Learn about contiguous particles and a theme park in Hong Kong
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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 we are here today with an intermediate lesson, season 1, Lesson 8. Telling Tall Cantonese Tales. |
| Melody: 唔, 呢個對話呢應該係發生喺警察局入面嘅, 咁有個女仔呢就喺度報緊案。(m4 , ni1 go3 deoi3 waa6 ne1 jing1 goi1 hai6 faat3 sang1 hai2 ging2 caat3 guk2 jap6 min6 ge3 , gam2 jau5 go3 neoi5 zai2 ne1 zau6 hai2 dou6 bou3 gan2 ngon3 。) |
| David: Right. So we have a woman reporting a crime at a police station and this is casual Cantonese as always. |
| DIALOGUE |
| A: 小姐，你話你俾個男人搏懵？(A: siu2 ze2, nei5 waa6 nei5 bei2 go3 naam4 jan2 bok3 mung5 ?) |
| B: 係呀！(B: hai6 aa3 !) |
| A: 喺邊度？(A: hai2 bin1 dou6 ?) |
| B: 喺森林嘅城堡裡面。(B: hai2 sam1 lam4 ge3 sing4 bou2 leoi5 min6.) |
| A: 你記唔記得個男人有咩特徵？(A: nei5 gei3 m4 gei3 dak1 go3 naam4 jan2 jau5 me1 dak6 zing1 ?) |
| B: 佢個頭戴住個皇冠，佢話佢係王子。(B: keoi5 go3 tau4 daai3 zyu6 go3 wong4 gun1, keoi5 waa6 keoi5 hai6 wong4 zi2.) |
| A: 佢係唔係本地人？(. A: keoi5 hai6 m4 hai6 bun2 dei6 jan4 ?) |
| B: 應該唔係。(B: jing1 goi1 m4 hai6.) |
| A: 咁...佢點搏你懵？ 有冇人見到事發經過？(A: gam2... keoi5 dim2 bok3 nei5 mung5 ? jau5 mou5 jan4 gin3 dou2 si6 faat3 ging1 gwo3 ?) |
| B: 我本來瞓緊覺，我一瞓醒佢就錫緊我，七個小矮人可以做證。(B: ngo5 bun2 loi4 fan3 gan2 gaau3, ngo5 jat1 fan3 seng2 keoi5 zau6 sek3 gan2 ngo5, cat1 go3 siu2 aai2 jan4 ho2 ji5 zou6 zing3.) |
| David: Once more, a bit slower. |
| A: 小姐，你話你俾個男人搏懵？(A: siu2 ze2, nei5 waa6 nei5 bei2 go3 naam4 jan2 bok3 mung5 ?) |
| B: 係呀！(B: hai6 aa3 !) |
| A: 喺邊度？(A: hai2 bin1 dou6 ?) |
| B: 喺森林嘅城堡裡面。(B: hai2 sam1 lam4 ge3 sing4 bou2 leoi5 min6.) |
| A: 你記唔記得個男人有咩特徵？(A: nei5 gei3 m4 gei3 dak1 go3 naam4 jan2 jau5 me1 dak6 zing1 ?) |
| B: 佢個頭戴住個皇冠，佢話佢係王子。(B: keoi5 go3 tau4 daai3 zyu6 go3 wong4 gun1, keoi5 waa6 keoi5 hai6 wong4 zi2.) |
| A: 佢係唔係本地人？(. A: keoi5 hai6 m4 hai6 bun2 dei6 jan4 ?) |
| B: 應該唔係。(B: jing1 goi1 m4 hai6.) |
| A: 咁...佢點搏你懵？ 有冇人見到事發經過？(A: gam2... keoi5 dim2 bok3 nei5 mung5 ? jau5 mou5 jan4 gin3 dou2 si6 faat3 ging1 gwo3 ?) |
| B: 我本來瞓緊覺，我一瞓醒佢就錫緊我，七個小矮人可以做證。(B: ngo5 bun2 loi4 fan3 gan2 gaau3, ngo5 jat1 fan3 seng2 keoi5 zau6 sek3 gan2 ngo5, cat1 go3 siu2 aai2 jan4 ho2 ji5 zou6 zing3.) |
| David: And now, with the English translation. |
| A: 小姐，你話你俾個男人搏懵？(A: siu2 ze2, nei5 waa6 nei5 bei2 go3 naam4 jan2 bok3 mung5 ?) |
| A: Miss, did you say you were harassed by a man? |
| B: 係呀！(B: hai6 aa3 !) |
| B: Yes! |
| A: 喺邊度？(A: hai2 bin1 dou6 ?) |
| A: Where did it happen? |
