Learn how to say "or" in Cantonese in a few different ways
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| INTRODUCTION |
| Becky: Hello and welcome back to CantoneseClass101.com. This is Lower Beginner, season 1, lesson 5, Where in Hong Kong Should We Go for Lunch? I’m Becky. |
| Olivia: 哈囉 ! (haa1 lo3!) And I’m Olivia! |
| Becky: In this lesson, you’ll learn how to talk about making choices. |
| Olivia: The conversation takes place on the street... |
| Becky: ...between two friends, Karen &Olivia. |
| Olivia: And as usual, they're using casual Cantonese. |
| Becky: Let’s listen to the conversation. |
| DIALOGUE |
| Karen 不如去大家樂食嘢？(bat1 jyu4 heoi3 daai6 gaa1 lok6 sik6 je5?) |
| Olivia 是但啦。(si6 daan6 laa1.) |
| Karen 定係食雲吞麵？(ding6 hai6 sik6 wan4 tan1 min6?) |
| Olivia 你揀啦。(nei5 gaan2 laa1.) |
| Becky: Let’s hear the conversation one time slowly. |
| Karen 不如去大家樂食嘢？(bat1 jyu4 heoi3 daai6 gaa1 lok6 sik6 je5?) |
| Olivia 是但啦。(si6 daan6 laa1.) |
| Karen 定係食雲吞麵？(ding6 hai6 sik6 wan4 tan1 min6?) |
| Olivia 你揀啦。(nei5 gaan2 laa1.) |
| Becky: Now let’s hear it with the English translation. |
| Karen 不如去大家樂食嘢？(bat1 jyu4 heoi3 daai6 gaa1 lok6 sik6 je5?) |
| Becky: How about we go eat at Café de Coral? |
| Olivia 是但啦。(si6 daan6 laa1.) |
| Becky: Anything is fine. |
| Karen 定係食雲吞麵？(ding6 hai6 sik6 wan4 tan1 min6?) |
| Becky: Or should we eat wonton noodles? |
| Olivia 你揀啦。(nei5 gaan2 laa1.) |
| Becky: You choose. |
| POST CONVERSATION BANTER |
| Becky: They’re talking about a fast food restaurant in the dialogue, right? |
| Olivia: Yes, most people go to fast food restaurants or cafés for lunch and dinner. Some people in Hong Kong eat out almost every day. |
| Becky: Olivia, is it affordable to eat out all the time? |
| Olivia: Well, there's a big difference in price between eating at a café or a fancy restaurant, so it really depends where you go. |
| Becky: How much of a price difference can you expect? |
| Olivia: For example, a dish of fried rice, 炒飯 (caau2 faan6), can cost five times the price in a famous restaurant. |
| Becky: I’ve heard that there are other charges too. |
| Olivia: Yes, there are small dishes of spices and appetizers on the tables in some restaurants for an extra charge. In some places, they don’t give you an option, it’s just a mandatory cost. |
| Becky: So remember to pay attention to the bill, listeners! |
| Olivia: In some Chinese restaurants, there are other charges too. For instance, charge for tea per person, and 10% service charge on top of the total. In some fancy restaurants, there is even a 15% service charge! |
| Becky: Oh wow!! I should just go to the cafés and wonton noodle restaurants if I want to eat out. |
| Olivia: I think those places are good if you're eating out every day and need to keep it under budget. |
| Becky: That makes sense. Okay, now let’s take a look at the vocabulary for this lesson. |
| VOCAB LIST |
| The first word we shall see is: |
| 不如 (bat1 jyu4) [natural native speed] |
| how about, let’s…, why don't we...? |
| 不如 (bat1 jyu4) [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| 不如 (bat1 jyu4) [natural native speed] |
| Next: |
| 大家樂 (daai6 gaa1 lok6) [natural native speed] |
| Café de Coral (popular fast food restaurant chain in Hong Kong) |
| 大家樂 (daai6 gaa1 lok6) [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| 大家樂 (daai6 gaa1 lok6) [natural native speed] |
| Next: |
| 食嘢 (sik6 je5) [natural native speed] |
| to eat something |
| 食嘢 (sik6 je5) [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| 食嘢 (sik6 je5) [natural native speed] |
| Next: |
| 是但 (si6 daan6) [natural native speed] |
| anything goes, as one pleases, whatever |
| 是但 (si6 daan6) [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| 是但 (si6 daan6) [natural native speed] |
| Next: |
| 大快活 (daai6 faai3 wut6) [natural native speed] |
| Fairwood (popular fast food restaurant chain in Hong Kong) |
| 大快活 (daai6 faai3 wut6) [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| 大快活 (daai6 faai3 wut6) [natural native speed] |
| Next: |
| 雲吞麵 (wan4 tan1 min6) [natural native speed] |
| wonton noodles |
