Learn how to say "as soon as" and "as late as"
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| INTRODUCTION |
| David: Welcome to cantoneseclass101.com. I am David. |
| Melody: 大家好，我係Melody。(daai6 gaa1 hou2, ngo5 hai6 Melody.) |
| David: And we are here today with upper beginner season 1, lesson 10. Going on Business in Hong Kong. |
| Melody: 咁其中一個人呢，要去出差。(gam3 kei4 zung1 jat1 go3 jan4 ne1, jiu3 heoi3 ceot1 caai1.) |
| David: Right. So this is a dialogue between two family members. |
| Melody: 冇錯，屋企人之間嘅對話。(mou5 co3, uk1 kei5 jan4 zi1 gaan1 ge3 deoi3 waa6.) |
| David: Right. And it’s sort of sad right. Maybe it’s husband or wife or two lovers. It’s bit bitter sweet. |
| Melody: 冇錯。(mou5 co3.) |
| David: Because one of them is leaving on a business trip. Let’s listen to the dialogue. |
| DIALOGUE |
| A:你執行李要去邊度？ (nei5 zap1 hang4 lei5 jiu3 heoi3 bin1 dou6?) |
| B:我聽日要去日本出差。(ngo5 ting1 jat6 jiu3 heoi3 jat6 bun2 ceot1 caai1. ) |
| A:咁你要去幾耐？ (gam2 nei5 jiu3 heoi3 gei2 noi6?) |
| B:一個月就返喇。 (jat1 go3 jyut6 zau6 faan1 laa3. ) |
| A:一個月先至返？ (nat1 go3 jyut6 sin1 zi3 faan1?) |
| B:眨下眼就過。 (zaam2 haa5 ngaan5 zau6 gwo3. ) |
| A:咁你記得帶手信返嚟啦。(gam2 nei5 gei3 dak1 daai3 sau2 seon3 faan1 lai4 laa3.) |
| David: Once more, a bit more slowly. |
| A:你執行李要去邊度？ (nei5 zap1 hang4 lei5 jiu3 heoi3 bin1 dou6?) |
| B:我聽日要去日本出差。 (ngo5 ting1 jat6 jiu3 heoi3 jat6 bun2 ceot1 caai1. ) |
| A:咁你要去幾耐？ (gam2 nei5 jiu3 heoi3 gei2 noi6?) |
| B:一個月就返喇。 (jat1 go3 jyut6 zau6 faan1 laa3. ) |
| A:一個月先至返？ (nat1 go3 jyut6 sin1 zi3 faan1?) |
| B:眨下眼就過。 (zaam2 haa5 ngaan5 zau6 gwo3. ) |
| A:咁你記得帶手信返嚟啦。(gam2 nei5 gei3 dak1 daai3 sau2 seon3 faan1 lai4 laa3.) |
| David: And now, with the English translation. |
| A:你執行李要去邊度？ (nei5 zap1 hang4 lei5 jiu3 heoi3 bin1 dou6?) |
| A: Where are you going with your luggage? |
| B:我聽日要去日本出差。 (ngo5 ting1 jat6 jiu3 heoi3 jat6 bun2 ceot1 caai1. ) |
| B: I'm leaving for Japan tomorrow on business. |
| A:咁你要去幾耐？ (gam2 nei5 jiu3 heoi3 gei2 noi6?) |
| A: Then how long will you be gone? |
| B:一個月就返喇。 (jat1 go3 jyut6 zau6 faan1 laa3. ) |
| B: I'll be back in just a month. |
| A:一個月先至返？ (nat1 go3 jyut6 sin1 zi3 faan1?) |
| A: As long as a month? |
| B:眨下眼就過。 (zaam2 haa5 ngaan5 zau6 gwo3. ) |
| B: It'll be over quickly (in an blink of an hour). |
| A:咁你記得帶手信返嚟啦。(gam2 nei5 gei3 dak1 daai3 sau2 seon3 faan1 lai4 laa3.) |
| A: Just remember to bring some presents. |
| POST CONVERSATION BANTER |
| David: I guess they are not close family right? |
| Melody: 可能係朋友。(ho2 nang4 hai6 pang4 jau5.) |
| David: Because he said I am leaving tomorrow. |
| Melody: 冇錯。(mou5 co3.) |
| David: Surprise. Anyway, our vocab today is all about traveling on business words you are going to use. Let’s get to it. |
| VOCAB LIST |
| Melody: 行李 (hang4 lei5) |
| David: Luggage. |
| Melody: 行李 (hang4 lei5) [slow] 行李 (hang4 lei5) [normal speed]。收拾 (sau1 sap6) |
| David: To pack. |
| Melody: 收拾 (sau1 sap6) [slow] 收拾 (sau1 sap6) [normal speed]。執 (zap1) |
| David: To pack. |
| Melody: 執 (zap1) [slow] 執 (zap1) [normal speed]。出差 (ceot1 caai1) |
| David: To travel on business. |
| Melody: 出差 (ceot1 caai1) [slow] 出差 (ceot1 caai1) [normal speed]。旅行 (leoi5 hang4) |
| David: To travel for pleasure. |
