Learn how to use the verb complement 定先 to indicate that one action must be completed before another
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| INTRODUCTION |
| David: Welcome to cantoneseclass101.com. I am David. |
| Melody: 大家好，我係 (daai6 gaa1 hou2 ，ngo5 hai6) Melody。 |
| David: And today we’ve got intermediate season 1, Lesson 5. Moving is Expensive in Hong Kong. |
| Melody: 唔, 對話入面呢 其中係一個人霸住部電腦睇樓盤介紹, 咁另外一個人呢就問佢係咪要買樓？(m4 , deoi3 waa6 jap6 min6 ne1 kei4 zung1 hai6 jat1 go3 jan4 baa3 zyu6 bou6 din6 nou5 tai2 lau4 pun2 gaai3 siu6 , gam2 ling6 ngoi6 jat1 go3 jan4 ne1 zau6 man6 keoi5 hai6 mai6 jiu3 maai5 lau2 ？) |
| David: Right. So we’ve got two friends, one of whom is looking at real estate on their computer, and it seems a lot like they are trying to buy an apartment. |
| David: So, what do you think, Melody? |
| Melody: 唔, 我都覺得係。咁香港樓價就太高啦我覺得, 可能買樓一般都要貸款。(m4 , ngo5 dou1 gok3 dak1 hai6 。gam2 hoeng1 gong2 lau4 gaa3 zau6 taai3 gou1 laa3 ngo5 gok3 dak1 , ho2 nang4 maai5 lau2 jat1 bun1 dou1 jiu3 taai3 fun2 。) |
| David: Right. So a dialogue here that’s about real estate and about getting a mortgage. This is casual Cantonese, as always. Let’s take a listen. |
| DIALOGUE |
| A: 你霸住部手提電腦咁耐，有乜睇啫？(A: nei5 baa3 zyu6 bou6 sau2 tai4 din6 nou5 gam3 noi6, jau5 me1 tai2 ze1 ?) |
| B: 我睇緊樓盤介紹。(B: ngo5 tai2 gan2 lau4 pun2 gaai3 siu6.) |
| A: 吓？你要買樓？(A: haa5? nei5 jiu3 maai5 lau2 ?) |
| B: 遲早都要搬出屋企，咪睇定先囉。(B: ci4 zou2 dou1 jiu3 bun1 ceot1 uk1 kei2, mai6 tai2 ding6 sin1 lo1.) |
| A: 宜家啲樓好貴噃，齋首期都幾百萬。(A: ji4 gaa1 di1 lau2 hou2 gwai3 bo3, zaai1 sau2 kei4 dou1 gei2 baak3 maan6.) |
| B: 我諗住貸款。(B: ngo5 lam2 zyu6 taai3 fun2.) |
| David: Once more, a bit slower. |
| A: 你霸住部手提電腦咁耐，有乜睇啫？(A: nei5 baa3 zyu6 bou6 sau2 tai4 din6 nou5 gam3 noi6, jau5 me1 tai2 ze1 ?) |
| B: 我睇緊樓盤介紹。(B: ngo5 tai2 gan2 lau4 pun2 gaai3 siu6.) |
| A: 吓？你要買樓？(A: haa5? nei5 jiu3 maai5 lau2 ?) |
| B: 遲早都要搬出屋企，咪睇定先囉。(B: ci4 zou2 dou1 jiu3 bun1 ceot1 uk1 kei2, mai6 tai2 ding6 sin1 lo1.) |
| A: 宜家啲樓好貴噃，齋首期都幾百萬。(A: ji4 gaa1 di1 lau2 hou2 gwai3 bo3, zaai1 sau2 kei4 dou1 gei2 baak3 maan6.) |
| B: 我諗住貸款。(B: ngo5 lam2 zyu6 taai3 fun2.) |
| David: And now, with the English translation. |
| A: 你霸住部手提電腦咁耐，有乜睇啫？(A: nei5 baa3 zyu6 bou6 sau2 tai4 din6 nou5 gam3 noi6, jau5 me1 tai2 ze1 ?) |
| A: You've been using the laptop for such a long time! What are you looking at? |
| B: 我睇緊樓盤介紹。(B: ngo5 tai2 gan2 lau4 pun2 gaai3 siu6.) |
| B: I'm reading about real estate. |
| A: 吓？你要買樓？(A: haa5? nei5 jiu3 maai5 lau2 ?) |
| A: Huh? Are you buying a house? |
| B: 遲早都要搬出屋企，咪睇定先囉。(B: ci4 zou2 dou1 jiu3 bun1 ceot1 uk1 kei2, mai6 tai2 ding6 sin1 lo1.) |
| B: I'm going to have to move out of my home. I'm just getting information first. |
