Learn how to talk about opposites
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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 5. Guess Who Moved to Hong Kong Island? |
| Melody: 係兩個人約緊一齊返屋企。(hai6 loeng5 go3 jan4 joek3 gan2 jat1 cai4 faan2 uk1 kei5.) |
| David: Yeah so this is maybe – maybe this is a romantic dialogue or maybe it’s a bit strange. |
| Melody: 冇錯，不過係兩個同事之間，咁可能其中一個愛上咗另外一個。(mou5 co3, bat1 gwo3 hai6 loeng5 go3 tung4 si6 zi1 gaan1, gam3 ho2 nang4 kei4 zung1 jat1 go3 oi3 soeng5 zo2 ling6 ngoi6 jat1 go3.) |
| David: Yeah. So we’ve got two co-workers here and they are speaking casual Cantonese in the office. We are going to let you make up your mind on whether or not there is potentially some romance going on. Let’s take a listen to the dialogue. |
| DIALOGUE |
| A:你幾點放工？ (nei5 gei2 dim2 fong3 gung1 ? ) |
| B:大概六點半。 (daai6 koi3 luk6 dim2 bun3. ) |
| A:咁我等你一齊返屋企啦。 (gam2 ngo5 dang2 nei5 jat1 cai4 faan1 uk1 kei2 laa1. ) |
| B:但係我哋屋企喺相反方向喔。(daan6 hai6 ngo5 dei6 uk1 kei2 hai2 soeng1 faan2 fong1 hoeng3 wo3.) |
| A:我啱啱搬咗去你嗰頭。 (ngo5 aam1 aam1 bun1 zo2 heoi3 nei5 go2 tau4.) |
| B:咁你喺樓下餐廳等我。 (gam2 nei5 hai2 lau4 haa6 caan1 teng1 dang2 ngo5. ) |
| A:冇問題，到時見。(mou5 man6 tai4, dou3 si4 gin3.) |
| David: Once more, a bit more slowly. |
| A:你幾點放工？ (nei5 gei2 dim2 fong3 gung1 ? ) |
| B:大概六點半。 (daai6 koi3 luk6 dim2 bun3. ) |
| A:咁我等你一齊返屋企啦。 (gam2 ngo5 dang2 nei5 jat1 cai4 faan1 uk1 kei2 laa1. ) |
| B:但係我哋屋企喺相反方向喔。 (daan6 hai6 ngo5 dei6 uk1 kei2 hai2 soeng1 faan2 fong1 hoeng3 wo3.) |
| A:我啱啱搬咗去你嗰頭。 (ngo5 aam1 aam1 bun1 zo2 heoi3 nei5 go2 tau4.) |
| B:咁你喺樓下餐廳等我。 (gam2 nei5 hai2 lau4 haa6 caan1 teng1 dang2 ngo5. ) |
| A:冇問題，到時見。(mou5 man6 tai4, dou3 si4 gin3.) |
| David: And now, with the English translation. |
| A:你幾點放工？ (nei5 gei2 dim2 fong3 gung1 ? ) |
| A: What time do you get off work? |
| B:大概六點半。 (daai6 koi3 luk6 dim2 bun3. ) |
| B: About half past six. |
| A:咁我等你一齊返屋企啦。 (gam2 ngo5 dang2 nei5 jat1 cai4 faan1 uk1 kei2 laa1. ) |
| A: Then I'll wait for you to go home together. |
| B:但係我哋屋企喺相反方向喔。(daan6 hai6 ngo5 dei6 uk1 kei2 hai2 soeng1 faan2 fong1 hoeng3 wo3.) |
| B: But our homes are in opposite directions. |
| A:我啱啱搬咗去你嗰頭。(ngo5 aam1 aam1 bun1 zo2 heoi3 nei5 go2 tau4.) |
| A: I just moved to your neighborhood. |
| B:咁你喺樓下餐廳等我。(gam2 nei5 hai2 lau4 haa6 caan1 teng1 dang2 ngo5. ) |
| B: Then why don't you wait at the restaurant downstairs? |
| A:冇問題，到時見。(mou5 man6 tai4, dou3 si4 gin3.) |
| A: No problem. See you later. |
| POST CONVERSATION BANTER |
| Melody: 個對話入面呢，係兩個同事要約一齊返屋企。(go3 deoi3 waa6 jap6 min6 ne1, hai6 loeng5 go3 tung4 si6 jiu3 joek3 jat1 cai4 faan2 uk1 kei5.) |
| David: Yeah. So Melody, do you think that there is romance in the air? |
| Melody: 可能，可能個男仔係... (ho2 nang4, ho2 nang4 go3 naam4 zai2 hai6 ...) |
| David: Do you think they are getting a dinner date as well as going out. Anyway, our vocab today is about going to work, it’s about getting off work and it’s about things that are the opposite as well as the same. |
| VOCAB LIST |
