Learn how to say someone has good taste
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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 3. Buying a Car in Hong Kong. |
| Nicole: 買車。(maai5 ce1 。) |
| David: So we’ve got a lesson that’s stuffed full of car related vocabulary. |
| Nicole: 唔，希望有用啦！ ( m4 ，hei1 mong6 jau5 jung6 laa1 ！) |
| David: Yeah. So Nicole, what is happening exactly in our dialogue? |
| Nicole: 有個 Sales 咁呀想賣台車，跟住有個客人想買車。 (jau5 go3 Sales gam2 aa3 soeng2 maai6 toi4 ce1 ，gan1 zyu6 jau5 go3 haak3 jan4 soeng2 maai5 ce1 。) |
| David: Right and the salesperson here is filled with flattery… |
| Nicole: Yeah. |
| David: And he’s described the car in exquisite detail of everything and all of the reasons you should buy it. |
| Nicole: Yeah. That’s very Hong Kong style. |
| David: Yes. And the dialogue is in Casual Cantonese as always. Let’s get to it. |
| DIALOGUE |
| A: 先生好有眼光。呢款係新出嘅環保三廂車，性價比好高。 (A: sin1 saang1 hou2 jau5 ngaan5 gwong1. ni1 fun2 hai6 san1 ceot1 ge3 waan4 bou2 saam1 soeng1 ce1, sing3 gaa3 bei2 hou2 gou1.) |
| B: 呢款車喺邊度生產？ (B: ni1 fun2 ce1 hai2 bin1 dou6 sang1 caan2?) |
| A: 原裝德國進口，質量有保證。車廂內部嘅設計出自大師之手，非常優雅。 (A: jyun4 zong1 dak1 gwok3 zeon3 hau2, zat1 loeng6 jau5 bou2 zing3. ce1 soeng1 noi6 bou6 ge3 cit3 gai3 ceot1 zi6 daai6 si1 zi1 sau2, fei1 soeng4 jau1 ngaa5.) |
| B: 的確幾好睇。唔知揸起嚟感覺點。 (B: dik1 kok3 gei2 hou2 tai2. m4 zi1 zaa1 hei2 lei4 gam2 gok3 dim2.) |
| A: 如果先生有興趣有時間，我可以安排你而家試車，親自感受下。 (A: fyu4 gwo2 sin1 saang1 jau5 hing3 ceoi3 jau5 si4 gaan3, ngo5 ho2 ji5 on1 paai4 nei5 ji4 gaa1 si3 ce1, can1 zi6 gam2 sau3 haa5.) |
| B: 好呀，就而家啦。 (B: hou2 aa3, zau6 ji4 gaa1 laa1.) |
| A: 記得綁安全帶，安全駕駛。 (A: gei3 dak1 bong2 on1 cyun4 daai3, on1 cyun4 gaa3 sai2.) |
| A: You have great taste, sir. This is a new environmentally friendly sedan with a great cost performance ratio. |
| B: Where was the car made? |
| A: It is imported with its original packaging from Germany, and it's guaranteed high quality. The inner design is by a master designer. It's truly elegant. |
| B: It does look good. I wonder how it feels to drive. |
| A: If you have interest and time, sir, I can arrange for you to have a test drive, so you can feel it yourself. |
| B: Ok. I'll do it now. |
| A: Remember to fasten your seat belt and drive safely. |
| POST CONVERSATION BANTER |
| Nicole: So David, what is an environmentally friendly car? |
| David: You wrote this dialogue Nicole. This is Nicole’s dialogue. |
| Nicole: Don’t blame me. |
| David: I am not actually sure. I mean an electric car? Yes. |
| Nicole: Solar energy generated car. |
| David: Yes. This is a solar – solar car from Germany. Why don’t we get to the vocab? |
| VOCAB LIST |
| Nicole: 眼光。 (ngaan5 gwong1 。) |
| David: Gauge. |
| Nicole: 眼 光, 眼光, 環保。 (ngaan5 gwong1, ngaan5 gwong1, waan4 bou2.) |
| David: Environmentally friendly. |
| Nicole: 環 保, 環保, 三廂車。(waan4 bou2, waan4 bou2, saam1 soeng1.) |
| David: Sedan. |
| Nicole: 三 廂 車, 三廂車, 性價比。 (saam1 soeng1 ce1,,saam1 soeng1 ce1, sing3 gaa3 bei2.) |
| David: Cost performance ratio. |
| Nicole: 性 價 比, 性價比, 生產。 (sing3 gaa3 bei2, sing3 gaa3 bei2, sang1 caan2.) |
