh ngoh yat- He’s not just as tall as I am.
yeuhng gam gou. [13.4; 16.9]
summary

Nouns
Nouns only have one form and do not change according to case,
number or gender. The exception is the noun yahn person which
has a plural form yahn-deih, but this plural form is reserved for
the meaning other people and as an oblique way of referring to
oneself or to the person being addressed - it is not used in such
expressions as three people which is saam go yahn. [1.9; 2.6]

8 Particles
Particles are words which for the most part have no meaning in
themselves, but which add nuance or sentiment or some other
gloss to a sentence or phrase. Some (such as ma?, me?, ah?, ne?,
sin, tim, bo, je) are capable of clear definition, but usage of
many others is not consistent among native speakers and so defies
adequate definition. Unfortunately, all speakers of Cantonese use
many particles, but they do not all use the same particles, neither
do they all necessarily agree on which particle to use when.
Often the ill-defined particles seem to add little or nothing to the
meaning and may be treated as ‘voiced pauses’ (‘spoken commas’
if you like) and ignored. [1.11; 3.6; 3.8; 3.10; 5.2; 5.8; 25.4]

9 Passives
The passive construction is not common in Cantonese, but uses

the pattern X beih Y verb and the verb usually carries a verb
ending of some kind:
Tiuh yu beih maau The fish was eaten by the cat.
sihk-gwo lak. [12.4]

10 Possessives
a Possessives are formed with ge which is positioned as if it

were the English apostrophe ’s:

 Wohng Siu-je ge Miss Wong’s boyfriend.
naahm-pahng-yauh. 247
[2.2; 17.2]

b They can also be formed with the appropriate classifier

(single or plural) instead of ge: grammar

ngoh go jai my son ngoh dl neui my daughters

[12.3] summary

11 Potentials
Potentials (can, to be able) are formed in three ways:
a with the verbs ho-yih and sik. Ho-yih often implies
permission to and so is rather like may in English, while sik
indicates acquired ability to and so is like to know how to:

Ngoh ho-yih heui yauh-seui. / may go swimming.

Ngoh sik yauh-seui. I can swim. [6.11]
b with the verb ending -dak:
Ngoh yauh-dak seui. I can swim (= may or = know
how to). [6.11]

c with the positive ending -dak-dou and/or the negative ending

-mh-dou:
Neih tai-mh-tai-dak- Can you see her? [18.6]
dou keuih a?

12 Questions
Questions do not change basic word orders. There are four
main ways of forming them:
a Using a question word such as bin? mat-yeh? gei-si? The
final particle a? is often used in association with these
question words:

Neih seung maaih mat-yeh a? What do you want to buy?

Answers to these questions echo the form of the question, the

answer appearing in the same place in the sentence as the
question word:

Ngoh seung maaih di choi. I want to buy some vegetables.

The question words dim-gaai? and jouh-mat-yeh? are

exceptional in that they are usually answered by yan-waih
. . . because [2.1; 3.1; 3.3; 8.7; 9.8]
 ?

b Using the choice-type question form verb-negative-verb,

again backed up often by a?:

grammar
Keuih slk mh slk Does he know how to speak
gong Jimg-mahn a? Chinese

These questions can be simply answered yes or no by using

summary

the positive or negative form of the verb:

Mh sik. He doesn’t (know how to

speak Chinese ). [1.11]

c Using a question particle such as ma? ah? me? ne? at the end
of the sentence:

Neih haih Jung-gwok-yahn Do you mean to say you’re

me ? Chinese

Type c questions are often answered simply by haih yes or

mh haih no:

Mh haih, ngoh mh No, I’m not Chinese.

haih Jung-gwok-yahn.
Haih, ngoh haih Jung- Yes , I am Chinese.
gwok-yahn. [1.4; 1.6; 3.5]

d Questions about past events can be asked using meih or

mouh and the verb endings -jo and -gwo. [18.5]

13 Sentence word order

a The basic word order of Cantonese is subject-verb-object,
just as in English:

Ngoh jung-yi neih. I love you.

b Other word orders generally have in common that they put

the stressed part of the sentence first regardless of whether
it is the grammatical object, a time word, a location or
whatever:

Be-jau ngoh jung-yi yam. I likedrinking beer (but not

those other drinks).
Ting-yaht keuih mh laih. She’s not coming tomorrow
(although she is coming
today and the day after
tomorrow).
 ?

14 Verb endings
a A number of suffixes can be attached directly to verbs to
convey aspects of meaning (-gan indicates that the action of
the verb is still going on, -gwo that it has been experienced
at some time, -saai that it is wholly committed, -jo that the
action has been completed, and so on.) [4.4; 5.4; 6.9; 6.13;
8.10; 8.11; 11.1; 11.3; 11.9; 15.10; 17.9; 19.1; 19.4; 20.8;
20.9]
b The suffix -dak has two functions: i it enables adverbs of
manner to be attached to verbs and may be thought of as
meaning in such a way that; ii it adds the notion able to to
the verb (gong-dak able to speak). [6.11]

15 Verbs
a Verbs only have one form (they do not conjugate) and do not
change according to tense or number or person. [1.8]
b Verbs are negated by riih, mouh or meih placed before them.
There are two exceptions: i the verb yauh to have does not
have a negative form with ihh or with mouh: normally the
verb mouh not to have is used as the negative of yauh and
ii the negative of the verb yiu to need is usually mh-sai
not
need. [3.7; 3.9; 4.5; 18.5]
c Verbs normally have subjects, which may or may not be
stated depending on whether they can be understood from
the context. Exceptions are rare, although it is doubtful if
there is really any subject to the weather sentences lohk-syut
it is snowing or lohk-yuh it is raining.

d Verbs do not all take objects, although some verbs such as

sihk to eat and gong to speak (called ‘lonely verbs’ in the
units) usually require a generalized object if a specific one is
not mentioned. [4.2; 9.2; 9.4; 9.12; 15.1; 18.4; 25.1]
e Where there is a series of verbs together it is the first of them
which normally is the grammatically operative one, that is
the one which takes the negative or is acted on by an adverb:

Neih gam-yaht seung mh Do you want to go to Beijing

seung heui Bak-ging a? today
f Adjectival verbs. All adjectives can be used with verbal
function:

Keuih ge che hou daaih. His car is very large. [1.3]

Alphabetic systems attempt to show in writing the noises people
make when they speak. By reconverting the symbols on the page
into sounds, the reader can put himself in the position of a
listener and so understand what the writer is ‘saying’.

Ideographic systems, of which Chinese is the main example, do

not make any consistent attempt to show the noises of speech,
instead they try to show the ideas in a speaker’s head when he
speaks. The reader doesn’t reconvert the written symbols into
noises and then convert the noises into meanings, he goes
straight for the throat, seeing the symbols as meanings without
having to go through the medium of noises.

Each syllable of Cantonese is written with one character and

that symbol carries meaning or in a small number of cases
shows the function of the syllable. So the character Ayahn
carries the meaning person while the character for the syllable
,

ne? %
is not actually meaningful but does have the function of

asking a follow-up question.

There are over 50,000 different Chinese characters in existence.

This body of characters is large because unlike the restricted
number of sounds with which the language expresses itself, the
number of different meanings is limitless and each meaningful
or functional syllable needs its own unique symbol. A well-
educated Chinese person will be able to write perhaps 4-5,000
characters and recognize maybe 5-6,000 without the aid of a
dictionary. About 3,500 different characters are used in middle-
brow newspapers.
The first characters (early second millennium BC) seem to have
been pictures of the objects they represented and some of those
pictures in stylized form remain standard today. yeuhng is a
goat - it is how it derives from a picture of a
not hard to see
goat’s head with horns: and @ muhk is an eye a squared-off 251
,

vertical version of a picture of a wide open eye. William Tell the

fans with arrows through apples in mind will recognize the

symbolism of T jung middle.1

Chinese

Gradually, other ways of creating characters were devised, some

of them making use of similarities of sound, so that it is not writing

accidental that the characters & yauh from and yauh oil have
the same element in common. But such common elements are
at best an unreliable guide to pronunciation and sometimes system

can be downright misleading. It is most sensible to think of

characters as being unique symbols for meanings rather than for
pronounced sounds.
Chinese writing speaks more directly and more colourfully to the
reader than does an alphabetic system. The two simple sounds
Jung-gwok you that China is meant, but the characters for
tell

Jung-gwok mean Middle Kingdom and carry with them

[il

additional messages (such as that middle means central and

hence most important thus reducing other countries (ngoih-
,

gwok outside kingdoms) to periperal unimportant status.

Contrariwise, the sheer volume and clumsiness of the character
base has made the computerization of Chinese a very tough nut
to crack. A computer can easily cope with storing the symbols
and reproducing them - the problem is how to access them. The
traditional Chinese methods used in printing and in dictionaries
were slow and sometimes haphazard, and faster methods, such
as accessing through romanization, fall foul of homophones and
of the many different dialects which each have their own ways
of pronouncing words. At present Chinese computer software
tends to offer the user a choice of several different access
methods, but there are problems with all of them.

You may well have worked out for yourself by now that the use
of unique symbols attached to meanings allows Chinese script
to cope with the homophone problem very well. Two words
may be pronounced the same and so be spelled the same in an
alphabetic system, but their characters can be totally different
and easily distinguishable one from the other. Gau, as you
know, can mean nine but it can also mean dog. The two
characters, however, are not at all confusing: tl = nine and
= dog.Similarly iS alcoholic drink and ^
to run, to leave are
both pronounced jau, but there is no mistaking one character
for the other.
 Learning the thousands of characters necessary to be fully
252
literate inChinese is a time-consuming business (for Chinese
the
people as well as for foreigners) and that is why you have
learned through romanization. A Chinese, of course, learns to
Chinese speak at his mother’s knee and he does not need romanization
with that language teaching method!

writing You may like to learn to recognize some common characters.

You will find that knowing them
an extra dimension gives
to learning Chinese, a very satisfying depth of ‘feel’ for the
system
language which you have to experience to appreciate. See if you
can accommodate the few offered here. If you want more, you
could look at the character versions of the dialogues.

See page 224 for the large Chinese characters for ngaih-him
danger, which read from left to right.

See page 97 for the character tihng to stop.

See page47 where the front door (left) of the bus reads in white
seuhng board and the other door reads lohk alight.

Writing a character is subject to certain rules of stroke order -

you cannot write the different strokes in random order or
direction. If you do not observe the correct order it is difficult
to get the character to balance properly and it will probably
become illegible if written in any kind of a hurry. Here are
some useful characters written stroke by stroke for you to
practise:

I h ± seuhng above seuhng to go up

i nn jung middle
;

[ F hah below
^ A j£C neuih female
i n r m m m j| n ^ ahm maie
;^rrrrrrrrfi
r f f P
l.
1

ip
ff W chi-so toilet
i i_j |^i
jjj |
[~|p cheut-hau exit
laai pull

The general rule is that you start at the top left-hand corner of
the character and work downwards to finish at the bottom
right, but the exceptions to this are numerous and you will need
to find a teacher or a specialist book to guide you.
Incidentally, you may write your character text from left to
right across thepage as English does (that’s the modern way), PHI
from right to left down the page (that’s the traditional way the

and, of course, means that you start at what would be the

end of an English book) or indeed any way you like, because Chinese

each character is a discrete entity - you can write round in a

circle anti-clockwise if that’s how the mood takes you. Chinese
newspapers quite often print captions to photographs in a writing

from the rest of the text that they illustrate

different direction
and this produces no confusion, although if an English
newspaper were to try it it would be deedtti yrev gnisufnoc. system
Fjtaking

it
Where do you go from here? Very few textbooks go beyond
elementary level and they use a variety of other romanization
systems which are confusingly different from the Yale system
which you have learned, so they would not be easy. Of course,
further
if you have mastered everything in this book you should be able

to carry on building up vocabulary and fluency through talking

with Cantonese-speaking friends, but there are also some useful
works to help you to study on your own.
Far and away the best reference book is Cantonese: a
Comprehensive Grammar by Stephen Matthews and Virginia
Yip, published in 1994 by Routledge. Don’t be put off by the
title or the size of the book - it is a goldmine of information and

full of sparklingly colloquial examples to illustrate the wealth

of points it makes. And as a bonus it uses a version of the
Yale system almost identical with that with which you are now
familiar.

If you want to expand your vocabulary, you could do worse

than get hold of a copy of The Right Word in Cantonese by

Kwan Choi Wah, published by the Commercial Press in 1989
and reissued many times since. It has a long list of everyday
vocabulary and some supplementary lists designed specifically
for convenience in getting by in Hong Kong. It too uses the
Yale system and at the front it has a table of some of the most
common romanization systems, so that you could use that to
make sense of other books not written in Yale. To enable you to
get help from Chinese people the Chinese characters are given
for all terms.

The Cantonese Dictionary by Parker Po-fei Huang has a

Cantonese-English and an English-Cantonese section and
because it was published by Yale University Press it uses
the Yale system, but it first appeared in 1970 and is hard to
255
get hold of now. The Chinese-English Dictionary by Chile taking

Hon Man and Ng Lam Sim Yuk was published in 1989 by

the Chinese University of Hong Kong Press. It gives Mandarin it

pronunciations as well as the Cantonese ones (which again are

further

in the Yale system). Sidney Lau’s A Practical Cantonese-English

Dictionary (Hong Kong Government Printer, 1977) is still easily
available and contains lots of good colloquial material, but it
can only be used to look up Cantonese words of which you
know the pronunciation, and it uses Lau’s own romanization
which shows the tones by superscript numbers (Kwan’s book
tells you how to convert Lau to Yale and it is not too difficult).

Sidney Lau’s textbooks published by the Hong Kong

government are perhaps the most complete, with two volumes
each of Elementary Cantonese , Intermediate Cantonese and
Advanced Cantonese , all of them using his romanization system.
They are somewhat unexciting in content, but they are generally
reliable and would help to build vocabulary and understanding
of grammar to a high level.

If you find you are making good progress with the spoken
language and you are really serious about going on, your next
step should probably be to start learning Chinese characters, so
that you can get to grips with Chinese on its own terms. Because
all Chinese nowadays is written using the grammar, vocabulary
and character stock of Mandarin, this is quite a tall order and
you will need to explore the availability of Mandarin textbooks
when the time comes.
F|
key

to

the
Unit 1

Exercise 1

a Keuih-deih hou hou.

b Wohng Sin-saang hou.
c Jeung Sru-je dou hou.

exercises
Exercise 2
a Jou-sahn.
b Ngoh hou hou. Neih ne?
c Joi-gin.

Exercise 3
amh b rhh c haih d Meih-gwok che

Exercise 4
a Yaht-bun che mh gwai.
b Keuih mh hou.
c Neih hou leng.
d Keuih-deih yiu rhh yiu che a?
e Keuih dou (hou) leng.
f Keuih-deih haih Meih-gwok-yahn.
g Wohng Sin-saang maaih che.
h Ying-gwok-yahn rhh maaih Meih-gwok che.