| B: 喺森林嘅城堡裡面。(B: hai2 sam1 lam4 ge3 sing4 bou2 leoi5 min6.) |
| B: At a castle in the forest. |
| A: 你記唔記得個男人有咩特徵？(A: nei5 gei3 m4 gei3 dak1 go3 naam4 jan2 jau5 me1 dak6 zing1 ?) |
| A: Do you remember if the man has any special features? |
| B: 佢個頭戴住個皇冠，佢話佢係王子。(B: keoi5 go3 tau4 daai3 zyu6 go3 wong4 gun1, keoi5 waa6 keoi5 hai6 wong4 zi2.) |
| B: He was wearing a crown and he said he's a prince. |
| A: 佢係唔係本地人？(. A: keoi5 hai6 m4 hai6 bun2 dei6 jan4 ?) |
| A: Is he a local? |
| B: 應該唔係。(B: jing1 goi1 m4 hai6.) |
| B: I don't think so. |
| A: 咁...佢點搏你懵？ 有冇人見到事發經過？(A: gam2... keoi5 dim2 bok3 nei5 mung5 ? jau5 mou5 jan4 gin3 dou2 si6 faat3 ging1 gwo3 ?) |
| A: How did he harass you? Did anyone witness the incident? |
| B: 我本來瞓緊覺，我一瞓醒佢就錫緊我，七個小矮人可以做證。(B: ngo5 bun2 loi4 fan3 gan2 gaau3, ngo5 jat1 fan3 seng2 keoi5 zau6 sek3 gan2 ngo5, cat1 go3 siu2 aai2 jan4 ho2 ji5 zou6 zing3.) |
| B: I was sleeping, and he was kissing me when I woke up. Seven dwarfs can testify that. |
| POST CONVERSATION BANTER |
| Melody: 唔, 咁聽完呢個對話呢，我覺得呢件事發生喺個女仔個夢入面，我唔覺得係真嗰囉！(m4 , gam2 teng1 jyun4 ni1 go3 deoi3 waa6 ne1 ，ngo5 gok3 dak1 ni1 gin6 si6 faat3 sang1 hai2 go3 neoi5 zai2 go3 mung6 jap6 min6 ，ngo5 m4 gok3 dak1 hai6 zan1 go2 lo1 ！) |
| David: Right. We are going to let you decide is it real or is it a dream. |
| Melody: 唔，我覺得呢，呢個女仔呢，會唔會係睇太多童話故事之後有幻想。(m4 ，ngo5 gok3 dak1 ne1 ，ni1 go3 neoi5 zai2 ne1 ，wui2 m4 wui2 hai6 tai2 taai3 do1 tung4 waa2 gu3 si6 zi1 hau6 jau5 waan6 soeng2 。) |
| David: Yeah. I like the line where they asked her if she was a local. I guess that if she is not, they don’t need to worry about it but let’s get on to our vocab for this lesson. |
| VOCAB LIST |
| Melody: 博懵。(bok3 mung5。) |
| David: To take advantage of someone. |
| Melody: 博 懵, 博懵, 森林。(bok3 mung5, bok3 mung5, sam1 lam4。) |
| David: Forest. |
| Melody: 森 林, 森林, 城堡。(sam1 lam4, sam1 lam4, sing4 bou2。) |
| David: Castle. |
| Melody: 城 堡, 城堡, 特徵。(sing4 bou2, sing4 bou2, dak6 zing1。) |
| David: Special feature. |
| Melody: 特 徵, 特徵, 皇冠。(dak6 zing1, dak6 zing1,wong4 gun1。) |
| David: Crown. |
| Melody: 皇 冠, 皇冠, 本地人。(wong4 gun1, wong4 gun1, bun2 dei6 jan4。) |
| David: Local person. |
| Melody: 本 地 人, 本地人, 做證。(bun2 dei6 jan4, bun2 dei6 jan4, zou6 zing3。) |
| David: To testify. |
| Melody: 做 證, 做證, 錫。(zou6 zing3, zou6 zing3, sek3 。) |
| David: To kiss. |
| Melody: 錫, 錫, 攬。(sek3 , sek3 , laam2。) |
| David: To hug. |
| Melody: 攬, 攬。(laam2, laam2。) |
