Learn top 10 phrases to know when having a baby
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| Hi guys! Welcome to Cantonese Top Words! My name is Olivia and today we are going to talk about Top 10 Phrases to Know When Having a Baby. |
| Top 10 Phrases to Know When Having a Baby. |
| Shhh! BB瞓緊覺呀。 (bi4 bi1 fan3 gan2 gaau3 aa3.) "Baby is sleeping." |
| So let's start the list! |
| 1. 瞓晏覺 (fan3 aan3 gaau3) "to take a nap" |
| BB瞓緊晏覺。 (bi4 bi1 fan3 gan2 aan3 gaau3.) “The baby is taking a nap.” |
| 我都想瞓晏覺。 (ngo5 dou1 soeng2 fan3 aan3 gaau3.) “I want to take a nap, too.” |
| BB食飽 (bi4 bi1 sik6 baau2)... In a sentence, |
| BB食飽就會瞓晏覺。 (bi4 bi1 sik6 baau2 zau6 wui5 fan3 aan3 gaau3.) "Baby takes a nap after a full meal." |
| 晏 (aan3) means "afternoon"; so 瞓覺 (fan3 gaau3) is "to sleep." So, an afternoon sleep, 瞓晏覺 (fan3 aan3 gaau3) is a nap. |
| 2. 餵人奶 (wai3 jan4 naai5) "to breastfeed" |
| In Hong Kong, breastfeeding is not that common, I guess 1/3, at least less than a half of the moms would do breastfeeding because they have to go back to work so soon after giving birth. In Hong Kong, we only have 10 weeks of maternity leave so that's very little. Usually, people take 2 or 4 weeks before giving birth, before labor; and then 6 to 8 weeks afterward. And then, they'll have to go back to work so the baby would have to be apart from the mom when they are 2 months old. That's pretty sad. |
| Yeah, so most moms usually feed them formula or they pump, but still, it's more common for Hong Kong moms to feed the baby formula. |
| In a sentence, |
| 好多媽咪認為餵人奶對BB好啲。 (hou2 do1 maa1 mi4 jing6 wai4 wai3 jan4 naai5 deoi3 bi4 bi1 hou2 di1.) "Lots of mothers believe that breastfeeding is better for the baby." |
| I think so, too. It's the most natural for both the mother and the baby. |
| 3. 換片 (wun6 pin2) "to change a diaper" |
| Do we have a 片 (pin2) here? 片 (pin2) "a diaper," 片 (pin2). |
| 換 (wun6) is "to change," so 換片 (wun6 pin2) "to change a diaper". |
| 帶BB出街之前，記得同佢換片。 (daai3 bi4 bi1 ceot1 gaai1 zi1 cin4, gei3 dak1 tung4 keoi5 wun6 pin2.) "Before taking the baby out, remember to change his diaper." |
| What's the point? You have to change the diaper 2 or 3 times while we're out anyways. So yeah, everytime you bring a baby out, you also have to bring a big backpack with diapers, change of clothes, food, wipes, a lot of stuff. So 片 (pin2) is "diaper," 換片 (wun6 pin2) is "to change a diaper." |
| So my friend's baby, if you tell her to 換片喇！ (wun6 pin2 laa3!) "Change diaper!" She'll go grab the 片 (pin2), the diaper, and walk to where the changing station is. That's very cute. |
| 4. 戴口水肩 (daai3 hau2 seoi2 gin1) "to put on a bib" |
| So when baby eat they have to put on a bib, maybe I should too, I'm kinda clumsy when I eat. |
| So in a sentence, |
| 餵BB食嘢嘅時候，記得同佢戴番條口水肩。 (wai3 bi4 bi1 sik6 je5 ge3 si4 hau6, gei3 dak1 tung4 keoi5 daai3 faan1 tiu4 hau2 seoi2 gin1.) "Remember to put on a bib when you feed the baby." |
| Put the bib on the baby or on me? It just splashes everywhere anyways. |
| 口水 (hau2 seoi2) literally means "saliva," 肩(gin1) is "shoulder"; so somehow saliva shoulder become a bib, or a cloth that is for the saliva. So, 口水肩 (hau2 seoi2 gin1). |
| 口水 (hau2 seoi2) "saliva," and 口水肩 (hau2 seoi2 gin1) "a bib." |
| 5. 換衫 (wun6 saam1) "to change clothes" |
| 換 (wun6) is "to change" and 衫 (saam1) is "clothes." |
| So baby has to change clothes so often because they get messy. |
| So in a sentence... |
| 你等多陣啦，佢同BB換緊衫。 (nei5 dang2 do1 zan6 laa1, keoi5 tung4 bi4 bi1 wun6 gan2 saam1.) "Would you wait for a little while? She is changing the clothes for the baby." |
| She's always changing clothes for the baby coz the baby keeps puking or pooping? I don't know. |