| David: To produce. |
| Nicole: 生 產, 生產, 原裝。 (sang1 caan2, sang1 caan2, jyun4 zong1.) |
| David: Original packaging. |
| Nicole: 原 裝, 原裝, 進口。(jyun4 zong1, jyun4 zong1, zeon3 hau2.) |
| David: Import. |
| Nicole: 進 口, 進口, 質量。 (zeon3 hau2, zeon3 hau2, zat1 loeng6.) |
| David: Quality. |
| Nicole: 質 量, 質量, 保證。 (zat1 loeng6, zat1 loeng6, bou2 zing3.) |
| David: Guarantee. |
| Nicole: 保 證, 保證, 優 雅。 (bou2 zing3, bou2 zing3, jau1 ngaa5.) |
| David: Elegant. |
| Nicole: 優 雅, 優雅。 (jau1 ngaa5, jau1 ngaa5.) |
| VOCAB AND PHRASE USAGE |
| David: Okay. Let’s take a closer look at some of these words and phrases. Our first word for you is |
| Nicole: 性價比。 (sing3 gaa3 bei2 。) |
| David: Cost performance ratio. |
| Nicole: 性價比, 佢嘅全稱係性能，價錢嘅比率。 (sing3 gaa3 bei2 , keoi5 ge3 cyun4 cing1 hai6 sing3 nang4 ，gaa3 cin4 ge3 bei2 leot6 。) |
| David: Right. And this is the best way in Cantonese of saying, something is of good value. |
| Nicole: 性價比好好，冇錯。 (sing3 gaa3 bei2 hou2 hou2 ，mou5 co3 。) |
| David: Yeah. It’s got a great price performance ratio. |
| Nicole: Or 性價比好高喎！ ( sing3 gaa3 bei2 hou2 gou1 wo3 ！) |
| David: Normally described as being either high or low. |
| Nicole: 高或者低。 (gou1 waak6 ze2 dai1 。) |
| David: Right. Nicole, for instance |
| Nicole: 譬如話好似我買相機咁啦，我一直都係搵性價比高嘅相機。 (pei3 jyu4 waa6 hou2 ci5 ngo5 maai5 soeng2 gei1 gam2 laa1 ，ngo5 jat1 zik6 dou1 hai6 wan2 sing3 gaa3 bei2 gou1 ge3 soeng2 gei1 。) |
| David: Right. So if you are price conscious, this is a word you need to know. |
| Nicole: 性價比。 (sing3 gaa3 bei2 。) |
| David: Okay. Our next word is a kind of car. |
| Nicole: 三廂車。 (saam1 soeng1 ce1 。) |
| David: A sedan. |
| Nicole: 三廂車。 (saam1 soeng1 ce1 。) |
| David: It’s literally three box car. |
| Nicole: Yeah 三個箱。 ( saam1 go3 soeng1 。) |
| David: Yeah and Nicole, you and I, we were talking before, we can’t figure out what these three boxes are supposed to be. |
| Nicole: 冇錯，究竟係邊三箱呢？ (mou5 co3 ，gau3 ging2 hai6 bin1 saam1 soeng1 ne1 ？) |
| David: Right because there you’ve got the trunk which might – maybe it’s the trunk and the front seat and the back seat. |
| Nicole: I think so. 應該係三箱。 (jing3 goi1 hai6 saam1 soeng1 。) |
| David: That’s the best we can do for you. We don’t know what the boxes are but that’s what a sedan is. |
| Nicole: 唔，三廂車。 (m4 ，saam1 soeng1 ce1 。) |
| David: Right. We have other kinds of cars of course. If it’s a sports car |
| Nicole: 跑車。 ( paau2 ce1 。) |
| David: And we’ve also got the bread car. |
| Nicole: 麵包車。 (min6 baau1 ce1 。) |
| David: Which is actually it’s a van. |
| Nicole: Yeah or in Hong Kong, you hear people say “Van 仔”。 (“Van zai2 ”。) |
| David: Right. Van as well. The last we have for you is wonderful loan word. It’s a pickup truck. |
| Nicole: 皮卡。 (pei4 kaa1 。) |
| David: Right. So four different kinds of vehicles. |
| Nicole: 三廂車, 跑車, 麵包車, 貨車 or “ Van 仔” and 皮卡。 ( saam1 soeng1 ce1 , paau2 ce1 , min6 baau1 ce1 , fo3 ce1 or “ Van zai2 ” and pei4 kaa1 。) |
| David: Yes and with the pickup. The last word we want to highlight is an adjective meaning elegant. |
