Learn how to use the final particle 吖嘛 to soften a sentence
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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 here with upper intermediate season 1, Lesson 18. Getting Therapy in Hong Kong. |
| Nicole: 係啦！因為香港人壓力好大，所以成日都會去睇心理醫生嘅。 (hai6 laa1 ！jan1 wai6 hoeng1 gong2 jan4 ngaat3 lik6 hou2 daai6 ，so2 ji5 sing4 jat6 dou1 wui2 heoi3 tai2 sam1 lei5 ji1 sang1 ge3 。) |
| David: Yeah. So Nicole, what’s in our dialogue today? |
| Nicole: 兩個朋友，其中一個有心理病嘅，咁所以去睇醫生。 (loeng5 go3 pang4 jau5 ，kei4 zung1 jat1 go3 jau5 sam1 lei5 beng6 ge3 ，gam2 so2 ji5 heoi3 tai2 ji1 sang1 。) |
| David: Yes. We are going to learn that one of them has childhood trauma in fact. So they are talking about how they feel in casual Cantonese as always. Let’s get to the dialogue. |
| DIALOGUE |
| A:我個心理醫生話我有心理問題。 (A: ngo5 go3 sam1 lei5 ji1 sang1 waa6 ngo5 jau5 sam1 lei5 man6 tai4.) |
| B:你睇起嚟好正常喎。 (B: nei5 tai2 hei2 lei4 hou2 zing3 soeng4 wo3.) |
| A:錯覺嚟啫，我細個嗰陣我父母愛我嘅方式唔係好正確。 (A: co3 gok3 lei4 ze1, ngo5 sai5 go3 go2 zan6 ngo5 fu6 mou5 oi3 ngo5 ge3 fong1 sik1 m4 hai6 hou2 zing3 kok3.) |
| B:係？我以為你哋一家人好和諧添！ (B: hai6? ngo5 ji5 wai4 nei5 dei6 jat1 gaa1 jan4 hou2 wo4 haai4 tim1!) |
| A:表面上係，但佢哋太過縱我，造成心理創傷。 (A: biu2 min6 soeng6 hai6, daan6 keoi5 dei6 taai3 gwo3 zung3 ngo5, zou6 sing4 sam1 lei5 cong3 soeng1.) |
| B:嘩！原來你有童年陰影？我完全睇唔出。 (B: waa4! jyun4 loi4 nei5 jau5 tung4 nin4 jam1 jing2? ngo5 jyun4 cyun tai2 m4 ceot1.) |
| A:因為我哋完全唔會嗌交吖嘛。但我內心好冇安全感。 (A: jan1 wai6 ngo5 dei6 jyun4 cyun4 m4 wui5 aai3 gaau1 aa1 maa3. daan6 ngo5 noi6 sam1 hou2 mou6 on1 cyun4 gam2.) |
| B:個個人心底都有少少唔安全嘅。 (B: go3 go3 jan4 sam1 dai2 dou1 jau5 siu2 siu2 m4 on1 cyun4 ge2.) |
| A:仲會焦慮，抑鬱，同冇自信，有時仲好極端添。 (A: zung6 wui5 ziu1 leoi6, jik1 wat1, tung4 mou5 zi6 seon3, jau5 si4 zung6 hou2 gik6 dyun1 tim1.) |
| A: My therapist says I have a psychological problem. |
| B: You seem pretty well adjusted to me. |
| A: That's an illusion. When I was a young child, my parents used the wrong type of love. |
| B: Really? I thought your family was so loving. |
| A: On the surface, yes. But they loved me too much creating psychological trauma. |
| B: Wow! So you have childhood trauma? I couldn't tell. |
| A: That's because we don't fight at all, but on the inside, I'm really insecure. |
| B: Everyone is a bit insecure on the inside. |
| A: Also anxious, depressed, and lacking in self confidence. And sometimes, I'm bipolar too. |
| POST CONVERSATION BANTER |
| David: Okay Nicole, do you have the shadow of childhood? |