Unit 2
True or false?
a False b False c Maybe: they are colleagues d False
Exercise 1
257
a Ngoh sing (add whatever your surname
. . . is),
key
b Haih, keuih haih Jung-gwok-yahn.
c Mh maaih, ngoh mh maaih che. to

d Yauh, ngoh yauh Yaht-bun pahng-yauh. the

Exercise 2
exercises

a The watch and the pen are both Mr Ho’s.

b That watch is very handsome,
c Mr Ho is going to ask Mrs Wong later,
d Which pen is Miss Cheung’s?

Exercise 3
a go b -yahn c bun d mh e mat f bln g dou h mahn

Exercise 4
A Wohng Sin-saang, ngoh seung heui Ying-gwok maaih
Ying-gwok che.
Wong Ying-gwok che hou gwai.
A Neih yauh mat-yeh che a?
Wong Ngoh dou yauh Ying-gwok che.
Exercise 5
Sei go Meih-gwok-yahn.
Saam go Jung-gwok-yahn.
Ngh go Yaht-bun-yahn.
Wohng Sin-saang maaih leuhng go sau-blu.
Yat go Meih-gwok-yahn maaih bat.

Unit 3
Picture quiz

C should address A as Bah-ba.

D should address B as Mah-ma.
D should address A as Bah-ba.
You should address D as Wohng Sm-je.
You should address B as Wohng Taai-taai.
Probably C since he is responsible enough to take his mother to
the doctor’s.

Haih mh haih a?
a Mh haih b Mh haih c Haih d Mh haih e Haih
 Answer the questions
258
key
a Hoh Sin-saang jyuh hai Ga-fe Gaai.
b Jeung Sin-saang jyuh hai Fa-yuhn Douh.
to
c Hoh Sin-saang ge lau mouh che-fdhng.
the
d Jeung Sin-saang seung taam keuih.
e Yauh, yauh hou-dd ba-si heui Fa-yuhn Douh.
exercises

Exercise 1

a Hoh Sin-saang bah-ba haih yl-sang.

b Wohng Taai-taai hai uk-kei jouh mat-yeh a?
c Ngoh mh seung heui tai yl-sang.
d Ngoh-deih yat-chaih faan se-jih-lauh.

Exercise 2
a yl-sang b seung . . . uk-kei c yl-sang d Ying-gwok

Exercise 3
Wohng Sin-saang, hou-noih-mouh-gin. Neih hou ma? Taai-taai
ne? Neih-deih yih-ga hai bln-syu jyuh a?
Deui-mh-jyuh, Wohng Sin-saang, ngoh yiu daap ba-si heui Fa-
yuhn Douh. Ngoh yiu heui taam ngoh bah-ba, daai keuih heui
tai yi-sang.

Unit 4
True or false?
a False b False c False d False e True

Exercise 1

a Wohng Sin-saang seung dang Hoh Taai-taai yat-chaih sihk-

faahn.
b Hoh Taai-taai hai chyuh-fong jyu-gan faahn.
c Hoh Taai-taai mahn Wohng Sin-saang keuih jyu ge sung
hou-meih ma?
d Hoh Sin-saang yauh mouh bong Hoh Taai-taai sau a?
e Hoh Taai-taai jyu ge sung hou-chih jau-lauh ge yat-yeuhng.

Exercise 2
a Slk, ngoh sik jyu ngauh-yuhk tong,
b Mouh, ngoh uk-kei fuh-gahn mouh jau-lauh.
c Mouh, ngoh mouh bong keuih sau.
d Ngoh mh nau.
e Mh haih.
Exercise 3

a Hai chyuh-fong yauh luhng-ha, dou yauh saang-gwo, yauh

key
faahn, yauh tong, yauh tihm-ban. Dou yauh Jeung Sin-
to
saang.
b Yauh, yauh Jeung Sin-saang: keuih haih laahp-saap-tung! the

Unit 5 exercises

Picture quiz

a Hou pehng. Mh leng.

b Yauh laahn. Jeung Siu-je go gihn dou yauh laahn.

Answer the questions

a Keuih seung maaih ha.
b Di ha baat-sahp-ngh man yat gan.
c Keih-ta dong-hau ge ha chat-sahp-yih man yat gan je.
d Yan-waih yauh sei ha!

Exercise 1

a Huhng-sik ge Meih-gwok che hou gwai.

b Ngoh bah-ba slk yauh-seui.
c Wohng Taai-taai heui pou-tau maaih-yeh.
d Keuih gam-yaht mh seung sihk-faahn.
e Hoh Saang mh sihk Hoh Taai-taai jyu ge sung.
Exercise 2
a gaan b No classifier needed c No classifier needed
d ji e jek f jek-jek

Exercise 3
a Wohng Taai yiu bei yih-sahp-baat man.
b Keuih yiu bei luhk-sahp-sei man.

Unit 6

True or false?
a True b False c False d False e False

Answer the questions

a Mh haih Chahn Sin-saang daih-yat chi, haih Wohng Sin-
saang daih-yat chi.
260
b Gim-kiuh Daaih-hohk mh haih hai Leuhn-deun fuh-gahn;
yiu daap fo-che heui.
key
c Haih.
to d Hou-chfh haih.
the

Exercise 1

1 c Gim-kiuh Daaih-hohk haih sai-gaai jeui yauh-meng ge

exercises

daaih-hohk ji-yat.
2 a Yauh Leuhn-deun heui Gim-kiuh Daaih-hohk chaam-
gwun yiu daap che heung bak hahng.
3 b Yauh nl-syu daap sahp-ngh-houh ba-sf heui fei-gei-
cheuhng yiu gei-do chin a?
4 d Nl-syu ge deih-hah-tit-louh mh heui fei-gei-cheuhng ji
heui Daaih-wuih-tohng.
5 e Neih yiu gwo saam go gaai-hau dou Fa-yuhn Douh daap
ba-si heui fei-gei-cheuhng.

Exercise 2
Hai fei-gei-cheuhng daap deih-hah-tit-louh heung dung hahng
dou Daaih-wuih-tohng lohk che. Hai Daaih-wuih-tohng heung
naahm hahng, gwo leuhng go gaai-hau, jyun heung dung jauh
dou lak.

Unit 7
Passage 1
Yesterday mum asked us if we wanted to have salad. We all said
we would like that. Mum said: ‘Fine, so I’ll make a lobster salad
for you. Now, I’m going off to buy the lobster now, and you can
go and buy some fresh fruit.’ We bought lots of fresh fruit and
prepared it all in the kitchen too. Mum
came back half an hour
later. She said: ‘Today the lobsters are small and not fresh, so I
didn’t buy any, I only bought large prawns. You can pretend the
prawn salad is lobster salad!’

Exercise 1

a False b Unknown c True d False e False

Exercise 2
a Keuih maaih-jo daaih ha faan uk-kei.
b Ngoh-deih maaih-jo hou do san-sin sa-leut faan uk-kei.
c Mh san-sin.
d Sik, go-go yahn dou slk jing sa-leut.
e Yauh.
Exercise 3

a Neih sihk-gwo ngauh-yuhk sa-leut ma?

b Ni ji Meih-gwok bat haih ngoh jeui seung maaih ge bat
ji-yat.
c Ni chi haih ngoh daih-yat chi laih neih se-jih-lauh.

Exercise 4

X Deui-mh-jyuh, yih-ga hou jou.

X Ngoh hai uk-kei.
X Ngoh seung cheng neih sihk-faahn.
X Neih hou ma?
X Ngoh dou hou. Neih taai-taai ne?
X Keuih dou-gei hou. Neih tuhng mh tuhng ngoh faan se-jih-
lauh a?
X Hou. Neih ja-che heui ma?
X Choh gei-do houh ba-sf a?
X Hou, Laih-baai-sei ngoh tuhng neih yat-chaih faan se-jih-
lauh.

Exercise 5

a keuih mah-ma b yat c pehng d mh e ho-yfli

Exercise 6
a Ngoh-deih saam go yahn ni go Sing-keih-luhk daap fei-gei
heui Ying-gwok waan.
b Wohng Taai-taai tuhng Wohng Sin-saang yat-chaih laih
ngoh ge se-jih-lauh.
c Neih ge jyu-yi yat-dihng haih jeui hou ge.
d NT gaan daaih-hohk haih sai-gaai yauh-meng ge daaih-hohk.
e Leuhn-deun haih Ying-gwok jeui do yahn ge deih-fong ji-yat.

Passage 2
Today I went to the office. Mr Ho told me he will be flying back
to England on Thursday and so would not be coming into the
office after Wednesday. Mr Ho is one of my best friends and I
guess that he will not be returning here after he goes back this
time. So, what can I give him as a present? I thought about it for
a long while without any ideas, and then went to ask Miss
Wong and Mrs Cheung. Miss Wong said: ‘How about if the
three of us were to ask Mr Ho out for a meal?’ Mrs Cheung
said: ‘It would be best if Mrs Ho could come with him too.’

I think that women have the best ideas. Do you agree?

262 Unit 8
key Have you understood?
to
a dihn-nyuhn-lduh b mh saht-yuhng
the
c cheuhng-gok d mouh yuhng-gwo

exercises
Picture quiz

a Mh dak. b Haih leuhng gihn.

Exercise 1
Tin-hei jihm-jim yiht, maaih laahng-hei-gei haih sih-hauh la.
Laahng-hei-gei mh syun hou gwai, daahn-haih hou yauh-yuhng.
Yuh-gwo maaih rhh saht-yuhng ge yeh, jik-haih saai chin.
Ngoh yih-ging yuh-beih-jo ngoh-deih dl laahng-tln saam la.

Exercise 2

a Jeung Srn-je haih hou leng ge Yaht-bun-yahn.

b Ngoh mh seung maaih Chahn Sin-saang pou-tau maaih ge
Meih-gwok bat.
c Ngoh hou seung sihk Hoh Taai jtng ge luhng-ha.

Exercise 3

a sau-taih b mihn-fai c yat tou leng ge d san-sin

A creative test
‘Mh-hou nau la! Ngoh mh haih wah neih ji ni go miht-fo-tung
haih saht-yuhng ge yeh me?!’

Unit 9
Caption for the cartoon
Neih-deih gok-dak ni cheut dihn-ying chi mh chi-gik a?

Exercise 1

a Hoh Sin-saang hou-chfh ngh-sahp seui gam seuhng-ha.

b wahn-duhng deui gihn-hong hou hou.
Sih-sih
c Ngoh jf-haih jung-yi da-bo, pah-saan tuhng yauh-seui je.

Exercise 2
sung/san-sin; fo-gei/jau-lauh; daaih-gaam-ga/baak-fo-gung-si;
laahn/laahp-saap-tung; hoi-taan/yauh-seui; lohk-syut/dihn-
nyuhn-louh.
Exercise 3
263
a Wohng Sin-saang, jou-sahn. key

b Neih seung mh seung yam be-jau a?

to
c 6u, gam ga-fe ne? chah ne?
the
d Deui-mh-jyuh, ngoh-deih mouh seui. Fo-gei wah ngoh ji

ni-syu dl seui mh hou-yam. Dim-gaai mh yam be-jau a?

e Di be-jau hou hou-yam, haih Ying-gwok be-jau. Cheng yam exercises

sm-sm la.
f 6u, keuih jau lak!

Exercise 4

tai . . . yl-sang/dihn-ymg/yeh
jyu . . . tihm-ban/yeh
gong . . yeh .

chaam-gwun . . . Gim-kiuh Daaih-hohk/chyuh-fong

sihk . .
.
yeh/tihm-ban

Exercise 5

a Wohng Saang sihk-yeh.

b Wohng Taai jyu-yeh.
c Wohng Srn-je maaih-yeh.
d Jeung Saang gong-yeh.
e NT saam go yahn yam-yeh.

Unit 10

True or false?

a Mh haih. Dl yeuhk-seui haih mah-ma seuhng-go-laih-baai

maaih-faan-laih ge.
b Haih, mah-ma chi-chi dou yiu keuih yiuh-wahn dl yeuhk-
seui sin.
c Mh haih, keuih gok-dak (haih) go touh mh syu-fuhk.
d Mh haih, keuih ngaam-ngaam yam-jo sahp fan jung je.
Exercise 1

a Yl-sang hai chan-so tai behng-yahn.

b Wohng Sin-saang haih Jung-gwok-yahn.
c Mah-ma hai pou-tau maaih-yeh.
d Heung-gong-yahn hai Heung-gong jyuh.
e Wohng Wai-lihm ge bah-ba dou haih sing Wohng.
 1

Exercise 2
264
Neih-deih leuhng-go yahn yam-jo gam do mh ngaam yam ge
key
yeh deui san-tai mh hou ge! Neih-deih dou seung sei ah?!
to Wohng Sin-saang, neih yam taai do be-jau - mh-hou yam la!
the Wohng Taai-taai neih yam taai do ga-fe - mh-hou yam la!

Exercise 3
exercises

NT jek jyu-jai heui-jo maaih-yeh.

NT jek jyu-jai mouh leih-hoi uk-kei.
NT jek jyu-jai sihk-jo ngauh-yuhk.
NT jek jyu-jai mouh sihk-yeh.
NT jek jyu-jai wah: ‘Ou! ou! ou!’ jauh heui tai yl-sang.

Exercise 4

a Chahn Saang da-gan bo.

b Keuih sihk-gan luhng-ha.
c Keuih yam-gan be-jau.
d Keuih au-gan.
e Keuih sei-jo lak.

Unit 1

Questions
1 Yesterday I thought this chair was very comfortable, but
now . . . !

2 You should have left: a sih-jong b mh hoi-sam c gihn

ngoih-tou hou leng d so-fa-yi

Exercise 1

a sahp-luhk go sfu-je;
b yih-baak jeung ji;
c ngh-chin-luhk-baak man;
d yat-baak-maahn go Jung-gwok yahn;
e yat-maahn-yih-chin-chat-baak-ngh-sahp;
f baat-chin-lihng-saam-sahp-sei;
g sahp-yat go jung-tauh;
h leuhng jek liihng-ha.

Exercise 3
a gauh-fun b taai pehng c maaih uk
d ji-chihn e yiht f sai-naahm
 .

Exercise 4
Mrs Ho is going to eat lobster on Monday; Miss Ho is going to

see a film on Tuesday; and Mr Ho is going climbing on key

Wednesday. to

the

Unit 12
exercises

Whoops! Something is wrong!

a jek not the correct classifier for students it should be go-go.
is :

b How can I say this sentence if it is true?

c Never ever say mh yauh - it is always mouh.

d The classifier is missing. It should read Go leuhng go
Meih-gwok . .

e Must be wrong. How could the father be only 8 years old?!

