Learn about a sentence pattern and Hong Kong universities
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| INTRODUCTION |
| David: Welcome to cantoneseclass101.com. I am David. |
| Melody: 大家好，我係Melody。(daai6 gaa1 hou2 ，ngo5 hai6 Melody 。) |
| David: And we’ve got intermediate season 1, lesson 10. Studying Hard in Hong Kong. |
| Melody: 唔，喺香港呢基本上個個都係好用功咁讀書㗎。(m4 ，hai2 hoeng1 gong2 ne1 gei1 bun2 soeng6 go3 go3 dou1 hai6 hou2 jung6 gung1 gam2 duk6 syu1 gaa3 。) |
| David: Right. So it’s not surprising that sometimes… |
| Melody: 係呀！(hai6 aa3 ！) |
| David: Just sometimes you were going to hear about office romances. |
| Melody: 哈哈, but 可能個男仔係面試緊個女仔，或者係只係普通傾偈。(haa1 haa1 , but ho2 nang4 go3 naam4 zai2 hai6 min6 si2 gan2 go3 neoi5 zai2 ，waak6 ze2 hai6 zi2 hai6 pou2 tung1 king1 gai2 。) |
| David: Right. So our dialogue is taking place at work and it’s between a boy and a girl. They are speaking casual Cantonese as always. Let’s listen. |
| DIALOGUE |
| A: 聽講你係大學嘅研究生，你讀緊邊科？ (A: teng1 gong2 nei5 hai6 gaai6 hok6 ge3 jin4 gau3 sang1, nei5 duk6 gan2 bin1 fo1 ?) |
| B: 我讀緊醫科。 (B: ngo5 duk6 gan2 ji1 fo1.) |
| A: 我最鐘意啲有學識有內涵嘅女仔！ (A: ngo5 zeoi3 zung1 ji3 di1 jau5 hok6 sik1 jau5 noi6 haam4 ge3 neoi5 zai2 !) |
| B: 我讀嘅專科比較冷門。 (B: ngo5 duk6 ge3 zyun1 fo1 bei2 gaau3 laang5 mun2.) |
| A: 點冷門都有可能幫到我嘅！ (A: dim2 laang5 mun2 dou1 jau5 ho2 nang4 bong1 dou2 ngo5 ge3 !) |
| B: 我讀嘅係法醫。(B: ngo5 duk6 ge3 hai6 faat3 ji1.) |
| David: Once more, a bit slower. |
| A: 聽講你係大學嘅研究生，你讀緊邊科？ (A: teng1 gong2 nei5 hai6 gaai6 hok6 ge3 jin4 gau3 sang1, nei5 duk6 gan2 bin1 fo1 ?) |
| B: 我讀緊醫科。 (B: ngo5 duk6 gan2 ji1 fo1.) |
| A: 我最鐘意啲有學識有內涵嘅女仔！ (A: ngo5 zeoi3 zung1 ji3 di1 jau5 hok6 sik1 jau5 noi6 haam4 ge3 neoi5 zai2 !) |
| B: 我讀嘅專科比較冷門。 (B: ngo5 duk6 ge3 zyun1 fo1 bei2 gaau3 laang5 mun2.) |
| A: 點冷門都有可能幫到我嘅！ (A: dim2 laang5 mun2 dou1 jau5 ho2 nang4 bong1 dou2 ngo5 ge3 !) |
| B: 我讀嘅係法醫。(B: ngo5 duk6 ge3 hai6 faat3 ji1.) |
| David: And now, with the English translation. |
| A: 聽講你係大學嘅研究生，你讀緊邊科？ (A: teng1 gong2 nei5 hai6 gaai6 hok6 ge3 jin4 gau3 sang1, nei5 duk6 gan2 bin1 fo1 ?) |
| A: I heard you're a graduate student, what are you studying? |
| B: 我讀緊醫科。 (B: ngo5 duk6 gan2 ji1 fo1.) |
| B: I'm in medical studies. |
| A: 我最鐘意啲有學識有內涵嘅女仔！ (A: ngo5 zeoi3 zung1 ji3 di1 jau5 hok6 sik1 jau5 noi6 haam4 ge3 neoi5 zai2 !) |
| A: I really like girls who are knowledgeable and sophisticated! |
| B: 我讀嘅專科比較冷門。 (B: ngo5 duk6 ge3 zyun1 fo1 bei2 gaau3 laang5 mun2.) |
| B: My major is very rare. |
| A: 點冷門都有可能幫到我嘅！ (A: dim2 laang5 mun2 dou1 jau5 ho2 nang4 bong1 dou2 ngo5 ge3 !) |
| A: You might be able to help me no matter how rare it is! |
| B: 我讀嘅係法醫。(B: ngo5 duk6 ge3 hai6 faat3 ji1.) |
| B: I major in forensics. |
| POST CONVERSATION BANTER |
| Melody: 嘩！如果女仔讀法醫真係唔簡單，好需要勇氣。(waa3 ！jyu4 gwo2 neoi5 zai2 duk6 faat3 ji1 zan1 hai6 m4 gaan2 daan1 ，hou2 seoi1 jiu3 jung5 hei3 。) |
| David: Right. Although it’s useful to turn away people on the dating scene. You can talk about what you are studying. |
