Learn how to use classifiers
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| INTRODUCTION |
| Eric: Hello and welcome to the Lower Beginner series at CantoneseClass101.com. This is Season 1, Lesson 24, What Should You Take to a House Party in Hong Kong? I’m Eric. |
| Teddy: 哈囉！大家好! (haa1 lo3！daai6 gaa1 hou2 !) I’m Teddy! |
| Eric: In this lesson, you’ll learn more about classifiers, or measure words, in Cantonese. |
| Teddy: The conversation takes place at Wendy’s apartment. |
| Eric: It’s between two friends, Jane and Wendy. |
| Teddy: And as usual, the speakers will be speaking casual Cantonese. |
| Eric: Let’s listen to the conversation. |
| DIALOGUE |
| Wendy: 帶咩去PARTY好呀？(daai3 me1 heoi3 PARTY hou2 aa3?) |
| Jane: 兩打啤酒啦！(loeng5 daa1 be1 zau2 laa1!) |
| Wendy: 不如買個蛋糕吖？(bat1 jyu4 maai5 go3 daan6 gou1 aa1?) |
| Jane: 好呀，一磅夠啦。(hou2 aa3, jat1 bong6 gau3 laa1.) |
| Eric: Let’s hear the conversation one time slowly. |
| Wendy 帶咩去PARTY好呀？(daai3 me1 heoi3 PARTY hou2 aa3?) |
| Jane 兩打啤酒啦！(loeng5 daa1 be1 zau2 laa1!) |
| Wendy 不如買個蛋糕吖？(bat1 jyu4 maai5 go3 daan6 gou1 aa1?) |
| Jane 好呀，一磅夠啦。(hou2 aa3, jat1 bong6 gau3 laa1.) |
| Eric: Now let’s hear it with the English translation. |
| Wendy 帶咩去PARTY好呀？(daai3 me1 heoi3 PARTY hou2 aa3?) |
| Eric: What should we bring to the party? |
| Jane 兩打啤酒啦！(loeng5 daa1 be1 zau2 laa1!) |
| Eric: Two dozen beers! |
| Wendy 不如買個蛋糕吖？(bat1 jyu4 maai5 go3 daan6 gou1 aa1?) |
| Eric: Should we buy a cake? |
| Jane 好呀，一磅夠啦。(hou2 aa3, jat1 bong6 gau3 laa1.) |
| Eric: Yes, one pound is enough. |
| POST CONVERSATION BANTER |
| Eric: What do you like to bring to your friends’ parties? |
| Teddy: I usually bring a bottle of wine. |
| Eric: What if the parties are for children? |
| Teddy: Well, then I won’t join! (laughs) No, in that case I might bring some chocolate. |
| Eric: If you’re having a party, what do you like your guests to bring? |
| Teddy: For that, I also like wine. 紅酒 (hung4 zau2) or 白酒 (baak6 zau2), "red wine" or "white wine." |
| Eric: But you don’t want everyone to bring the same thing every time. You’ll have too much wine then! What do people in Hong Kong usually bring to parties? |
| Teddy: Well, people in Hong Kong like 紅酒 (hung4 zau2), or "red wine," a lot. Alternatively, people might bring a basket of fruit or expensive seafood to house parties. |
| Eric: Great! I look forward to going to a party at your house. Okay, now let’s take a look at the vocabulary for this lesson. |
| VOCAB LIST |
| The first word we shall see is: |
| 帶 (daai3) [natural native speed] |
| to bring |
| 帶 (daai3) [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| 帶 (daai3) [natural native speed] |
| Next: |
| 打 (daa1) [natural native speed] |
| a dozen of |
| 打 (daa1) [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| 打 (daa1) [natural native speed] |
| Next: |
| 啤酒 (be1 zau2) [natural native speed] |
| beer |
| 啤酒 (be1 zau2) [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| 啤酒 (be1 zau2) [natural native speed] |
| Next: |
| 不如 (bat1 jyu4) [natural native speed] |
| how about |