Exercise 1

a yauh chuhng yauh do b sei go jung-tauh

c jung-hohk d gaau-syu sin-saang

Exercise 2

a Ngoh go jai sai mh sai hohk Jung-mahn a?

b Keuih muih maahn dou yiu jouh gei-do go jung-tauh gung-
fo a?
c Ngoh go jai hai Leuhn-deun yih-ging duhk-gwo ngh n'lhn
Sfu-hohk. Ying-gwok hohk-saang sahp-yat seui sin-ji duhk
Jung-hohk. Heung-gong haih mh haih yat-yeuhng a?
d Hai neih ge hohk-haauh duhk-syu, duhk yat nihn yiu gei-do
chin a?
e Hohk-saang sai mh sai maaih fo-bun tuhng lihn-jaahp-bou a?
Exercise 3

i = e ii =a iii = c iv =b v =d
Exercise 4

a Uk ngoih-bihn yauh hei-che.

b Wohng Saang hai Wohng Taai jo-sau-bihn.
c Bouh syu hai so-fa-yi seuhng-bihn.
d Ngoh gu keuih-deih maaih-yuhn yeh faan-laih.
e Hai keuih chihn-bihn yauh hou do seui.
f Go miht-fo-tung haih Wohng Sin-saang maaih ge.
g Keuih-deih go jai hai yf hah-bihn.
h Wohng Taai yat-dihng hou mh hoi-sam.
Unit 13
Exercise 1

a Chahn Taai gam-maahn hou mh dak-haahn.

b Ngoh bah-ba sehng-nihn dou mh dak-haahn.
c Mh-goi neih wah bei ngoh teng neih go jai ting-yaht mohng
mh mohng a?
d Keuih Laih-baai-yih hou mohng.
e Ngoh jeui mh dak-haahn ge sih-hauh haih jiu-jou.

Exercise 2

a dl b gaan . .
.
jek c cheuhng d ga

Exercise 3
mohng/dak-haahn; syu-fuhk/san-fu; gaan-jung/sih-sih; yehng/
syu; hohk-saang/sin-saang; jing-fu/sih-mahn; fung-fu/sfu-sm;
gaam-sfu/jang-ga

Exercise 4

a Ngoh gu haih Wohng Taai yehng chin,

b Mh haih, keuih hou mh hoi-sam.
c mah haih sei-houh (mah).
Daih-luhk jek
d Gau-houh mah yehng.
e Haih Wohng Taai-taai hou slk dou-mah.
f Mh ngaam, gau-houh mah hou-gwo sei-houh mah.
g Gau-houh mah dou hou-gwo saam-houh mah.
h Mh haih, jeui hou go jek mah haih gau-houh mah.
i NI cheuhng choi-mah yauh luhk jek mah.
j Ngoh gu keuih-deih haih syu do-gwo yehng lak.

Unit 14

Passage 1

When Mr Wong’s seven-year-old son came to school yesterday

he cheerfully told me that his father had bought a new house
last week. The house was large and looked nice, with three
bedrooms and there was a front garden and a garage as well. He
said: ‘Now I have a room to myself, it’s really comfortable. But
mummy has to share a room with daddy, so I think she must be
unhappy. I don’t know why daddy won’t let mummy use the
third bedroom. No one is using that room now, daddy has only
put a lot of books in there, that’s all.’
Exercise 1
267
a Keuih haih chat seui.
key
b Keuih maaih-jo yat gaan san uk.
to
c Uk chihn-bihn yauh fa-yun tuhng-maaih yat gaan che-fdhng
the
tim.
d Haih mah-ma yiu tuhng keuih yat-chaih.
e Daih-saam gaan fan-fong leuih-bihn yauh hou do syu. exercises

f Mouh.

Exercise 2
a hei-mohng b tin-hei c laahng-tln
d da-syun e dihn-ymg f wahn-duhng
g gei-yuhk h do-yuh i gihn-hong
j noih-yuhng k sfu-leuhn 1 pihng-gwan

Exercise 3
a ting-yaht b Laih-baai-yaht c chihn-yaht
d sehng-yaht e johk-yaht f Yaht-bun
g gam-yaht h yaht-yaht i hauh-yaht

Exercise 4

a i The first horse is No. 9.

ii The first horse is not No. 9.
b i Miss Jung-san happens to be Japanese.
ii Miss Jung-san really is Japanese,
c i He is going to Canton tomorrow.
ii He is not going to Canton until tomorrow,
d i Mrs Chan has been to the States more than ten times,
ii Mrs Chan has been to the States dozens of times.

Exercise 5

a syu-fuhk b tihng-che ge c hou do chin

Exercise 6

a Keuih seuhng-tohng ji-chihn, sih-sih dou heui taam keuih

naahm-pahng-yauh.
b Wohng Taai seung maaih go ga che, yan-waih ga che hou
len ®-
c Ngoh mh mihng-baahk go go yahn laahng-tln seung maaih
laahng-hei-gei jouh-mat-yeh a?
d Go dl ha mh san-sin, so-yih Chahn Taai seung maaih. mh
e Keuih sihk-gan yeh ge sih-hauh, ihh gong-wa.
 Exercise 7
268
key a Maaih go ga che yiu gei-do chin a?

to
b Wohng Saang Sing-keih-gei (or gei-si) leih-hoi Yaht-bun a?
c Hai Leih Taai jo-sau-bihn go jehk gau-jai haih bin-go sung
the
bei keuih ga?
d Go di yahn yauh gei-do go haih gaau-syu sin-saang a?
exercises

Passage 2 Mr Ho bets on the horses

If a rich person wants to buy a horse then he goes and buys one,
but that’s a very expensive way to ‘buy a horse’! In Hong Kong
you will often hear poor people saying ‘I think I’ll buy a horse
today.’ What’s the explanation? Have a guess, what could it
mean if a poor person talks about ‘buying a horse’? That’s right,
‘to buy a horse’ means ‘to bet on a horse’, so when poor people
say they want to buy a horse that means they want to bet on a
horse.

Mr Ho is not very rich. One day his good friend Mr Cheung

phoned him up and asked him: ‘There’s horse racing tonight. I’d
like to invite you to go with me to the racecourse to enjoy
ourselves. What do you say?’ Mr Ho happily said ‘Fine. Fine.
Terrific idea!’

After finishing the phone call he told Mrs Ho. She said: ‘You
have never been horse racing before, this will only be your first
time. I wonder if you’ll like it?’ Mr Ho said: ‘Oh, you’re right.

This will be my first time horse racing. If I don’t like it, I’ll have
to sit there with nothing to do! What can I do about it?’ Mrs Ho
said: ‘You’d best buy a book before you go to the course. If you
feel that it’s fun watching the horses, then there’s no need to
read it. Otherwise, you can sit there and read. What do you
think?’ Mr Ho is a very docile man: he does whatever his wife
says. So of course that evening before he went to the racecourse
he bought a book.

Luckily, Mr Hofound the racing quite good fun and there was
no need win a brass farthing, on the
to read. But he didn’t
contrary he lost a great deal of money. When he went home he
angrily said to his wife: ‘Next time I go horse racing I won’t
listen to you! When you bet on a horse you want to bet to win,
you shouldn’t bet to lose!’

Do you get it? The pun is on maaih-syu which could be either

‘buy a book’ or ‘bet and lose’ and superstitious gamblers believe
that doing the one results in the other.
Exercise 8
Mr Cheung came home from gambling at the dog track. His son 269
asked him: ‘Daddy, how did the gambling go today? Did you key

win?’ ‘Won nine races out of ten.’ ‘Wow! Daddy, you really to
know how to gamble. You bet on ten races and only lost on the

one.’ ‘To tell you the truth, I didn’t win a cent. I bet on ten races
and the dog track was the winner on each race!’
exercises

Here the pun is on gau-cheuhng which sounds like either ‘dog

Mr Cheung’s son naturally enough at first
track’ or ‘nine races’.
heard what he most wanted to hear, that his father had won
handsomely.

Unit 15

Answer the questions

a Jau-dim fohng-gaan leuih-bihn laahng-hei-gei miht-fo-tung
dou mouh.
b Ngh-slng-kap jau-dim haih jeui hou jeui hou ge jau-dim.
c Yauh-dl ngh-slng-kap jau-dim leuih-bihn yauh chan-so
tuhng-maaih wahn-duhng fong.

Exercise 1

a Neih haih Ying-gwok-yahn dihng-haih Meih-gwok-yahn ne?

b Fo-che faai dihng-haih fei-gei faai ne?
c Keuih Laih-baai-saam dihng-haih Laih-baai-sei laih ne?
d Hoh Sin-saang seung heui Heung-gong dihng-haih Gwong-
jau ne?
e Haih Leih Taai mouh chin dihng-haih Chahn Taai mouh
chin ne?

Exercise 2

a yaht-tau b yat-dihng (yauh) c laahng-seui d heng

e fo-gei

Exercise 3

a Keuih gong-dak faai.

b Wohng Saang maaih ha maaih-dak hou pehng.
c Neih haahng-louh haahng-dak faai-gwo Jeung Siu-je.
d Neih yam yeuhng-jau yam-dak do-gwo ngoh.
 Exercise 4

key a jeung b jek c ga d gaan e tiuh

to
f ga g gaan h jeung i gihn

the
Exercise 5

a Yat gan chuhng-gwo yat bohng.

exercises

b Hai Ylng-gwok maaih gihn-hong bou-hfm hou gwai.

c Tuhng-maaih choh-gan fei-gei ge sih-hauh dou yauh mfhn-
seui yeuhng-jau maaih.
d Mh-sai. (remember the normal negative of yiu is mh-sai)
e Hai Leuhn-deun yauh sei go fei-gei-cheuhng.

Exercise 6

a saam-dim-leuhng-go-jih
b sahp-dim-sahp-yat-go-jih
c gau-dim-bun
d chat-dim-saam-go-gwat
e sahp-yih-dim-lihng-gau-fan(-jung)
f hgh-dim-sahp-ngh-fan(-jung) ngh-dfm-saam(-go-jih) ngh-
dim-yat-go-gwat

Exercise 7
Neih Laih-baai-luhk leuhng-dfm-bun dou-jo mah-cheuhng.

Unit 16
Haau-sih
Ngoh gu yan-waih go go haau-sih-gwim pa-dou tauh-wahn
fan-jo hai-douh je.

Exercise 1

a i b i c i d i Generally Chinese people mention themselves

first, in contrast to polite western practice which is to put self
last, e i

Exercise 2
a ii I also think he is Japanese,
b ii I give away his ten dollars,
c ii Mrs Leeis going to Japan to get on a plane,

d ii(Closest might be) I and Mr Wong are going to the City

Hall to eat.
e ii Whose wife is ill?
Exercise 3
a = Mr Lee b = Mrs Chan c = Mr Chan key
d = Mrs Lung e = Mr Lung £ = Mrs Lee
to

Exercise 4 the

a da-Mah-jeuk
b dou-pe-paai exercises

c chau jeung-ban
d teng gwong-bo
e chung huhng-dang
f tai dihn-ymg

Exercise 5
Wohng Saang gou-gwo Chahn Taai tuhng Wohng Taai, mouh
Leih Saang Leih Taai gam gou, daahn-haih tuhng Chahn Saang
yat-yeuhng gam gou. Leih Saang gou-gwo Wohng Taai hou-do.
Leih Saang jeui gou.

Exercise 6
a Waaih-yahn b Ngh-wuih c Sau-leih d yat-sih or yauh-sih

Unit 17
You are a Hong Kong immigration official:
Sin-saang, mh-goi neih gaau bun wuh-jiu tuhng-maaih chlm-
jing bei ngoh la. Neih gei-sf seung leih-hoi Heung-gong a? Nah,
jing-fu kwai-dihng mh jeun daai sau-cheung yahp-laih Heung-
gong: rhh-goi neih gaau-bei daih-sei-sahp-yat-houh gwaih-toi ge
ging-chaat Sa-jm la.

Exercise 1

a Wohng Saang pah-gan saan.

b Keuih hai seung-yahn-chohng seuhng-bihn fan-gaau.
c Keuih tiu-gou.
d Keuih laai-jyuh jek gau.
e Keuih choh hai so-fa-yi seuhng-bihn.
f Keuih keih hai yat jeung yf seuhng-bihn.

Exercise 2
a ging-chaat b sin-saang c sl-gei d fo-gei e yi-sang

Exercise 3
a sin-ji She said she would come back on Monday, but she
didn’t return until Wednesday.
 b you had left I rang your wife,
ji-hauh After
272
c month Mrs Wong didn’t even sell one car: her
lihn Last
key
manager was very unhappy about it.
to d ddu He plays Mahjong every day, so he has no time to go
the shopping with me.
e jeuk saam-kwahn It’s not very convenient to wear a dress
when swimming.
exercises

Exercise 4
a Yat nihn yauh saam-baak-luhk-sahp-ngh yaht.
b Ting-yaht haih Laih-baai-yaht.
c Sei-yuht yauh saam-sahp yaht.
d Saam go sing-keih mouh yat go yuht gam do yaht.
e Saam nihn noih-di.
Exercise 5
a Keih hai Chahn Taai jo-bihn go go siu-je haih Wohng Saang
sahp-chat seui ge neui.
b Neih hai Meih-gwok leuih-yauh maaih ge Yaht-bun che haih
bln yat ga che a?
c Neih nl go gauh ge miht-fo-tung mh gau daaih. Maaih yat go
daaih-dl ge, hou mh hou a?

Unit 18
Exercise 1

a Gam-yaht haih Sing-keih-gei a?

b Leuhn-deun Fei-gei-cheuhng hai sihng-sih bln-bihn a?
c Gwai-sing-a?
d Dl ha gei-do chin yat gan a?
e Neih chat-dim-jung dihng-haih baat-dim-jung heui ne?

Exercise 2
a Bak-bihn b Neuih-yan c Go-syu
d Yahp-bihn e Gauh-nin f Hauh-yaht
g Ga h Neui i Yeh-maahn
Exercise 3
Wohng Saang jeui daaih. (remember that daaih is used for
comparative age, not louh)

Exercise 4
a faai-dl! b fong-ga c seuhng-bihn d suhk-slk
e yihng-jan f yl-sang g ngoih-tou h ngaam-ngaam
 Exercise 5
273
a bihn-fuhk b cheuhn-loh-che c gage key
d daahn-haih e mh jeun
to

Exercise 6 the

a faahn-wihng b fong-mihn c sau-leih

d yahm-hdh e mihn-seui f fong-bihn exercises

Unit 19
Exercise 1

a Mh haih, mouh johk-yaht gam gou.

b Ying-gwok jing-fu jeui-gahn gung-bou mh wuih jang-ga
leih-slk.
c Ngoh gu go-jahn-sih Ying-bong yat-dihng wuih gou hou-do.
d Mouh mahn-taih. Go-jahn-sih mh-goi neih joi da-dihn-wa
bei ngoh la.

Exercise 2

a Hai sihng-sih.
b Gok-dak san-fu.
c Geuk-jai yuhng-laih tihng-che a-ma.
d Jou-chaan haih yat yaht daih-yat chi sihk yeh. Haih yaht-tau
sihk ge.

Exercise 3
a i b ii c ii d ii e ii

Exercise 4
a ii You and I may not go there,

b i I cannot drive on the outlying islands,

c i I’ll come in the afternoon,
d i I like eating fruit with salad.
e i When are you going to Japan and what do you intend to do
there?