| Melody: 特登咁講，嚇死個男仔。(dak6 dang1 gam2 gong2 ，haak3 sei2 go3 naam4 zai2 。) |
| VOCAB LIST |
| David: Right. So our vocab today, it’s about universities, it’s about studying, it’s about majors but it’s a step up from where we’ve covered this before. Let’s take a listen. |
| Melody: 大學。(daai6 hok6。) |
| David: University. |
| Melody: 大 學, 大學, 畢業。(daai6 hok6, daai6 hok6, bat1 jip6。) |
| David: To graduate. |
| Melody: 畢 業, 畢業, 研究生。(bat1 jip6, bat1 jip6, jin4 gau3 sang1。) |
| David: Graduate student. |
| Melody: 研 究 生, 研究生, 學科。(jin4 gau3 sang1, jin4 gau3 sang1, hok6 fo1。) |
| David: Subject, faculty. |
| Melody: 學 科, 學科, 醫科。(hok6 fo1, hok6 fo1, ji1 fo1。) |
| David: Magical studies. |
| Melody: 醫 科, 醫科, 有學識。(ji1 fo1, ji1 fo1, jau5 hok6 sik1。) |
| David: To be knowledgeable. |
| Melody: 有 學 識, 有學識, 有內涵。(jau5 hok6 sik1, jau5 hok6 sik1, jau5 noi6 haam4。) |
| David: To be sophisticated. |
| Melody: 有 內 涵, 有內涵, 專科。 (jau5 noi6 haam4, jau5 noi6 haam4, zyun1 fo1。) |
| David: Specialized subject. |
| Melody: 專 科 , 專科 , 冷門。 (zyun1 fo1, zyun1 fo1, laang5 mun2。) |
| David: Rare. |
| Melody: 冷 門 , 冷門 , 法醫。(laang5 mun2, laang5 mun2, faat3 ji1。) |
| David: Forensics. |
| Melody: 法 醫, 法醫。(faat3 ji1, faat3 ji1。) |
| VOCAB AND PHRASE USAGE |
| David: If you study Cantonese at university, a lot of these are going to be familiar to you but if you haven’t, you might not know some of them. So let’s start from the easiest word here. University. |
| Melody: 大學。(daai6 hok6 。) |
| David: University. |
| Melody: 大學。(daai6 hok6 。) |
| David: Now you may already know that word. Do you know the levels that come before it? |
| Melody: 中學。 (zung1 hok6 。) |
| David: Middle school. |
| Melody: 中學。 (zung1 hok6 。) |
| David: Middle school. |
| Melody: 小學。(siu2 hok6 。) |
| David: Primary school. |
| Melody: 小學。(siu2 hok6 。) |
| David: Primary school. And there is one more between middle school and university. |
| Melody: 高中。(gou1 zung1 。) |
| David: That’s high school. |
| Melody: 我哋通常唔會加 學 喺後面，而直接係話高中, 所以係小學, 中學, 高中, 大學同埋幼稚園。 (ngo5 dei6 tung1 soeng4 m4 wui2 gaa1 hok6 hai2 hau6 min6 ，ji4 zik6 zip3 hai6 waa6 gou1 zung1 , so2 ji5 hai6 siu2 hok6 , zung1 hok6 , gou1 zung1 , daai6 hok6 tung4 maai4 jau3 zi6 jyun2 。 ) |
| David: Yes. That last one is kindergarten. |
| Melody: 幼稚園。 (jau3 zi6 jyun2 。) |
| David: So that takes you from a 3 years old all the way up to 22 or 23. When you are applying for a job though, people really only care about your university. |
| Melody: 係呀！所以通常呢面試嘅考官會問你 - 你係唔係大學畢業？(hai6 aa3 ！so2 ji5 tung1 soeng4 ne1 min6 si3 ge3 haau2 gun1 wui2 man6 nei5 - nei5 hai6 m4 hai6 daai6 hok6 bat1 jip6 ？) |
| David: Are you a university graduate? |
| Melody: 你係唔係大學畢業？(nei5 hai6 m4 hai6 daai6 hok6 bat1 jip6 ？) |
| David: Are you a university graduate? |
| Melody: 跟住佢好可能會問你 你係本科生定係研究生？(gan1 zyu6 keoi5 hou2 ho2 nang4 wui2 man6 nei5 nei5 hai6 bun2 fo1 sang1 ding6 hai6 jin4 gau3 sang1 ？) |
