Learn how to use the difference between the two "even" patterns
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| INTRODUCTION |
| David: Welcome to cantoneseclass101.com. I am David. |
| Nicole: 大家好，我係 (daai6 gaa1 hou2 ，ngo5 hai6) Nicole. |
| David: And we are coming to you from our ice cold recording studios in Hong Kong. |
| Nicole: 冇錯，點解佢哋唔可以熄咗個冷氣呢？ (mou5 co3 ，dim2 gaai2 keoi5 dei6 m4 ho2 ji5 sik1 zo2 go3 laang5 hei3 ne1 ？) |
| David: It’s like 5 degrees in here. |
| Nicole: Oh my god! And it’s summer. |
| David: But – yes but we are still here to bring you upper intermediate, season 1, Lesson 17. Home Renovations in Hong Kong. |
| Nicole: 家庭嘅裝修。 (gaa1 ting4 ge3 zong1 sau1 。) |
| David: Yeah. So Nicole, don’t start shivering but tell us what is this dialogue about? |
| Nicole: 兩個朋友講緊屋企裝修嘅工程，要點樣攪。 (loeng5 go3 pang4 jau5 gong2 gan2 nguk1 kei5 zong1 sau1 ge3 gung1 cing4 ，jiu3 dim2 joeng2 gaau2 。) |
| David: Yes. One of them is having home renovations done and things are getting a bit out of hand. |
| Nicole: Huh! |
| David: So our dialogue is casual Cantonese as always. Let’s get to it. |
| DIALOGUE |
| A:你間屋裝修成點呀？之前鋪緊個大理石地磚，係咪？ (A: nei5 gaan1 uk1 zong1 sau1 seng4 dim2 aa6? zi1 cin4 pou1 gan2 go3 daai6 lei5 sek6 dei6 zyun1, hai6 mai6?) |
| B:本來係，後來個承建商話，連電線都要全部換埋。 (B: bun2 loi4 hai6, hau6 loi4 go3 sing4 gin3 soeng1 waa6, lin4 din6 sin3 dou1 jiu3 cyun4 bou6 wun6 maai4.) |
| A:成個工程要使唔少錢喎。 (A: seng4 go3 gung1 cing4 jiu3 sai2 m4 siu2 cin2 wo3.) |
| B:不過個師傅話材料費可以收我平啲。但成個施工隊嘅人工都夠攞命啦。 (B: bat1 gwo3 go3 si1 fu2 waa6 coi4 liu2 fai3 ho2 ji5 sau1 ngo5 peng4 di1. daan6 seng4 go3 si1 gung1 deoi2 ge3 jan4 gung1 dou1 gau3 lo2 meng6 laa1.) |
| A:佢一個人搞唔掂咩？ (A: keoi5 jat1 go3 jan4 gaau2 m4 dim6 me1?) |
| B:太多嘢要攪啦，而且成個工程要搞兩個月。 (B: taai3 do1 je5 jiu3 gaau2 laa6, ji4 ce2 seng4 go3 gung1 cing4 jiu3 gaau2 loeng5 go3 jyut6.) |
| A:鋪地磚同換電線要兩個月？ (A: pou1 dei6 zyun1 tung4 wun6 din6 sin3 jiu3 loeng5 go3 jyut6?) |
| B:最嘥時間嘅係前期嘅隔熱同防水。 (B: zeoi3 saai1 si4 gaan3 ge3 hai6 cin4 kei4 ge3 gaak3 jit6 tung4 fong4 seoi2.) |
| A:廚房點解要防水呀？ (A: cyu4 fong1 dim2 gaai2 jiu3 fong4 seoi2 aa6?) |
| B:個師傅話，費事影響啲水管水渠喎。 (B: go3 si1 fu2 waa6, fai3 si6 jing2 hoeng2 di1 seoi2 gun2 seoi2 keoi4 wo2.) |
| A: How are your home renovations coming? Before, you were laying marble floor, right? |
| B: Originally I was. Then the contractor said we needed to replace the electrical wiring too. |
| A: The whole project must cost a lot. |
| B: The guy said he'd give us a discount on a materials fee. But the pay for the construction team is quite a lot. |
| A: He can't do it himself? |
| B: It's too much for just one man, and the whole project will take two months. |
| A: Two months for laying tiles and replacing electrical wires? |