| Nicole: 優雅。 (jau1 ngaa5 。) |
| David: Very elegant. |
| Nicole: 好優雅。 ( hou2 jau1 ngaa5 。) |
| David: Right. And we just want to highlight this because this is – it’s becoming more formal. |
| Nicole: Yeah. 非常之正式嘅一種講法。(fei1 soeng4 zi1 zing3 sik1 ge3 jat1 zung2 gong2 faat3 。) |
| David: Yeah. These days in Hong Kong, people will start throwing the English word into a conversation. |
| Nicole: elegant, 你今日好 (nei5 gam1 jat6 hou2) elegant. |
| David: Yes. So you can use either the Cantonese version. |
| Nicole: 優雅。 ( jau1 ngaa5 。) |
| David: Is increasingly a bit formal and with that, let’s get to our grammar section. |
Lesson focus |
|---|
| David: It’s grammar time. Okay Nicole, we’ve got a great grammar point today. It’s actually, it’s less of a grammar point than a – a kind of usage and a way of thinking about it. |
| Nicole: A cultural discussion. |
| David: Yeah and it involves this line in the dialogue. |
| Nicole: 先生好有眼光。 (sin1 saang1 hou2 jau5 ngaan5 gwong1 。) |
| David: Which is the first line. |
| Nicole: 先生好有眼光。 (sin1 saang1 hou2 jau5 ngaan5 gwong1 。) |
| David: We translated this as, you’ve got great taste sir because we are talking about the car. And the point we want to discuss is that in English, we are using the metaphor of eating to describe making these value judgments on things where it’s a question of aesthetics right? In Cantonese, things don’t work that way. |
| Nicole: 唔，我哋講對眼，好有眼光嘅。 (m4 ，ngo5 dei6 gong2 deoi3 ngaan5 ，hou2 jau5 ngaan5 gwong1 ge3 。) |
| David: Right. Instead, we are using eyesight. In the dialogue, it’s literally you’ve got good eyesight. |
| Nicole: 先生, 你好有眼光。 ( sin1 saang1 , nei5 hou2 jau5 ngaan5 gwong1 。) |
| David: Right. Of course, we are talking about taste. In Cantonese though, this is the way we make these kind of value judgments. We have a couple of examples. |
| Nicole: 冇錯，譬如話, 你鍾意呢部三廂車呀, 好有眼光呀！ (mou5 co3 ，pei3 jyu4 waa6 , nei5 zung1 ji3 ni1 bou6 saam1 soeng1 ce1 aa4 , hou2 jau5 ngaan5 gwong1 aa3 ！) |
| David: You like this environmentally friendly sedan? You really have good taste. |
| Nicole: 你鍾意呢部三廂車呀, 好有眼光呀！ (nei5 zung1 ji3 ni1 bou6 saam1 soeng1 ce1 aa4 , hou2 jau5 ngaan5 gwong1 aa3 ！) |
| David: You like this environmentally friendly sedan, you really have good taste. Another example might happen if you go to a party and you meet a friend. |
| Nicole: 冇錯，你就開始讚佢，嘩！條裙好優雅！你好有眼光呀！ (mou5 co3 ，nei5 zau6 hoi1 ci2 zaan3 keoi5 ，waa1 ！tiu4 kwan4 hou2 jau1 ngaa5 ！nei5 hou2 jau5 ngaan5 gwong1 aa3 ！) |
| David: Right. So you see a friend wearing a very elegant dress and you compliment them. |
| Nicole: 裙好優雅, 或者條裙好 elegant 呀! 你好有眼光呀！ (kwan4 hou2 jau1 ngaa5 , waak6 ze2 tiu4 kwan4 hou2 elegant aa3 ! nei5 hou2 jau5 ngaan5 gwong1 aa3 ！) |
| David: Right. You’ve got such great taste. Our final example is a little bit different. |
| Nicole: 冇錯，你十年前就買咗呢套房嗱！好有眼光呀！ (mou5 co3 ，nei5 sap6 nin4 cin4 zau6 maai5 zo2 ni1 tou3 fong2 naa4 ！hou2 jau5 ngaan5 gwong1 aa3 ！) |
| David: Right. So you might be talking to a colleague at work and telling them that you know, you’ve got a great taste buying this house such a long time ago. |