Exercise 5
a Chahn Saang jeui daaih.
b Neuih-ge haih baak-fahn-ji-luhk-sahp.
c Naahm-ge dong-yin haih baak-fahn-jl-sei-sahp la.
d Haih Chahn Taai gou.
e Keuih-deih yauh saam go jai.
274 Unit 20
key
Exercise 1
to

the
a Mr Wong hates taking medicine,
b Don’t open your eyes wide and stare at me!
c Materials which are not up to standard are treated as
exercises seconds.
d It is, of course, illegal to gamble in a gambling den.

e We should pay more attention to the study conditions of our

children.

Exercise 2

a Luhk-yuht sei-houh.
b Yat-gau-gau-chat-nihn Chat-yuht yat-houh.
c Ngh-yuht sahp-hgh-houh.
Yih-lihng-lihng-sei-nihn
d Sahp-yih-yuht sahp-yat-houh Laih-baai-yaht hah-jau luhk-
dim-saam-go-jih.
e Cheut-mn Baat-yuht sa-ah-yat-houh.

Exercise 3

a Ying-gwok
b Leuhn-deun
c chiu-gwo yat-maahn Ying-bong
d yihn-gam

Exercise 4

a cheut-gaai/haahng-gaai
b jin-jang
c daaih-yeuk
d hung-yauh
e ging-leih
f lo-tai

Exercise 5

a Jeung Taai yehng-jo yat-maahn-baat-chin-yih-baak man. Hoh

Saang yehng-jo yat-maahn-saam-chin-luhk-baak-ngh-sahp
man. Wohng Saang yehng-jo yat-maahn-lihng-gau-baak-yih-
sahp man. Leih Taai yehng-jo gau-chin-yat-baak man. Chahn
Saang yehng-jo yih-chin-chat-baak-saam-sahp man je.
b Ngh-sahp-yih-go-bun.
Unit 21
Passage 1 key

Several hundred years ago in a place in the

north of China there to
lived a rich man called Wong. He had lots of horses, all of them
the
tall, mighty and handsome and he loved them very much. One

day a handsome but rather old horse went missing. Mr Wong’s

friends all felt it was a great pity and they thought that he would exercises

be angry and very unhappy, but quite on the contrary he was

not only not angry but believed that the horse would come back
very soon. After a few days the horse really did come back. His
friends said Mr Wong was very fortunate, but he just smiled and
said: ‘That old horse knows what’s what, [I knew] he could find
the way home, that’s all.’

Passage 2
Long ago there was a doctor in Canton. One day he wrote a
letterof great importance to a doctor in another city. At that
time China did not have a post office and he was very busy and
had no time to take the letter there, so he told his son to take it
for him. He said to his son: ‘This letter is very important, it must
get there quickly! Let’s see, the more legs the quicker: your two
legs won’t be as quick as four legs. You had better use my horse
to go. Hurry up!’

The young man and his father awaited his return. He

set off
knew would need about eight hours to get to that
that a horse
place and back. Who could have guessed that it was two days
before his son returned. He said cheerfully to his father: ‘I’m
back, dad. Was I quick? Ithought and thought and thought up
a very fast method. You said the more legs the quicker and that
two legs were not as fast as four ... so I walked leading the
horse along ... if two legs aren’t as fast as four, then six legs
were bound to be faster than four legs, right?’

Exercise 1
Seung-laih-seung-heui think coming think going means to rack
your brains , to think and think.
a walking up and down
b running to and fro
c We bargained and bargained but couldn’t agree a price.
 Exercise 2

key
a An average horse weighs about 1,000 lbs (yat-chin bohng).

to
b On average a horse dies at about 20 years of age (yih-sahp
seui). -
the
c A horse can only stay healthy if it exercises for at least half
an hour a day (bun go jung-tauh).
exercises
d A horse must eat at least 20 lbs of food a day (yih-sahp
bohng).

Exercise 3
10 a.m. Call taxi
10.30 a.m. To Manager Wong’s office
12.15 p.m. Lunch in City Hall with Miss Cheung
3.30 p.m. Get air ticket from travel company
6.45 p.m. Drinks with Miss Ho at Hong Kong Hotel
7.30 p.m. Cinema with Miss Ho

Exercise 4
a cha-mh-do b hahm-baahng-laahng c daahn-haih
d ngaam-ngaam e yauh-sih f jouh-mat-yeh

Exercise 5
a Keuih yauh-seui, so-yih mh yiht mh san-fu.
b Keuih gam-yaht mh ja laahp-saap-che, keuih ja keih-ta che a.
c Keuih yih-sahp nihn ji-chihn haih yat go yauh yat-chin-
maahn man ge yauh-chm yahn.

Exercise 6
Wohng Sin-saang ge san che:

a hou leng.
b leng-haih-leng, daahn-haih mouh Jeung Saang ge san che
gam leng.
c mh-haih-gei-leng.
d mh gau daaih.
e taaigwai la.
f haih sai-gaai seuhng jeui leng ge che.
g leng-gwo ngoh ga che hou-do.
h tuhng Jeung Saang ge san che yat-yeuhng gam daaih yat-
yeuhng gam gwai.

Exercise 7
a wai (or go, but that is not really polite enough)
b lihn c louh d gei . . .noih e daaih
 .

Exercise 8
277
a Wohng Saang A-geuk yiu bei do-dl (B-geuk keuih mh sai
key
bei).
to
b B-geuk haih Leih Saang yiu bei baat-baak man.
c Jeung Saang A-geuk yiu bei saam-baak man, B-geuk yiu bei the

ngh-baak man, jlk-haih wah keuih B-geuk yiu bei do yih-

baak man. exercises

d Bei jeui siu ge haih Chahn Saang: bei jeui do ge haih Leih
Saang.

Exercise 9
a Ngoh mah-ma da-dihn-wa (ge sih-hauh) gong-dak dou-gei
maahn.
b gau yiht.
Fo-gei, nl dl ga-fe rhh
c Neih seung yam be-jau dihng-haih seui ne?
d Neih go ji seuhng-go-yuht maaih ge bat mouh ngoh nl ji gam
gwai. or Neih seuhng-go-yuht maaih ge go ji bat . .

e Keuih giu ngoh wah bei neih ji neih yiu gei-do dim jung laih.
f Wohng Sin-saang lihn luhng-ha dou mh jung-yi sihk.
g NT dl syu yauh saam-fahn-ji-yih haih Jung-mahn syu.
h Keuih yuht-laih-yuht-yauh-chfn.

Exercise 10
August and September the weather
In July, in Hong Kong is
very hot. When it’s hot people like to travel by taxi, because
cabs are plentiful and comfortable. Why comfortable? Because
they all have air-conditioning. Four or five people can get in a
taxi and it’s not very expensive, in fact, very cheap. Ordinary
cars are blue or green, white, red, black or yellow, every colour
under the sun, but taxis are different, they are all painted red
and silver.

Unit 22
Exercise 1

a Mh haih, ngoh mh haih Meih-gwok-yahn.

b Haih, keuih-deih yuht-laih-yuht-waaih.
c Haih, ngoh meih sihk-gwo jou-chaan.
d Mh haih, keuih hou jung-yi faan-gung.
e Haih, yat-yeuhng gam jung-yi.

Exercise 2
a mei b bei c faan d dyun
 Exercise 3
278
key
a -gan b -jyuh c -gwo d -saai e -hoi

to Exercise 4
the
a Chat-maahn-lihng-yih-baak-man.
b Haih Chahn Saang 16 ge chin do. (Hoh Saang yat-guhng
exercises
ji-haih 16 yih-maahn-sei je.)
c Wohng Taai gam-yaht bat-gwo yuhng-jo yah-yih-go-sei je.
d Ngoh uk-kei yat-guhng yauh sahp-ngh go yahn. (Mh-hou
mh gei-dak ngoh la!)

Unit 23
Exercise 1

a yat-lauh b ging-jai c laai-yahn d jai-fuhk e san-seui

Exercise 2
a Yauh ngahn-hohng heui Hoh Saang uk-kei ji yauh leuhng
gung-leih je.

b Ngahn-hohng hai Hoh Saang uk-kei dung-bihn.

Exercise 3
a Keuih haih sei-sahp bohng.
b Haih yauh-sau.
c Keuih yih-ga luhk seui.
d Keuih ji-haih gaau-jo baat-sahp man bei fo-gei je!

Exercise 4
a Yiu tihng-che bo!
b Laahm-sik ga wohng-slk haih luhk-slk.
c Laahm-sik ga huhng-slk haih ji-slk.
d Hou gauh ge dihn-ying haih hak-baahk-slk ge.

Exercise 5
a Fo-gei, nl-syu dl hoi-sin jan haih hou-meih, yauh san-sin
yauh jing-dak leng. Slk-heung-meih dou haih yat-lauh ge.
b All our fish are live here, of course they’re fresh.
c Klh-goi maaih-daan la.
d Thank you. $2890.
e Mat-yeh wa?! Gam do ge! Jan-haih mh pehng a!
f You should know, sir, that it’s very hard to buy live fish now.
Added to that, our restaurant presents you with chopsticks,
one pair for each customer.
g Ngoh meih maaih-gwo gam gwai ge faai-ji a. Hou la. Mh
pehng, daahn-haih dou dai. Nl-douh haih saam-chin man.
h Thank you. key

to
Exercise 6
the
‘NT tiuh yu jan-haih leng, yat-dihng hou hou-meih. Bln-wai
hang bei yat-chin man a?’
exercises

Unit 24
Exercise 1

a a shadow b johk-yaht

Exercise 2
a Wohng Siu-je sihk jou-chaan ji-chihn, jaahp-gwan heui saan-
bouh sin.
b Ngoh hai uk-kei ge sih-hauh, mh daai mou.
c Naahm-yan luhk-sahp-ngh seui sin-ji ho-yih 16 teui-yau-gam.
d Ngoh gam-jiu-jou yat tai bou-jf jauh ji-dou ngoh-deih gung-
slge chihng-fong hou ngaih-him.
e Chahn Sin-saang yuht yam be-jau yuht jung-yi yam. or
Chahn Sin-saang yuht-laih-yuht-jung-yi yam be-jau.

Exercise 3

a Yat go sai-man-jai seung laai gau, daahn-haih jek gau mh

seung haahng.
b Yat go naahm-yan teui-jyuh yat ga waaih-jo ge che. Keuih
taai-taai ja-jyuh go ga waaih che.
c Yauh yahn hoi faai che chung-gwo huhng-dang.
d Ging-chaat yuhng sau-cheung da-sei-jo yat go yauh cheung
ge waaih yahn.

Exercise 4
a chihn-bihn b bak-bihn c nl-douh
d yauh-sau-bihn e cheut-bihn

Exercise 5
a Cheng-mahn, yauh mouh ba-si heui gei-cheuhng a?
b Yauh Daaih-wuih-tohng heui gei-cheuhng yiu gei-do chin a?
c Yiu choh gei-noih (ba-si) a?
d Ba-si yauh mouh chi-so a?
e Yih-ngh-yat-houh baan-gei gei-do-dim-jung hei-fei a?
f Yih-ngh-yat-houh baan-gei gei-si dou Leuhn-deun a?
 >

280 Unit 26
key Exercise 1

to
a gmg-chaat -» ging-chaat-guhk
the
b sai-yi-gei — chyuh-fong
c yeuhk-seui —» chan-so or yi-yun
exercises
d gong-kahm -> haak-teng
e bei-syu —> se-jih-lauh
f -» ngahn-hohng
ji-piu

g leuhn-pun —> dou-cheuhng

h yauh-gaan -» yauh-guk

Exercise 2
a Mh-goi neih mh-hou yuk a.
b Neih gong-dak dou riih-haih-gei-ngaam bo.
c Neih yauh-dl mh-haih-gei-mihng-baahk ah.
d Ngoh dou mh ho-yfh (or mh-wuih) tuhng-yi.
e Deui-mh-jyuh, Ghim-kriu Daaih-hohk dou mh haih sai-gaai
seuhng jeui yauh-meng ge.

Exercise 3
Taai-taai,go chahng lau yauh daaih yauh leng. Jyu-yahn-fong
hou daaih, yauh tou-fong chi-so tuhng chung-leuhng-fong;
juhng yauh daih-yih gaan fan-fong tuhng-maaih daih-yih go
chung-leuhng-fong tim. Haak-teng tuhng chyuh-fong dou-gei
daaih. Yauh leuhng ga lip, juhng yauh che-wai baau-kwut hai
uk-ga leuih-bihn. Deih-ji hou hou, jlk-haih Gwong-jau Douh
yah-chat-houh baat lau. Ga-chihn hou pehng: bat-gwo yiu ngh-
baak-ngh-sahp-maahn man Gong-ji je. Ngoh hou seung maaih!

Exercise 4
a Ging-leih ge gung-jok jauh haih yiu gwun-leih-hou keuih ge
gung-si.
b Hoi-chi hoi-che ji-chihn neih yiu jyu-yi mat-yeh a?
c San-sin ge hoi-sin hou hou-sihk.
d Heung-gong yauh hou do yat-lauh ge jau-lauh.

Exercise 5
a = yauh-seui b = dihn-ying c = da-bo
d = Gong-jf e = chim-jing

Exercise 6
a la b ah ... a c me/ah ... la d bo . . . ne
 ?

Exercise 7
|281
a hai hoi-sin jau-ga b hai mah-cheuhng key
c hai ba-si-jaahm d hai ngoh uk-kei e hai se-jih-lauh
to

Exercise 8 the

a jeung b fuk c ga d tou e tou f douh

exercises

Exercise 9
a It doesn’t make sense: how can he be rich if he hasn’t got
even $ 1
b How can you be older than your mother?
c Mh does not go with -gwo: it should be meih tai-gwo.
d It should be haahng-dd& sahp-fan faai.

e Yih-che does not go with seui-yihn: change yih-che to

daahn-haih.

Passage 1
A very long time ago in China there was a man who loved
painting. His pictures were superb, especially when he was
painting dragons, they looked just as though they could move.
Once a high official, getting to know that he was good at
painting dragons, said to him with great delight: ‘I myself love
dragons too. If you were willing to paint a dragon for me I
would pay you very well.’
A few days later sure enough the dragon was done and very well
painted at that. It attracted a lot of people who came to look at
it.But alas the dragon had no eyes. The official was mystified
and asked why he did not paint the eyes. The painter replied
that if he did so the dragon would fly away.

Of course no one could believe what he said. The official was

very angry and insisted on him putting the eyes in. Strange as it
may seem, as soon as he had painted them the dragon gave a
few shakes and really did jump out from the paper and fly away.

Passage 2
Forty or 50 years ago Shanghai was considered a very advanced
city, but many other cities and rural areas of China were still
very backward.

One day a certain Mr Lee came up from the country with

matters about which he needed to see his friend Wong Tai
Kwok in Shanghai. Mr Wong lived in a large and beautiful hotel
with all possible facilities.
 When Mr Lee got to the hotel and was waiting in the lobby for
282
Mr Wong, he saw an elderly lady slowly walk into a tiny room.
key
He had never seen a lift, so he didn’t know that that was what
to it was. A couple of minutes later the doors of the little room

the opened and out walked a beautiful young lady.