| Melody: 旅行 (leoi5 hang4) [slow] 旅行 (leoi5 hang4) [normal speed]。度假 (dou6 gaa3) |
| David: To pass a vacation. |
| Melody: 度假 (dou6 gaa3) [slow] 度假 (dou6 gaa3) [normal speed]。手信 (sau2 seon3) |
| David: Souvenir. |
| Melody: 手信 (sau2 seon3) [slow] 手信 (sau2 seon3) [normal speed]。日本 (jat6 bun2) |
| David: Japan. |
| Melody: 日本 (jat6 bun2) [slow] 日本 (jat6 bun2) [normal speed]。歐洲 (au1 zau1) |
| David: Europe. |
| Melody: 歐洲 (au1 zau1) [slow] 歐洲 (au1 zau1) [normal speed]。 |
| VOCAB AND PHRASE USAGE |
| David: Let’s take a closer look at some of these words and phrases. Our first word is |
| Melody: 行李。(hang4 lei5.) |
| David: Luggage. |
| Melody: 行李。(hang4 lei5.) |
| David: Luggage. And if it’s just a small bag, you could say that it’s a hand carried luggage. |
| Melody: 手提行李。(sau2 tai4 hang4 lei5.) |
| David: Right like a carry on in the airplane. |
| Melody: 冇錯。手提行李。(mou5 co3. sau2 tai4 hang4 lei5.) |
| David: We have two words in our vocab section today that mean to pack. The first is |
| Melody: 收拾。(sau1 sap6.) |
| David: To pack. |
| Melody: 收拾。(sau1 sap6.) |
| David: And that’s the more formal word. |
| Melody: 係呀，冇錯。如果係口語化啲嘅話呢，我哋就會話「執」。(hai6 aa3, mou5 co3. jyu4 gwo2 hai6 hau2 jyu5 faa3 di1 ge3 waa2 ne1, ngo5 dei6 zau6 wui2 waa6 「 zap1 」.) |
| David: To pack. |
| Melody: 執。(zap1.) |
| David: So if someone calls you while you are getting ready for a trip, you can tell them, I need to pack my luggage. |
| Melody: 我需要執行李。(ngo5 seoi1 jiu3 zap1 hang4 lei5.) |
| David: I need to pack my luggage. |
| Melody: 我需要執我嘅行李。(ngo5 seoi1 jiu3 zap1 ngo5 ge3 hang4 lei5.) |
| David: Right or I can’t speak now. I need to pack my luggage. |
| Melody: 我而家唔可以講嘢，我需要執我嘅行李。(ngo5 ji4 gaa1 m4 ho2 ji5 gong2 je5, ngo5 seoi1 jiu3 zap1 ngo5 ge3 hang4 lei5.) |
| David: Right. Now when they ask you what you are doing, where you are going, you can say, I am going out on business. |
| Melody: 我要去出差。(ngo5 jiu3 heoi3 ceot1 caai1.) |
| David: I am traveling on business. |
| Melody: 我要去出差。(ngo5 jiu3 heoi3 ceot1 caai1.) |
| David: And that’s the verb for business travel. |
| Melody: 出差。(ceot1 caai1.) |
| David: To travel on business. |
| Melody: 出差。(ceot1 caai1.) |
| David: For instance, I am going on business to Europe. |
| Melody: 我去歐洲出差。(ngo5 heoi3 ngau1 zau1 ceot1 caai1.) |
| David: I am going on business to Japan. |
| Melody: 我要去日本出差。(ngo5 jiu3 heoi3 jat6 bun2 ceot1 caai1.) |
| David: Or I am going on business to China. |
| Melody: 我要去中國出差。(ngo5 jiu3 heoi3 zung1 gwok3 ceot1 caai1.) |
| David: I am going on business to China. |
| Melody: 我要去中國出差。(ngo5 jiu3 heoi3 zung1 gwok3 ceot1 caai1.) |
| David: So that’s going on business. Melody, what’s going out for pleasure? |
| Melody: 我哋用「旅行」。(ngo5 dei6 jung6 「 leoi5 hang4 」.) |
| David: I am going on vacation to Europe. |
| Melody: 我去歐洲旅行。(ngo5 heoi3 ngau1 zau1 leoi5 hang4.) |
| David: I am going to Japan on vacation. |
| Melody: 我要去日本旅行。(ngo5 jiu3 heoi3 jat6 bun2 leoi5 hang4.) |
| David: I am going to China for vacation. |
| Melody: 我要去中國旅行。(ngo5 jiu3 heoi3 zung1 gwok3 leoi5 hang4.) |
| David: And wherever you go, if there is someone you care about back home, it’s always a good idea to get them something. |
| Melody: 我哋叫佢做「手信」。(ngo5 dei6 giu3 keoi5 zou6 「 sau2 seon3 」.) |
| David: A souvenir. |