| David: Right. So we’ve asked if they are a university graduate. The next question is finding out if you are an undergraduate or a graduate student. |
| Melody: 你係本科生定係研究生？(nei5 hai6 bun2 fo1 sang1 ding6 hai6 jin4 gau3 sang1 ？) |
| David: Are you an undergraduate or a graduate student and our two words here are |
| Melody: 本科生。(bun2 fo1 sang1 。) |
| David: Undergraduate student. |
| Melody: 本科生。(bun2 fo1 sang1 。) |
| David: And |
| Melody: 研究生。(jin4 gau3 sang1 。) |
| David: Graduate student. |
| Melody: 研究生。(jin4 gau3 sang1 。) |
| David: Right and that literally means a research student. |
| Melody: 冇錯，喺學校入面做研究嘅學生。(mou5 co3 ，hai2 hok6 haau6 jap6 min6 zou6 jin4 gau3 ge3 hok6 sang1 。) |
| David: Yeah a graduate student is someone who does research. There is one more level. If you study really hard, you can get a PhD. |
| Melody: 唔，咁就你可以答佢係話 博士生。(m4 ，gam2 zau6 nei5 ho2 ji5 daap3 keoi5 hai6 waa6 bok3 si6 sang1 。) |
| David: That’s a doctoral student. |
| Melody: 博士生。(bok3 si6 sang1 。) |
| David: The next question you are likely to get asked is what’s your field. |
| Melody: 學科。(hok6 fo1 。) |
| David: Subject, faculty or field. |
| Melody: 或者可以話 專科。(waak6 ze2 ho2 ji5 waa6 zyun1 fo1 。) |
| David: Right. So you can use this to ask after someone’s major or their specialization in college. |
| Melody: 冇錯，譬如話你可以問佢你係讀咩嘢學科？如果你係讀一個好專業嘅學科，佢哋可能會話 - 嘩！你好有內涵。(mou5 co3 ，pei3 jyu4 waa6 nei5 ho2 ji5 man6 keoi5 nei5 hai6 duk6 me1 je5 hok6 fo1 ？jyu4 gwo2 nei5 hai6 duk6 jat1 go3 hou2 zyun1 jip6 ge3 hok6 fo1 ，keoi5 dei6 ho2 nang4 wui2 waa6 - waa1 ！nei5 hou2 jau5 noi6 haam4 。) |
| David: Now let’s hear that last phrase again. |
| Melody: 有內涵。(jau5 noi6 haam4 。) |
| David: In our vocab section, we translated this as to be sophisticated. |
| Melody: 有內涵。(jau5 noi6 haam4 。) |
| David: It’s not really sophisticated but it’s hard to translate this into English. What it means is, it means to be knowledgeable or to be worldly but it’s more than just book knowledge. |
| Melody: 冇錯，係比有學識仲更加好嘅一個稱讚。(mou5 co3 ，hai6 bei2 jau5 hok6 sik1 zung6 gang3 gaa1 hou2 ge3 jat1 go3 cing1 zaan3 。) |
| David: Okay. So there are two kinds of knowledge here. The first is book knowledge or academic knowledge. |
| Melody: 有學識。(jau5 hok6 sik1 。) |
| David: Book knowledge. |
| Melody: 有學識。(jau5 hok6 sik1 。) |
| David: The second is a more sophisticated worldly knowledge. |
| Melody: 有內涵。(jau5 noi6 haam4 。) |
| David: And it includes direct personal experience and also kind of knowing how to take book knowledge and use it in the real world. |
| Melody: 冇錯，係比有學識更加好。(mou5 co3 ，hai6 bei2 jau5 hok6 sik1 gang3 gaa1 hou2 。) |
| David: Right. So we’ve got a lot of vocab today for asking about people’s academic backgrounds. Let’s get to our grammar point. |
Lesson focus |
|---|
| David: Our grammar point today is this pattern... |
| Melody: 點...都...。(dim2 ...dou1 ...。) |
| David: In the dialogue, we can hear it in this sentence. |