| B: The most time-consuming part is insulating and waterproofing the room in advance. |
| A: You have to waterproof your kitchen? |
| B: They say it's best to be safe before messing with plumbing. |
| POST CONVERSATION BANTER |
| David: So Nicole, you didn’t pick up on the fact that this dialogue was a joke. |
| Nicole: 我唔知呀！我以為真係要搞咁多嘢。 (ngo5 m4 zi1 aa3 ！ngo5 ji5 wai4 zan1 hai6 jiu3 gaau2 gam3 do1 je5 。) |
| David: It was like, I don’t know. I don’t get these Hong Kong housing things. |
| Nicole: 我從來都未試過裝修。 (ngo5 cung4 loi4 dou1 mei6 si3 gwo3 zong1 sau1 。) |
| David: Yeah. This is the renter’s experience in Hong Kong. You actually do just have a problem with your plumbing too. |
| Nicole: 冇錯，成個水板... 成個地板都係漏水。 (mou5 co3 ，sing4 go3 seoi2 baan2 ... sing4 go3 dei6 baan2 dou1 hai6 lau6 seoi2 。) |
| David: Anyway, our vocab today is about renovations. So if you have a house or if you are renting one and refurbishing it yourself, this stuff should come in useful. |
| VOCAB LIST |
| Nicole: 裝修。 (zong1 sau1.) |
| David: To renovate. |
| Nicole: 裝 修, 裝修, 鋪。 (zong1 sau1, zong1 sau1, pou1.) |
| David: To lay. |
| Nicole: 鋪, 鋪, 地磚。 (pou1, pou1, dei6 zyun1.) |
| David: Floor tiles. |
| Nicole: 地 磚, 地磚, 本來。 (dei6 zyun1, dei6 zyun1, bun2 loi4.) |
| David: Originally. |
| Nicole: 本 來, 本來, 承建商。 (bun2 loi4, bun2 loi4, sing4 gin3 soeng1.) |
| David: Contractor. |
| Nicole: 承 建 商, 承建商, 施工隊。 (sing4 gin3 soeng1, sing4 gin3 soeng1, si1 gung1 deoi2.) |
| David: Construction team. |
| Nicole: 施 工 隊, 施工隊, 工程。 (si1 gung1 deoi2, si1 gung1 deoi2, gung1 cing4.) |
| David: Construction project. |
| Nicole: 工 程, 工程, 電線。 (gung1 cing4, gung1 cing4, din6 sin3.) |
| David: Electrical wiring. |
| Nicole: 電 線, 電線, 隔熱。 (din6 sin3, din6 sin3, gaak3 jit6.) |
| David: Heat insulating. |
| Nicole: 隔 熱, 隔熱, 防水。 (gaak3 jit6, gaak3 jit6, fong4 seoi2.) |
| David: Waterproofing. |
| Nicole: 防 水, 防水, 費事。 (fong4 seoi2, fong4 seoi2, fai3 si6.) |
| David: In case. |
| Nicole: 費 事, 費事, 影響。 (fai3 si6, fai3 si6, jing2 hoeng2.) |
| David: To affect. |
| Nicole: 影 響, 影響。 (jing2 hoeng2, jing2 hoeng2.) |
| VOCAB AND PHRASE USAGE |
| David: Let’s take a closer look at some of these words and phrases. First up, we have the verb, to renovate. |
| Nicole: 裝修。 (zong1 sau1 。) |
| David: To renovate. |
| Nicole: 裝修。 (zong1 sau1 。) |
| David: Right. |
| Nicole: 當然你都可以講維修。 (dong1 jin4 nei5 dou1 ho2 ji5 gong2 wai4 sau1 。) |
| David: And that’s also to renovate. |
| Nicole: 維修, 譬如話 大廈外牆而家維修緊。 (wai4 sau1 , pei3 jyu4 waa6 daai6 haa6 ngoi6 coeng4 ji4 gaa1 wai4 sau1 gan2 。) |
| David: They are renovating the building exterior. |
| Nicole: 大廈嘅外牆維修緊。 (daai6 haa6 ge3 ngoi6 coeng4 wai4 sau1 gan2 。) |
| David: Right. In our dialogue, it’s a kitchen that’s being renovated. |
