Learn how to use 嘅 to express possession and ownership
Now Playing: Lesson Audio
Get a breakdown of the dialogue and translations instantly with the Premium line-by-line Audio. Sign up for your Free Lifetime Account Now and get 7 Days of Premium Access including this feature.
Get this lesson’s key vocab, their translations and pronunciations. Sign up for your Free Lifetime Account Now and get 7 Days of Premium Access including this feature.
Unlock Lesson Notes and Transcripts for every single lesson. Sign Up for a Free Lifetime Account and Get 7 Days of Premium Access.
| INTRODUCTION |
| Eric: Hello and welcome to the Lower Beginner series at CantoneseClass101.com. This is Season 1, Lesson 20, A Cantopop Idol in the Making. I’m Eric. |
| Teddy: 大家好！(daai6 gaa1 hou2!) I’m Teddy! |
| Eric: In this lesson, you’ll learn how to use possessive words. |
| Teddy: The conversation takes place on the street. |
| Eric: It’s between two friends, Jane and Wendy. |
| Teddy: And as usual, the speakers will be using casual Cantonese. |
| Eric: Let’s listen to the conversation. |
| DIALOGUE |
| Wendy: 做歌星係我嘅夢想。(zou6 go1 sing1 hai6 ngo5 ge3 mung6 soeng2) |
| Jane: 係？未聽過你唱歌喎。(hai6? mei6 teng1 gwo3 nei5 coeng3 go1 wo3) |
| Wendy: 咁一陣去唱K啦！(gam2 jat1 zan6 heoi3 coeng3 K laa1!) |
| Jane: 好呀。帶你去我嘅至愛K場。(hou2 aa3. daai3 nei5 heoi3 ngo5 ge3 zi3 oi3 K coeng4) |
| Eric: Let’s hear the conversation one time slowly. |
| Wendy: 做歌星係我嘅夢想。(zou6 go1 sing1 hai6 ngo5 ge3 mung6 soeng2) |
| Jane: 係？未聽過你唱歌喎。(hai6? mei6 teng1 gwo3 nei5 coeng3 go1 wo3) |
| Wendy: 咁一陣去唱K啦！(gam2 jat1 zan6 heoi3 coeng3 K laa1!) |
| Jane: 好呀。帶你去我嘅至愛K場。(hou2 aa3. daai3 nei5 heoi3 ngo5 ge3 zi3 oi3 K coeng4) |
| Eric: Now let’s hear it with the English translation. |
| Wendy: 做歌星係我嘅夢想。(zou6 go1 sing1 hai6 ngo5 ge3 mung6 soeng2) |
| Eric: My dream is to be a singer. |
| Jane: 係？未聽過你唱歌喎。(hai6? mei6 teng1 gwo3 nei5 coeng3 go1 wo3) |
| Eric: Really? I’ve never heard you sing before. |
| Wendy: 咁一陣去唱K啦！(gam2 jat1 zan6 heoi3 coeng3 K laa1!) |
| Eric: Then let's go sing karaoke later! |
| Jane: 好呀。帶你去我嘅至愛K場。(hou2 aa3. daai3 nei5 heoi3 ngo5 ge3 zi3 oi3 K coeng4) |
| Eric: Okay. I'll bring you to my favorite karaoke bar. |
| POST CONVERSATION BANTER |
| Eric: What kinds of songs are usually played on the radio in Hong Kong? |
| Teddy: Nowadays, both Cantonese and Mandarin songs are popular. English songs are a major part of the music industry too, but they’re mostly imported from the United States and Europe. |
| Eric: Do many local singers sing in Cantonese and Mandarin? |
| Teddy: Hong Kong singers need to know Mandarin since mainland China is now a major market. They may perform in different Chinese provinces and need to learn a few Mandarin songs. |
| Eric: Do most people in mainland China understand Cantonese songs too? |
| Teddy: Well, that’s very interesting. Many people in mainland China listen to Cantonese popular music even though they don’t understand the language. |
| Eric: Why is that? |
| Teddy: Perhaps because of popular Hong Kong TV dramas. Although the scripts have been translated and voiced over in Mandarin, the theme songs remain in Cantonese. That makes the Hong Kong singers famous in mainland China. |
| Eric: Really? That’s interesting to know. Listeners, have you ever watched a Hong Kong TV drama? Let us know in the comments! Now let’s take a look at the vocabulary for this lesson. |
| VOCAB LIST |
| The first word we shall see is: |
| 歌星 (go1 sing1) [natural native speed] |
| singer |
| 歌星 (go1 sing1) [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| 歌星 (go1 sing1) [natural native speed] |
| Next: |
| 夢想 (mung6 soeng2) [natural native speed] |
| dream |
| 夢想 (mung6 soeng2) [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| 夢想 (mung6 soeng2) [natural native speed] |
| Next: |
| 未 (mei6) [natural native speed] |
| yet, never |
| 未 (mei6) [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| 未 (mei6) [natural native speed] |
| Next: |
| 聽 (teng1) [natural native speed] |
| to listen |
| 聽 (teng1) [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| 聽 (teng1) [natural native speed] |
| Next: |
| 一陣 (jat1 zan6) [natural native speed] |
| later, a while |
| 一陣 (jat1 zan6) [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| 一陣 (jat1 zan6) [natural native speed] |
| Next: |
| 唱歌 (coeng3 go1) [natural native speed] |