| A: 宜家啲樓好貴噃，齋首期都幾百萬。(A: ji4 gaa1 di1 lau2 hou2 gwai3 bo3, zaai1 sau2 kei4 dou1 gei2 baak3 maan6.) |
| A: Real estate is expensive these days. A down payment alone costs millions of HKD. |
| B: 我諗住貸款。(B: ngo5 lam2 zyu6 taai3 fun2.) |
| B: I am thinking about taking out a mortgage or home loan. |
| POST CONVERSATION BANTER |
| So what do you think Melody? |
| Melody: 唔, 我都覺得係。咁香港樓價就太高啦我覺得, 可能買樓一般都要貸款。(m4 , ngo5 dou1 gok3 dak1 hai6 。gam2 hoeng1 gong2 lau4 gaa3 zau6 taai3 gou1 laa3 ngo5 gok3 dak1 , ho2 nang4 maai5 lau2 jat1 bun1 dou1 jiu3 taai3 fun2 。) |
| David: Right. So a dialogue here that’s about real estate and about getting a mortgage. This is casual Cantonese as always. Let’s take a listen. |
| Melody: 齋首期都要幾百萬，聽到都驚晒啦！(zaai1 sau2 kei4 dou1 jiu3 gei2 baak3 maan6 ，teng1 dou2 dou1 geng1 saai3 laa1 ！) |
| David: Yeah. Buying real estate in Hong Kong is definitely not for the faint of heart. |
| Melody: 唔，冇錯。但係對話入面呢有好多值得我哋學習嘅專業名詞。(m4 ，mou5 co3 。daan6 hai6 deoi3 waa6 jap6 min6 ne1 jau5 hou2 do1 zik6 dak1 ngo5 dei6 hok6 zaap6 ge3 zyun1 jip6 ming4 ci4 。) |
| David: Right. There is a lot of great intermediate vocab today which is about buying a house or getting involved in the real estate market. So let’s get to that. |
| VOCAB LIST |
| Melody: 樓盤。(lau4 pun2。) |
| David: Real estate. |
| Melody: 樓 盤, 樓盤, 買樓。(lau4 pun2, lau4 pun2, maai5 lau2。) |
| David: To buy a house. |
| Melody: 買 樓, 買樓, 遲早。(maai5 lau2, maai5 lau2, ci4 zou2。) |
| David: Sooner or later. |
| Melody: 遲 早, 遲早, 屋企。(ci4 zou2, ci4 zou2, uk1 kei5。) |
| David: Home. |
| Melody: 屋 企, 屋企, 齋。(uk1 kei5, uk1 kei5, zaai1。) |
| David: Alone. |
| Melody: 齋, 齋, 首期。(zaai1, zaai1, sau2 kei4。) |
| David: Down payment. |
| Melody: 首 期, 首期, 諗住。(sau2 kei4, sau2 kei4, nam2 zyu6。) |
| David: To think about. |
| Melody: 諗 住, 諗住, 貸款。(nam2 zyu6, nam2 zyu6, taai3 fun2。) |
| David: Mortgage. |
| Melody: 貸 款, 貸款, 睇定先。(taai3 fun2, taai3 fun2, tai2 ding6 sin1。) |
| David: To research in advance. |
| Melody: 睇 定 先, 睇定先。(tai2 ding6 sin1, tai2 ding6 sin1。) |
| VOCAB AND PHRASE USAGE |
| David: Let’s take a closer look at some of these words and phrases. Our first word is |
| Melody: 樓盤。(lau4 pun2 。) |
| David: Real estate. |
| Melody: 樓盤。(lau4 pun2 。) |
| David: Real estate. |
| Melody: 通常呢我哋去買樓都會先去參觀樓盤。(tung1 soeng4 ne1 ngo5 dei6 heoi3 maai5 lau2 dou1 wui2 sin1 heoi3 caam1 gun1 lau4 pun2 。) |
| David: Right. So we are buying a house and we need to check out the building. |
| Melody: 唔, 買樓都會先去參觀樓盤。(m4 , maai5 lau2 dou1 wui2 sin1 heoi3 caam1 gun1 lau4 pun2 。) |
| David: When buying a house, you have to look at the real estate. |
| Melody: 冇錯, 我哋下一個詞係 買樓。(mou5 co3 , ngo5 dei6 haa6 jat1 go3 ci4 hai6 maai5 lau2 。) |
| David: Right. That’s to buy a house. |
