Learn how to ask, "How are you?"
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| Introduction |
| Eric: Welcome to 3-Minute Cantonese Season 1, Lesson 4 - Asking How Someone Is. In this lesson, you’ll learn how to ask and answer the question ‘How are you?’ in Cantonese. |
| Body |
| Eric: Here's the informal way to ask 'How are you?' in Cantonese. |
| Olivia: [Normal] 你點呀?(nei5 dim2 aa3) |
| Eric: First we have a pronoun meaning 'you ' |
| Olivia: [Normal] 你 [Slow] 你 (nei5) |
| Eric: Next is the adverb meaning 'how' |
| Olivia: [Normal] 點 [Slow] 點(dim2) |
| Eric: Last is the final particle. |
| Olivia: [Normal] 呀 [Slow] 呀(aa3) |
| Eric: Listen again to the informal question meaning 'How are you?' |
| Olivia: [Slow] 你點呀? [Normal] 你點呀?(nei5 dim2 aa3) |
| Eric: Now, imagine you're speaking to a stranger. Here's the formal way to ask, 'How are you?' |
| Olivia: [Normal] 你好嗎?(nei5 hou2 maa3?) |
| Eric: First is a pronoun meaning 'You' |
| Olivia: [Normal] 你 [Slow] 你 (nei5) |
| Eric: Next is the adjective meaning 'good' |
| Olivia: [Normal] 好 [Slow] 好(hou2) |
| Eric: Last is the final particle which marks a question. |
| Olivia: [Normal] 嗎 [Slow] 嗎(maa3) |
| Eric: Listen again to the formal question meaning 'How are you?' |
| Olivia: [Slow] 你好嗎? [Normal] 你好嗎?(nei5 hou2 maa3?) |
| Eric: Next let’s take a look at a response meaning 'I'm fine. Thank you.' |
| Olivia: [Normal] 我幾好,多謝。(ngo5 gei2 hou2, do1 ze6) |
| Eric: First is a pronoun meaning 'I' |
| Olivia: [Normal] 我 [Slow] 我(ngo5) |
| Eric: Next is the adjective meaning 'quite well' |
| Olivia: [Normal] 幾好 [Slow] 幾好(gei2 hou2 ) |
| Eric: Next is the adjective meaning 'many' |
| Olivia: [Normal] 多 [Slow] 多(do1) |
| Eric: Last is the noun meaning 'thanks’ |
| Olivia: [Normal] 謝 [Slow] 謝(ze6) |
| Eric: Listen again to the response meaning 'I'm fine. Thank you.' |
| Olivia: [Slow] 我幾好,多謝。 [Normal] 我幾好,多謝。(ngo5 gei2 hou2, do1 ze6) |
| Eric: Here's a response meaning, 'Not so well.' |
| Olivia: [Normal] 麻麻哋。(maa4 maa2 dei2) |
| Eric: First is an adjective meaning 'below average' |
| Olivia: [Normal] 麻麻 [Slow] 麻麻(maa4 maa2) |
| Eric: Last is the adverb meaning 'a bit' |
| Olivia: [Normal] 哋 [Slow] 哋(dei2) |
| Eric: Listen again to the response meaning 'Not so well.' |
| Olivia: [Slow] 麻麻哋。 [Normal] 麻麻哋。(maa4 maa2 dei2) |
| Cultural Insight |
| Eric: Now it's time for a quick cultural insight. |
| Olivia: If you asked a friend how he/she is, and the response is 麻麻哋 (maa4 maa2 dei2), you can ask 做咩呀? (zou6 me1 aa3), meaning ‘what happened?’ to ask for more details, and hopefully, you can help your friend cheer up! |
Outro |
|---|
| Eric: And that’s all for this lesson. Don’t forget to check out the lesson notes, and we’ll see you in the next lesson! |
| Olivia: 拜拜! (baai1 baai3) |
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