| Nicole: 童年陰影？我冇㗎！我家庭好和諧㗎！ (tung4 nin4 jam1 jing2 ？ngo5 mou5 gaa3 ！ngo5 gaa1 ting4 hou2 wo4 haai4 gaa3 ！) |
| David: Right. It’s a wonderful, wonderful phrase though, one of many in our vocab section today. So let’s get to it. |
| VOCAB LIST |
| Nicole: 心理醫生。 (sam1 lei5 ji1 sang1.) |
| David: Psychologist. |
| Nicole: 心 理 醫 生, 心理醫生, 錯覺。 (sam1 lei5 ji1 sang1, sam1 lei5 ji1 sang1, co3 gok3. ) |
| David: Misperception. |
| Nicole: 錯 覺, 錯覺, 和諧。 (co3 gok3, co3 gok3, wo4 haai4.) |
| David: Harmonious. |
| Nicole: 和 諧, 和諧, 縱。 (wo4 haai4, wo4 haai4, zung3.) |
| David: To spoil. |
| Nicole: 縱, 縱, 創傷。 (zung3, zung3, cong3 soeng1.) |
| David: Trauma. |
| Nicole: 創 傷, 創傷, 童年。 (cong3 soeng1, cong3 soeng1, tung4 nin4.) |
| David: Childhood. |
| Nicole: 童 年, 童年, 陰影。 (tung4 nin4, tung4 nin4, jam1 jing2.) |
| David: Shadow. |
| Nicole: 陰 影, 陰影, 安全感。 (jam1 jing2, jam1 jing2, on1 cyun4 gam2.) |
| David: Sense of security. |
| Nicole: 安 全 感, 安全感, 焦慮。 (on1 cyun4 gam2, on1 cyun4 gam2, ziu1 leoi6.) |
| David: Anxiety. |
| Nicole: 焦 慮, 焦慮, 抑鬱。 (ziu1 leoi6, ziu1 leoi6, jik1 wat1.) |
| David: Depression. |
| Nicole: 抑 鬱, 抑鬱, 極端。 (jik1 wat1, jik1 wat1, gik6 dyun1.) |
| David: Extreme. |
| Nicole: 極 端, 極端。 (gik6 dyun1, gik6 dyun1.) |
| VOCAB AND PHRASE USAGE |
| David: So our vocab today is focusing on bad emotions, anxiety, depression, reasons you might want to go and see a psychiatrist. Nicole, what’s the first word we should look at? |
| Nicole: 心理醫生。 (sam1 lei5 ji1 sang1 。) |
| David: Psychologist. |
| Nicole: 心理醫生, 如果你有心理問題，就要去睇心理醫生。 (sam1 lei5 ji1 sang1 , jyu4 gwo2 nei5 jau5 sam1 lei5 man6 tai4 ，zau6 jiu3 heoi3 tai2 sam1 lei5 ji1 sang1 。) |
| David: Right. If you have a psychological problem, you should go see a psychiatrist. |
| Nicole: 而且好貴。 (ji4 ce2 hou2 gwai3 。) |
| David: So this is actually, this is psychiatrist as well as psychologist. So how popular are psychiatrists in Hong Kong? |
| Nicole: Ah, 一般般, 嘛嘛哋, 因為實在太貴。 ( jat1 bun1 bun1 , maa3 maa3 dei2 , jan1 wai6 sat6 zoi6 taai3 gwai3 。) |
| David: Yeah. Too expensive. So people suffer in silence. Some of the things that they suffer from are in our dialogue we have. We have words like anxiety. |
| Nicole: 焦慮。 ( ziu1 leoi6 。) |
| David: Anxiety. |
| Nicole: 焦慮。 ( ziu1 leoi6 。) |
| David: And this is a noun but it’s also an adjective. |
| Nicole: 冇錯啦！譬如佢長期有焦慮嘅問題。 (mou5 co3 laak3 ！pei3 jyu4 keoi5 coeng4 kei4 jau5 ziu1 leoi6 ge3 man6 tai4 。) |
| David: Yeah. You can have a problem of anxiety, an anxiety problem or you could just feel anxious. |
| Nicole: 我覺得好焦慮, 因為我工作要聽日完成。 (ngo5 gok3 dak1 hou2 ziu1 leoi6 , jan1 wai6 ngo5 gung1 zok3 jiu3 ting1 jat6 jyun4 sing4 。) |
