Learn how to talk about work
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| INTRODUCTION |
| John: Hi everyone, and welcome back to CantoneseClass101.com. This is Business Cantonese for Beginners Season 1 Lesson 5 - Chatting With Your Coworkers in Hong Kong. John here. |
| Siuling: 大家好！(daai6 gaa1 hou2!) I'm Siuling. |
| John: In this lesson, you’ll learn how to talk about work. The conversation takes place at an office. |
| Siuling: It's between Monica and Mark. |
| John: The speakers are a boss and employee, therefore, they will speak informal Cantonese. Okay, let's listen to the conversation. |
| DIALOGUE |
| 馬家輝: 近排點呀？ |
| (maa5 gaa1 fai1: gan6 paai4 dim2 aa3?) |
| 黃小芬: 最近我好多嘢做。 |
| (wong4 siu2 fan1: zeoi3 gan6 ngo5 hou2 do1 je5 zou6.) |
| 馬家輝: 新計劃？ |
| (maa5 gaa1 fai1: san1 gai3 waak6?) |
| 黃小芬: 仲要係打孖上。 |
| (wong4 siu2 fan1: zung6 jiu3 hai6 daa2 maa1 soeng5.) |
| 馬家輝: 我哋部門而家唔係咁忙，通常喺月尾就會最忙。 |
| (maa5 gaa1 fai1: ngo5 dei6 bou6 mun4 ji4 gaa1 m4 hai6 gam3 mong4, tung1 soeng4 hai2 jyut6 mei5 zau6 wui2 zeoi3 mong4.) |
| 黃小芬: 好喇！ 我要去準備個發佈會，同你傾住咁多先。 |
| (wong4 siu2 fan1: hou2 laa3! ngo5 jiu3 heoi3 zeon2 bei6 go3 faat3 bou3 wui2, tung4 nei5 king1 zyu6 gam3 do1 sin1.) |
| 馬家輝: 拜拜 。 |
| (maa5 gaa1 fai1: baai1 baai3.) |
| John: Listen to the conversation one time slowly. |
| 馬家輝: 近排點呀？ |
| (maa5 gaa1 fai1: gan6 paai4 dim2 aa3?) |
| 黃小芬: 最近我好多嘢做。 |
| (wong4 siu2 fan1: zeoi3 gan6 ngo5 hou2 do1 je5 zou6.) |
| 馬家輝: 新計劃？ |
| (maa5 gaa1 fai1: san1 gai3 waak6?) |
| 黃小芬: 仲要係打孖上。 |
| (wong4 siu2 fan1: zung6 jiu3 hai6 daa2 maa1 soeng5.) |
| 馬家輝: 我哋部門而家唔係咁忙，通常喺月尾就會最忙。 |
| (maa5 gaa1 fai1: ngo5 dei6 bou6 mun4 ji4 gaa1 m4 hai6 gam3 mong4, tung1 soeng4 hai2 jyut6 mei5 zau6 wui2 zeoi3 mong4.) |
| 黃小芬: 好喇！ 我要去準備個發佈會，同你傾住咁多先。 |
| (wong4 siu2 fan1: hou2 laa3! ngo5 jiu3 heoi3 zeon2 bei6 go3 faat3 bou3 wui2, tung4 nei5 king1 zyu6 gam3 do1 sin1.) |
| 馬家輝: 拜拜 。 |
| (maa5 gaa1 fai1: baai1 baai3.) |
| John: Listen to the conversation with the English translation. |
| 馬家輝: 近排點呀？ |
| (maa5 gaa1 fai1: gan6 paai4 dim2 aa3?) |
| Mark: How is it going? |
| 黃小芬: 最近我好多嘢做。 |
| (wong4 siu2 fan1: zeoi3 gan6 ngo5 hou2 do1 je5 zou6.) |
| Monica: Lately I have a lot of work. |
| 馬家輝: 新計劃？ |
| (maa5 gaa1 fai1: san1 gai3 waak6?) |
| Mark: New project? |
| 黃小芬: 仲要係打孖上。 |
| (wong4 siu2 fan1: zung6 jiu3 hai6 daa2 maa1 soeng5.) |
| Monica: Two even. |
| 馬家輝: 我哋部門而家唔係咁忙，通常喺月尾就會最忙。 |
| (maa5 gaa1 fai1: ngo5 dei6 bou6 mun4 ji4 gaa1 m4 hai6 gam3 mong4, tung1 soeng4 hai2 jyut6 mei5 zau6 wui2 zeoi3 mong4.) |
| Mark: We are not so busy right now. Usually, the most hectic time is at the end of the month. |
| 黃小芬: 好喇！ 我要去準備個發佈會，同你傾住咁多先。 |
| (wong4 siu2 fan1: hou2 laa3! ngo5 jiu3 heoi3 zeon2 bei6 go3 faat3 bou3 wui2, tung4 nei5 king1 zyu6 gam3 do1 sin1.) |
| Monica: Ok, so I will be going. I have to prepare the presentation. It was nice talking to you. |
| 馬家輝: 拜拜 。 |
| (maa5 gaa1 fai1: baai1 baai3.) |
| Mark: See you! |
| POST CONVERSATION BANTER |
| John: Siuling, when is the busiest time of the year for companies in Hong Kong? |
| Siuling: Well, most companies are really busy before the long holidays. |
| John: That would be the times that cover Christmas and Chinese New Year. |
| Siuling: That’s correct. Some companies will clear their stock at the end of the year. |
| John: Clearing stock always helps with the cash flow. |