Mr Lee at first thought it very strange, but afterwards he said
exercises gleefully:‘The city folks really are advanced: next time I’ll be
sure to bring my wife with me.’
Numbers in brackets indicate the unit in which the entry is

introduced. Abbreviations:

ap = appendix
cl = classifier
fp = final particle

a- prefix for names/relationships (22)

a? fp: finishes a question (1)
a? fp: triumphantly scoring (8)
aai! alas! (24)
aan-jau midday; lunch (22)
ah? fp: that’s right, isn’t it? (3)
a-ma! fp: you should realize (5)
au to vomit (10)
Au-jau Europe (19)

baahk-faahn
baahk-ji
boiled/steamed rice
blank paper
(25)
<
baahk-slk white
(20)
(12) o
baahn-faat
baak
method, way, means
hundred
(18)
(11) o
baak-fahn-ji-sahp
baak-fo-gung-sl
1 0 per cent
department store
(19)
(8)
0)
baan
baan-gei
cl: group of, gang of

scheduled flight
(17) C7
(15)
baat eight (2)
c_
baau wrap up (20)
baau-gwo parcel (20) Q>
baau-kwut to include (25)
bah-ba father (3)
baht-laan-dei brandy (25)
 baih! oh dear ! oh heck! alas! (17)
284
bak north (6)
bak-bihn the north side (12)
Bak-ging Beijing (Peking) (23)
Bak-ging-choi Peking food (23)
Cantonese-English

ba-sl bus (3)

ba-si'-jaahm bus stop (6)
bat pen (2)
bat-gwo but however
, (17)
bat-gwo only (20)
bat-yuh it would be better
vocabulary

if (19)
behng illness (10)
behng-yahn a patient (10)
bei give (4)
bei-gaau compare (19)
bei-gin-neih bikini (8)
beih by (passive) (12)
beih-blk be forced to (ID
bei-maht secret (24)
bei-syu secretary (22)
be-jau beer (8)
bihn-faahn pot luck (4)
bihn-fuhk plain clothes (17)
bihn-yi plain clothes (17)
biht-yahn other people (24)
bin to change (19)
bln? which? (2)
bln-douh? where? (3)
bin-go? who? which one? (2)
bm-jihk to devalue (19)
bln-syu? where? (3)
bfu-gaak a form (20)
bo ball (9)
bo! fp: let me tell you (5)
bohng pound (weight) (12)
bong on behalf of for the
\
benefit of (10)
bong . . . sau help (4)
bong-baan inspector (17)
bong-chan patronize, give custom (23)
bo-sf boss (25)
bou to compensate (22)
bou-dou check in, register (15)
bou-douh to report, a report (18)
bou-faan-sou to make up for (10)
bouh area , part , portion (6)
bouh cl: for books
285
(12)
bou-him insurance (15)
bouh-muhn department (19)
bou-ji newspaper (18)
bou-jing to guarantee
Cantonese-English

(20)
bou-liu material, fabric (11)
bou-on security , keep secure (25)
bui, bin cup, glass (25)
bun half (4)
bun cl: for books (12) vocabulary

bun-chihn capital (13)

bun-deih local, indigenous (18)

chaak to demolish, tear down (23)

chaak-yihm to test; evaluation (12)
chaam-ga take part in (11)
chaam-gwun visit a place (6)
chaan meal (4)
chaan-paai menu (23)
chaan-teng restaurant (23)
chaang-slk orange (12)
chaau-faahn fried rice (25)
chah tea (4)
chah to investigate, check (19)
Chahn a surname: Chan (1)
chahng cl:for a flat, apartment;
storey, deck (3)
chah-wun tea bowl (25)
chaih-chyuhn complete, all embracing (23)
cha-mh-do almost (12)
chan-ngaahn with one's own eyes (18)
chan-so clinic (10)
chat seven (2)
chauh-fun fund raising (13)
chau-jeung lucky draw (13)
che steep (16)
che car (1)
che-fohng garage (3)
chek foot (length) (19)
chek red; naked (19)
chek-geuk-yi-sang barefoot doctor (19)
chek-jih in the red, deficit (19)
Chek-laahp-gok Chek Lap Kok (airport) (6)
 che-lou steep road (16)
cheng invite (4)
cheng please (3)
cheng-mahn please may ask
I (6)
cheuhng cl: for performances, bouts,
Cantonese-English

games (13)
cheuhng long (22)
cheuhng-gok corner (8)
cheuhng-sai detailed, fine, minute (22)
cheuhn-loh-che patrol car (17)
vocabulary
cheuih-bfn as you please, feel free (4)
cheui-siu to cancel (10)
cheung-lim-bou curtains (25)
cheut cl: for films and plays (9)
cheut out (17)
cheut-bihn outside (12)
cheut-gaai to go out into the street (18)
cheut-nm next year (8)
che-wai parking space (25)
chi time, occasion (6)
chi-fo seconds (5)
chi-glk exciting (9)
chih-dl later (2)
chihn-bihn front (12)
chihn-gei-nihn a few years ago (18)
chihng-fong situation, circumstances (16)
chihn-maahn the evening of the day
before yesterday (11)
chihn-nm the year before last (10)
chihn-yaht the day before yesterday (9)
chih-sihn charity (13)
chim-jing visa (15)
chin light (coloured); shallow (25)
chin money (5)
chin thousand (11)
ching-git clean (25)
chin-keih whatever you do, don't (16)
chin-laahm-slk light blue (25)
chi-sin crazy (16)
chi-so toilet (10)
chit-beih facilities, equipment (15)
chit-gai design (ID
chiu-gwo to exceed (19)
cho error (19)
choh to travel by (6)
choh sit
287
(3)
choh-gaam to be in prison (18)
choh-hoi-dl sitfurther away (17)
choh-llp to ride in a lift (25)
choh-maaih-dl sit closer (17)
chohng bed (15)
choi cuisine (23) llish

choi-che motor racing (16)

choi-che-sau racing driver (16)
choi-mah to race horses (13) vocabulary

cho-kap elementary , first grade (24)

chouh noisy (25)
chouh-yauh-piu to collect stamps (24)
chuhng heavy (12)
chuhng-leuhng weight (15)
chung to rush , dash against (12)
chung-leuhng to havea shower (25)
chung-leuhng-fong bathroom (25)
chyuh-chuk savings ; to save (19)
chyuh-fong kitchen (4)
chyuhn-bouh all, the whole lot (23)
chyuhn-jan fax (22)
chyuhn-jan-gei fax machine (22)
chyu-leih to handle , deal with (22)

da hit (9)
daahn-haih but (6)
daahn-sing flexible (22)
daai lead (2)
daai wear (11)
daaih big (3)
daaih-dong gambling den (13)
daaih-fong tasteful, sophisticated (11)
daaih-gaam-ga sale (5)
daaih-hohk university (6)
daaih-kwai-mouh large scale (19)
daaih-muhn-hau main doorway (20)
daaih-seng loud, in a loud voice (11)
daaih-tohng lobby (26)
daaih-wuih-tohng city hall (6)
daaih-yeuk approximately (20)
Daaih-yran Your Honour, Your
Excellency (18)
daan-che bicycle (16)
daan-yahn-chohng single bed (15)
daap travel by (3)
daap-dak-dou able to catch (18)
daap-mh-dou unable to catch (18)
da-bo play ball (9)
da-dihn-wa to make a phone call (10)
da-fo to strike fire (24)
da-fo-gei cigarette lighter (24)
da-fung a typhoon (8)
da-gaau fight (18)
da-gip rob (18)
dahk-biht special (23)
dahk-faai express (20)
Dahk-keui Special Administrative
Region (SAR) (20)
Dahk-sau Chief Executive of SAR (20)
da-hoh-baau purse snatching , to pick
pockets (18)
dai worth it (15)
daih- (makes ordinal numbers) (6)
daih-mei last in order (22)
daih-yat the first (6)
daih-yih the second , the next (6)
da-jih to type (22)
da-jih-gei typewriter (22)
dak OK (5)
Dak-gwok Germany (19)
dak-haahn at leisure (13)
da-lehng-taai to tie a necktie (10)
da-mah-jeuk to play Mahjong (13)
dang allow
let , (5)
dang wait (4)
dang a light (12)
dang to stare , open the eyes (17)
dang-daaih-deui-ngaahn take a good look (17)
dang-dang etcetera (15)
dang-ngoh-bei let me pay (5)
da-sou sweep (25)
da-syun intend (8)
deih-fong place (6)
deih-ha ground floor , the ground ,

the floor (3)

deih-ha-tit-louh underground railway (6)
 )

deih-ji address (20)

deih-jln carpet (25)
deih-leih geography (12)
deih-mm the floor (25)
deih-tit underground (6)
deih-tit-jaahm underground station (6)
Cantonese-English

deng cl: for hats (11)

deui exchange money (19)
deui cl: a pair of (16)
deui with regard to , towards (9)
deui-mh-jyuh sorry (1) vocabulary

deui-mihn opposite (12)

deui-wuhn-leut exchange rate (19)
dl cl: for plurals and
uncountable things (4)
dihn electricity (16)
dihn-che tram (9)
dihn-daan-che motorbike (16)
dihng-haih or? (13)
dihn-ji electronic (25)
dihn-nouh computer (22)
dihn-nyuhn-louh electric heater (8)
dihn-sih-gei television set (15)
dihn-toih radio station (13)
dihn-wa telephone (10)
dihn-yauh petrol (16)
dihn-ymg film (
cinema (9)
diht-jeuih order (12)
dlk-sf taxi (3)
dik-sih-gou discotheque (24)
dim a point spot, dot
, (23)
dim(-yeung) how? in what way? (5)
dim-gaai why? (4)
dim-sam dim sum (23)
diuh-tauh turn to face the other way (16)
do many, much (3)
do-dl a little more (15)
do-jeh thank you (5)
do-jeh-saai thank you very much (15)
dong regard as (4)
dong-hau street stall (5)
dong-yin of course (13)
dou to gamble on, bet on (13)
dou all, both (4)
 dou also (1)
290
dou arrive , arrive at, reach (6)
dou-bd to bet on football (13)
dou-cheuhng casino (13)
dou-chfn to gamble with money (13)
dou-gau to bet on dogs (13)
dou-gei quite (3)
dou-gu-piu to gamble on shares (13)
douh cl: for doors (25)
douh road ,
street (3)
dou-mah bet on horses (13)
dou-ngoih-wuih to gamble on foreign
exchange (13)
dou-pe-paai to gamble at cards (13)
dou-yih-ga-waih-j i up to now (18)
do-yuh surplus (9)
duhk-laahp independent (22)
duhk-syu study (12)
dung east (6)
dung-bak northeast (6)
dung-bihn the east side (12)
dung-naahm southeast (6)
dyun short (22)

faahn rice , food (4)

faahn to offend , commit crime (18)
faahn-duhk to peddle drugs (17)
faahn-teng dining room (25)
faahn-wlhng prosperous (13)
faahn-wun rice bowl (25)
faai fast , quick, quickly (15)
faai-dl get a move on! (17)
faai-jf chopsticks (16)
faan return (3)
faan-gung go to work (22)
faan-taan fantan (13)
faan-yih on the contrary, despite this (19)
faan-ying reaction (16)
Faat-gwok France (19)
faat-gwun a judge (18)
faat-muhng to dream (25)
faat-sang happen, occur, transpire (18)
fahn-ji element, member (12)
faht-chin to fine, be fined (18)
fai-yuhng cost, fee (15)
fan-gaau sleep
291
(16)
fan-lihn training , to train (24)
fan-mh-jeuk unable to get to sleep (25)
fan-mihn to give birth (22)
fa-yeung pattern (11)
Cantonese-English

Fa-yuhn-Douh Garden Road (3)

fa-yun garden (2)
fei ticket (15)
fei to fly (24)
fei-faat illegal (13) vocabulary

fei-gei aircraft (6)

fei-gei-cheuhng airport (6)
fei-gei-piu air ticket (15)
fei-lam film ( camera ) (25)
fo a subject , a discipline (12)
fo-bun textbook (12)
fo-che railway train (6)
fo-gei waiter (4)
fo-geih science and technology (24)
fohng-gaan room (15)
fo-hohk science (12)
fong-bihn convenient (17)
fong-ga holiday (9)
fong-gung finish work (22)
fong-mihn aspect (12)
fuh-gahn nearby (4)
fuh-jaak responsible (22)
fuhk-mouh service (15)
fui-slk grey (12)
fuk cl: for paintings (24)
fuk-leih benefits , welfare (22)
fling cl: for letters (20)
fung wind (8)
fung-fu rich , abundant (13)
fun-sik style (5)
fun-yihng welcome (22)

ga cl: for vehicles, aircraft,

machinery (12)
ga false (17)
ga? = ge + a? fp (2)
gaai street (3)
gaai-hau road junction (6)
ooo gaai-siuh introduce (4)

A
W
gaam-sfu reduce , cut down (9)

3
CD gaan cl: for houses and rooms (3)
o gaan-daan simple (20)
gaan- ip j indirectly (22)
i
T gaan-jung occasionally (10)
gaau to hand over (15)
(Q
gaau-syu teach (12)
i
gaau-tung traffic, communication (12)
gaau-tung-dang traffic light (12)
1
gaau-yuhk education
| (12)
ga-chihn price (11)
f
*<
ga-chihn-paai price tag (ID
ga-fe coffee (3)
ga-fe-sik brown (12)
ga-ga to increase price (23)
gahn or kahn close to (20)
ga-keih holiday (22)
gam dare (18)
gam so, in that case (3)
gam so (4)
gam-jiu-jou this morning (4)
gam-maahn this evening, tonight (ID
gam-nfn this year (8)
gam-noih so long a time (18)
gam-seuhng-ha approximately (9)
gam-slk gold, golden (12)
gam-yaht today (4)
gam-yeung in that case, so (3)
gan catty (5)
gan-yiu important (21)
ga-sai driving, to drive (16)
gau dog (13)
gau enough (16)
gau nine (2)
gauh old (not new), used (8)
gauh-nin last year (8)
gau-jai-gam relief money (18)
gau-jung time’s up (13)
ga-yahp to join, recruit into (17)
ge fp: that’s how it is! (3)
ge links adjectives to nouns (4)
ge shows possession; -’s (2)
gei quite, rather, fairly (3)
gei to post, mail (20)
gei several (9)
gei? how many f how much? (9)
gei-cheuhng airport (6)
gei-dak remember (9)
gei-do how much? how many? (5)
Cantonese-English

gei-fuh almost but not quite (18)

gei-gam . . . laak how very . . . / (18)
gei-hei machine (24)
gei-nihm memorial, to commemorate (20)
gei-noih how long? (20)
gei-piu air ticket (15)
gei-sior gei-sih when? (8)
gei-wuih chance (22)
gei-yuhk muscle (9)
ge-la fp: strong emphasis (5)
geui-baahn to run, hold, conduct (15)
geuk foot, leg (16)
geuk-jai footbrake (16)
gihn cl: most clothing items (5)
gihn-hong healthy (9)
gim-chah to check, inspect (25)
gim-hung to accuse (12)
Gim-kiuh Cambridge (6)
gin see, meet (8)
gin-chih insist, insist on (25)
ging-chaat policeman (12)
ging-gwo to pass by, via (ID
ging-jai economy (19)
ging-leih manager (15)
ging-yuhn-jing warrant card (17)
git-gwo result (16)
giu tell to do (17)
go that, those (2)
go cl: for people and many
objects (2)
go-douh there (5)
goi alter (8)
goi-bin to change, alter (24)
go-jahn-sih at that time (10)
gok-dak feel (9)
go-kehk opera (24)
gong speak (9)
Gong-ji Hong Kong dollars (19)
 ?

