CantoneseClass101.com Blog
Learn Cantonese with Free Daily
Audio and Video Lessons!
Start Your Free Trial 6 FREE Features

Archive for the 'Cantonese Culture' Category

Celebration of British Hong Kong’s Reunification with China

When did Hong Kong go back to China? For Hong Kong, 1997 is one of the most significant years in its history; this is the year that British Hong Kong was reunified with China after many years of British rule. In the article, we’ll be discussing the Hong Kong protests, go more into the history of the question "When was Hong Kong given back to China?" and tell you about the day following Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Establishment Day. In learning about this important holiday in Hong Kong, you’re allowing yourself to better understand the full extent of its culture. With this knowledge in mind, you’re also more likely to succeed in your Cantonese language studies! At CantoneseClass101.com, we hope to make your learning... Show more

How to Celebrate the Hong Kong Dragon Boat Festival

Perhaps one of the most well-known Hong Kong celebrations around the world, the Hong Kong Dragon Boat Festival is held in commemoration of a poet’s suicide. This facet of the Dragon Boat Festival history may seem odd, and even dark, but it provides great insight into past and current Hong Kong culture. At CantoneseClass101.com, we hope to make learning about Hong Kong culture and the Cantonese language both fun and informative. Any successful language learner can tell you that comprehending and respecting a country’s culture is a vital step in mastering its language. That said, we hope you enjoy delving into the Dragon Boat Festival with us! 1. What is the Dragon Boat Festival? What is Dragon Boat Festival? The... Show more

What is Tomb Sweeping Day in Hong Kong?

Tomb Sweeping Day (or the Ching Ming Festival) in Hong Kong, is a day of great importance to HongKongers. This is because it's the day on which they fulfill their duties of filial piety by honoring deceased family and ancestors according to tradition. CantoneseClass101.com hopes to give you a better understanding of the Ching Ming Festival in Hong Kong, and to give you a good idea of Tomb Sweeping Day's meaning. In learning about this significant aspect of Hong Kong culture, you're not only immersing yourself in the country of your target language, but you're allowing yourself to find more purpose in your language-learning journey. Let's begin by answering the following question: "What is Tomb Sweeping Day?" 1. What is the... Show more

How to Say I Love You in Cantonese – Romantic Word List

Do you often feel lonely and sad? Do you long for romance and are willing to do whatever it takes to meet that special person? Speaking another language could revolutionize your love life! So, why wait? Learning how to say ‘love’ in Cantonese could be just what you need to find it. Or perhaps you were lucky, and have found your Cantonese partner already. Fantastic! Yet, a cross-cultural relationship comes with unique challenges. Learning how to speak your lover’s language will greatly improve your communication and enhance the relationship. At CantoneseClass101, our team will teach you all the words, quotes and phrases you need to woo your Cantonese lover with excellence! Our tutors provide personal assistance, with plenty of extra... Show more

How to Celebrate Chinese New Year in Hong Kong

In Hong Kong, people celebrate the beginning of the new lunar year, according to the Chinese lunar calendar. The Hong Kong New Year celebrations can take many forms—from lion dances, to fireworks, and even the Hong Kong New Year countdown. Many of these celebrations for the Chinese New Year in Hong Kong have their roots in tradition, and thus learning about this holiday and how it’s celebrated will help you know more about the Hong Kong culture as a whole. At CantoneseClass101.com, we seek to provide you with all the info you need to better understand Hong Kong, its people, and its language. By learning about these things, you’re both enabling yourself to master the Cantonese language and nuances, and showing respect for the country you... Show more

How to Celebrate April Fools’ Day in Cantonese

Most everyone is familiar with this day, as it is celebrated nearly everywhere the world. Yet, when exactly is April Fools’ Day? And where did April Fools come from? April Fools’ Day is observed on April 1st every year. This day of jokes and pranks is believed to have stemmed from the 16th-century calendar change in France, when New Year’s Day was moved from April 1 to January 1. This action was taken due to the adoption of the Gregorian calendar. However, a few people were resistant to the calendar change, so they continued to observe New Year’s Day on April 1st, rather than the new date. They were referred to as the “April Fools”, and others started playing mocking tricks on them. This custom endured, and is practiced to this day... Show more

How to Say Happy New Year in Cantonese & New Year Wishes

Learn all the Cantonese New Year wishes online, in your own time, on any device! Join CantoneseClass101 for a special Cantonese New Year celebration! Can you relate to the year passing something like this: “January, February, March - December!”? Many people do! Quantum physics teaches us that time is relative, and few experiences illustrate this principle as perfectly as when we reach the end of a year. To most of us, it feels like the old one has passed in the blink of an eye, while the new year lies ahead like a very long journey! However, New Year is also a time to celebrate beginnings, and to say goodbye to what has passed. This is true in every culture, no matter when New Year is celebrated. So, how do you say Happy New... Show more

How to Say ‘Merry Christmas’ in Cantonese

Do you know any ways to wish someone a ‘Merry Christmas’ in Cantonese? CantoneseClass101 brings you easy-to-learn translations and the correct pronunciation of Cantonese Christmas phrases! Christmas is the annual commemorative festival of Christ’s birth in the Western Christian Church. It takes place on December 25th and is usually celebrated with much food and fanfare! However, not all cultures celebrate Christmas. In some countries, Christmas is not even a public holiday! However, many countries have adapted Christmas and its religious meaning to tally with their own beliefs, or simply in acknowledgment of the festival’s importance to other cultures. If you want to impress native Cantonese speakers with culturally-appropriate... Show more

How to Start Thinking in Cantonese

Learn 4 tools and techniques to stop translating in your head and start thinking in Going through lessons is enough to get by and learn the basics of , but to truly become fluent you need to be able to think in . This will allow you to have conversations with ease, read smoothly, and comprehensively understand natives. To do this, you need to go beyond just completing daily or weekly lessons. We naturally translate in our heads because it's viewed as the easiest way to learn the definitions needed when learning a language. This way of learning can actually hinder your skills and fluency later on. If your brain has to make neural connections between the word you're learning, what it means in your native tongue, and the physical object... Show more