| David: Yeah. We also have depression which is the same. |
| Nicole: 抑鬱。 (jik1 wat1 。) |
| David: Depression. |
| Nicole: 抑鬱, 譬如佢有抑鬱嘅問題，所以要去睇心理醫生。 (jik1 wat1 , pei3 jyu4 keoi5 jau5 jik1 wat1 ge3 man6 tai4 ，so2 ji5 jiu3 heoi3 tai2 sam1 lei5 ji1 sang1 。) |
| David: Yeah and again, this word, it’s both a noun and an adjective. So you can use it to describe the condition as well as describe how you are feeling. |
| Nicole: 唔，譬如話 佢過去一年 一直都好抑鬱。 (m4 ，pei3 jyu4 waa6 keoi5 gwo3 heoi3 jat1 nin4 jat1 zik6 dou1 hou2 jik1 wat1 。) |
| David: For the entire year, he was quite depressed. |
| Nicole: 佢過去一年 一直都好抑鬱。 (keoi5 gwo3 heoi3 jat1 nin4 jat1 zik6 dou1 hou2 jik1 wat1 。) |
| David: Here is a question for you. How bad is this in Cantonese? I mean in the English, the word… |
| Nicole: 係好嚴重。 (hai6 hou2 jim4 zung6 。) |
| David: Yeah. |
| Nicole: 係好嚴重, 係病態。 (hai6 hou2 jim4 zung6 , hai6 beng6 taai3 。) |
| David: Okay so it’s not just I am feeling down, this is actual clinical depression we are talking about here. |
| Nicole: 你應該去睇醫生。 (nei5 jing1 goi1 heoi3 tai2 ji1 sang1 。) |
| David: Okay. Next we have the word extreme. |
| Nicole: 極端。 (gik6 dyun1 。) |
| David: Extreme. |
| Nicole: 極端。 (gik6 dyun1 。) |
| David: Which is how people will talk about things like being bipolar. |
| Nicole: 唔，做嘢好極端，或者佢份人好極端。 ( m4 ，zou6 je5 hou2 gik6 dyun1 ，waak6 ze2 keoi5 fan6 jan4 hou2 gik6 dyun1 。) |
| David: The opposite of all of these problems, when we were looking for the way that people talk about being well adjusted, the word that we kept stumbling into was harmonious. |
| Nicole: 和諧。 ( wo4 haai4 。) |
| David: Harmonious. |
| Nicole: 和諧。 ( wo4 haai4 。) |
| David: So people don’t use the metaphor of being adjusted well. They will talk about harmony. |
| Nicole: 唔，相處得好和諧，佢同同事相處得好和諧。 (m4 ，soeng1 cyu2 dak1 hou2 wo4 haai4 ，keoi5 tung4 tung4 si6 soeng1 cyu3 dak1 hou2 wo4 haai4 。) |
| David: The last word I really want to touch on is this word shadow. |
| Nicole: 陰影。 (jam1 jing2 。) |
| David: Shadow. |
| Nicole: 陰影。 (jam1 jing2 。) |
| David: In the dialogue, one of the speakers was talking about a childhood shadow. |
| Nicole: 童年陰影, 咁我哋經常都會講童年陰影嚟形容心理嘅創傷。 ( tung4 nin4 jam1 jing2 , gam2 ngo5 dei6 ging1 soeng4 dou1 wui2 gong2 tung4 nin4 jam1 jing2 lai4 jing4 jung4 sam1 lei5 ge3 cong3 soeng1 。) |
| David: Right. So it’s a metaphor we are using to describe psychological problems in childhood, right and that literally is the word for shadow. |
| Nicole: 陰影, 冇錯。 (jam1 jing2 , mou5 co3 。) |