gong-kahm piano (24)

294
gong-siu to joke (16)
gon-jyuh hurrying (15)
go-syu there (5)
gou high , tall (10)
gu guess (2)
gu-dak-dou able to guess (18)
gu-duhk solitary (24)
gu-haak customer client , (23)
guhk bureau office department
, , (16)
guih tired (24)
gu-mh-dou unable to guess (18)
gung-bou to announce (19)
gung-fo homework (12)
gung-guhng public (12)
gung-gwaan public relations (15)
gung-hei congratulations (23)
gung-jok work (22)
gung-jouh to work (22)
gung-leih kilometre (23)
gung-si company (8)
gung-yahn worker , servant (25)
gu-piu stocks and shares (13)
gwaai ‘ good boy*, well behaved.
obedient (13)
gwaan-haih relationship, relevance.
connection (13)
gwa-houh to register (10)
gwai a ghost (21)
gwai expensive (1)
gwai-gwok your country (23)
gwaih-toi counter (15)
gwai-lou ghost fellow (westerner) (10)
gwai-sing-a? what is your name (1)
gwan-deui army (17)
gwan-fuhk military uniform (17)
gwan-yahn soldier, military personnel (17)
gwo past, across, by (6)
gwo than (12)
gwo-bong to weigh (15)
gwo-chuhng overweight (15)
gwok-ga country , state (19)
gwong-bo to broadcast (13)
Gwong-dung Guangdong (province) (23)
Gwong-dung-choi Cantonese food (23)
Gwong-jau 295
Guangzhou (Canton) (13)
Gwong-jau-wa Cantonese language (23)
gwong-maahng bright (25)
gwo-sih overtime (22)
gwun control, be in charge of (12)
Cantonese-English

gwun an official, an officer (16)

gwun-leih management manage , (25)

ha prawn shrimp
, (5)
ha ha ha! (23) vocabulary

haahng to walk (15)

haahng-gaai go out into the streets (15)
haahng-hdi-jo not here (17)
haahng-louh walk (15)
haahng-saan walk in the country (15)
haak-hei polite (4)
haak-teng living room lounge
, (25)
haan to save ; stingy (8)
haau to examine, to test (16)
haau-si'h examination (16)
hah-(yat)-chi next time (15)
hah-bihn under, underside (12)
hah-go-laih-baai next week (10)
hah-go-yuht next month (17)
hah-jau afternoon, p.m. (15)
hahm-baah(ng)-laahng all told (20)
hahng to journey, go towards (6)
hahng-leih luggage (15)
hah-pah chin (9)
hahp-kwai-gaak to qualify, meet requirements (17)
hai at, in, on (2)
hai-douh at the indicated place (ID
haih be (1)
hai-syu at the indicated place (11)
hak-slk (haak-sik) black (12)
hang willing (22)
hau-bouh the mouth (9)
hauh-bihn back (12)
hauh-loih later, afterwards (25)
hauh-maahn evening of day after
tomorrow (11)
hauh-nin year after next (10)
hauh-saang young (12)
 hauh-saang-jai youngster (12)
hauh-yaht day after tomorrow (10)
hei-che vehicle , car (12)
hei-dim start (22)
hei-fei to take off (aircraft) (15)
hei-mohng hope , to hope (10)
hei-san get up (10)
hei-yauh-chi-leih how could that be? (16)
Atm
heng light (in weight) (15)
heui go, go to (2)
heung fragrant (23)
heung towards (6)
Heung-gong Hong Kong (3)
heung-ha countryside (6)
heung-sauh enjoy (15)
hing-cheui interest (13)
hing-daih brothers (3)
Hoh a surname: Ho (1)
hohk-haauh school (12)
hohk-saang pupil, student (16)
hohng-noih-yahn insider expert
, (15)
hoi run/start a business (23)
hoi open (19)
hoi sea (25)
hoi-che start/drive a car (16)
hoi-gung start work, start a job (22)
hoi-sam happy (8)
hoi-sin seafood (23)
hoi-taan the beach (8)
ho-nahng possible that, possibility (16)
ho-slk it’s a pity that, unfortunately (11)
hou good (1)
hou very (1)
hou-chih just like (4)
hou-choi lucky, fortunately (12)
hou-do a lot more (16)
hou-gam favourable impression (23)
houh day of the month (20)
hou-meih delicious (4)
hou-noih-mouh-gin long time no see (3)
hou-sihk delicious (to eat) (13)
hou-tai good-looking, attractive (13)
hou-teng harmonious, melodic (13)
hou-waan good fun, enjoyable (13)
hou-yam delicious (to drink) (13)
ho-yih may can
297
, (6)
huhng-dang red light (12)
huhng-slk red (5)
hung empty (ID
hung-yauh airmail (20)
Cantonese-English

hyun advise , urge, plead with (24)

hyut blood (16)

jaahm-sih temporary (20)

jaahp-gwaan accustomed to; habit (24) vocabulary

jaahp-hau gate , gateway (15)

jaahp-jung concentrated, centralized (23)
jaak narrow (16)
jaan praise (11)
jaan cl: lamps and
for lights (12)
jaau(-faan)-chfn to give change (20)
ja-che drive (6)
jai son (10)
jai to put, place (8)
jai-douh system (22)
jai-fuhk uniform (17)
jai-neui children (22)
jam pour (25)
jang hate (24)
jang-ga to increase (13)
jan-haih truly (4)
jat-dei quality (5)
jau alcoholic drink (8)
jau run, run away (3)
jau-dim hotel (15)
jau-ga Chinese restaurant (23)
jauh then (4)
jauh-faai soon (23)
jauh-jan that’s for sure! (25)
jau-lauh Chinese restaurant (4)
jau-long passage, corridor (8)
jau-naahn flee disaster; take refuge (6)
jau-wui reception , cocktail party (ID
je fp: only, and that’s all (3)
jek cl: one of a pair (16)
jek cl: for animals (5)
jek fp: only, and that’s all (3)
jeuhn-leuhng so far as possible (19)
 jeuin crime
jeuih-mihng charge, accusation
jeuih-on criminal case

inglish

jeun bottle, bottle of

vocabulary
jeun-bouh progress
Jeung a surname: Cheung
jeung cl: for sheet-like objects
jeung-ban prize
jeung-loih future
jeun-tip allowance, grant
n paper
n cl: for stick-like objects
j» to know (a fact)
ji only then

know (a fact)
body fat
characters ; 5 minutes
only
after
self
direct, directly
gradually

jih-on law and order

jih-yuhn voluntarily, willing
jlk-haih that to say
is

jlk-yuhn staff\ employee, clerk

ji-mah fp: only
ji-muih sisters
jing certificate , pass
jfng make prepare
,

jing-fu government
jing-haih just happens to be
jin-jang war
jm-laahm show, exhibition
 .

ji-piu a cheque (19)

ji-slk purple
299
(12)
jit-muhk programme (15)
jiu-jou morning (4)
ji-yat one of the . . (6)
ji-yiu so long as provided that
, (9)
jo-(sau-)bihn left side (12)
joh cl: for massive things (25) llish

johk-jiu-jou yesterday morning (4)

johk-maahn last night , yesterday evening (ID
johk-yaht yesterday (4) vocabulary

johng run into knock into

, (16)
joi again (4)
joi-chi another time , a second time (18)
joi-gin goodbye (1)
jdi-naahn disaster (19)
jok-au to retch , about to vomit (10)
jou early (4)
jou-chaan breakfast (22)
jouh do (3)
jouh-gung to work (22)
jouh-mat-yeh? why ? for what reason ? (3)
jouh-saang-yi to do business (4)
jou-sahn good morning (1)
jo-yiuh-yauh-baai shaking from side to side (10)
juhng still , yet (3)
juhng even more furthermore; (8)
juhng-meih still not yet (16)
juk-kauh soccer (13)
juk-kei play chess (24)
jung clock (15)
jung-dim finish (22)
jung-fa to cultivate flowers (24)
jung-gaan in the middle of, in between (12)
Jung-gwok China (2)
Jung-gwok-choi Chinese food (23)
Jung-gwok-wa Chinese language (18)
J ung-gwok-yahn a Chinese (10)
jung-hohk secondary school (12)
jung-leuih type, kind, species (23)
Jung-mahn Chinese language (12)
jung-tauh hour (4)
Jung-waahn central district (6)
Jung-yi Chinese medicine (10)
 jung-yi like, fond of (6)
jyu Pig (10)
jyu cook (4)
jyu-choi main course (4)
jyuh live, dwell (3)
Cantonese-English

jyu-jai piglet (10)

jyun turn, change (6)
jyun-ga expert, specialist (24)
jyu-sihk-louh cooking stove (25)
jyu-yahn-fong master bedroom (25)
vocabulary
jyu-yi idea (6)
jyu-yi pay attention to (15)
jyu-yuhk pork (10)

kahn near, close to (20)

ka-laai-du-kei karaoke (24)
kap-duhk to take drugs (18)
kap-yahn to attract (13)
kau-tung to communicate (24)
keih stand (17)
keih-gwaai strange (24)
keih-ta other (5)
keuhng-gaan rape, to rape (18)
keuih he, she, it (1)
king-gai chat (ID
kwaang to cruise (25)
kwaang-gung-sl go window shopping (25)
kwai-dihng to regulate, lay down a rule (17)
kyuhn right, powers, authority (17)
kyut-dihng decide (25)
kyut-faht lack (24)

la fp: that’s how the case stands

now (3)
la fp: urging agreement or
co-operation (3)
laahm-slk blue (12)
laahn broken, damaged (5)
laahng cold (8)
laahng-hei-gei air conditioner (8)
laahng-tin winter, cold weather (8)
laahp-saap rubbish (4)
laahp-saap-tung rubbish bin (4)
laai arrest (17)
laai pull (17)
laak fp: that’s how the case stands
now (3)
laih come (3)
laih-baai week (5)
laih-ge/ga?
Cantonese-English

fp: for identification (19)

lau flat,apartment (3)
lauh flow (16)
lauh remain (24)
lauh-dai ceiling (25)
lauh-faan to leave behind (24) vocabulary

lauh-tai staircase (25)

lehng-taai necktie (8)
Leih a surname: Li/Lee (1)
leih distant from (25)
leih-dou outlying island (6)
leih-hoi leave , depart from (9)
leih-slk interest (money) (19)
leih-yauh reason (25)
leng pretty , beautiful (1)
Leuhn-Deun London (6)
leuhn-dou the turn of (16)
leuhng two (2)
leuhn-pun roulette (13)
leuih-bihn inside (9)
leuih-yauh tourism, travel (15)
lihk-si history (12)
1'ihn . . . dou . . . even (17)
lihng cause (18)
lihng zero (ID
lihn-jaahp practise (24)
lihn-jaahp-bou exercise book (12)
lihn-juhk in succession, consecutively (19)
lip lift (25)
lo fp: agreement with previous
speaker (15)
16 take (15)
lohk alight (6)
lohk-hauh backward, old fashioned (25)
lohk-yuh rain (8)
loih-wohng coming and going; current
(account) (19)
lo-tai naked, nude (17)
louh old, elderly (6)
 louh-bln the roadside (17)
302
louh-mm road surface (15)
louh-saht honest (13)
louh-toih balcony (25)
louh-yahn the elderly, the aged (18)
Cantonese-English

luhk six (2)

luhk-dang green light (12)
luhk-slk green (12)
luhng dragon (26)
luhng-ha lobster (4)
vocabulary

ma? fp: makes questions (1)

maahn evening (6)
maahn slow (16)
maahn ten thousand (ID
maahn-chaan dinner, supper (23)
maahn-faahn dinner (23)
maaih buy (2)
maaih sell (1)
maaih-choi food shopping (23)
maaih-daan bill (23)
maaih-mah beton horses (14)
maaih-sung food shopping (23)
maau cat (24)
mah horse (13)
mah-cheuhng racecourse (13)
mah-faahn trouble (12)
Mah-haak Deutschmark (19)
mah-louh road (6)
mah-ma mother (3)
mahn ask a question (2)
mahn-gm document (22)
mahn-taih problem (15)
maih don’t (4)
man dollar (5)
mat-yeh what ? what kind off (2)
mau-dai squat down, crouch (10)
mauh-saat murder, to murder (18)
me? fp: do you mean to say
that . . . ? (5)
meih not yet (10)
meih tail, end (17)
meih-bo-louh microwave oven (25)
Meih-gam American dollars (19)
Meih-gwok USA (1)
riih not (1)
mh gan-yiu never mind (2)
ihh-cho not bad (ID
ihh-dak no can do (5)
mh-gin-jo lost (24)
mh-goi thank you (2)
mh-goi-saai thank you very much (15)
mh-gwaai-dak no wonder (23)
mh-haih-gei not very (3)
mh-haih-hou not very (3)
mh-hou don’t (4)
mh-ji not only (18)
mh-ji Iwonder (ID
mh-sai no need to (4)
mh-sfu-dak not than
less (15)
mh-syu-fuhk unwell, uncomfortable (10)
mfhn-fai free of charge (5)
mihng-baahk understand (12)
mihng-seun-pm postcard (20)
mfhn-seui tax free, duty free (15)
miht-fo-tung fire extinguisher (8)
mohng busy (10)
mou hat, cap (ID
mouh have not (3)
mouh-mahn-taih no problem! (15)
muhk-dik aim, purpose (24)
muhn door (20)
muhn-hau doorway (20)
muih each, every (12)
muih-hei town gas (25)

naahm male (9)

naahm south (6)
naahm-bihn south side (12)
naahm-chi(-so) gentlemen’s toilet (17)
naahm-gung-yahn male servant (25)
naahm-hohk-saang boy pupils/students (17)
naahm-pahng-yauh boyfriend (17)
naahm-yan man, adult male person (17)
naahn difficult (17)
nah! there ! here it is, look! (5)
nam think about (20)
nau angry (4)
neuih-chi(-so) ladies’ toilet
neuih-ging policewoman
neuih-hohk-saang girl pupils/students
neuih-pahng-yauh girlfriend
neuih-shiu-fdhng-yuhn firewoman
neuih-yan woman , adult female
ngaahn eye
ngaahng hard unyielding
,

ngaahn-sik colour
ngaam correct
ngaam-ngaam moment ago
ngaam-ngaam exactly , precisely
ngahn-chln dollar
ngahn-hohng bank
ngahn-slk silver-coloured
ngai low
ngaih-him danger
ngauh cow ox ,

ngauh-yuhk beef
ngh five
ngh-slng-kap five star, top class
ngh-wuih misunderstand
ngoh /, me
ngoih-bihn outside
ngoih-gwok foreign country
ngoih-hong layman , outsider
ngoih-tou jacket
ngoih-wuih foreign exchange
nl this , these
ni-douh here
nl-gei-nihn these last few years
nl-gei-yaht these last few days
nl-go-yuht this month
nihn year
nihn-meih end of the year
ni-syu here (5)
noih long time (3)
noih-hong-yahn insider , expert (15)
noih-yuhng contents (9)
nyuhn warm (15)

oh! oh , now I understand! (4)

dn-chyuhn safe (25) llish

ou! oh! (surprise) (1)