| 不如 (bat1 jyu4) [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| 不如 (bat1 jyu4) [natural native speed] |
| Next: |
| 買 (maai5) [natural native speed] |
| to buy |
| 買 (maai5) [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| 買 (maai5) [natural native speed] |
| Next: |
| 蛋糕 (daan6 gou1) [natural native speed] |
| cake |
| 蛋糕 (daan6 gou1) [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| 蛋糕 (daan6 gou1) [natural native speed] |
| Next: |
| 磅 (bong6) [natural native speed] |
| pound (lb.) |
| 磅 (bong6) [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| 磅 (bong6) [natural native speed] |
| And Last: |
| 夠 (gau3) [natural native speed] |
| enough |
| 夠 (gau3) [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| 夠 (gau3) [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 are we starting with? |
| Teddy: 夠. (gau3.) |
| Eric: What does this word mean? |
| Teddy: 夠 (gau3) means "enough" in Cantonese. In the dialogue, Jane said 一磅夠啦. (jat1 bong6 gau3 laa1.) |
| Eric: "One pound is enough." |
| Teddy: Right. Now can you guess what this phrase means? 夠唔夠? (gau3 m4 gau3 ?) |
| Eric: "Enough or not enough?" |
| Teddy: Correct! Okay, how about this one: 你夠唔夠錢? (nei5 gau3 m4 gau3 cin2 ?) |
| Eric: "Do you have enough money?" |
| Teddy: Excellent! How about 夠大? (gau3 daai6?) |
| Eric: "Big enough." |
| Teddy: 夠細. (gau3 sai3.) |
| Eric: "Small enough." So you can see that this word can be used with adjectives as well as with nouns. |
| Teddy: Right. 夠大, 夠細, 夠錢. (gau3 daai6 , gau3 sai3 , gau3 cin2 .) |
| Eric: Ok. What’s the other vocabulary word for this lesson? |
| Teddy: Remember how we talked about loanwords in our previous lessons? Here is another loanword for this lesson: 磅.(bong6.) |
| Eric: "Pound." |
| Teddy: Yes, 磅 (bong6) pound. 一磅 (jat1 bong6) is "one pound." |
| Eric: It’s a classifier. And we’ll talk more about classifiers in the grammar section later. |
| Teddy: 磅 (bong6) is a very useful classifier. We use 磅 when ordering cakes. 一磅蛋糕. (jat1 bong6 daan6 gou1.) |
| Eric: "One pound of cake." |
| Teddy: By the way, how much do you weigh? 你幾多磅? (nei5 gei2 do1 bong6 ?) |
| Eric: You’re asking me? (laughs) I’m sure our listeners are not interested. So let’s move onto the grammar! |
Lesson focus |
|---|
| Eric: In this lesson, you’ll learn about...classifiers, which are also known as measure words. |
| Teddy: In previous lessons, we’ve talked about the most common classifiers - 個(go3), 件(gin6) and 條 (tiu4). |
| Eric: Yes. Let’s review them a little bit. |
| Teddy: Ok. 一個蘋果. (jat1 go3 ping4 gwo2.) |
| Eric: "One apple." |
| Teddy: 兩個人. (loeng5 go3 jan4.) |
| Eric: "Two people." |
| Teddy: 三件褸. (saam1 gin6 lau1.) |
| Eric: "Three jackets." |
| Teddy: 四件衫. (sei3 gin6 saam1.) |
| Eric: "Four pieces of clothing." |
| Teddy: 五條裙. (ng5 tiu4 kwan4.) |
| Eric: "Five dresses." |
| Teddy: Yes. 六條金魚. (luk6 tiu4 gam1 jyu2 .) |
| Eric: Hmm... "six fish" of some kind. |
| Teddy: Yes, very smart. 金魚 (gam1 jyu2) is "goldfish!" |
| Eric: "Six goldfish!" |
| Teddy: Great! In this lesson, we’ll talk about other classifiers that are also useful in everyday conversation. |
| Eric: Like pound and kilogram? |