| BB成日都要換衫。 (bi4 bi1 sing4 jat6 dou1 jiu3 wun6 saam1.) "Baby has to change a lot." |
| So you have to do laundry almost every day. Oops! |
| So for 換衫 (wun6 saam1), not only babies can use that, adults can use it, too. |
| 我去換衫 (wun6 saam1) "I'll go change." |
| So 換衫 (wun6 saam1), you can use it for any person. |
| 6. 唱催眠曲 (coeng3 ceoi1 min4 kuk1) "to sing a lullaby" |
| 催眠曲 (ceoi1 min4 kuk1) |
| 催眠(ceoi1 min4) is "hypnotize," 曲 (kuk1) is "song." |
| So a hypnotize song is a lullaby. Songs that tell kids to go to bed, so the parents can relax. |
| In a sentence... |
| 我細個嗰陣，媽咪成日唱催眠曲氹我瞓。 (ngo5 sai3 go3 go2 zan6, maa1 mi4 sing4 jat6 coeng3 ceoi1 min4 kuk1 tam3 ngo5 fan3.) "Mother always sang a lullaby to put me to sleep when I was small." |
| Twinkle twinkle little star~ |
| What else? |
| 小寶寶，快啲瞓覺 (siu2 bou2 bou2, faai3 di1 fan3 gaau3) "go to bed soon" "fall asleep soon" |
| 7. 買BB安全座椅 (maai5 bi4 bi1 on1 cyun4 zo6 ji2) "to buy a car seat" |
| 為咗BB嘅安全，一定要買BB安全座椅。 (wai6 zo2 bi4 bi1 ge3 on1 cyun4, jat1 ding6 jiu3 maai5 bi4 bi1 on1 cyun4 zo6 ji2.) "For the safety of the baby, buying a car seat for the baby is a must." |
| So it's even illegal to put a baby in the car without a car seat. Sometimes we just say "car seat" because it's easier than BB安全座椅 (bi4 bi1 on1 cyun4 zo6 ji2). |
| BB安全座椅 (bi4 bi1 on1 cyun4 zo6 ji2), that's like 6 words. |
| And, yeah, car seat, it's easier. |
| But yeah, so 安全 (on1 cyun4) means "safety". |
| So "baby safety seat," a car seat. |
| 8. 餵 (wai3) "to feed" |
| 餵你食飯 (wai3 nei5 sik6 faan6) “to feed you a meal“ |
| Yeah, as I mentioned before, it's not really up to the mother to breastfeed every day everytime the baby wants milk because they have to go back to work so soon after labor. |
| 餵人奶 (wai3 jan4 naai5) “to breastfeed” |
| 餵BB食嘢 (wai3 bi4 bi1 sik6 je5) “to feed baby a meal” |
| 我餵你食嘢吖。 (ngo5 wai3 nei5 sik6 je5 aa1.) “I'll feed you.“ |
| 餵 (wai3) "to feed" |
| 9. 推BB車 (teoi1 bi4 bi1 ce1) "to push a stroller" |
| So BB車(bi4 bi1 ce1), literally "a baby car." So the car for the baby is a stroller. It's much easier. |
| 我會避免喺繁忙時間推BB車搭地鐵。 (ngo5 wui5 bei6 min5 hai2 faan4 mong4 si4 gaan3 teoi1 bi4 bi1 ce1 daap3 dei6 tit3.) "I will avoid pushing a stroller in the subway during the rush hour." |
| Of course, I would just avoid rush hour, especially if I'm with a baby, that's no place for a baby. So subway, during rush hour, is crazy in Hong Kong. And I don't wanna be there, so why would I bring my baby there? |
| The good thing is, in Hong Kong, all the subway stations, they have elevator and a lift, so if you have a stroller, use the lift. That's elevator, lift is British. Elevator in American English. Right. |
| 10. 沖涼 (cung1 loeng4) "to bathe" |
| 沖涼 (cung1 loeng4) "to bathe" "to take a bath" or "to take shower". |
| So, 沖涼 (cung1 loeng4). |
| It doesn't have to be for babies, everybody, like adults, me, baby, we can all 沖涼 (cung1 loeng4). |
| In a sentence... |
| 同BB沖完涼，記得同佢搽番啲潤膚膏。 (tung4 bi4 bi1 cung1 jyun4 loeng4, gei3 dak1 tung4 keoi5 caa4 faan1 di1 jeon6 fu1 gou1.) "After bathing the baby, remember to put the lotion on him." |
| So their skin doesn't get dry out. |
| So, a "bathtub" is 沖涼缸 (cung1 loeng4 gong1). |
| 喺沖涼缸同BB沖涼。(hai2 cung1 loeng4 gong1 tung4 bi4 bi1 cung1 loeng4.) "Take a bath for the baby in the bathtub." |
| So that's it for today, today we talked about Top 10 Phrases to Know When Having a Baby. If you're having a baby with Cantonese speaking spouse or partner, congratulation! You'll get to learn more terms and phrases about taking care of a baby because most likely, your in-laws will come over to help, and you have to talk a lot of Cantonese with your in-law. Good luck! |
| I'll see you next time. Bye-bye! |
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