| Melody: 手信。(sau2 seon3.) |
| David: And Melody, what’s your favorite souvenir? |
| Melody: 可能bag或者衫。(ho2 nang4 bag waak6 ze2 saam1.) |
| David: Yeah. I like T-Shirts, useful but that’s the word again for souvenir. |
| Melody: 手信。(sau2 seon3.) |
| David: Don’t forget to get me a souvenir. |
| Melody: 唔好唔記得帶手信。(m4 hou2 m4 gei3 dak1 daai3 sau2 seon3.) |
| David: Or if you are the one who is on business, I bought you a souvenir. |
| Melody: 我買咗手信俾你。(ngo5 maai5 zo2 sau2 seon3 bei2 nei5.) |
| David: Right. So it’s not just for yourself, it can be a gift for other people as well. |
| Melody: 冇錯。(mou5 co3.) |
| David: Okay so that’s our vocab for today. |
Lesson focus |
|---|
| David: Our grammar point today is about time and specifically it involves two words |
| Melody: 就 (zau6) |
| David: And |
| Melody: 先至 (sin1 zi3) |
| David: We see these in our dialogue where they mean “as soon as” or “as late as”. |
| Melody: 譬如話:一個月就返喇。(pei3 jyu4 waa6: jat1 go3 jyut6 zau6 faan1 laa3.) |
| David: I will be back in just a month. |
| Melody: 一個月就返喇。(jat1 go3 jyut6 zau6 faan1 laa3.) |
| David: I will be back in just a month. |
| Melody: 一個月就返喇。(jat1 go3 jyut6 zau6 faan1 laa3.) |
| David: Or |
| Melody: 一個月先至返。(jat1 go3 jyut6 sin1 zi3 faan1.) |
| David: As long as one month. |
| Melody: 一個月先至返。(jat1 go3 jyut6 sin1 zi3 faan1.) |
| David: Let’s take a look at what’s happening in a bit more detail. First we have a length of time. Here it’s one month. |
| Melody: 一個月 (jat1 go3 jyut6) |
| David: One month. |
| Melody: 一個月 (jat1 go3 jyut6) |
| David: This can be any length of time. |
| Melody: 冇錯。(mou5 co3.) |
| David: So we could say three months. |
| Melody: 三個月。(saam1 go3 jyut6.) |
| David: Five years. |
| Melody: 五年。(ng5 nin4.) |
| David: Ten minutes. |
| Melody: 十分鐘。(sap6 fan1 zung1.) |
| David: Three months |
| Melody: 三個月。(saam1 go3 jyut6.) |
| David: Five years. |
| Melody: 五年。(ng5 nin4.) |
| David: Ten minutes. |
| Melody: 十分鐘。 (sap6 fan1 zung1.) |
| David: So first, we say the length of time and then we follow it by either |
| Melody: 就 (zau6) |
| David: Or |
| Melody: 先至 (sin1 zi3) |
| David: In the first case, if we use |
| Melody: 就 (zau6) |
| David: We are suggesting that this length of time is – it’s really short. Something is going to happen in as soon as this amount of time. So if something is going to happen quickly, you could say |
| Melody: 就 (zau6) |
| David: As in |
| Melody: 譬如話:我十分鐘就到。(pei3 jyu4 waa6: ngo5 sap6 fan1 zung1 zau6 dou3.) |
| David: I will be there in ten minutes. |
| Melody: 我十分鐘就到。(ngo5 sap6 fan1 zung1 zau6 dou3.) |
| David: Right. And the word |
| Melody: 就 (zau6) |
| David: Implies that it’s happening quickly. |
| Melody: 冇錯。(mou5 co3.) |
| David: Sooner than you are expecting. Now if you said the opposite, if you said |
| Melody: 我十分鐘先至到。(ngo5 sap6 fan1 zung1 sin1 zi3 dou3.) |
| David: You are saying, it’s going to take me as long as 10 minutes. |
| Melody: 我十分鐘先至到。(ngo5 sap6 fan1 zung1 sin1 zi3 dou3.) |
| David: So changing these words changes the entire meaning of the sentence, by changing what you are implying that this length of time is short, or its long. |
| Melody: 用「先至」可能比你想像中嘅時間長。(jung6 「 sin1 zi3 」 ho2 nang4 bei2 nei5 soeng2 zoeng6 zung1 ge3 si4 gaan3 coeng4.) |