| Nicole: 廚房維修緊。 (cyu4 fong2 wai4 sau1 gan2 。) |
| David: Right. And we have a team of construction workers who are working on a project that involves practically every aspect of the house. We have – we start with the flooring. |
| Nicole: 地板。 (dei6 baan2 。) |
| David: And in this case, it’s actually marble flooring. |
| Nicole: 大理石嘅地板, 咁即係用大理石做成嘅地磚，鋪成嘅地板。 (daai6 lei5 sek6 ge3 dei6 baan2 , gam2 zik1 hai6 jung6 daai6 lei5 sek6 zou6 sing4 ge3 dei6 zyun1 ，pou1 sing4 ge3 dei6 baan2 。) |
| David: Yeah and we have the verb there for to lay. |
| Nicole: 鋪。 (pou1 。) |
| David: To lay. |
| Nicole: 鋪。 (pou1 。) |
| David: And literally this means kind of putting things on the ground and spreading them out. |
| Nicole: 冇錯啦！因為地磚你要一塊一塊咁樣鋪上去家嘛！ (mou5 co3 laak3 ！jan1 wai6 dei6 zyun1 nei5 jiu3 jat1 faai3 jat1 faai3 gam2 joeng2 pou1 soeng5 heoi3 gaa1 maa3 ！) |
| David: Yeah. So we actually run into this verb elsewhere. In situations where people are selling things on the street, in situations where people are laying things out on the street. |
| Nicole: 店舖。 (dim3 pou3 。) |
| David: Right where you’ve got you know, a blanket on the ground and then there are goods that are being sold on top of it. |
| Nicole: 有一部份呢就好似你講嘅咁樣㗎啦！有另外一個部份呢, 你係真係可以有一間舖頭嘅，咁所以我哋將啲商店稱為 “舖頭”。 (jau5 jat1 bou6 fan6 ne1 zau6 hou2 ci5 nei5 gong2 ge3 gam2 joeng2 gaa2 laa1 ！jau5 ling6 ngoi6 jat1 go3 bou6 fan6 ne1 , nei5 hai6 zan1 hai6 ho2 ji5 jau5 jat1 gaan1 pou3 tau2 ge3 ，gam2 so2 ji5 ngo5 dei6 zoeng1 di1 soeng1 dim3 cing1 wai4 “pou3 tau2”。) |
| David: Yeah. You can have more legitimate versions but the… |
| Nicole: Definitely. |
| David: The source comes from the idea that you’ve got a merchant laying out goods for sale in front of you. |
| Nicole: 冇錯啦！鋪開啲嘢嚟賣。 (mou5 co3 laak3 ！pou1 hoi1 di1 je5 lai4 maai6 。) |
| David: Yeah. In this case though, they are laying out marble tiling. |
| Nicole: 鋪大理石嘅地磚。 (pou1 daai6 lei5 sek6 ge3 dei6 zyun1 。) |
| David: Yeah. Other things that are being worked on. We have electrical wiring. |
| Nicole: 電線。 (din6 sin3 。) |
| David: Heat insulation. |
| Nicole: 隔熱。 (gaak3 jit6 。) |
| David: Waterproofing. |
| Nicole: 防水。 (fong4 seoi2 。) |
| David: So it is not accident that this requires not just a single contractor. |
| Nicole: 唔單止要一個承建商。 (m4 daan1 zi2 jiu3 jat1 go3 sing4 gin3 soeng1 。) |
| David: Right but – and the entire construction team. |
| Nicole: 仲要成隊施工隊。 (zung6 jiu3 sing4 deoi6 si1 gung1 deoi6 。) |
| David: Yeah. |
| Nicole: 真係好多師傅。 (zan1 hai6 hou2 do1 si1 fu2 。) |
| David: Yes, yes, a lot of contractors and we learned this during this dialogue in fact. There is no real Cantonese word for contractor. |