| Siuling: Yes. Then add in the annual meeting and party that occurs before the end of the year, and it gets busy. |
| John: And if places are going to shut down for the long holidays, then clients might put in more orders and want more business before they shut down. |
| Siuling: That’s another reason why it gets busy before the holidays. |
| John: Let’s just confirm what the holidays are in Hong Kong. So, there’s western holidays like Christmas. |
| Siuling: And Easter. And, as we said earlier, there are traditional holidays like Chinese New Year. |
| John: That’s a pretty spectacular holiday. |
| Siuling: Yes, I love the parade and the fireworks! |
| John: Okay, now onto the vocab. |
| VOCAB LIST |
| John: Let’s take a look at the vocabulary from this lesson. The first word is... |
| Siuling: 近排(gan6 paai2) [natural native speed] |
| John: "lately, recently" |
| Siuling: 近排(gan6 paai2) [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Siuling: 近排(gan6 paai2) [natural native speed] |
| John: Next we have... |
| Siuling: 最近(zeoi3 gan6) [natural native speed] |
| John: "recently" |
| Siuling: 最近(zeoi3 gan6) [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Siuling: 最近(zeoi3 gan6) [natural native speed] |
| John: Next we have... |
| Siuling: 打孖(daa2 maa1) [natural native speed] |
| John: "double" |
| Siuling: 打孖(daa2 maa1) [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Siuling: 打孖(daa2 maa1) [natural native speed] |
| John: Next we have... |
| Siuling: 部門(bou6 mun4) [natural native speed] |
| John: "department" |
| Siuling: 部門(bou6 mun4) [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Siuling: 部門(bou6 mun4) [natural native speed] |
| John: Next we have... |
| Siuling: 通常(tung1 soeng4) [natural native speed] |
| John: "usually" |
| Siuling: 通常(tung1 soeng4) [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Siuling: 通常(tung1 soeng4) [natural native speed] |
| John: Next we have... |
| Siuling: 月尾(jyut6 mei5) [natural native speed] |
| John: "the end of the month" |
| Siuling: 月尾(jyut6 mei5)"[slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Siuling: 月尾(jyut6 mei5) [natural native speed] |
| John: Next we have... |
| Siuling: 最忙(zeoi3 mong4) [natural native speed] |
| John: "the busiest" |
| Siuling: 最忙(zeoi3 mong4) [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Siuling: 最忙(zeoi3 mong4) [natural native speed] |
| John: And last... |
| Siuling: 發佈會(faat3 bou3 wui2) [natural native speed] |
| John: "presentation" |
| Siuling: 發佈會(faat3 bou3 wui2) [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Siuling: 發佈會(faat3 bou3 wui2) [natural native speed] |
| KEY VOCAB AND PHRASES |
| John: Let's have a closer look at the usage of some of the words and phrases from this lesson. The first word is... |
| Siuling: 近排點呀？(gan6 paai4 dim2 aa3?) or 最近點呀？(zeoi3 gan6 dim2 aa3?) |
| John: meaning "How's it going recently?" |
| John: Let’s break down this phrase. |
| Siuling: First is 最近(zeoi3 gan6), which means "recently, lately." It is followed by 點呀?(dim2 aa3?) |
| John: Which means "What is going on?" |
| Siuling: This is a casual greeting similar to "How are you?" |
| John: Can you give us an example using this phrase? |
| Siuling: Sure. For example, you can say... 你媽媽最近點呀？(nei5 maa4 maa1 zeoi3 gan6 dim2 aa3?) |