| David: Yeah. So you can use it to describe physical shade on the ground or…. |
| Nicole: 譬如大樹嘅陰影。 (pei3 jyu4 daai6 syu6 ge3 jam1 jing2 。) |
| David: Yeah or how you are feeling in your heart. |
| Nicole: 冇錯。 (mou5 co3 。) |
| David: Okay. If you are an adult, you can also refer to your shadow as well. |
| Nicole: 當然啦！ (dong1 jin4 laa1 ！) |
| David: Yeah okay. So with that, that’s our vocab for today. Let’s move on to our grammar point. It’s grammar time. Okay Nicole, what are we looking at today? |
Lesson focus |
|---|
| Nicole: Okay 我哋今日想睇吓 “吖嘛” 呢個詞。 (ngo5 dei6 gam1 jat6 soeng2 tai2 haak3 “aa1 maa3 ” ni1 go3 ci4 。) |
| David: Right. So this is a sound we put at the end of sentences. Let’s hear it again. |
| Nicole: 吖嘛。 (aa1 maa3 。) |
| David: We hear this in our dialogue in this line. |
| Nicole: 因為我哋完全唔會嗌交吖嘛。 (jan1 wai6 ngo5 dei6 jyun4 cyun4 m4 wui2 aai3 gaau1 aa1 maa3 。) |
| David: That’s because we never fought. |
| Nicole: 因為我哋完全唔會嗌交吖嘛。 (jan1 wai6 ngo5 dei6 jyun4 cyun4 m4 wui2 aai3 gaau1 aa1 maa3 。) |
| David: Yeah. The first speaker says, I have no idea you have so many problems and the second one says, that’s because my family never fought. |
| Nicole: 因為我哋完全唔會嗌交。 (jan1 wai6 ngo5 dei6 jyun4 cyun4 m4 wui2 aai3 gaau1 。) |
| David: Yeah. So this is interesting because we are talking about sound that doesn’t really – it doesn’t change the meaning of the sentence. |
| Nicole: 冇錯啦！如果我哋唔要 “吖嘛”，我哋就會講, “因為我哋完全唔會嗌交。” (mou5 co3 laak3 ！jyu4 gwo2 ngo5 dei6 m4 jiu3 “aa1 maa3 ”，ngo5 dei6 zau6 wui2 gong2 , “jan1 wai6 ngo5 dei6 jyun4 cyun4 m4 wui2 aai3 gaau1 。”) |
| David: Right. Nicole and that means exactly the same thing. |
| Nicole: 其實都唔係嘅，因為..... 唔.... 唔.... (kei4 sat6 dou1 m4 hai6 ge3 ，jan1 wai6 ..... m4 .... m4 ....) |
| David: Well the meaning and the tone is different and we are going to get to that but first, let’s take a look with a bit of a simpler example. |
| Nicole: 冇問題，譬如話有人問, ” 點解你朋友一直都唔嚟返工呀?” 你可以話, “ 因為佢有焦慮同埋抑鬱吖嘛。” (mou5 man6 tai4 ，pei3 jyu4 waa6 jau5 jan4 man6 , ” dim2 gaai2 nei5 pang4 jau5 jat1 zik6 dou1 m4 lai4 faan2 gung1 aa3 ?” nei5 ho2 ji5 waa6 , “ jan1 wai6 keoi5 jau5 ziu1 leoi6 tung4 maai4 jik1 wat1 aa1 maa3 。”) |
| David: Right. So the situation is, someone asks you why your friend doesn’t come to work. You answer |
| Nicole: 因為佢有焦慮同抑鬱吖嘛。 (jan1 wai6 keoi5 jau5 ziu1 leoi6 tung4 jik1 wat1 aa1 maa3 。) |
| David: Because he is suffering from anxiety and depression. |
| Nicole: 因為佢有焦慮同抑鬱吖嘛。 (jan1 wai6 keoi5 jau5 ziu1 leoi6 tung4 jik1 wat1 aa1 maa3 。) |