| Nicole: Uhmm, 可能書面上有，但一般我哋傾就會叫 “師傅”。 (ho2 nang4 syu1 min6 soeng6 jau5 ，daan6 jat1 bun1 ngo5 dei6 king1 zau6 wui2 giu3 “si1 fu2 ”。) |
| David: Yeah. |
| Nicole: 呢個師傅，嗰個師傅。 (ni1 go3 si1 fu2 ，go2 go3 si1 fu2 。) |
| David: There may be a technical term. |
| Nicole: Yeah. |
| David: But everyone is just going to call anyone who works on this sort of thing, a person, a mister. |
| Nicole: Yeah, 師傅，你比較有禮貌叫師傅, 如果你冇禮貌呢，就叫佢 “裝修佬”。 (si1 fu2 ，nei5 bei2 gaau3 jau5 lai5 maau6 giu3 si1 fu2 , jyu4 gwo2 nei5 mou5 lai5 maau6 ne1 ，zau6 giu3 keoi5 “zong1 sau1 lou2 ”。) |
| David: Yeah. If you are not being as polite, you can say |
| Nicole: 裝修佬。 (zong1 sau1 lou2 。) |
| David: Yeah kind of the old, old repairing, renovating guy. |
| Nicole: Yeah. |
| David: I’ve got a question for you about the usage of this word we translated as in case. |
| Nicole: 費事。 (fai3 si6 。) |
| David: In our dialogue, we saw it in this line. |
| Nicole: 個師傅話，費事影響啲水管水渠喎。 (go3 si1 fu2 waa6 ，fai3 si6 jing2 hoeng2 di1 seoi2 gun2 seoi2 keoi4 wo3 。) |
| David: They say it’s best to be safe before messing with the plumbing. |
| Nicole: 個師傅話，費事影響啲水管水渠喎。 (go3 si1 fu2 waa6 ，fai3 si6 jing2 hoeng2 di1 seoi2 gun2 seoi2 keoi4 wo3 。) |
| David: So how do we use this? |
| Nicole: 就好似英文咁樣，你放喺你驚發生嘅事前面, 費事 ….. 點樣, 點樣, 點樣。 (zau6 hou2 ci5 jing1 man2 gam2 joeng2 ，nei5 fong3 hai2 nei5 geng1 faat3 sang1 ge3 si6 cin4 min6 , fai3 si6 ….. dim2 joeng2 , dim2 joeng2 , dim2 joeng2 。) |
| David: Yeah. Let’s take a look at a simpler example. |
| Nicole: 記得帶遮呀！費事落雨淋濕。 (gei3 dak1 daai3 ze1 aa3 ！fai3 si6 lok6 jyu5 lam4 sap1 。) |
| David: Right. Bring an umbrella in case it rains. |
| Nicole: 記得帶遮呀！費事落雨淋濕。 (gei3 dak1 daai3 ze1 aa3 ！fai3 si6 lok6 jyu5 lam4 sap1 。) |
| David: Right. So it is actually relatively straightforward. Okay and with that, let’s move on to our grammar point. It’s grammar time. Okay, our grammar point today is about two characters. |
Lesson focus |
|---|
| Nicole: 防, 隔。 (fong4 , gaak3 。) |
| David: Right which we don’t really run into alone. |
| Nicole: 冇錯啦！一般佢後邊會跟好多災難性嘅嘢。 (mou5 co3 laak3 ！jat1 bun1 keoi5 hau6 bin1 wui2 gan1 hou2 do1 zoi1 naan4 sing3 ge3 je5 。) |
| David: Yeah. Let’s take a look at the first one. |
| Nicole: 防。 (fong4 。) |
| David: This literally means kind of to protect or to guard against. |
| Nicole: 唔，防止發生咩事。 (m4 ，fong4 zi2 faat3 sang1 me1 si6 。) |
| David: For instance, in the dialogue, we see |
| Nicole: 防水。 (fong4 seoi2 。) |
| David: Waterproof. |
| Nicole: 防水, 即係唔俾啲水入嚟。 (fong4 seoi2 , zik1 hai6 m4 bei2 di1 seoi2 jap6 lei4 。) |
| David: Yeah. So it’s some kind of treatment or some kind of protection that’s protecting the object itself. |
| Nicole: 係嘞！譬如話 落雨嗰陣記得鋪好嘢 防水。 (hai6 laak3 ！pei3 jyu4 waa6 lok6 jyu5 go2 zan6 gei3 dak1 pou1 hou2 je5 fong4 seoi2 。) |
