Learn how to ask for something
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Intro |
|---|
| Nicole: 大家好 (daai6 gaa1 hou2). I'm Nicole and welcome to CantoneseClass101. |
| Matt: Matt: here! And welcome back to our Absolute Beginner Season 1, Lesson 4. With us, you'll learn to speak Cantonese with fun and effective lessons. |
| Nicole: We also provide you with cultural insights... |
| Matt: ...and tips you won't find in a textbook. |
| Nicole: So what are we learning today? |
| Matt: In this lesson you will learn how to order my favorite, beer. |
| Nicole: This conversation takes place of course in a bar. |
| Matt: The conversation is between a waitress and a customer. |
| Nicole: Right. And they're speaking casually as always. |
| Matt: Okay. Let's take a look at our dialogue, Nicole. |
Lesson conversation |
| 小姐，唔該！(siu2 ze2, m4 goi1!) |
| 唔？ (m2?) |
| 我要一支啤酒。(ngo5 jiu3 jat1 zi1 be1 zau2.) |
| 冇問題。(mou5 man6 tai4.) |
| English Host: One more time, a bit slower. |
| 小姐，唔該！(siu2 ze2, m4 goi1!) |
| 唔？ (m2?) |
| 我要一支啤酒。(ngo5 jiu3 jat1 zi1 be1 zau2.) |
| 冇問題。(mou5 man6 tai4.) |
| English Host: And now with the English translation. |
| 小姐，唔該！(siu2 ze2, m4 goi1!) |
| Matt: Excuse me, Miss? |
| 唔？ (m2?) |
| Matt: Hmm? |
| 我要一支啤酒。(ngo5 jiu3 jat1 zi1 be1 zau2.) |
| Matt: I want one beer. |
| 冇問題。(mou5 man6 tai4.) |
| Matt: No problem. |
| POST CONVERSATION BANTER |
| Matt: Now, this is really important stuff. |
| Nicole: It's your favorite conversation, ordering beer. |
| Matt: Well, Hong Kong is very hot. Sometimes you just got to cool off, Nicole. |
| Nicole: Hmmmm. |
| Matt: And there's no better way to cool off than a nice cold beer. |
| Nicole: So, what do you think of Sam Miguel? |
| Matt: I like it. It's all right, but it's definitely is a local Hong Kong favorite. So for all you, listeners, make sure you order a San Miguel. |
| Nicole: Yeah. Their slogan of their advertisement says 新鮮 (san1 sin1), which means, "it is fresh". |
| Matt: Well, it's mostly fresh. |
| Nicole: Anyway, this is an important lesson. |
| Matt: Of course it is as with all our lessons. And we're going to learn the language in order to order and more in our vocabulary section. |
| Nicole: Yeah. |
| VOCAB LIST |
| Matt: So let's take a look at the vocabulary for this lesson. The first word is: |
| Nicole: 小姐 (siu2 ze2) [natural native speed] |
| Matt: Miss. |
| Nicole: 小姐 (siu2 ze2) [slowly - broken down by syllable]. 小姐 (siu2 ze2) [natural native speed] |
| Matt: Next, we have. |
| Nicole: 要 (jiu3) [natural native speed] |
| Matt: To want or to need. |
| Nicole: 要 (jiu3) [slowly - broken down by syllable]. 要 (jiu3) [natural native speed] |
| Matt: After that, we have. |
| Nicole: 一 (jat1) [natural native speed] |
| Matt: One. |
| Nicole: 一 (jat1) [slowly - broken down by syllable]. 一 (jat1) [natural native speed]. 支 (zi1) [natural native speed] |
| Matt: This is the measure word for bottle. |
| Nicole: 支 (zi1) [slowly - broken down by syllable]. 支 (zi1) [natural native speed] |
| Matt: Next, we have. |
| Nicole: 啤酒 (be1 zau2) [natural native speed] |
| Matt: Beer. |
| Nicole: 啤酒 (be1 zau2) [slowly - broken down by syllable]. 啤酒 (be1 zau2) [natural native speed] |
| Matt: Followed by. |
| Nicole: 冇問題 (mou5 man6 tai4) [natural native speed] |
| Matt: No problem. |
| Nicole: 冇問題 (mou5 man6 tai4) [slowly - broken down by syllable]. 冇問題 (mou5 man6 tai4) [natural native speed] |