| Melody: 放工 (fong3 gung1) |
| David: To get off work. |
| Melody: 放工 (fong3 gung1) [slow] 放工 (fong3 gung1) [normal speed]。 收工 (sau1 gung1) |
| David: To get off work. |
| Melody: 收工 (sau1 gung1) [slow] 收工 (sau1 gung1) [normal speed]。 上班 (soeng5 baan1) |
| David: To go to work. |
| Melody: 上班 (soeng5 baan1) [slow] 上班 (soeng5 baan1) [normal speed]。 返工 (faan1 gung1) |
| David: To go to work. |
| Melody: 返工 (faan1 gung1) [slow] 返工 (faan1 gung1) [normal speed]。 休息 (jau1 sik1) |
| David: To rest. |
| Melody: 休息 (jau1 sik1) [slow] 休息 (jau1 sik1) [normal speed]。 相反 (soeng1 faan2) |
| David: The opposite. |
| Melody: 相反 (soeng1 faan2) [slow] 相反 (soeng1 faan2) [normal speed]。 相同 (soeng1 tung4) |
| David: The same |
| Melody: 相同 (soeng1 tung4) [slow] 相同 (soeng1 tung4) [normal speed]。 方向 (fong1 hoeng3) |
| David: Direction |
| Melody: 方向 (fong1 hoeng3) [slow] 方向 (fong1 hoeng3) [normal speed]。 嗰頭 (go2 tau4) |
| David: Neighborhood. |
| Melody: 嗰頭 (go2 tau4) [slow] 嗰頭 (go2 tau4) [normal speed]。 |
| VOCAB AND PHRASE USAGE |
| David: Let’s take a closer look at some of these words and phrases. Obviously our first word is |
| Melody: 放工 (fong3 gung1) |
| David: To get off work |
| Melody: 放工(fong3 gung1) 。譬如話:你今日幾點放工？ (pei3 jyu4 waa6: nei5 gam1 jat6 gei2 dim2 fong3 gung1?) |
| David: What time are you getting off work today? |
| Melody: 你今日幾點放工？ (nei5 gam1 jat6 gei2 dim2 fong3 gung1?) |
| David: And we’ve also got another word for this in our vocab list too. |
| Melody: 收工 (sau1 gung1) |
| David: Means the same thing. |
| Melody: 收工 (sau1 gung1) |
| David: So we have |
| Melody: 放工 (fong3 gung1) |
| David: And |
| Melody: 收工 (sau1 gung1) |
| David: And we can use them interchangeably. |
| Melody: 冇錯。(mou5 co3.) |
| David: Right. The opposite of this is of course to go to work |
| Melody: 上班 (soeng5 baan1) |
| David: To go to work. |
| Melody: 上班(soeng5 baan1) 。譬如話:我星期六都要上班。(pei3 jyu4 waa6: ngo5 sing1 kei4 luk6 dou1 jiu3 soeng5 baan1.) |
| David: I have to go to work on Saturday. |
| Melody: 我星期六都要上班。(ngo5 sing1 kei4 luk6 dou1 jiu3 soeng5 baan1.) |
| David: Right. And of course, there is another word for this as well. |
| Melody: 返工 (faan2 gung1) |
| David: Which literally means to go back to work. |
| Melody: 返工 (faan2 gung1 ) |
| David: Right. Our next word is |
| Melody: 相反 (soeng1 faan2) |
| David: Opposite. |
| Melody: 相反 (soeng1 faan2) |
| David: Or the opposite. And we put this in front of nouns as in our dialogue where we heard the opposite direction. |
| Melody: 相反方向 (soeng1 faan2 fong1 hoeng3) |
| David: The opposite direction. |
| Melody: 相反方向 (soeng1 faan2 fong1 hoeng3) |
| David: But we can put this in front of other nouns as well. |
| Melody: 冇錯，譬如話:相反態度 (mou5 co3, pei3 jyu4 waa6: soeng1 faan2 taai3 dou6) |
| David: The opposite attitude. |
| Melody: 相反態度 (soeng1 faan2 taai3 dou6) |
| David: Or |
| Melody: 相反意見 (soeng1 faan2 ji3 gin3) |
| David: The opposite idea. |
| Melody: 相反意見 (soeng1 faan2 ji3 gin3) |
| David: Right. We are going to come back to this in a bit. Before we do, we’ve also got the word here for the same. |