| David: So the first thing to notice about both cases. We are answering a question or expressing an opinion in response to a statement someone else has made. |
| Nicole: 冇錯啦！ (mou5 co3 laak3 ！) |
| David: Okay so Nicole, what does it literally mean? |
| Nicole: 表面上字面上呢，佢嘅意思即係話 “就係咁明顯囉!” 咁嘅意思。 (biu2 min6 soeng6 zi6 min6 soeng6 ne1 ，keoi5 ge3 ji3 si1 zik1 hai6 waa6 “zau6 hai6 gam3 ming4 hin2 lo1 !” gam2 ge3 ji3 si1 。) |
| David: Right. So the literal meaning is, oh it’s as simple as this or this is correct. What we are doing is we are confirming the statement that we’ve just said. |
| Nicole: 意思即係話, “咁簡單你應該會明白㗎啦!” (ji3 si1 zik1 hai6 waa6 , “gam3 gaan2 daan1 nei5 jing1 goi1 wui2 ming4 baak6 gaa3 laa1 !”) |
| David: Yeah it’s not complex. You should really understand this, it’s really, really simple. Let’s take a look at another example. |
| Nicole: 譬如話你嘅朋友問, “點解你男朋友要去睇心理醫生呀?” 你可以話, “因為佢抑鬱吖嘛。” (pei3 jyu4 waa6 nei5 ge3 pang4 jau5 man6 , “dim2 gaai2 nei5 naam4 pang4 jau5 jiu3 heoi3 tai2 sam1 lei5 ji1 sang1 aa3 ?” nei5 ho2 ji5 waa6 , “jan1 wai6 keoi5 jik1 wat1 aa1 maa3 。”) |
| David: Right. Someone asks you, why is your boyfriend going to the psychiatrist and you say, because he is depressed. |
| Nicole: 因為佢抑鬱吖嘛, 所以呢個語氣即係話 “好明顯”。 (jan1 wai6 keoi5 jik1 wat1 aa1 maa3 , so2 ji5 ni1 go3 jyu5 hei3 zik1 hai6 waa6 “hou2 ming4 hin2 ”。) |
| David: Right. We are dealing with emotion. What this does is it changes the tone and it also makes the statement sound maybe a bit less serious. Less cold. |
| Nicole: 唔，但係佢都唔係話 好友好嘅。 (m4 ，daan6 hai6 keoi5 dou1 m4 hai6 waa6 hou2 jau5 hou2 ge3 。) |
| David: Yeah. You are not just making a statement. You are saying, look, it’s simple, it’s obvious. You should understood this. So to review, add this sound. |
| Nicole: 吖嘛。 (aa1 maa3 。) |
Outro |
| David: To statements and you are going to change the meaning from a simple statement to a more emotionally rich expression that means you should really already know this, you should understand this. It’s really simple, okay and that brings us to the end of our show for today. As always, we’ve put all of this stuff into our PDF. |
| Nicole: 記得去高級會員中心 download 落嚟，打開嚟睇。 (gei3 dak1 heoi3 gou1 kap1 wui2 jyun4 zung1 sam1 download lok6 lai4 ，daa2 hoi1 lai4 tai2 。) |
| David: Yeah. Download it, take a look at it tomorrow and it is going to help you remember all of this stuff. Okay for now though, we are done with our show. From Hong Kong, I am David. |
| Nicole: 我係 (ngo5 hai6) Nicole. |
| David: Thanks for listening and we will see you online. |
| Nicole: 下次見 。 (haa6 ci3 gin3 。) |
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