| Teddy: Yes. Pound and kilogram are both used for body weight. "Pound" is 磅 (bong6), and "kilogram" is 公斤. (gung1 gan1.) |
| Eric: Do you weigh fruit and meat by the pound or by the kilogram? |
| Teddy: We use both. But in produce or fresh meat markets, we mostly use a Chinese measurement called a "catty," or 斤. (gan1.) As more countries use the metric system, we differentiate the "kilogram," or 公斤 (gung1 gan1), from the "catty," or 斤.(gan1.) |
| Eric: How do you say "one catty of pork?" |
| Teddy: 一斤豬肉. (jat1 gan1 zyu1 juk6.) |
| Eric: Ok, is there another useful classifier? How about "a dozen?" |
| Teddy: "A dozen" is 一打 (jat1 daa1). For example, 一打雞蛋. (jat1 daa1 gai1 daan2.) |
| Eric: "A dozen eggs." |
| Teddy: Right. 兩打啤酒. (loeng5 daa1 be1 zau2.) |
| Eric: "Two dozen beers." That’s very useful! But how about if I only want to order one beer? |
| Teddy: Then we say 一杯啤酒. (jat1 bui1 be1 zau2.) |
| Eric: Is that "one glass" or "one cup?" |
| Teddy: Yes, in Cantonese, we use the classifier 杯 (bui1) for both cups and glasses. |
| Eric: Good! How about "one bottle?" |
| Teddy: 一支啤酒 (jat1 zi1 be1 zau2), or 一樽啤酒. (jat1 zeon1 be1 zau2.) We use the classifier 支 (zi1) or 樽 (zeon1) for bottles. |
| Eric: Ok, try me now. |
| Teddy: 一打啤酒. (jat1 daa1 be1 zau2.) |
| Eric: "One dozen beers." |
| Teddy: Right! 一支啤酒. (jat1 zi1 be1 zau2.) |
| Eric: "One bottle of beer." |
| Teddy: Correct. How about 一杯啤酒? (jat1 bui1 be1 zau2 ?) |
| Eric: "One glass of beer." |
| Teddy: Excellent. Here’s an extra hint for you guys, if you want to order a pitcher of beer, you say 一JAR啤酒. (jat1 JAR be1 zau2.) |
| Eric: Great! And of course you can use these classifiers for other beverages! |
Outro |
| Eric: Listeners, that’s all the time we have for this lesson. Please check the lesson notes for more details. |
| Teddy: And we’ll see you in the next lesson. 下次見！(haa6 ci3 gin3!) |
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Comments
HideWhat's your favorite cake shop in Hong Kong?
Hi Jeroen,
Here's a lesson that might help:
https://www.cantoneseclass101.com/lesson/learn-cantonese-in-three-minutes-9-measure-words
"Greater bay area" could be expressed with the word "大灣區" (daai6 waan1 keoi1) in Cantonese.
Sincerely,
Sybil
Team CantoneseClass101.com
I tried to find the lessons back for the classifiers 件 (gin3), 條 (tiu4). But can't find them... Which lessons need I look for?
And totally unrelated, the jingle speaks of Hongkong and Macau, but I jet have to figure out "Daai lok". I suspect it means the greater bay area. Am I right?
Thanks so much!
Hello robert groulx,
You are very welcome. 😇
Feel free to contact us if you have any questions.
Good luck with your language studies.
Kind regards,
利凡特
Team CantoneseClass101.com
thanks for the lesson
my favorite phrase is 你夠唔夠錢?
robert
Hi John,
Thanks for your question. 👍
帶咩去PARTY好呀？(daai3 me1 heoi3 PARTY hou2 aa3?) ~ What should we bring to the party?
Literal translation: bring what go to party good?
呀 (aa3) is a final particle to soften a question. That's mean, you can also say without it, i.e. 帶咩去PARTY好？(daai3 me1 heoi3 PARTY hou2?).