| David: When it’s raining, remember to lay something out to |
| Nicole: 防水。 (fong4 seoi2 。) |
| David: Right. To protect against water but we have a ton of words that use this structure. |
| Nicole: 譬如話 防潮。 ( pei3 jyu4 waa6 fong4 ciu4 。) |
| David: Which is, it’s anti-humidity. |
| Nicole: 防潮。 (fong4 ciu4 。) |
| David: Which is something we see in Hong Kong but not elsewhere. |
| Nicole: 香港同埋廣東。 (hoeng1 gong2 tung4 maai4 gwong2 dung1 。) |
| David: Yes. |
| Nicole: 即係南方沿岸嘅地方，因為好潮濕, 所以你要防潮。 (zik1 hai6 naam4 fong1 jyun4 ngon6 ge3 dei6 fong1 ，jan1 wai6 hou2 ciu4 sap1 , so2 ji5 nei5 jiu3 fong4 ciu4 。) |
| David: Right. We also had insect proof. |
| Nicole: 防蟲。 (fong4 cung4 。) |
| David: And things like flood proof. |
| Nicole: 防洪。 (fong4 hung4 。) |
| David: Right. These are all common in Southern China and Hong Kong. |
| Nicole: 冇錯啦！ (mou5 co3 laak3 ！) |
| David: Again, humidity proof. |
| Nicole: 防潮。 (fong4 ciu4 。) |
| David: Insect proof. |
| Nicole: 防蟲。 (fong4 cung4 。) |
| David: And flood proof. |
| Nicole: 防洪。 (fong4 hung4 。) |
| David: And now we get to the really fun stuff. |
| Nicole: 防彈。 (fong4 daan2 。) |
| David: Bulletproof. |
| Nicole: 防彈, 譬如話 防彈玻璃。 (fong4 daan2 , pei3 jyu4 waa6 fong4 daan2 bo1 lei1 。) |
| David: Bulletproof glass. |
| Nicole: 防彈衣。 (fong4 daan2 ji1 。) |
| David: Bulletproof clothing. So you might say, the president’s car has bulletproof glass. |
| Nicole: 譬如話 總統部車有防彈玻璃。 ( pei3 jyu4 waa6 zung2 tung2 bou6 ce1 jau5 fong4 daan2 bo1 lei1 。) |
| David: Or the police are wearing bulletproof clothing. |
| Nicole: 警察著住防彈衣。 (ging2 caat3 zoek3 zyu6 fong4 daan2 ji1 。) |
| David: Bulletproof glass. |
| Nicole: 防彈玻璃。 (fong4 daan2 bo1 lei1 。) |
| David: Bulletproof clothing. |
| Nicole: 防彈衣。 (fong4 daan2 ji1 。) |
| David: We also have fun words like bacteria proof. |
| Nicole: 防菌。 (fong4 kwan2 。) |
| David: And disaster proof. |
| Nicole: 防災，呢個係最犀利嘅，防災。 (fong4 zoi1 ，ni1 go3 hai6 zeoi3 sai1 lei6 ge3 ，fong4 zoi1 。) |
| David: What is disaster proof Nicole? |
| Nicole: 我唔知呀！可能有一系列嘅嘢。 (ngo5 m4 zi1 aa3 ！ho2 nang4 jau5 jat1 hai6 lit6 ge3 je5 。) |
| David: So what exactly is disaster proof? |
| Nicole: 譬如話 政府出咗一系列嘅防災措施。 (pei3 jyu4 waa6 zing3 fu2 ceot1 zo2 jat1 hai6 lit6 ge3 fong4 zoi1 cou3 si1 。) |
| David: The government instituted a number of anti disaster measures. |
| Nicole: 防災措施。 (fong4 zoi1 cou3 si1 。) |
| David: Right. So again in all of these cases, with this character |
| Nicole: 防。 (fong4 。) |
| David: We are dealing with situations where you are protecting or guarding against something, right? If it happens, this is in order to make sure that it is not so serious as it would be otherwise which is not the case with our second word. |
| Nicole: 隔。 ( gaak3 。) |