| Nicole: 你十年前就買咗呢套房嗱！好有眼光呀！ (nei5 sap6 nin4 cin4 zau6 maai5 zo2 ni1 tou3 fong2 naa4 ！hou2 jau5 ngaan5 gwong1 aa3 ！) |
| David: And this brings us to an important point because in English, when we say to have good taste, we are talking specifically about aesthetic judgment. With this phrase, |
| Nicole: 有眼光。(jau5 ngaan5 gwong1 。) |
| David: It’s a much broader expression of opinion. |
| Nicole: 冇錯。 (mou5 co3 。) |
| David: It can be good taste as in you’ve got great taste in design. It can be good judgment as in the decision to purchase that house. |
| Nicole: 你十年前就買咗呢套房嗱！真係有眼光！ (nei5 sap6 nin4 cin4 zau6 maai5 zo2 ni1 tou3 fong2 naa4 ！zan1 hai6 jau5 ngaan5 gwong1 ！) |
| David: Right. That’s not talking about the aesthetics. It’s saying, the house is appreciated in value or you save money. So we are talking about good judgment in this case. |
| Nicole: 好有判斷力。 (hou2 jau5 pun3 dyun6 lik6 。) |
| David: Yeah. Another example though, it might also be good intuition. For instance, you meet someone and you know, they are capable of something. |
| Nicole: 你請咗呢個人呀！好有眼光喎！ ( nei5 ceng2 zo2 ni1 go3 jan4 aa4 ！hou2 jau5 ngaan5 gwong1 wo3 ！) |
| David: Right. So you hired this person? That’s really good judgment. Really good intuition. Right, so in English where we use the metaphor of eating, in Cantonese, we are using the concept of seeing. |
| Nicole: 有眼光。 (jau5 ngaan5 gwong1 。) |
| David: Right and there are two final points we want to make. If you are just talking about aesthetic design and there are two narrow ways of speaking. |
| Nicole: 品味或者 (ban2 mei6 waak6 ze2) taste. |
| David: Right. The first |
| Nicole: 品味。 (ban2 mei6 。) |
| David: Is – it is used for aesthetics. |
| Nicole: 冇錯嘞！你可以講話，嘩！ 你條裙咁靚嘅，你好有品味喎！ (mou5 co3 laak3 ！nei5 ho2 ji5 gong2 waa6 ，waa1 ！ nei5 tiu4 kwan4 gam3 leng3 ge2 ，nei5 hou2 jau5 ban2 mei6 wo3 ！) |
| David: Right. It’s a bit less common than referring to someone’s case. |
| Nicole: 冇錯，品味呢會用得更加正式少少。 (mou5 co3 ，ban2 mei6 ne1 wui2 jung6 dak1 gang3 gaa1 zing3 sik1 siu2 siu2 。) |
| David: Yeah. And the second one is actually a loan word. |
| Nicole: Taste. |
| David: Coming from the English taste. |
| Nicole: 唔，好明顯係啦！Taste, 你好有Taste喎！ (m4 ，hou2 ming4 hin2 hai6 laa1 ！Taste , nei5 hou2 jau5 Taste wo3 ！) |
| David: Yeah. So again, you will hear both of these but the most common way of expressing this kind of opinion. |
| Nicole: 有眼光。 (jau5 ngaan5 gwong1 。) |
Outro |
| David: Whether it’s good taste, good judgment or good insight into something. And with that, that’s our lesson for today. Before you go, we want to remind you, it only takes 7 seconds to sign up at cantoneseclass101.com |
| Nicole: 冇錯嘞！咁你仲等緊乜嘢呢？快啲 sign up 啦！ (mou5 co3 laak3 ！gam2 nei5 zung6 dang2 gan2 mat1 je5 ne1 ？faai3 di1 sign up laa1 ！) |
| David: Yeah. So if you don’t have an account, visit our website, check it out. You won’t regret that you did. With that though, that is all the time we have. Coming to you from Downtown Hong Kong, 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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