| to sing |
| 唱歌 (coeng3 go1) [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| 唱歌 (coeng3 go1) [natural native speed] |
| Next: |
| 唱K (coeng3 K) [natural native speed] |
| to sing karaoke |
| 唱K (coeng3 K) [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| 唱K (coeng3 K) [natural native speed] |
| And Last: |
| K場 (K coeng4) [natural native speed] |
| karaoke bar |
| K場 (K coeng4) [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| K場 (K coeng4) [natural native speed] |
| KEY VOCAB AND PHRASES |
| Eric: Let’s take a closer look at some of the words and phrases from this lesson. What’s the first word? |
| Teddy: 歌星(go1 sing1) |
| Eric: What can you tell us about this? |
| Teddy: 歌 (go1) means “song,” and 星 (sing1) means “star.” Together 歌星 (go1 sing1) means a celebrity who sings, or a "singer." |
| Eric: How do you say "to sing?" |
| Teddy: 唱 (coeng3)is “to sing,” but we usually use the phrase, “sing song," or 唱歌(coeng3 go1) |
| Eric: Could you repeat that please? |
| Teddy: Sure! 唱歌(coeng3 go1) meaning "To sing." |
| Eric: How do you say, "A singer sings?" |
| Teddy: 歌星 唱歌(go1 sing1 coeng3 go1) |
| Eric: "Singer" is... |
| Teddy: 歌星(go1 sing1 ) |
| Eric: "Singing" is... |
| Teddy: 唱歌(coeng3 go1) |
| Eric: Ok, how about, "The singer loves to sing?" |
| Teddy: 歌星 鐘意 唱歌(go1 sing1 zung1 ji3 coeng3 go1) |
| Eric: Ok, listeners, let’s practice the phrase. Repeat after Teddy. |
| Teddy: 歌星(go1 sing1) [pause] 歌星 (go1 sing1) 唱歌 (coeng3 go1) [pause] 唱歌(coeng3 go1) |
| Eric: Next, we’ll find out what "K" means in the dialogue. |
| Teddy: In the dialogue, Wendy suggests to go 唱K (coeng3 K) |
| Eric: She is talking about going to a karaoke bar to sing, right? |
| Teddy: Yes. Karaoke is translated as 卡拉OK (kaa1 laai1 OK), but it still sounds too long. So, gradually people have shortened the word to say 唱K, meaning "sing karaoke." |
| Eric: I see. So what is the difference between... |
| Teddy: 唱K (coeng3 K) and K場 (K coeng4)? |
| Eric: Yeah, that’s right. |
| Teddy: Oh, 唱 (coeng3) means "to sing," but 場 (coeng4) refers to a place. "唱K" (coeng3 K) means "to sing karaoke," while a "K場" (K coeng4) is a karaoke bar, also called a karaoke "box" in Hong Kong. Again, 唱 (coeng3) is "to sing," and 場 (coeng4) is a place. |
| Eric: Ok. We’ll need to practice saying them clearly. Listeners, please repeat after Teddy. |
| Teddy: 唱K (coeng3 K) [pause] |
| Eric: "To sing karaoke." |
| Teddy: K場 (K coeng4) [pause] |
| Eric: "Karaoke bar," or "the place to sing karaoke." Okay, now onto the grammar. |
Lesson focus |
|---|
| Eric: In this lesson, you’ll learn how to say that something belongs to someone. |
| Teddy: Right, we’re going to talk about the possessive form. |
| Eric: Ok, in the dialogue, Wendy said her dream was to become a singer. |
| Teddy: 做歌星係我嘅夢想 (zou6 go1 sing1 hai6 ngo5 ge3 mung6 soeng2). |
| Eric: Which word indicates possession? |
| Teddy: 嘅 (ge3) It acts like an apostrophe after a noun. And combined with a pronoun, it creates the possessive form. |
| Eric: Ok, then how do you say "my?" |
| Teddy: We already know that 我 means "I" or "me." So 我嘅 (ngo5 ge3) means "my" or "mine." |
| Eric: How about "your" or "yours?" |
| Teddy: "You" is 你 (nei5) So "your" or "yours" is 你嘅 (nei5 ge3) |
| Eric: Does this work for all possessive pronouns? |
| Teddy: Yes, it’s easy to apply. Just add the word 嘅after the pronoun. |
| Eric: For example, "he" and "his." |
| Teddy: 佢 (keoi5), and 佢嘅 (keoi5 ge3) |
| Eric: "Her" and "hers?" |
| Teddy: Since the word for "he" and "she" is the same – 佢 (keoi5), the word for "his" and "her" or "hers" is also the same – 佢嘅 (keoi5 ge3) |
| Eric: How about "they" and "their" or "theirs?" |
| Teddy: 佢哋 (keoi5 dei6) and 佢哋嘅 (keoi5 dei6 ge3) |
| Eric: "Our" and "ours?" |
| Teddy: 我哋 (ngo5 dei6), and 我哋嘅 (ngo5 dei6 ge3) |
| Eric: How do you say, "Wendy’s?" |
| Teddy: Wendy嘅 (ge3) |
| Eric: I see, so it acts like the apostrophe-s after the noun in English. |
| Teddy: Exactly! |
| Eric: That’s pretty easy! |
Outro |
| Eric: That’s it for this lesson. Thanks for listening, and we’ll see you next time! Goodbye! |
| Teddy: 拜拜！(baai1 baai3!) |
Easily master this lesson’s grammar points with in-depth explanations and examples. Sign up for your Free Lifetime Account and get 7 Days of Premium Access including this feature.
Comments
Hide