| David: Which is literally to insulate. |
| Nicole: 隔, 亦即係你隔開兩個事物。 (gaak3 , jik6 zik1 hai6 nei5 gaak3 hoi1 loeng5 go3 si6 mat6 。) |
| David: Right. So with this character, you are implying not that you are really protecting something itself but that you are setting it apart from… |
| Nicole: 係喇！物理上去隔開, 譬如話 呢塊板可以隔熱。 (hai6 laak3 ！mat6 lei5 soeng6 heoi3 gaak3 hoi1 , pei3 jyu4 waa6 ni1 faai3 baan2 ho2 ji5 gaak3 jit6 。) |
| David: This wooden board can block heat. |
| Nicole: 呢塊木板可以隔熱。 (ni1 faai3 muk6 baan2 ho2 ji5 gaak3 jit6 。) |
| David: Right. The two big examples that we’ve got are that first example. |
| Nicole: 隔熱。 (gaak3 jit6 。) |
| David: The second example that’s really common is |
| Nicole: 隔音。 (gaak3 jam1 。) |
| David: Which is sound insulation. |
| Nicole: 隔音。 (gaak3 jam1 。) |
| David: So the two main usages are heat insulation. |
| Nicole: 隔熱。 (gaak3 jit6 。) |
| David: And sound insulation. |
| Nicole: 隔音。 (gaak3 jam1 。) |
| David: We also have one more usage of this which is its dust insulation. |
| Nicole: 隔塵。 ( gaak3 can4 。) |
| David: And Nicole, what’s this? |
| Nicole: 譬如話 隔塵網可以防止塵埃。 (pei3 jyu4 waa6 gaak3 can4 mong5 ho2 ji5 fong4 zi2 can4 oi1 。) |
| David: An insulating net can keep dust from coming in. |
| Nicole: 隔塵網可以隔塵。 (gaak3 can4 mong5 ho2 ji5 gaak3 can4 。) |
| David: So Hong Kong is an interesting place where we both have to protect against the dust as well as against humidity. |
| Nicole: We are very careful people. |
| David: Yeah. So this isn’t a terribly complex point but it is a useful one because we run into a ton of compounds with these characters. |
| Nicole: 冇錯嘞！以後你會聽到好多”防” 同埋 “隔” 嘅單詞。 (mou5 co3 laak3 ！ji5 hau6 nei5 wui2 teng1 dou2 hou2 do1 ”fong4 ” tung4 maai4 “gaak3 ” ge3 daan1 ci4 。) |
Outro |
| David: Yeah. We are either protecting the object itself changing its qualities or we are separating it apart from what is going to damage it. Okay and with that, that’s our lesson for today. Before we go, as always we want to make sure that you know you can get a free account at cantoneseclass101.com. |
| Nicole: 如果你仲未註冊嘅話，記得去cantoneseclass101.com 註冊。 (jyu4 gwo2 nei5 zung6 mei6 zyu3 caak3 ge3 waa2 ，gei3 dak1 heoi3 cantoneseclass101 .com zyu3 caak3 。) |
| David: Right. We will ask you for your email address but that’s all you need to give us and we will email you a password for free access to it. Ton of useful stuff. For now though, that’s all the time we have coming to you from a freezing recording studio not far from Festival Walk. I am David. |
| Nicole: 我係 (ngo5 hai6) Nicole. |
| David: Thanks for listening and we will see you on the site. |
| Nicole: 下次見 。 (haa6 ci3 gin3 。) |
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