| John: ...which means "How's your mother doing recently?" |
| John: Okay, what's the next word? |
| Siuling: 打孖上(daa2 maa1 soeng5) |
| John: meaning "to have two things happening simultaneously" |
| John: This is a phrase. |
| Siuling: First is 打孖(daa2 maa1), meaning "double, two." Next is 上 (soeng5) |
| John: This means "up, on, apply." |
| Siuling: 孖(maa1) is the same as the word "twin" in English. |
| John: So you can use this phrase to talk about any occasion when there are two things happening at the same time, or there is double the amount. |
| Siuling: This phrase is very colloquial. The more formal way is 兩個(loeng5 go3). |
| John: Can you give us an example using this phrase? |
| Siuling: Sure. For example, you can say... 兩個一齊打孖上。(loeng5 go3 jat1 cai4 daa2 maa1 soeng5.) |
| John: ... which means "To have two coming up at the same time." |
| John: Okay, now onto the lesson focus. |
Lesson focus |
|---|
| John: In this lesson, you'll learn how to talk about work. |
| John: Whether it’s during the workday or during your breaks, you’ll probably have to speak to your colleagues about work and what has been happening in the company. Here are some words that can help with this. |
| Siuling: First is the adverb 近排 (gan6 paai2) |
| John: "lately, recently." Next is... |
| Siuling: 最近 (zeoi3 gan6) |
| John: This is also an adverb meaning "recently." |
| Siuling: Next is 忙 (mong4). |
| John: This is the adjective "busy." Next is... |
| Siuling: ...the verb 聽講 (teng1 gong2). |
| John: This means "to have heard." Let’s hear an example sentence. |
| Siuling: 你條Team最近忙咩呀？(nei5 tiu4 Team zeoi3 gan6 mong4 me1 aa3?) |
| John: "What is your team busy with recently?" Another thing we often talk about is what we are going to do in the future. |
| Siuling: We use 我要去... (ngo5 jiu3 heoi3...), "I am going to…", to talk about the near future. |
| John: That phrase is usually then followed by a verb, but can be followed by a noun, especially a place. I think we should hear some examples. |
| Siuling: 我要去準備個發佈會。(ngo5 jiu3 heoi3 zeon2 bei6 go3 faat3 bou3 wui5.) |
| John: "I am going to prepare for the presentation." |
| Siuling: 我要去會議室 (ngo5 jiu3 heoi3 zwui6 ji5 sat1.) |
| John: "I am going to the meeting room." Let’s finish this lesson by looking at superlatives. These are adjectives that we use to say something is the most… for example, the biggest, the tallest. |
| Siuling: This form is easy in Cantonese. Put 最(zeoi3), "the most", before an adjective to form the superlative. |
| John: Siuling will tell us a few examples of these. First will be the regular adjective, and then the superlative version. |
| Siuling: 大 (daai6), 最大 (zeoi3 daai6) |
| John: "big, biggest" |
| Siuling: 好 (hou2), 最好 (zeoi3 hou2) |
| John: "good, best" |
| Siuling: 舊 (gau6), 最舊 (zeoi3 gau6) |
| John: "old, oldest." I think it’s time for some example sentences. |
| Siuling: 你可唔可以印最新嗰份報告？(nei5 ho2 m4 ho2 ji3 jan3 zeoi3 san1 go2 fan6 bou3 gou3?) |
| John: "Can you print out the latest report?" |
| Siuling: 呢款係我哋公司最好嘅產品。(ni1 fun2 hai6 ngo5 dei6 gung1 si1 zeoi3 hou2 ge3 caan2 ban2.) |
| John: "This is the best product in our company." |
Outro |
| John: Okay, that’s all for this lesson. Thank you for listening, everyone, and we’ll see you next time! Bye! |
| Siuling: 拜拜！(baai1 baai3!) |
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