| 雲吞麵 (wan4 tan1 min6) [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| 雲吞麵 (wan4 tan1 min6) [natural native speed] |
| And Last: |
| 揀位 (gaan2 wai2) [natural native speed] |
| to select seats |
| 揀位 (gaan2 wai2) [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| 揀位 (gaan2 wai2) [natural native speed] |
| KEY VOCAB AND PHRASES |
| Becky: Let’s take a closer look at the usage of some of the words and phrases from this lesson. What are we starting with? |
| Olivia: 是但 (si6 daan6) |
| Becky: What does each word mean? |
| Olivia: 是 (si6) means “yes” and 但 (daan6) means “but”. When you put them together, they actually mean “yes or no” implying “no preference” in this case. |
| Becky: Can you repeat this please? |
| Olivia: 是但 (si6 daan6) |
| Becky: Next, let’s talk about the other response in the dialogue, where Olivia had no preference. |
| Olivia: By saying 你揀啦 (nei5 gaan2 laa1) , Olivia is letting Karen choose. 揀 (gaan2) means “to choose”. |
| Becky: Can you repeat the word again? Listeners, repeat after Olivia. |
| Olivia: 揀 (gaan2) |
| Becky: Okay. What can we choose to do? |
| Olivia: 揀食乜 (gaan2 sik6 mat1) means "choose what to eat" |
| 揀邊個 (gaan2 bin1 go3) "Choose which one" |
| 揀邊度 (gaan2 bin1 dou6) "Choose which place" |
| Becky: Excellent! Okay, now onto the grammar. |
Lesson focus |
|---|
| Becky: In this lesson, you’ll learn some different ways to say “or” in Cantonese. |
| Olivia: In this lesson, we learned that 定係 (ding6 hai6) can be translated as “or”. |
| Becky: But if you’ve got a good memory, you should know that we taught you the other “or” in the Absolute Beginner series lessons. |
| Olivia: Ah yes, and it’s 定(ding6). As in “A 定 (ding6) B?” |
| Becky: Meaning “A or B?” |
| Olivia: Right, let’s recap a few sample sentences for 定(ding6). 白色定紅色？(baak6 sik1 ding6 hung4 sik1?) |
| Becky: This means “white or red?” |
| Olivia: 電影定話劇？(din6 jing2 ding6 waa2 kek6?) |
| Becky: Meaning “A movie or a play?” |
| Olivia: And since 定係 (ding6 hai6) is often interchangeable with 定(ding6), the sample sentences will become 白色定係紅色？(baak6 sik1 ding6 hai6 hung4 sik1?) |
| Becky: which also means “white or red?” |
| Olivia: Right, but there’s another usage of 定係(ding6 hai6). It can be used to follow up on a previously mentioned decision. |
| Becky: Can you give us some examples? |
| Olivia: Okay, imagine we’re going to Macau, and you ask 我哋搭船定係搭直升機去澳門？ (ngo5 dei6 daap3 syun4 ding6 hai6 daap3 zik6 sing1 gei1 heoi3 ou3 mun4?) And the other person thinks of another option for transportation, so he says 定係搭飛機？(ding6 hai6 daap3 fei1 gei1?) |
| Becky: “Are we taking the ferry or the helicopter to Macau? Or an airplane? So is this like a suggestion? |
| Olivia: It is. Notice how 定係 (ding6 hai6) can be placed between two or more options, and can also be placed at the very beginning of a question sentence. |
| Becky: I get it now. So are there other terms that also mean “or”? |
| Olivia: Yes, for instance 抑或, 或者(jik1 waak6, waak6 ze2), and 又或者. (jau6 waak6 ze2.) |
| Becky: Can you explain how each one is used, or how they differ from each other? |
| Olivia: Sure! 抑或 (jik1 waak6) is actually very similar to 定係(ding6 hai6), for example 白色抑或紅色？(baak6 sik1 jik1 waak6 hung4 sik1?) |
| Becky: Which means “white or red?” Okay, and the other two? |
| Olivia: 或者 (waak6 ze2), and 又或者 (jau6 waak6 ze2) are mostly used in statements, rather than questions, so that’s the biggest difference between those and 定 (ding6) or 定係(ding6 hai6). |
| Becky: Can you give us an example? |
| Olivia: For 或者(waak6 ze2), it’s very straightforward - 白色或者紅色。(baak6 sik1 waak6 ze2 hung4 sik1.) |
| Becky: Meaning “White or red.” |
| Olivia: But for 又或者(jau6 waak6 ze2), it has to follow 或者 (waak6 ze2), since 又 (jau6) means “again”. For example, 白色或者紅色, 又或者藍色。(baak6 sik1 waak6 ze2 hung4 sik1, jau6 waak6 ze2 laam4 sik1.) |
| Becky: “white or red, or blue”, so it’s providing additional information or choices. |
| Olivia: Exactly. |
Outro |
| Becky: Well, that’s it for this lesson. Thanks for listening, and we’ll see you in the next lesson. Bye! |
| Olivia: 拜拜! (baai1 baai3 !) |
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