Ou-mun Macau (13)
vocabulary

pa fear (8)
paak-wai to park a car (16)
paau-mah horse racing (19)
pahng-yauh friend (2)
pah-saan climb mountains walk in ,

the hills (9)

pehng cheap (5)
pei-yuh for example (16)
pe-paai playing cards (13)
pihng-gwan average (12)
pihng-yauh surface mail (20)
pou-pin common (widespread) (18)
pou-tau shop (5)
pou-tung common (18)
Pou-timg-wa Putonghua (Mandarin) (18)
pou-tung-yahn an ordinary chap (18)
puih to keep company with (25)
pun to sentence (18)

saai waste (8)

saai-taai-yeuhng to sunbathe (8)
saam three (2)
saam clothing (8)
saam-kwahn dress (5)
saan mountain , hill (9)
saan-bouh to stroll, go walking (24)
Saan-deng The Peak hilltop
, (22)
saang-gwo fruit (4)
saang-yaht birthday (23)
saang-yi business (4)
saan-seui to scatter away (17)
sahp ten (2)
sahp-fan totally (18)
 sahp-go-baat-go nine or ten (10)
306
saht-joih in fact , really (11)
saht-yuhng practical (8)
sai small (5)
sai wash (15)
Cantonese-English

sai west (6)

sai to drive (16)
sai-bak northwest (6)
sai-bihn west side (12)
sai-chaan western food (23)
vocabulary
sai-gaai world (6)
sai-man-jai children (22)
sai-naahm southwest (6)
sai-san to bathe (15)
sai-san-fong bathroom (15)
sai-wun-gei dishwasher (25)
Sai-yahn a westerner (9)
Sai-yi western medicine (10)
sai-yi-gei washing machine (25)
sa-jin sergeant (17)
sa-leut salad (4)
sam deep (25)
sam-gei mind, thoughts (22)
san new (5)
san-ching apply (17)
san-fan-jing identity card (17)
san-fu hard, distressing (12)
san-fun new style (ID
san-mahn news (13)
san-seui salary (22)
san-sin fresh (4)
san-tai body (9)
sat-baaih a loss, a failure (12)
sau-biu wristwatch (2)
sau-cheung handgun , pistol (17)
sau-dou receive (19)
sauh to suffer (24)
sau-jai handbrake (16)
sau-juhk-fai handling charge (20)
sau-juk brothers (secret society) (17)
sau-leih repair (16)
sau-san conduct a body search (17)
sau-sin first of all (20)
sau-taih portable (15)
 )

sau-taih-dihn-wa mobile phone 15 )

(
sau-yaht day
first 20
( )

se write 19 )
(

sehng- the whole (9)

sehng-yaht the whole day 9) (

seh-wui society ( 12 )

sei die, dead (5)

sei four (2 ) llish

Sei-chyun Sichuan ( Szechwan ( 23 )

Sei-chyun-choi Sichuan food 23
( )

sei-jai deadbeats, bastards (

17 ) vocabulary

se-jih-lauh
(2 )
office
se-mihng written clearly ( 19 )

seng wake up 16
( )

seuhng go up 17 )
(

seuhng-(yat)-chi last time ( 15 )

seuhng-baan go to work, go on shift 22
( )

seuhng-bihn on top of 12
( )

seuhng-che get onto a vehicle 17 )

(

seuhng-go-yuht last month ( 17 )

Seuhng-hoi Shanghai 22
( )

seuhng-jau morning, a.m. 15( )

seuhng-saan go up the hill 17 )

(

seuhng-sl superior officer, boss ( 17 )

seuhng-sou appeal to a higher court ( 18 )

seuhng-tohng attend class 12 )

(

seui water (5)

seui year of age 9) (

seui-teui go into decline ( 19 )

seui-yihn although 18
( )

seun believe (4 )
seun letter 19 )
(
seun-fung envelope 20
( )

seung cl: pair of 16 )

(

seung double 9) (

seung towound, a wound ( 16 )

seung would like to (2 )

seung-faan on the contrary 11 )

(

seung-jeuhng to imagine ( 18 )
seung-pm photograph 17
( )

seung-san double salary 22

( )
seung-seun to believe, trust 19 )
(

seung-yahn-chohng double bed ( 15 )

seun-ji letter paper 20
( )
 shang-wuht to live , livelihood (18)
si try (ID
sl-gei driver (12)
sih matter, business (2)
sih-cheuhng market (19)
Cantonese-English

sih-do a store (25)

sih-gaan time (3)
sih-hauh time (8)
sih-hou hobby (24)
sih-jong fashion (11)
vocabulary
sihk eat (4)
sih-keui urban area (6)
sihk-faahn to eat have a meal
, (4)
sihk-maht food (23)
sih-mahn citizen (12)
sihng-jTk result , score , report (16)
sihng-laahp established, to establish (18)
sihng-sih city, town (18)
sihng-waih to become (18)
sih-sih always (8)
slk know how to (4)
slk-hahp suitable to, fitting (13)
slk-heung-meih appearance, aroma and
flavour (23)
sin first (6)
sing surname (1)
sing-gaak temperament, disposition (24)
sing-gong-gei lift (25)
sing-keih week (5)
sin-jeun advanced (22)
sin-ji only then (10)
sin-saang teacher (12)
sin-saang Mr (1)
siu few, little (4)
siu smile (16)
Siu- Little (name prefix) (22)
siu-ba minibus (6)
siu-fohng-guhk firebrigade (17)
siu-fohng-yuhn fireman (17)
siu-hohk primary school (12)
siu-je Miss (1)
siu-leuhn ferry (6)
siu-sam careful (16)
sfu-sih hour (25)
siu-sik news, information (23)
sfu-shi somewhat (5)
si-yuhng-keih probationary period (22)
so lock (25)
sd-fa-yi sofa , easy chair (11)
sou-hohk mathematics (12)
so-yfh therefore (4)
suhk-sik familiar with (15) llish

sung deliver , send (6)

sung food (4)
syu book (12) vocabulary

syu lose (13)

syu-faat calligraphy (24)
syu-fuhk comfortable (10)
syun to be regarded as, to be
reckoned (8)
syun-sat a loss (23)
syut-gou ice cream (8)
syut-gwaih refrigerator (15)

taai too (4)

taai-taai Mrs (1)
taam visita person (3)
tai look at (5)
tai-dak-dou able to see (18)
taih to mention (25)
tai-hei see a play, go to the cinema (9)
tai-mh-dou unable to see (18)
tai-syu read (14)
tai-yl-shang see the doctor (3)
tauh head (10)
tauh-jeung first prize (13)
tauh-jyu to stake, bet (13)
tauh-sin just now (10)
tauh-tung headache (10)
tauh-wahn dizzy (10)
tau-ji overdraft, to overdraw (19)
tau-yeh steal (18)
teng listen (6)
teui push (17)
teui-yau retire (22)
teui-yau-gam a pension (22)
tihm-ban dessert (4)
tihng stop (ID
 tihn-se fill in a form
tim fp: as well, what’s more, also
ting-maahn tomorrow night
ting-yaht tomorrow
tin-hei weather
Cantonese-English

tin-mahn-toih observatory
Tin-sing mah-tauh Star Ferry Pier
tip-seuhng to stick on
tiu-gou to jump high high jump
;

tiuh cl: for long flexible things

vocabulary
tiuh-gln conditions , terms
tiu-mouh to dance
Tohng-chaan Chinese food
Tohng-yahn a Chinese

tong-wun soup bowl

tou cl: set of, suit of
tou-fong en suite
touh stomach , abdomen
tuhng same , alike
tuhng with and,

tuhng-maaih and
tuhng-sih colleague
tuhng-yi to agree
tung pain
tung(-fo-paahng)-jeung inflation
tung-yuhng stretch a point

uk house
uk-ga house price
uk-kei home

wa language, speech
wa! wow!
’
waahk-gwai-geuk ‘ draw a ghost’s leg
waahk-je or, perhaps
waahk-wa to paint , draw
waaih go wrong, break down
waaih bad
waaih-gauh nostalgia, nostalgic
waaih-yih to suspect
waan play
wah say
wah . .
.
ji/teng tell
wahn to transport ( 11 )
wahn-duhng physical exercise (9)
wahn-fai transportation costs (25)
wahn-syu to transport 11 )
Cantonese-English

wai cl: (polite) for people (17)

wai! hello! (on the phone) 10
( )

wai! hey! (17)

waih-keih Go, surrounding
‘ chess' (24)
Wai-lihm William ( 10 vocabulary

wan look for (2)

wan-jaahp to revise lessons ( 12 )
wihng-chih swimming pool (15)
Wohng a surname: Wong ( 1)
wohng-ngauh a brown cow ( 12 )

wdhng-sik yellow ( 12 )

wuh-hau bank account (19)

wuh-jiu passport (15)
wuhn exchange (25)
wuih it is likely that (future
possibility) ( 8)
wuih meeting; club , society (13)
wuih able to (5)
Wuih-gwai Handover (1997) 20
( )
wun bowl (25)
wun-gwaih cupboard (25)
wu-yfhm pollution (23)

yah- twenty- (13)

yahm-hoh any (17)
yahn person (1)
yahn-deih other people (Ap)
Yahn-mahn-baih renminbi , RMB (19)
yahn-sou number of people (13)
yahn-yuhn personnel staff
, (25)
yahp enter (5)
yahp-bihn inside (12)
yahp-dihn-yauh refuel,put petrol in (16)
yaht day (6)
Yaht-bun Japan (1)
yaht-tau daytime (15)
yah-yat-dim blackjack, pontoon (13)
 . .

yam drink (
8)
yam-chah ‘ drink tea\ have a dim sum
meal (25)
yan-waih because (4)
yat one (2)
yat . . jauh as soon as (24)
yat-bun general the general run
, of,
common (12)
yat-chai every single one of (22)
yat-chaih together (3)
yat-dl a little bit (9)
yat-dihng certainly (3)
yat-go yahn alone (18)
yat-go-gwat quarter (15)
yat-guhng altogether (20)
Y at-gwok-leuhng- j
ai ‘ One country, two systems' (20)
yat-hah a little bit, once (15)
yat-heung all along, now
up to (24)
yat-jahn(-gaan) in/for a moment (24)
yat-jihk straight (6)
yat-lauh first rate (23)
yat-sih momentarily, briefly (16)
yat-yeuhng same (11)
Yat-yuht January (17)
yauh from (6)
yauh tour, to tour (15)
yauh furthermore (7)
yauh have (2)
yauh-(sau-)bihn right side (12)
yauh yauh . .
.
. . both . . . and ... (5)
yauh-behng to be ill (10)
yauh-chin rich (13)
yauh-dl some, a little bit (10)
yauh-fai postage (20)
yauh-gaan airletter form (20)
yauh-guk post office (20)
yauh-gwaan relevant (19)
yauh-haak tourist (15)
yauh-hei games (24)
yauh-hei-gei games machine (24)
Y auh- j
ing-j ung-guk General Post Office (20)
yauh-keih-sih especially (12)
yauh-mat-yeh-sih-a ? forwhat purpose ? why ? (2)
yauh-meng famous (6)
yauh-piu postage stamp (20)
yauh-sam kind of you 313
(1)
yauh-seui swim (5)
yauh-seui-fu swimming trunks (8)
yauh-sih sometimes (13)
yauh-sih something is wrong (16)
Cantonese-English

yauh-tung box
pillar (20)
yauh-yahn somebody (11)
yauh-yat-dl somewhat a ,
little bit (10)
yauh-yuhng useful (8)
yeh thing , object (8) vocabulary

yeh- twenty- (13)

yeh-maahn nighttime (15)
yehng win (13)
yeuhk medicine (10)
yeuhk-seui (liquid) medicine (10)
yeuhng kind , sort type , (13)
yeuhng to rear keep (pets)
, (24)
yeuhng-jau (non-Chinese) liquor (15)
yeuhng-sihng inculcate form , breed
, (24)
yeuhng-yeuhng all kinds of (13)
y> chair (11)
yf! hello, what’s this ? (5)
Yi-daaih-leih Italy (19)
yih, leuhng two (2)
yih-che moreover (9)
yih-ga now (2)
yi'h-ging already (8)
yih-mahn immigrate, emigrate (17)
yihm-juhng serious desperate
, (10)
yihn-gam cash, ready money (19)
yihng-jan serious, sincere (16)
yihng-slk recognize ; understand (23)
yihn-hauh afterwards (10)
yiht hot (8)
yiht-seui-louh water heater, boiler (25)
yfh-waih assume, think (11)
ylk hundred million, billion (13)
yi-laaih to rely on (24)
yi-liuh medical (22)
ying-bong pound sterling (19)
Ytng-gwok UK (1)
yfng-heung influence (23)
ymg-seung to photograph (17)
 .

'•firUff.

meaning
must need
,
to

yiu-cheng to invite
yiuh-wahn to shake up
yi-yih meaning , significance
yi-yun hospital
yu fish
yu-gong fishing port
yuh-beih prepare
yuh-gwo if
yuh-gwo-mh-haih otherwise
yuh-ji to predict
yuhk meat
yuhn dollar
yuhn distant, far
yuhng spend use ,

yuhng-yih easy
yuhn-loih originally
yuhn-yan reason
yuht moon, month
yuht . yuht
.
.
. . the more the more . . .

yuht-git-daan monthly statement

yuht-meih end of the month
yuk make a movement
 .