| Melody: 買樓。 (maai5 lau2 。) |
| David: And that can be buying a house or it can be buying an apartment. |
| Melody: 唔, 冇話特別指乜嘢, 可以係公寓可以係別墅等等。(m4 , mou5 waa6 dak6 bit6 zi2 mat1 je5 , ho2 ji5 hai6 gung1 jyu6 ho2 ji5 hai6 bit6 seoi6 dang2 dang2。) |
| David: Right. Most of the time admittedly, we are dealing with apartments in Hong Kong. |
| Melody: 唔, 因為香港人多數住喺公寓入面， 所以多數買樓只係公寓。(m4 , jan1 wai6 hoeng1 gong2 jan4 do1 sou3 zyu6 hai2 gung1 jyu6 jap6 min6 ， so2 ji5 do1 sou3 maai5 lau2 zi2 hai6 gung1 jyu6 。) |
| David: Right. If you can afford a villa, you are doing very, very, very well.. |
| Melody: 咁就太好喇！可以住別墅。(gam3 zau6 taai3 hou2 laa3 ！ho2 ji5 zyu6 bit6 seoi6 。) |
| David: Yeah so two words. What’s next? |
| Melody: 下一個詞係 屋企。(haa6 jat1 go3 ci4 hai6 nguk1 kei5 。) |
| David: This means home. |
| Melody: 屋企。(nguk1 kei5 。) |
| David: And just like English, people will often say, I am going home instead of saying I am going to the apartment. |
| Melody: 我而家返緊屋企。(ngo5 ji4 gaa1 faan1 gan2 nguk1 kei5 。) |
| David: That’s I am going home now. |
| Melody: 唔, 所以好多時候呢香港人叫家人都會叫做 屋企人。(m4 , so2 ji5 hou2 do1 si4 hau6 ne1 hoeng1 gong2 jan4 giu3 gaa1 jan4 dou1 wui2 giu3 zou6 nguk1 kei5 jan4 。) |
| David: Right. People in someone’s family will often be called literally home people. |
| Melody: 屋企人。(nguk1 kei5 jan4 。) |
| David: It sounds silly in English but it works in Cantonese. |
| Melody: 冇錯，咁樣聽起嚟呢更加親切。(mou5 co3 ，gam2 joeng2 teng1 hei2 lei4 ne1 gang3 gaa1 can1 cit3 。) |
| David: Right. So Melody, what’s next? |
| Melody: 下一個係 首期。(haa6 jat1 go3 hai6 sau2 kei4 。) |
| David: Down payment. |
| Melody: 首期。(sau2 kei4 。) |
| David: Down payment. |
| Melody: 唔, 譬如我哋會話用貸款嚟付首期。(m4 , pei3 jyu4 ngo5 dei6 wui2 waa6 jung6 taai3 fun2 lei4 fu6 sau2 kei4 。) |
| David: Right and the word used a term that is also in our vocab list. That means mortgage. |
| Melody: 貸款。(taai3 fun2 。) |
| David: Mortgage. |
| Melody: 貸款。(taai3 fun2 。) |
| David: And it’s usually a home mortgage although it could be a loan of some other kinds as well. |
| Melody: 唔, 係呀! 但係多數指買樓嘅貸款。(m4 , hai6 aa3 ! daan6 hai6 do1 sou3 zi2 maai5 lau2 ge3 taai3 fun2 。) |
| David: Right. So we have the words for mortgage. |
| Melody: 貸款。(taai3 fun2 。) |
| David: And down payment. |
| Melody: 首期 , 譬如話呢個房太貴啦！我貸款唔到。(sau2 kei4 , pei3 jyu4 waa6 ni1 go3 fong2 taai3 gwai3 laa3 ！ngo5 taai3 fun2 m4 dou2 。) |
| David: That house is too expensive, I can’t get a mortgage. |
| Melody: 呢個房太貴啦！我貸款唔到。(ni1 go3 fong2 taai3 gwai3 laa3 ！ngo5 taai3 fun2 m4 dou2 。) |
| David: That house is too expensive, I can’t get a mortgage and let’s change that to, I can’t pay the down payment. |
| Melody: 呢個房太貴啦！我付唔起首期。(ni1 go3 fong2 taai3 gwai3 laa3！ngo5 fu6 m4 hei2 sau2 kei4 。) |