| Nicole: 先生 (sin1 saang1) [natural native speed] |
| Matt: Mister. |
| Nicole: 先生 (sin1 saang1) [slowly - broken down by syllable]. 先生 (sin1 saang1) [natural native speed] |
| Matt: Next, we have. |
| Nicole: 靚女 (leng3 neoi5) [natural native speed] |
| Matt: Pretty girl. |
| Nicole: 靚女 (leng3 neoi5) [slowly - broken down by syllable]. 靚女 (leng3 neoi5) [natural native speed] |
| Matt: Of course followed by. |
| Nicole: 靚仔 (leng3 zai2) [natural native speed] |
| Matt: Pretty boy. |
| Nicole: 靚仔 (leng3 zai2) [slowly - broken down by syllable]. 靚仔 (leng3 zai2) [natural native speed] |
| Matt: Next, we have the number. |
| Nicole: 兩 (loeng5) [natural native speed] |
| Matt: Two (2). |
| Nicole: 兩 (loeng5) [slowly - broken down by syllable]. 兩 (loeng5) [natural native speed] |
| Matt: Followed by another measure word. |
| Nicole: 個 (go3) [natural native speed]. 個 (go3) [slowly - broken down by syllable]. 個 (go3) [natural native speed] |
| Matt: Next, we have. |
| Nicole: 啤酒 (be1 zau2) [natural native speed] |
| Matt: Beer. |
| Nicole: 啤酒 (be1 zau2) [slowly - broken down by syllable]. 啤酒 (be1 zau2) [natural native speed] |
| Matt: Next, we have. |
| Nicole: 水(seoi2) [natural native speed] |
| Matt: Water. |
| Nicole: 水 (seoi2) [slowly - broken down by syllable]. 水 (seoi2) [natural native speed] |
| Matt: And lastly, we have. |
| Nicole: 果汁 (gwo2 zap1) [natural native speed] |
| Matt: Juice. |
| Nicole: 果汁 (gwo2 zap1) [slowly - broken down by syllable]. 果汁 (gwo2 zap1) [natural native speed] |
| KEY VOCABULARY AND PHRASES |
| Matt: All right, Nicole, now that we've gone over the vocabulary, let's have a closer look at the usage for some of these words. |
| Nicole: Okay. The first phrase is 小姐 (siu2 ze2). |
| Matt: That means "miss" or young girl. |
| Nicole: 小姐 (siu2 ze2). |
| Matt: Miss. |
| Nicole: This is a pretty formal word, maybe in a bar you don't want to say that. You want to say 靚女 (leng3 neoi5). |
| Matt: Now, this means "pretty lady" |
| Nicole: Yeah 靚女 (leng3 neoi5). |
| Matt: So is that a little bit more laid back to say that then? |
| Nicole: Yeah. Maybe you'll get better service. |
| Matt: Okay, so very important. |
| Nicole: Yeah, remember 小姐 (siu2 ze2) is formal. 靚女 (leng3 neoi5). is informal and better service. |
| Matt: What if your waitress is actually a man? |
| Nicole: Waitress, being a man, well you can use the formal word 先生 (sin1 saang1). |
| Matt: Which means "Mister." |
| Nicole: 先生 (sin1 saang1). |
| Matt: Now is this too formal to be used in a bar? |
| Nicole: 先生? (sin1 saang1). Definitely. |
| Matt: So we would say? |
| Nicole: 靚仔 (leng3 zai2). |
| Matt: Which means "handsome guy" or pretty boy. |
| Nicole: 靚仔 (leng3 zai2). |
| Matt: I hear 靚仔 (leng3 zai2). all the time, especially when I'm out on the street. |
| Nicole: Really. Yup, you can hear this 靚仔 (leng3 zai2). a lot when you're walking in the market or something. They'll call you 靚仔 (leng3 zai2)., "come take a look"! 靚仔 (leng3 zai2)., come buy my cabbage. |
| Matt: So pretty boy, come take a look or handsome guy, come here and look at my cabbage. |
| Nicole: Yeah. |
| Matt: Now, I'm a sucker for that. |
| Nicole: I can see you, you buy a lot of I love Hong Kong t-shirt. |
| Matt: Yeah, you're right. I do love Hong Kong. So we have four things that you can call somebody or four different ways that you can call somebody over. Let's review them. |
| Nicole: 小姐 (siu2 ze2). |
| Matt: Miss |