Numbers in brackets indicate the unit in which the entry

introduced.

able to wuih
address deih-ji (2
after ji-hauh
afternoon hah-jau (1
again joi
aim purpose
, muhk-dlk (2
aircraft fei-gei
airmail hung-yauh (2
alcoholic drink jau (

alight lohk (

all, both dou (

all told hahm-baah-laahng (2

almost cha-mh-do (1
alone yat-go yahn (1
already yih-ging (

also dou (

alter goi (

seui-yihn (1
altogether yat-guhng (2
always sih-sih (

and tuhng-maaih (

angry nau (

any yahm-hoh (1
apply san-ching (1
approximately daaih-yeuk (2
arrest laai (1
arrive dou (
as soon as vat . . iauh 12
 . .

ask a question mahn (2)

316
assume , think yih-waih (11)
at least jeui-siu (18)
at leisure dak-haahn (13)
at, in, on hai (2)
English-Cantonese

average pihng-gwan (12)

back hauh-bihn (12)

bad waaih (12)
bank ngahn-hohng (19)
vocabulary
bathroom chung-leuhng-fong (25)
be haih (1)
be forced to beih-blk (11)
because yan-waih (4)
bed chohng (15)
beef ngauh-yuhk (4)
before ji-chihn (10)
believe seun (4)
bet on horses dou-mah (13)
bicycle daan-che (16)
big daaih (3)
bill maaih-daan (23)
birthday saang-yaht (23)
black hak-slk (12)
blood hyut (16)
body san-tai (9)
book syu (12)
boss bo-si (25)
both . . . and . . yauh . . . yauh . . (5)
bowl wun (25)
breakfast jou-chaan (22)
bring ning (16)
broken, damaged laahn (5)
brothers hing-daih (3)
bus ba-si (3)
bus stop ba-si-jaahm (6)
business saang-yi (4)
busy mohng (10)
but daahn-haih (6)
buy maaih (2)
by (passive) beih (12)

car che (1)

careful siu-sam (16)
carry toih (16)
cat maau 317
(24)
catty gan (5)
cause lihng (18)
certainly yat-dihng (3)
chair (ID English-Cantonese

y{
chance gei-wuih (22)
chat king-gai (11)
cheap pehng (5)
children jai-neui (22)
China Jung-gwok (2) vocabulary

Chinese restaurant jau-lauh (4)

chopsticks faai-jf (16)
city , town sihng-sfh (18)
(25)
clock jung (15)
close to gahn, kahn (20)
coffee ga-fe (3)
cold laahng (8)
colour ngaahn-slk (5)
come laih (3)
comfortable syu-fuhk (10)
common pou-tung (18)
company gung-sl (8)
compare bei-gaau (19)
computer dihn-nouh (22)
congratulations gung-hei (23)
convenient fong-bihn (17)
cook jyu (4)
correct ngaam (13)
country state
, gwok-ga (19)
countryside heung-ha (6)
cow, ox ngauh (4)
crazy chi-sin (16)
cuisine choi (23)
cup, glass bui, bui (25)

danger ngaih-him (24)

dare gam (18)
daughter neui (17)
day yaht (6)
daytime yaht-tau (15)
decide kyut-dihng (25)
deep sam (25)
delicious hou-sihk (13)
deliver, send sung (6)
die, dead sei (5)
difficult naahn (17)
dinner maahn-faahn (23)
distant from leih (25)
distant, far yuhn (25)
do jouh (3)
doctor yl-sang (3)
dog gau (13)
dollar man (5)
don’t maih, mh-hou (4)
door muhn (20)
dress saam-kwahn (5)
drink yam (8)
drive ja-che (6)
driver si-gei (12)

each, every muih (12)

early jou (4)
east dung (6)
easy yuhng-yih (20)
eat sihk (4)
economy ging-jai (19)
education gaau-yuhk (12)
eight baat (2)
electricity dihn (16)
empty hung (ID
enjoy heung-sauh (15)
enough gau (16)
enter yahp (5)
envelope seun-fung (20)
error cho (19)
etcetera dang-dang (15)
evening maahn (6)
examination haau-sih (16)
exchange wuhn (25)
expensive gwai (1)
express dahk-faai (20)
eye ngaahn (17)

false ga (17)
familiar with suhk-slk (15)
famous yauh-meng (6)
fashion sih-jong (11)
fast faai
319
(15)
father bah-ba (3)
fax chyuhn-jan (22)
fear Pa (8)
feel gok-dak (9)
English-Cantonese

female neuih (17)

ferry sm-leuhn (6)
few , little slu (4)
fight da-gaau (18)
film (camera) fei-lam (25) vocabulary

film (cinema) dihn-ying (9)

finish work fong-gung (22)
first sin (6)
fish yu (23)
five ngh (2)
flat, apartment lau (3)
flow lauh (16)
food sung (4)
foot, leg geuk (16)
for example pei-yuh (16)
foreign country ngoih-gwok (18)
four sei (2)
fragrant heung (23)
free of charge mfhn-fai (5)
fresh san-sin (4)
friend pahng-yauh (2)
from yauh (6)
front chihn-bihn (12)
fruit saang-gwo (4)
furthermore yauh (7)
future jeung-loih (24)

garage che-fohng (3)

garden fa-yun (2)
get up hei-san (10)
give bei, sung . . . bei (4)
g° heui (2)
go to work faan-gung (22)
go up seuhng (17)
good hou (1)
good boy gwaai (13)
good morning jou-sahn (1)
goodbye joi-gin (1)
 ?

government jing-fu (12

gradually jihm-jim (8
guess gu (2

half bun (4
hand over gaau (15
happen faat-sang (18
happy hoi-sam (8
hard, distressing san-fu (12
hate jang (24
have yauh (2
have not mouh (3
he , she it, keuih (1
head tauh (10
healthy gihn-hong (9
heavy chuhng (12
help bong . . . sau (4
here nl-syu, nl-douh (5
history lihk-si (12
hit da (9
holiday fong-ga (9
home uk-kei (3
honest louh-saht (13
Hong Kong Heung-gong (3
hope hei-mohng (10
hospital yi-yun (10
hot yiht (8
hotel jau-dim (15
hour jung-tauh (4
hour siu-sih (25
house uk (3
how long ? gei-noih (20
how much? gei-do (5
how dim(-yeung) (5
hundred baak (11
hurrying gon-jyuh (15)

/, me ngoh (1)
I wonder mh-ji (11)
idea jyu-yi (6)
identity card san-fan-jing (17)
if yuh-gwo (4)
illegal fei-faat (13)
important gan-yiu (21)
influence yfng-heung (23)
inside leuih-bihn (9)
insurance bou-hlm (15)
intend da-syun (8)
introduce gaai-siuh (4)
invite cheng English-Cantonese

(4)

Japan Yaht-bun (1)

just like hou-chfh (4)
just now tauh-sln (10)
vocabulary

kilometre gung-leih (23)

kind of you yauh-sam (1)
kitchen chyuh-fong (4)
know a fact ji-dou (8)
know how to slk (4)

lack kyut-faht (24)

language wa (4)
last in order daih-mei (22)
last month seuhng-go-yuht (17)
last year gauh-nin (8)
later chih-dl (2)
law and order jih-dn (18)
lead daai (2)
leave leih-hoi (9)
left side jo-(sau-)bihn (12)
let, allow dang (5)
letter seun (19)
lift lip (25)
light (coloured) chin (25)
light (weight) heng (15)
like, fond of jung-yi (6)
listen teng (6)
dwell
live, jyuh (3)
lobby daaih-tohng (26)
lobster luhng-ha (4)
lock so (25)
long cheuhng (22)
long time noih (3)
look at tai (5)
look for wan (2)
lose syu (13)
lost mh-gin-jo (24)
 low ngai (25)
322
luggage hahng-leih (15)

machine gei-hei (24)

make prepare
, mg (4)
male naahm
English-Cantonese

(9)
manager ging-leih (15)
many, much do (3)
market sih-cheuhng (19)
matter, business sih (2)
vocabulary
may, can ho-yih (6)
meal chaan (4)
meaning yi-si (17)
meat yuhk (4)
medicine yeuhk-seui (10)
menu chaan-paai (23)
midday aan-jau (22)
minibus siu-ba (6)
Miss sfu-je (1)
misunderstand ngh-wuih (16)
moment ago ngaam-ngaam (10)
money chin (5)
moon, month yuht (17)
moreover yih-che (9)
morning jiu-jou (4)
most jeui (6)
mother mah-ma (3)
motorbike dihn-daan-che (16)
Mr sin-saang (1)
Mrs taai-taai (1)

narrow jaak (16)

nearby fuh-gahn (4)
never mind mh gan-yiu (2)
new san (5)
news san-mahn (13)
newspaper bou-ji (18)
next year cheut-nm (8)
nighttime yeh-maahn (15)
nine gau (2)
no need to mh-sai (4)
no wonder mh-gwaai-dak (23)
noisy chouh (25)
north bak (6)
not rhh (1)
not bad mh-cho (11)
not yet meih (10)
now yih-ga (2)

occasionally gaan-jung (10)

of course dong-yihn (13)
office se-jih-lauh (2)
OK dak (5)
old (not new) gauh (8)
old (elderly) louh (6)
on top of seuhng-bihn (12)
one yat (2)
only ji'-haih (4)
only then sin-ji (10)
open hoi (19)
opposite deui-mihn (12)
or, perhaps waahk-je (16)
or? dihng-haih (13)
originally yuhn-loih (20)
other keih-ta (5)
otherwise yuh-gwo-mh-haih (12)
outside cheut-bihn (12)

pain tung (10)

paper j» (20)
passport wuh-jiu (15)
past, across, by gwo (6)
pay attention to jyu-yi (15)
pen bat (2)
permit jeun (17)
person yahn (1)
petrol dihn-yauh (16)
photograph seung-pin (17)
physical exercise wahn-duhng (9)
place deih-fong (6)
play waan (6)
play ball da-bo (9)
please cheng (3)
please may I ask cheng-mahn (6)
policeman glng-chaat (12)
polite haak-hei (4)
pollution wu-yihm (23)
pork jyu-yuhk (10)
 portable sau-taih (15)
324
possibility ho-nahng (16)
post, mail gei (20)
post office yauh-guk (20)
pour jam (25)
English-Cantonese

practical saht-yuhng (8)

practise lihn-jaahp (24)
praise jaan (11)
prawn ha (5)
prepare yuh-beih (4)
vocabulary
pretty , beautiful leng (1)
price ga-chihn (11)
problem mahn-taih (15)
programme jit-muhk (15)
prosperous faahn-wihng (13)
public gung-guhng (12)
pull laai (17)
pupil student
, hohk-saang (16)
push teui (17)

quality jat-dei (5)

quarter yat-go-gwat (15)
quiet jihng (25)
quite dou-gei (3)

railway train fo-che (6)

rain lohk-yuh (8)
reaction faan-ying (16)
read tai-syu (14)
receive sau-dou (19)
recently jeui-gahn (19)
red huhng (5)
regard as dong (4)
relevant yauh-gwaan (19)
remain lauh (24)
remember gei-dak (9)
repair sau-leih (16)
responsible fuh-jaak (22)
restaurant chaan-teng (23)
result git-gwo (16)
retire teui-yau (22)
return faan (3)
rice faahn (4)
rich yauh-chfn (13)
right side yauh-bihn (12)
road surface louh-mm 325
(15)
rob da-gip (18)
room fohng-gaan (15) English-C;

rubbish laahp-saap (4)

run , run away jau (3)

safe dn-chyuhn (25)

salad sa-leut (4)
salary san-seui (22)
sale daaih-gaam-ga (5)
same yat-yeuhng (11)
say wah (6)
school hohk-haauh (12)
science fo-hohk (12)
sea hoi (25)
seafood hoi-sin (23)
secret bei-maht (24)
secretary bei-syu (22)
see gin (8)
self jih-gei (24)
sell maaih (1)
service fuhk-mouh (15)
seven chat (2)
several gei (9)
shares gu-piu (13)
shop pou-tau (5)
short dyun (22)
simple gaan-daan (20)
sisters ji-muih (3)
sit choh (3)
six
(2)
sleep fan-gaau (16)
slow maahn (16)
small sai (5)
smile siu (16)
so gam (3)
so gam (4)
soccer juk-kauh (13)
society seh-wui (12)
solitary gu-duhk (24)
sometimes yauh-sih (13)
somewhat siu-sui (5)
son jai (10)
 soon jauh-faai (23)
326
sorry deui-mh-jyuh (1)
soup tong (4)
south naahm (6)
speak gong (9)
English-Cantonese

special dahk-biht (23)

speech wa (4)
spend yuhng (4)
stand keih (17)
steal tau-yeh (18)
vocabulary
still , yet juhng (3)
stop tihng (11)
straight yat-jihk (6)
strange keih-gwaai (24)
street gaai (3)
street stall dong-hau (5)
study duhk-syu (12)
style fun-slk (5)
surname sing (1)
sweep da-sou (25)
swim yauh-seui (5)
system jai-douh (22)

take 16 (15)
take part in chaam-ga (ID
taxi dlk-sf (3)
tea chah (4)
teach gaau-syu (12)
telephone dihn-wa (10)
television set dihn-sih-gei (15)
tell wa . . . ji (8)
tell to do giu (17)
temporary jaahm-sih (20)
ten sahp (2)
ten thousand maahn (11)
thank you mh-goi (2)
thank you do-jeh (5)
that is to say jlk-haih (5)
that, those go (2)
then jauh (4)
there go-syu, go-douh (5)
therefore so-yih (4)
think about nam (20)
this, these nl (2)
 want yiu (1)
328
warm nyuhn (15)
wash sai (15)
waste saai (8)
water seui (5)
English-Cantonese

wear daai (11)

wear jeuk (11)
weather tin-hei (8)
week laih-baai, sing-keih (5)
welcome fun-yihng (22)
vocabulary
west sai (6)
what? mat-yeh (2)
when? gei-sfor gei-sih (8)
where? bin-syu, bin-douh (3)
which? bin (2)
white baahk-slk (12)
who? bin-go (2)
why? dim-gaai (4)
willing hang (22)
win yehng (13)
wind fung (8)
within ji-noih (6)
work gung-jok (22)
world sai-gaai (6)
worth it dai (15)
would like to seung (2)
wrap up baau (20)
wristwatch sau-blu (2)
write se (19)

year nihn (8)

year of age seui (9)
yellow wohng-sik (12)
yesterday johk-yaht (4)
you neih, neih-deih (1)
young hauh-saang (12)

zero lihng (ID

 teach world cultures: china
yourself
kenneth Wilkinson

• Why was the Long March so long?

• How does Chinese medicine work?
• Is China the world’s last communist superpower?
• What is the mysterious force called ‘qi’?

This book answers these questions, and many more, in a

concise and lively overview of China: the country, its

heritage and its people. It gives the student and the

enthusiastic traveller the means to talk and write confidently
about all aspects of Chinese life.

The book looks at: government, arts, language, work, leisure,

education, festivals, food - and much more besides! This is

your key to understanding China’s past, present and future,

with plenty of suggestions for further study and background
reading.
 teach Chinese
yourself
elizabeth scurfield

• Do you want to cover the basics and progress fast?

• Do you want to be confident in a range of situations?
• Do you want to know how Chinese characters work?

Chinese starts with the basics but moves at a lively pace to

give you a good level of understanding, speaking and
writing. You will have lots of opportunity to practise the kind

of language you will need to be able to communicate with

confidence and understand Chinese culture.

 teach beginner’s Chinese script
yourself
elizabeth scurfield & song lianyi

• Are you interested in the Chinese script?

• Are you planning a business trip or holiday?
• Do you want to understand simple signs and notices in

China?

Beginner’s Chinese Script will help you get to grips with

reading and writing simple Chinese, whether you are
studying the language or planning a trip for business or
pleasure. The step-by-step approach will build your
confidence to read and write mainly simplifed characters in a
variety of real contexts.