| David: That house is too expensive, I can’t pay the down payment. |
| Melody: 呢個房太貴啦！我付唔起首期。(ni1 go3 fong2 taai3 gwai3 laa3！ngo5 fu6 m4 hei2 sau2 kei4 。) |
| David: Right. And with that, let’s get on to our grammar point. |
Lesson focus |
|---|
| David: In our grammar point today, we want to introduce a new verb complement. |
| Melody: 定先。(ding6 sin1 。) |
| David: Which means to do something first. |
| Melody: 定先。(ding6 sin1 。) |
| David: We add this to the end of verbs to suggest that this verb needs to happen before something else happens. |
| Melody: 冇錯, 譬如喺我哋嘅對話入面我哋會聽到 遲早都要搬出屋企 咪睇定先囉！(mou5 co3 , pei3 jyu4 hai2 ngo5 dei6 ge3 deoi3 waa6 jap6 min6 ngo5 dei6 wui2 teng1 dou2 ci4 zou2 dou1 jiu3 bun1 ceot1 nguk1 kei5 mai6 tai2 ding6 sin1 lo1 ！) |
| David: I’ve got to move away from home sooner or later. So I may as well look first. |
| Melody: 睇定先, 睇係一個動詞, 之後我哋加 定先 喺後面, 睇定先。(tai2 ding6 sin1 , tai2 hai6 jat1 go3 dung6 ci4 , zi1 hau6 ngo5 dei6 gaa1 ding6 sin1 hai2 hau6 min6 , tai2 ding6 sin1 。) |
| David: To look and then the verb complement is to look and do this thing first. |
| Melody: 睇定先。(tai2 ding6 sin1 。) |
| David: To look before you do something else. |
| Melody: 冇錯, 通常係表示了解好情況, 或者係通過一段時間先再決定。(mou5 co3 , tung1 soeng4 hai6 biu2 si6 liu5 gaai2 hou2 cing4 fong3 , waak6 ze2 hai6 tung1 gwo3 jat1 dyun6 si4 gaan3 sin1 zoi3 kyut3 ding6 。) |
| David: Right. For instance, I am just looking, I am not sure I will buy. |
| Melody: 我而家睇定先, 唔一定要買。(ngo5 ji4 gaa1 tai2 ding6 sin1 , m4 jat1 ding6 jiu3 maai5 。) |
| David: I am just looking, I might not buy. |
| Melody: 我而家睇定先, 唔一定要買。(ngo5 ji4 gaa1 tai2 ding6 sin1 , m4 jat1 ding6 jiu3 maai5 。) |
| David: Right. So I am looking first but this doesn’t mean I am going to buy. |
| Melody: 唔, 冇錯。(m4 , mou5 co3 。) |
| David: Right. What if we change this to other verbs? |
| Melody: 梗係可以啦！譬如我哋換成 搵，搵定先。(gang2 hai6 ho2 ji5 laa1 ！pei3 jyu4 ngo5 dei6 wun6 sing4 wan2 ，wan2 ding6 sin1 。) |
| David: To look for something first. |
| Melody: 搵定先。(wan2 ding6 sin1 。) |
| David: To look and decide first. |
| Melody: 唔, 譬如我哋通常會聽到 工作都係畢業前搵定先好。(m4 , pei3 jyu4 ngo5 dei6 tung1 soeng4 wui2 teng1 dou2 gung1 zok3 dou1 hai6 bat1 jip6 cin4 wan2 ding6 sin1 hou2 。) |
| David: Right. This is what college kids hear from their parents. |
| Melody: 唔, 冇錯, 或者係老師, 佢哋通常會話 工作都係畢業前搵定先好。(m4 , mou5 co3 , waak6 ze2 hai6 lou5 si1 , keoi5 dei6 tung1 soeng4 wui2 waa6 gung1 zok3 dou1 hai6 bat1 jip6 cin4 wan2 ding6 sin1 hou2 。) |
| David: Right and it means you’ve got to look for a job before you graduate right although that’s – it’s a strange structure for a native English speaker because it’s saying jobs are something that before you graduate, you should look and arrange first. |