| Nicole: 先生 (sin1 saang1). |
| Matt: Mister |
| Nicole: 靚女 (leng3 neoi5). |
| Matt: Pretty girl. |
| Nicole: 靚仔 (leng3 zai2). |
| Matt: Pretty guy. |
| Nicole: These are four ways to call people's attention and you'll hear them a lot. |
Lesson focus |
| Matt: The Focus of This Lesson is ordering drinks or possibly food in a bar or restaurant. |
| Nicole: That's right. In the dialogue we heard 我要一支啤酒 (ngo5 jiu3 jat1 zi1 be1 zau2). |
| Matt: I want a beer. |
| Nicole: 我要一支啤酒 (ngo5 jiu3 jat1 zi1 be1 zau2). |
| Matt: I want a beer. So when we ask for something we say? |
| Nicole: 我要 (ngo5 jiu3). |
| Matt: I want. |
| Nicole: 我要 (ngo5 jiu3). |
| Matt: I want. So whenever you want something, put the noun after… |
| Nicole: 我要 (ngo5 jiu3). |
| Matt: So it would be I want beer. |
| Nicole: 我要啤酒 (ngo5 jiu3 be1 zau2). |
| Matt: I want water. |
| Nicole: 我要水 (ngo5 jiu3 seoi2). |
| Matt: I want juice. |
| Nicole: 我要果汁 (ngo5 jiu3 gwo2 zap1). |
| Matt: But in the dialog we heard something before the word for beer. |
| Nicole: 一支 (jat1 zi1) |
| Matt: This means one bottle, the number one followed by a measure word for bottle. |
| Nicole: 一支 (jat1 zi1) |
| Matt: One bottle. |
| Nicole: 一支啤酒 (jat1 zi1 be1 zau2) |
| Matt: One bottle of beer. |
| Nicole: So if we break this down we hear the first sound is 一. |
| Matt: One. |
| Nicole: And then followed by 支 (zi1). |
| Matt: Which again is the measure word for bottle. |
| Nicole: Right. You can say 一支水 (jat1 zi1 seoi2). |
| Matt: One bottle of water. |
| Nicole: 一支果汁 (jat1 zi1 gwo2 zap1). |
| Matt: One bottle of juice. But don't worry about the measure words for now. You can leave that out unless you need to specify the exact quantity. |
| Nicole: That's right. Also there's a very, very common measure word that you can use when you forget other measure word. It's 個 (go3). |
| Matt: That's right. It can be used to describe the number of persons, food, or companies even. |
| Nicole: It's for everything. For instance you can say 兩個 (loeng5 go3) pizza. |
| Matt: Two pizzas. |
| Nicole: 我要兩個 (ngo5 jiu3 loeng5 go3) pizza. |
| Matt: I want two pizzas. So Nicole, let me ask you, when you said pizzas, is that the Cantonese way to say pizza? |
| Nicole: Yeah, just say it louder. That's the Cantonese way, pizza. |
| Matt: Okay, so it sounds exactly the same. |
| Nicole: Cantonese is easy. You can say 我要兩個飯 (ngo5 jiu3 loeng5 go3 faan6). |
| Matt: Which means I want two bowls of rice. |
| Nicole: Yup, 我要兩個菜 (ngo5 jiu3 loeng5 go3 coi3). |
| Matt: I would like two dishes. So this… |
| Nicole: 個… (go3) |
| Matt: …is really common and useful when you want to specify the quantity of something. |
| Nicole: Yep. 一個, 兩個 (jat1 go3 , loeng5 go3). One, two. |
| Matt: If you want to know more about numbers in Cantonese, we have coming a lesson to tell you all about it. |
| Nicole: Yeah, 冇問題！(mou5 man6 tai4!) |
| Matt: Oh my favorite phrase, no problem! |
| Nicole: 冇問題 (mou5 man6 tai4). |
| Matt: No problem. |
Outro |
| Matt: And that's our lessons for today, no problem. If you have any… |
| Nicole: 問題 (man6 tai4) |
| Matt: or questions, remember to stop by our website. |
| Nicole: CantoneseClass101.com. |
| Matt: When you do stop by, make sure to leave us a comment or send us an email. |
| Nicole: So thanks for tuning in. I'm Nicole. |
| Matt: And I am Matt. We'll see you next time. |
| Nicole: See you. |
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