| Melody: 點冷門都有可能幫到我嘅。 點...都...。(dim2 laang5 mun2 dou1 jau5 ho2 nang4 bong1 dou2 ngo5 ge3 。 dim2 ...dou1 ...。) |
| David: Right and in the dialogue, it meant no matter how rare your knowledge is, maybe you can help me. |
| Melody: 冇錯。(mou5 co3 。) |
| David: Let’s take a look at this pattern now. It means no matter how or regardless. |
| Melody: 點...都...。點忙都....。(dim2 ...dou1 ...。dim2 mong4 dou1 ....。) |
| David: No matter how busy. |
| Melody: 點攰都....。(dim2 gui6 dou1 ....。) |
| David: No matter how tired. |
| Melody: 譬如可以話 你點忙都要嚟。(pei3 jyu4 ho2 ji5 waa6 nei5 dim2 mong4 dou1 jiu3 lei4 。) |
| David: Right. No matter how busy you are, you have to come. |
| Melody: 你點忙都要嚟。(nei5 dim2 mong4 dou1 jiu3 lei4 。) |
| David: Regardless of how busy you are, you have to come. |
| Melody: 又或者可以話 你點攰都一定要寫完。(jau6 waak6 ze2 ho2 ji5 waa6 nei5 dim2 gui6 dou1 jat1 ding6 jiu3 se2 jyun4 。) |
| David: Right. Maybe you’ve got an essay to finish. Right, no matter how tired you are, you have to finish writing it. |
| Melody: 你點攰都一定要寫完。(nei5 dim2 gui6 dou1 jat1 ding6 jiu3 se2 jyun4 。) |
| David: No matter how tired you are, you have to finish writing it. |
| Melody: 我哋將動詞或者形容詞放喺 點...都...中間，表示無論點結果都係一樣嘅。(ngo5 dei6 zoeng1 dung6 ci4 waak6 ze2 jing4 jung4 ci4 fong3 hai2 dim2 ...dou1 ...zung1 gaan1 ，biu2 si6 mou4 leon6 dim2 git3 gwo2 dou1 hai6 jat1 joeng6 ge3 。) |
| David: Right. So either you put a verb or an adjective in the middle. |
| Melody: 譬如話 你點攰都一定要寫完。(pei3 jyu4 waa6 nei5 dim2 gui6 dou1 jat1 ding6 jiu3 se2 jyun4 。) |
| David: So that’s an adjective. No matter how tired you are, you have to finish writing it. How about a verb? |
| Melody: 我點鬧佢 佢都唔聽我講。(ngo5 dim2 naau6 keoi5 keoi5 dou1 m4 teng1 ngo5 gong2 。) |
| David: No matter how much I yell at him, he never listens. |
| Melody: 我點鬧佢 佢都唔聽我講。(ngo5 dim2 naau6 keoi5 keoi5 dou1 m4 teng1 ngo5 gong2 。) |
| David: No matter how much I yell at him, he never listens and notice how the object of the verb is going inside the pattern in that sentence. |
| Melody: 點鬧佢都....。(dim2 naau6 keoi5 dou1 ....。) |
| David: No matter how much I yell at him. |
| Melody: 點鬧佢都... 所以如果你要命令人哋或者係表示無論點都可以 就可以用到 點...都...。(dim2 naau6 keoi5 dou1 ... so2 ji5 jyu4 gwo2 nei5 jiu3 ming6 ling6 jan4 dei6 waak6 ze2 hai6 biu2 si6 mou4 leon6 dim2 dou1 ho2 ji5 zau6 ho2 ji5 jung6 dou3 dim2 ...dou1 ) |
| David: Right. No matter how something. |
| Melody: 點忙都..., 點攰都...., 點鬧佢都....。(dim2 mong4 dou1 ..., dim2 gui6 dou1 ...., dim2 naau6 keoi5 dou1 ....。) |
| David: Right. It’s a great way to express exasperation in Cantonese. |
| Melody: 冇錯，好有用。(mou5 co3 ，hou2 jau5 jung6 。) |
Outro |
| David: Okay so that’s our show for today. As always, if you have any questions, please leave a note on the site or send us an email and we will look forward to hearing from you. I am David. |
| Melody: I am Melody. |
| David: Thanks for listening and we will see you on the site. |
| Melody: 希望下次可以再見。(hei1 mong6 haa6 ci3 ho2 ji5 zoi3 gin3 。) |
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