| David: Yeah let’s take a look at an example with longer period of time. For instance, five years. |
| Melody: 五年 (ng5 nin4) |
| David: 5 years. |
| Melody: 五年 (ng5 nin4) |
| David: I won’t see you again for 5 years. For instance |
| Melody: 譬如話:我要五年先至畢業。(pei3 jyu4 waa6: ngo5 jiu3 ng5 nin4 sin1 zi3 bat1 jip6.) |
| David: I will graduate in 5 years. |
| Melody: 我要五年先至畢業。(ngo5 jiu3 ng5 nin4 sin1 zi3 bat1 jip6.) |
| David: I will graduate in 5 years and again our choice of words is important because that’s saying, it’s going to take 5 years. It’s going to take a longer time than really I wish it would. |
| Melody: 表示時間係長啲嘅，覺得。(biu2 si6 si4 gaan3 hai6 coeng4 di1 ge3, gok3 dak1.) |
| David: Yeah. If you actually reverse that though and you said |
| Melody: 我五年就畢業喇。(ngo5 ng5 nin4 zau6 bat1 jip6 laa3.) |
| David: It would seem very quickly |
| Melody: 冇錯，好似五年係預期之中更短。(mou5 co3, hou2 ci3 ng5 nin4 hai6 jyu6 kei4 zi1 zung1 gang3 dyun2.) |
| David: Yes, no one would expect you to graduate in 5 years but you are managing it somehow. |
| Melody: 冇錯。(mou5 co3.) |
| David: Okay so this is actually it’s a tricky thing to master. |
| Melody: 但係非常之有用。(daan6 hai6 fei1 soeng4 zi1 jau5 jung6.) |
| David: Yeah because in English, we don’t really do things the same way but remember when you want to do this, first say the amount of time. |
| Melody: 一個月(jat1 go3 jyut6)，五年(ng5 nin4)，十分鐘(sap6 fan1 zung1) |
| David: Follow it by one of these adverbs. |
| Melody: 就 (zau6) |
| David: Or |
| Melody: 先至 (sin1 zi3) |
| David: And then follow it by the action that’s going to happen. |
| Melody: 冇錯。(mou5 co3.) |
| David: In our dialogue, we had these two examples. |
| Melody: 我一個月就返嚟。(ngo5 jat1 go3 jyut6 zau6 faan1 lai4.) |
| David: I will be back in just a month. |
| Melody: 我一個月就返嚟。(ngo5 jat1 go3 jyut6 zau6 faan1 lai4.) |
| David: In our dialogue, we had these two examples. |
| Melody: 我一個月就返嚟。(ngo5 jat1 go3 jyut6 zau6 faan1 lai4.) |
| David: I will be back in just a month. |
| Melody: 或者，一個月先至返？(waak6 ze2, jat1 go3 jyut6 sin1 zi3 faan1?) |
| David: As long as a month. So remember, in Cantonese, it’s all a matter of perspective. |
| Melody: 冇錯。(mou5 co3.) |
| David: And with that, that’s all the time we have for today. Before we let you go though, I want to remind you, if you don’t have a free account, make sure to sign up for one at cantoneseclass101.com |
| Melody: 好快㗎，只需要五秒鐘就搞掂喇。(hou2 faai3 gaa3, zi2 seoi1 jiu3 ng5 miu5 zung1 zau6 gaau2 dim6 laa3.) |
| David: Yeah. It doesn’t take any time at all and it’s going to get you access to a lot more free stuff which is super useful for learning Cantonese. |
| Melody: 冇錯。(mou5 co3.) |
Outro |
| David: For now though, that’s all the time we have. We hope you enjoyed the show. If you have any questions, our website address one more time. |
| Melody: Cantoneseclass101.com |
| David: Come visit us online and leave a comment. We will be glad to hear from you. |
| Melody: 希望喺上面可以見到你哋。我係Melody。 (hei1 mong6 hai2 soeng6 min6 ho2 ji3 gin3 dou2 nei5 dei6. ngo5 hai6 Melody.) |
| David: And I am David. |
| Melody: 多謝收聽。(do1 ze6 sau1 ting3.) |
| David: Thanks for listening. |
| Melody: Bye bye. |
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