For your suggestion, you can say like 應該帶咩去party? (ying1 goi1 daai3 me1 heoi3 party?). "What" is always after the corresponding verb in Cantonese.
Ada
Team CantoneseClass101.com
Hi
Can you help me understand the sentence structure for "daai3 me1 heoi3 PARTY hou2 aa3?"
Why do we hou2 aa3 at the end?
Could you also say ying1 goi1 daai3 heoi3 party me?
Hi Dany Tran,
Thanks for your questions!
1. Could you tell me where you've encountered 戥 (dang6) and 代 (doi6)? because they're quite different. 😅
2. No, 放落 (fong3 lok6) involves the action of putting something on somewhere, for example, 我將個袋放落地下 (ngo5 zoeng1 go3 doi2 fong3 lok6 dei6 haa2) ~ I put the bag on the ground. However, 落 (lok6) means "to put in" here.
3. 魚 (jyu2) : when indicating a fish, or types of fish, and usually the last character of the word, like 呢條魚 (ni1 tiu4 jyu2) ~ this fish, 三文魚 (saam1 man4 jyu2) ~ Salmon.
魚 (jyu4): usually the combination with another character to form a word, and not the last character of it, such as 魚蛋 (jyu4 daan2) ~ fishball, 魚肉燒賣 (jyu4 juk6 siu1 maai2) ~ minced fish siu mai.
Ada
Team CantoneseClass101.com
I want to ask there is any difference between 戥 and 代?
整呢個蛋糕要落一打雞蛋. Can I say 放落 instead of saying 落?
魚 when it is read jyu2 and when is jyu4
Thanks😉!!!
Hello Vincent,
舞會(mou5 wui2) ~ party.
Somehow people in Hong Kong use the English word "party" more often than 舞會(mou5 wui2).
化妝舞會 (faa3 zong1 mou5 wui2) ~masquerade
化妝(faa3 zong1) ~ make up
呢款大理石地磚幾錢一打呀？
ni1 fun2 daai6 lei5 sek6 dei6 zyun1 gei2 cin2 jat1 daa1 aa6?
How much is a dozen of this kind of marble tiles?
大理石(daai6 lei5 sek6) ~ marble, literally means "the rock from Dali city, in Yunnan China.
大理(daai6 lei5) ~ the place famous for providing the good quality of Marble.
石(sek6) ~ rock
地磚(dei6 zyun1) ~ tiles
Siuling
Team CantoneseClass101.com
The English word "party" is used throughout this lesson in the Cantonese sentences saying "party." What is the actual Cantonese word or most common colloquial Cantonese word for "party" (as in a social or birthday party)?
What does "lei5" and "sek6" mean in the vocabulary sentence for "a dozen of?" ("ni1 fun2 daai6 lei5 sek6 dei6 zyun1 gei2 cin2 jat1 daa1 aa6? How much is a dozen of this kind of marble tiles?") Thank you, again!
Hello Alex,
Both 呀(aa3) and 吖(aa1) are the final particles. Most of the time they appear at the end of the question.
With the different tone and context, the meaning could be so different. For example,
點呀?(dim2 aa3)~ what's up? How are you? Are you OK? (It is used to soften the situation.)
點吖?(dim2 aa1)~ So what! So what do you want from me? Ha? (It shows that you are mad or annoyed.)
不如(bat1 jyu4)........吖?(aa1) is a common expression when you want to give suggestion or advice.
不如(bat1 jyu4) means "how about"or "why not".
不如去日本吖?(bat1 jyu4 heoi2 jat6 bun2 aa1) ~ Let`s go to Japan. OK?
不如去游水吖？(bat1 jyu4 heoi2 jau4 seoi2 aa1) ~ How about go swimming?
Siuling
Team CantoneseClass101.com
Hello Again,
I'm wondering what the difference is between aa3 and aa1.
呀 - aa3
吖 - aa1
It looks like they are both used at the end of questions, but do they have different meanings?
Thank you:smile:
Alex