| VOCAB AND PHRASE USAGE |
| David: Let’s take a closer look at some of these words and phrases. Our first word is |
| Melody: 博懵。(bok3 mung2 。) |
| David: To take advantage of someone. |
| Melody: 博懵。(bok3 mung2 。) |
| David: Right. As in to sexually harass someone. |
| Melody: 唔，所以對話入面呢，個女仔同個警察投訴話佢俾個王子博懵。(m4 ，so2 ji5 deoi3 waa6 jap6 min6 ne1 ，go3 neoi5 zai2 tung4 go3 ging2 caat3 tau4 sou3 waa6 keoi5 bei2 go3 wong4 zi2 bok3 mung2 。) |
| David: Right and notice the passive construction in that phrase. By the prince to be harassed. |
| Melody: 俾個王子博懵。(bei2 go3 wong4 zi2 bok3 mung2 。) |
| David: To be harassed by someone. |
| Melody: 唔，我哋可以話俾個王子博懵，或者俾個男人博懵，俾佢博懵，所以呢啲呢可能全部都係發生喺森林入面。 森林。(m4 ，ngo5 dei6 ho2 ji5 waa6 bei2 go3 wong4 zi2 bok3 mung2 ，waak6 ze2 bei2 go3 naam4 jan2 bok3 mung2 ，bei2 keoi5 bok3 mung2 ，so2 ji5 ni1 di1 ne1 ho2 nang4 cyun4 bou6 dou1 hai6 faat3 sang1 hai2 sam1 lam4 jap6 min6 。 sam1 lam4 。) |
| David: Forest. |
| Melody: 森林。(sam1 lam4 。) |
| David: Forest. |
| Melody: 咁森林入面有個城堡，好奇怪，城堡。(gam2 sam1 lam4 jap6 min6 jau5 go3 sing4 bou2 ，hou2 kei4 gwaai3 ，sing4 bou2 。) |
| David: It sounds like a European forest which has a castle inside it. |
| Melody: 可能係啦！城堡。 (ho2 nang4 hai6 laa1 ！sing4 bou2 。) |
| David: Castle. |
| Melody: 城堡, 咁呢個故事呢我覺得越講就越有童話故事嘅特徵呀! (sing4 bou2 , gam2 ni1 go3 gu3 si6 ne1 ngo5 gok3 dak1 jyut6 gong2 zau6 jyut6 jau5 tung4 waa2 gu3 si6 ge3 dak6 zing1 aa3 !) |
| David: Yeah and that’s probably the hardest word to translate in the whole dialogue. |
| Melody: 特徵。(dak6 zing1 。) |
| David: It means special feature or characteristic. |
| Melody: 特徵。(dak6 zing1 。) |
| David: So we can use it to talk about things. |
| Melody: 冇錯。(mou5 co3 。) |
| David: But often it is used to talk about people. |
| Melody: 多數形容人。(do1 sou3 jing4 jung4 jan4 。) |
| David: Yeah and what we mean is something that’s particular about that person, a defining feature. |
| Melody: 冇錯, 冇錯, 譬如話對話入面個警察問個女仔，你記唔記得個男人有咩嘢特徵？(mou5 co3 , mou5 co3 , pei3 jyu4 waa6 deoi3 waa6 jap6 min6 go3 ging2 caat3 man6 go3 neoi5 zai2 ，nei5 gei3 m4 gei3 dak1 go3 naam4 jan2 jau5 me1 je5 dak6 zing1 ？) |
| David: Right. He is really asking what does he look like. |
| Melody: 係呀！(hai6 aa3 ！) |
| David: What’s special about his appearance? |
| Melody: 係呀！ 咁特徵呢有可能係疤痕呀！有可能係胎記呢啲嘢。(hai6 aa3 ！ gam2 dak6 zing1 ne1 jau5 ho2 nang4 hai6 baa1 han4 aa3 ！jau5 ho2 nang4 hai6 toi1 gei3 ni1 di1 je5 。) |