| Melody: 相同 (soeng1 tung4) |
| David: As in the same direction. |
| Melody: 相同方向 (soeng1 tung4 fong1 hoeng3) |
| David: The same attitude. |
| Melody: 相同態度 (soeng1 tung4 taai3 dou6) |
| David: The same idea. |
| Melody: 相同意見 (soeng1 tung4 ji3 gin3) |
| David: And in our dialogue, of course it’s the direction. |
| Melody: 相同方向 (soeng1 tung4 fong1 hoeng3)。譬如話，個女仔話:我哋屋企喺相反方向。(pei3 jyu4 waa6, go3 neoi5 zai2 waa6: ngo5 dei6 uk1 kei5 hai2 soeng1 faan2 fong1 hoeng3.) |
| David: We live in the opposite direction. |
| Melody: 我哋屋企喺相反方向。但係而家佢搬咗屋企之後，我哋屋企而家喺相同方向。(ngo5 dei6 uk1 kei5 hai2 soeng1 faan2 fong1 hoeng3. daan6 hai6 ji4 gaa1 keoi5 bun1 zo2 uk1 kei5 zi1 hau6, ngo5 dei6 uk1 kei5 ji4 gaa1 hai2 soeng1 tung4 fong1 hoeng3.) |
| David: Right. Now that he’s moved, we live in the same direction. |
| Melody: 我哋而家喺相同方向。(ngo5 dei6 ji4 gaa1 hai2 soeng1 tung4 fong1 hoeng3.) |
| David: Last but not least, we want to point out this really colloquial Hong Kong word. |
| Melody: 最後一個詞:嗰頭 。(zeoi3 hau6 jat1 go3 ci4: go2 tau4.) |
| David: Neighborhood. |
| Melody: 嗰頭 (go2 tau4) |
| David: Or it’s used to mean neighborhood but we might literally translate it as over there. |
| Melody: 嗰頭 (go2 tau4)。好口語化嘅一個詞，譬如話:我都住喺嗰頭。(hou2 hau2 jyu5 faa3 ge3 jat1 go3 ci4, pei3 jyu4 waa6: ngo5 dou1 zyu6 hai2 go2 tau4.) |
| David: I also live over there. |
| Melody: 我都住喺嗰頭。(ngo5 dou1 zyu6 hai2 go2 tau4.) |
| David: Right. I also live in that part of town, in that area. Okay, so this has the same meaning as another word. |
| Melody: 附近。(fu6 gan6.) |
| David: Which we’ve covered before. The difference is that this is really colloquial and you are going to hear it mostly in Hong Kong. |
| Melody: 冇錯，嗰頭。(mou5 co3, go2 tau4.) |
| David: And with that, let’s get to our grammar point. |
Lesson focus |
|---|
| David: In today’s lesson, we learned how to say the opposite. |
| Melody: 相反 (soeng1 faan2) |
| David: As in the opposite direction. |
| Melody: 相反方向 (soeng1 faan2 fong1 hoeng3) |
| David: The opposite attitude. |
| Melody: 相反態度 (soeng1 faan2 taai3 dou6) |
| David: Or the opposite idea. |
| Melody: 相反意見 (soeng1 faan2 ji3 gin3) |
| David: Right but what if we wanted to say something like it’s on the opposite side of the street. |
| Melody: 我哋通常會話「對面」或者「另外一邊」。(ngo5 dei6 tung1 soeng4 wui5 waa6 "deoi3 min6" waak6 ze2 "ling6 ngoi6 jat1 bin1.”) |
| David: Right. So the word opposite in English doesn’t exactly map to this word in Cantonese. |
| Melody: 冇錯。(mou5 co3.) |
| David: Right. In Cantonese, there are a lot of different ways of saying the things that are the same. |
| Melody: 係，有少少唔一樣。(hai6, jau5 siu2 siu2 m4 jat1 joeng6.) |
| David: Okay. So this is the point of our grammar point today. We want to just quickly cover a couple of different ways of saying that things are different. Alright? So the first is what we see in this dialogue. |
| Melody: 相反 (soeng1 faan2) |
| David: Which is the opposite of |
| Melody: 相同(soeng1 tung4)。相反，相同。(soeng1 faan2, soeng1 tung4.) |
