Learn some common Cantonese slang
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Intro |
|---|
| Michael: What is Cantonese slang like? |
| Siuling: And is it commonly used? |
| Michael: At CantoneseClass101.com, we hear these questions often. Imagine the following situation: Lilian Leung uses a slang expression Ben Lee has never heard before. She said, "He stood me up." |
| 梁樂霖: 佢放我飛機。 (keoi5 fong3 ngo5 fei1 gei1.) |
| Dialogue |
| 梁樂霖: 佢放我飛機。 (keoi5 fong3 ngo5 fei1 gei1.) |
| 李龍林: 即係點解？ (zik1 hai6 dim2 gaai2?) |
| 梁樂霖: 即係佢約咗我但係冇嚟到。 (zik1 hai6 keoi5 joek3 zo2 ngo5 daan6 hai6 mou5 lei4 dou3.) |
| Michael: Once more with the English translation. |
| 梁樂霖: 佢放我飛機。 (keoi5 fong3 ngo5 fei1 gei1.) |
| Michael: "He stood me up." |
| 李龍林: 即係點解？ (zik1 hai6 dim2 gaai2?) |
| Michael: "What does that mean?" |
| 梁樂霖: 即係佢約咗我但係冇嚟到。 (zik1 hai6 keoi5 joek3 zo2 ngo5 daan6 hai6 mou5 lei4 dou3.) |
| Michael: "It means he didn't show up for our date." |
Lesson focus |
| Michael: Slang is an aspect of language that isn't usually taught in the classroom, but it can be important for becoming proficient. Slang indicates a set of words and expressions used by a group of people to better convey feelings and implied concepts. Slang is usually an aspect of the colloquial language, and, for this reason, it changes really quickly or differs from one group to the other. In Cantonese, "slang" is |
| Siuling: 口語 (hau2 jyu5), or 潮語 (ciu4 jyu5), literally "trendy language." |
| Michael: In this lesson, we'll focus on common slang, words and phrases used by all ages. Let's start with the slang word in the conversation, |
| Siuling: which is 放飛機 (fong3 fei1 gei1), in the sentence 佢放我飛機。 (keoi5 fong3 ngo5 fei1 gei1.) |
| Michael: It literally means "to let the airplane fly." |
| Siuling: 放飛機 (fong3 fei1 gei1) |
| Michael: This phrase is equivalent to "stood up" in English. And like how Lilian explained to Ben in the dialogue, someone didn't show up at an agreed meeting point. It's not only used for romantic dates, but it can be used for any other situation as well. |
| Siuling: Right, to construct a sentence, we use it in this pattern - A 放(fong3) B 飛機 (fei1 gei1). A is the person who didn't show up, and B is the victim who got stood up. |
| Michael: And we all feel bad for B. |
| Siuling: So if you want to say "you stood me up," it would be 你放我飛機 (nei5 fong3 ngo5 fei1 gei1). |
| Michael: Most Cantonese slang has a lot of imagery, so that would help you remember them. |
| Practice Section |
| Michael: Let's review. Respond to the prompts by speaking aloud. Then, repeat after Siuling focusing on pronunciation. |
| Do you remember how Lilian says "He stood me up?" |
| [Beep. Pause 5 seconds.] |
| Siuling: 佢放我飛機。 (keoi5 fong3 ngo5 fei1 gei1.) |
| Michael: Listen again and repeat. |
| Siuling: 佢放我飛機。 (keoi5 fong3 ngo5 fei1 gei1.) |
| [Beep. Pause 5 seconds.] |
| Siuling: 佢放我飛機。 (keoi5 fong3 ngo5 fei1 gei1.) |
| Michael: And do you remember how Ben says "What does that mean?" |
| [Beep. Pause 5 seconds.] |
| Siuling: 即係點解？ (zik1 hai6 dim2 gaai2?) |
| Michael: Listen again and repeat. |
| Siuling: 即係點解？ (zik1 hai6 dim2 gaai2?) |
| [Beep. Pause 5 seconds.] |
| Siuling: 即係點解？ (zik1 hai6 dim2 gaai2?) |
| Michael: And do you remember how Lilian explains, "It means he didn't show up for our date?" |
| [Beep. Pause 5 seconds.] |
| Siuling: 即係佢約咗我但係冇嚟到。 (zik1 hai6 keoi5 joek3 zo2 ngo5 daan6 hai6 mou5 lei4 dou3.) |
| Michael: Listen again and repeat. |
| Siuling: 即係佢約咗我但係冇嚟到。 (zik1 hai6 keoi5 joek3 zo2 ngo5 daan6 hai6 mou5 lei4 dou3.) |
| [Beep. Pause 5 seconds.] |
| Siuling: 即係佢約咗我但係冇嚟到。 (zik1 hai6 keoi5 joek3 zo2 ngo5 daan6 hai6 mou5 lei4 dou3.) |
| Cultural Expansion |
| Michael: Now, let's look at some more examples of Cantonese slang. |
| Siuling: 巴打 (baa1 daa2). It's usually used on online forums to address another man, to suggest that they're as close as brothers. You may find that the sound is very similar to the English word "brother," yes, it mimics the sound of "brother." There's also the female version, which is 絲打 (si1 daa2). |
| Michael: Recently, the suffix "-able" is becoming popular among young people. We add this English suffix to a word to convert it into an adjective. |
| Siuling: For example, 呢個女仔真係GF-able (ni1 go3 neoi5 zai2 zan1 hai6 GF-able), or girlfriend-able. |
| Michael: It means "This girl is suitable to become my girlfriend." It's not only used in texting, but also said in daily conversation. |
| Siuling: There's one more interesting slang, O嘴 (O zeoi2), which means "shocked" or "jaw-dropping." "O" is an English character and 嘴 (zeoi2) means "mouth." Just imagine, when you are shocked, your mouth would be wide open and would look like an "O"! |
| Michael: For a complete Cantonese slang guide with English explanation, please check out our Must-Know Cantonese Slang Words &Phrases series available at CantoneseClass101.com. |
Outro |
| Michael: Do you have any more questions? We're here to answer them! |
| Siuling: 拜拜! (baai1 baai3!) |
| Michael: See you soon! |
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