| David: Right which would be scars or birthmarks. So these are all distinguishing features. So it’s an awkward translation into English but this is the Cantonese way of saying it. |
| Melody: 冇錯，如果你問人有咩嘢特徵，多數就係指佢長咩嘢樣呀？佢個樣係點樣樣呀？(mou5 co3 ，jyu4 gwo2 nei5 man6 jan4 jau5 me1 je5 dak6 zing1 ，do1 sou3 zau6 hai6 zi2 keoi5 zoeng5 me1 je5 joeng2 aa3 ？keoi5 go3 joeng2 hai6 dim2 joeng2 joeng2 aa3 ？) |
| David: Yeah. Moving on, our next word is the verb to testify. |
| Melody: 做證。(zou6 zing3 。) |
| David: To testify. |
| Melody: 做證, 唔，咁個女仔呢話有七個小矮人可以同佢做證，但係我覺得去邊度搵七個小矮人呀！佢又冇證據。(zou6 zing3 , m4 ，gam3 go3 neoi5 zai2 ne1 waa6 jau5 cat1 go3 siu2 ngai2 jan4 ho2 ji5 tung4 keoi5 zou6 zing3 ，daan6 hai6 ngo5 gok3 dak1 heoi3 bin1 dou6 wan2 cat1 go3 siu2 ngai2 jan4 aa1 ！keoi5 jau6 mou5 zing3 geoi3 。) |
| David: Right. So she doesn’t have anyone testify except for the seven doors. |
| Melody: 冇錯。(mou5 co3 。) |
| David: Right. |
| Melody: 而且佢冇證據，所以我唔係好相信佢。(ji4 ce2 keoi5 mou5 zing3 geoi3 ，so2 ji5 ngo5 m4 hai6 hou2 soeng1 seon3 keoi5 。) |
| David: Right. Maybe the police are not going to believe her. So we are going to let you decide if this dialogue is a fairy tale or if maybe she’s just read too many books. It’s grammar time. We are going to get on to our grammar section but first a review of these five words. |
| Melody: 博懵，森林，城堡，特徵，做證。(bok3 mung2 ，sam1 lam4 ，sing4 bou2 ，dak6 zing1 ，zou6 zing3 。) |
Lesson focus |
|---|
| David: In this lesson, we want to talk about an aspectual particle that tell us how the verb is happening that we see in our last line and Melody, what is this? |
| Melody: 緊。(gan2 。) |
| David: This is a continuous particle. |
| Melody: 緊。(gan2 。) |
| David: So when we use it with a verb, we are indicating that the action is continuous. |
| Melody: 唔，冇錯，譬如話喺對話入面呢，個女人就話「我本來瞓緊覺」。(m4 ，mou5 co3 ，pei3 jyu4 waa6 hai2 deoi3 waa6 jap6 min6 ne1 ，go3 neoi5 jan4 zau6 waa6 「 ngo5 bun2 loi4 fan3 gan2 gaau3 」 。) |
| David: I was sleeping is the way we translate this. |
| Melody: 我本來瞓緊覺。(ngo5 bun2 loi4 fan3 gan2 gaau3 。) |
| David: Now note there is nothing in the verb that puts this into the past tense. |
| Melody: 冇錯，所以我哋用本來呢個詞嚟表示佢已經發生咗。(mou5 co3 ，so2 ji5 ngo5 dei6 jung6 bun2 loi4 ni1 go3 ci4 lei4 biu2 si6 keoi5 ji5 ging1 faat3 sang1 zo2 。) |
| David: Right. So unlike in English which has more tense although there are some aspectual aspects, in Cantonese, we can use this in the past, the present and even the future tense. |
| Melody: 冇錯。(mou5 co3 。) |