| David: So that’s opposite but a lot of the time in Cantonese, we are not going to be saying opposite so much as different. Things are just different and there are two main ways of saying this. |
| Melody: 「唔同」或者「唔一樣」。唔同，唔一樣。(”m4 tung4" waak6 ze2 "m4 jat1 joeng6." m4 tung4, m4 jat1 joeng6.) |
| David: So use these when things are different but they are not conceptually opposite. |
| Melody: 譬如話，唔同意見。(pei3 jyu4 waa6, m4 tung4 ji3 gin3.) |
| David: That means a different idea. |
| Melody: 唔同意見 (m4 tung4 ji3 gin3 ) |
| David: Or |
| Melody: 我哋嘅意見唔一樣。(ngo5 dei6 ge3 ji3 gin3 m4 jat1 joeng6.) |
| David: Our ideas are not the same. |
| Melody: 我哋嘅意見唔一樣。(ngo5 dei6 ge3 ji3 gin3 m4 jat1 joeng6.) |
| David: Right. Now the opposite of things being different is not that they are the same but that they are similar. |
| Melody: 「似」或者「相似」。(“ci5” waak6 ze2 "soeng1 ci5”.) |
| David: Right. There are two words here and we use them like this. |
| Melody: 譬如話，佢哋兩個好似。(pei3 jyu4 waa6, keoi5 dei6 loeng5 go3 hou2 ci5.) |
| David: Those two are very similar. |
| Melody: 佢哋兩個好似。(keoi5 dei6 loeng5 go3 hou2 ci5.) |
| David: Or you could say |
| Melody: 相似(soeng1 ci5)。佢哋兩個好相似。(keoi5 dei6 loeng5 go3 hou2 soeng1 ci5.) |
| David: Those two are very similar. They have similar tastes in music, similar tastes in films and books. So we’ve got three different kind of conceptual categories of words here. The first is when things are exactly the opposite. |
| Melody: 相反 (soeng1 faan2) |
| David: Or exactly the same. |
| Melody: 相同 (soeng1 tung4) |
| David: If they are merely different but they are not conceptual opposites, in Cantonese, we use a different pair of words. |
| Melody: 唔同，唔一樣 (m4 tung4, m4 jat1 joeng6) |
| David: Or |
| Melody: 似，相似。(ci5, soeng1 ci5.) |
| David: Right and last but not least Melody, in our dialogue, we have two people who are suited for each other. |
| Melody: 冇錯。你可以話「佢哋好夾」。(mou5 co3. nei5 ho2 ji5 waa6 "keoi5 dei6 hou2 gaap3”.) |
| David: They are suited for each other. |
| Melody: 佢哋好夾。(keoi5 dei6 hou2 gaap3.) |
| David: Right. So that’s a bonus word for you. |
| Melody: 好夾。(hou2 gaap3.) |
| David: It means to be suited, to be together. |
| Melody: 多數係用喺情侶之間。(do1 sou3 hai6 jung6 hai2 cing4 leoi5 zi1 gaan1.) |
| David: Right. It’s a really romantic word right and we recommend if you like someone, you don’t need to move across town. You can’t just ask them for dinner. |
| Melody: 冇錯。(mou5 co3.) |
Outro |
| David: That being said, if you have any questions, if you want to leave a comment with thoughts about dating in Hong Kong, life in Hong Kong, you know where to find us. |
| Melody: 上嚟我哋嘅網站CantoneseClass101.com (soeng5 lai4 ngo5 dei6 ge3 mong5 zaam6 CantoneseClass101.com ) |
| David: Right and we look forward to hearing from you. I am David. |
| Melody: 我係Melody。(ngo5 hai6 Melody.) |
| David: Thanks for listening and we will see you on the site. |
| Melody: 我哋下次再見 (ngo5 dei6 haa6 ci3 zoi3 gin3)，Bye bye. |
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