| Melody: 冇錯, 但係喺廣東話入面我哋就直接講 搵定先。(mou5 co3 , daan6 hai6 hai2 gwong2 dung1 waa2 jap6 min6 ngo5 dei6 zau6 zik6 zip3 gong2 wan2 ding6 sin1 。) |
| David: Right. So this is a tricky verb complement because in English, we wouldn’t usually treat this as a single verb or a verb phrase. We’d say something like you have to look for a job before you graduate and get things little settled down. In Cantonese, we are just compressing it to the single phrase. |
| Melody: 冇錯, 搵定先。(mou5 co3 , wan2 ding6 sin1 。) |
| David: Let’s have another example. |
| Melody:又或者我哋通常會聽到 諗定先。(jau6 waak6 ze2 ngo5 dei6 tung1 soeng4 wui2 teng1 dou2 lam2 ding6 sin1 。) |
| David: To think through something first. |
| Melody: 諗定先, 譬如話你朋友要借錢, 多數你會提醒佢 你諗定先, 啲貸款你點還呀? (lam2 ding6 sin1 , pei3 jyu4 waa6 nei5 pang4 jau5 jiu3 ze3 cin2 , do1 sou3 nei5 wui2 tai4 sing2 keoi5 nei5 lam2 ding6 sin1 , di1 taai3 fun2 nei5 dim2 waan4 aa3 ?) |
| David: Right. So maybe this is you telling your friend when they want to get this loan, you know. You better think this through first so that you know how you are going to pay it back. |
| Melody: 冇錯, 你諗定先, 啲貸款你點還呀? (mou5 co3 , nei5 lam2 ding6 sin1 , di1 taai3 fun2 nei5 dim2 waan4 aa3 ?) |
| David: Think through how you will pay this loan back and do it before you arrange the loan because otherwise you might run into trouble. |
| Melody: 諗定先。(lam2 ding6 sin1 。) |
| David: So that’s our grammar point for today. It’s the verb complement. |
| Melody: 定先。(ding6 sin1 。) |
| David: You can add this to verbs when you want to suggest that the action needs to happen and be completed before something else happens. |
| Melody: 冇錯, 通常我哋加一個動詞喺前面, 變成一個動詞, 後面加 定先。(mou5 co3 , tung1 soeng4 ngo5 dei6 gaa1 jat1 go3 dung6 ci4 hai2 cin4 min6 , bin3 sing4 jat1 go3 dung6 ci4 , hau6 min6 gaa1 ding6 sin1 。) |
| David: Yes it’s got to be a verb. Now this is a tricky point. So if you have not yet checked out our premium transcripts on the site, please do. In addition to the dialogue in the vocab, we’ve written up a grammar point which explains this in much more detail and it has a lot more examples. So if you are having any trouble, our transcript is going to help make this stick. |
| Melody: 我諗你哋一定會需要, 快啲上去睇下啦！(ngo5 lam2 nei5 dei6 jat1 ding6 wui2 seoi1 jiu3 , faai3 di1 soeng5 heoi3 tai2 haa5 laa1 ！) |
Outro |
| David: Right. And with that, that’s our lesson for today. As always, if you have any questions or comments, please leave them on cantoneseclass101.com and we look forward to hearing from you. I am David. |
| Melody: 我係 (ngo5 hai6 ) Melody。 |
| David: Take care and we will see you next time. |
| Melody: 希望下次再見。(hei1 mong6 haa6 ci3 zoi3 gin3 。) Bye bye. |
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