| David: For instance, let’s use that exact same verb in the present tense with the sentence, right now, my mother is sleeping. |
| Melody: 而家我媽媽瞓緊覺。(ji4 gaa1 ngo5 maa4 maa1 fan3 gan2 gaau3 。) |
| David: Right now, my mother is sleeping. |
| Melody: 而家我媽媽瞓緊覺。(ji4 gaa1 ngo5 maa4 maa1 fan3 gan2 gaau3 。) |
| David: Right. So notice the way we added these extra words to indicate time but the verb itself didn’t change. |
| Melody: 係呀！冇錯，所以我哋呢要另外加啲詞，譬如話加個「本來」，加個「今日」或者「今晚」嚟同人講個時間。(hai6 aa3 ！mou5 co3 ，so2 ji5 ngo5 dei6 ne1 jiu3 ling6 ngoi6 gaa1 di1 ci4 ，pei3 jyu4 waa6 gaa1 go3 「 bun2 loi4 」 ，gaa1 go3 「 gam1 jat6 」 waak6 ze2 「 gam1 maan5 」 lei4 tung4 jan4 gong2 go3 si4 gaan3 。) |
| David: Right and this is one of the special things about an aspectual language instead of a tense-based one. In English, we have tense. We can change our verbs to indicate when in time they happened. In Cantonese, we’ve got something called aspect instead and what this tells us is not when verbs happened, but how they happened. |
| Melody: 係呀！呢樣嘢好重要㗎，一定要記得。(hai6 aa3 ！ni1 joeng6 je5 hou2 zung6 jiu3 gaa3 ，jat1 ding6 jiu3 gei3 dak1 。) |
| David: Yeah. Let’s take a look at our second example here. |
| Melody: 我一瞓醒 佢就錫緊我。(ngo5 jat1 fan3 sing2 keoi5 zau6 sek3 gan2 ngo5 。) |
| David: As soon as I woke up, he was kissing me. |
| Melody: 錫緊我。(sek3 gan2 ngo5 。) |
| David: Currently kissing or an ongoing action. |
| Melody: 瞓緊覺，錫緊我。(fan3 gan2 gaau3 ，sek3 gan2 ngo5 。) |
| David: Right. So this aspectual particle tells us the action is ongoing but it doesn’t tell us when it happened. |
| Melody: 係呀！可能係以前發生嘅，可能係而家，亦都可能係以後發生嘅。(hai6 aa3 ！ho2 nang4 hai6 ji5 cin4 faat3 sang1 ge3 ，ho2 nang4 hai6 ji4 gaa1 ，jik6 dou1 ho2 nang4 hai6 ji5 hau6 faat3 sang1 ge3 。) |
| David: Right. So when you use it, you want to make sure you use other words or use the context to make the time clear. |
| Melody: 唔，我再比你兩個例子吖！第一個係我食緊飯，有事等陣先講。(m4 ，ngo5 zoi3 bei2 nei5 loeng5 go3 lai6 zi2 aa1 ！dai6 jat1 go3 hai6 ngo5 sik6 gan2 faan6 ，jau5 si6 dang2 zan6 sin1 gong2 。) |
| David: So this is the present tense with this aspectual particle we are saying, I am eating. If there is a problem, wait and we will talk. |
| Melody: 我食緊飯，有事等陣先講。(ngo5 sik6 gan2 faan6 ，jau5 si6 dang2 zan6 sin1 gong2 。) |
| David: What if we want to put that example into the past tense? |
| Melody: 咁你就可以話尋日你行街嗰陣，我食緊飯。(gam3 nei5 zau6 ho2 ji5 waa6 cam4 jat6 nei5 haang4 gaai1 go2 zan6 ，ngo5 sik6 gan2 faan6 。) |
| David: That would be, yesterday, when you were shopping, I was eating. |
| Melody: 尋日你行街嗰陣，我食緊飯。(cam4 jat6 nei5 haang4 gaai1 go2 zan6 ，ngo5 sik6 gan2 faan6 。) |
| David: Yesterday when you were shopping, I was eating. Now let’s put the same verb into a sentence that’s taking place in the future. |
| Melody: 唔，譬如話聽日十二點，佢食緊飯，唔好打比佢。(m4 ，pei3 jyu4 waa6 ting1 jat6 sap6 ji6 dim2 ，keoi5 sik6 gan2 faan6 ，m4 hou2 daa2 bei2 keoi5 。) |
| David: Tomorrow at 12, he will be eating. Don’t telephone him. |
| Melody: 聽日十二點，佢食緊飯，唔好打比佢。(ting1 jat6 sap6 ji6 dim2 ，keoi5 sik6 gan2 faan6 ，m4 hou2 daa2 bei2 keoi5 。) |
| David: Right. So the key thing to remember is that Cantonese is an aspectual language. When we have these changes to the verb, we are not directly communicating time. |
| Melody: 係呀！冇錯。(hai6 aa3 ！mou5 co3 。) |
| David: Yeah. |
| Melody: 我哋一定要加另外一啲詞嚟表示幾時㗎！(ngo5 dei6 jat1 ding6 jiu3 gaa1 ling6 ngoi6 jat1 di1 ci4 lei4 biu2 si6 gei2 si4 gaa3 ！) |
| David: Yeah. We are communicating how it happened in relation to how it’s ongoing and in this case, it’s a continuous aspect. The action whenever it happened was ongoing. |
| Melody: 冇錯, 緊 表示正在進行，但係要加其他詞嚟表示佢嘅時間。( mou5 co3 , gan2 biu2 si6 zing3 zoi6 zeon3 hang4 ，daan6 hai6 jiu3 gaa1 kei4 taa1 ci4 lei4 biu2 si6 keoi5 ge3 si4 gaan3 。) |
| David: Yeah. This is probably one of the biggest differences between English and Cantonese. |
| Melody: 係呀! 冇錯。(hai6 aa3 ! mou5 co3 。) |
| David: And a lot of people don’t – don’t really pick up on the fact that Cantonese doesn’t have strong tenses. As always though, we think it’s important and so we’ve written it up in our lesson transcript. |
| Melody: 唔，咁希望你哋今日學識咗佢。(m4 ，gam3 hei1 mong6 nei5 dei6 gam1 jat6 hok6 sik1 zo2 keoi5 。) |
| David: Right. To get that, visit us at cantoneseclass101.com and you can download it straight from the website. We’ve got the dialogue written down, the vocab as well as this grammar point written up so it’s very clear. |
| Melody: 希望喺我哋嘅網站可以見到你哋。(hei1 mong6 hai2 ngo5 dei6 ge3 mong5 zaam6 ho2 ji5 gin3 dou2 nei5 dei6 。) |
Outro |
| David: Right. For now though, that is all the time we have. If you have any questions, visit us online, leave a comment and we will get back to you as quickly as we can. |
| Melody: 今日我哋嘅節目就到此為止，我係 (gam1 jat6 ngo5 dei6 ge3 zit3 muk6 zau6 dou3 ci2 wai4 zi2, ngo5 hai6) Melody。 |
| David: And I am David and thanks for listening. |
| Melody: 下次再見，(haa6 ci3 zoi3 gin3 ，) Bye bye. |
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