Learn how to use 先 meaning "first" to take control of a conversation
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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: Upper intermediate, season 1, Lesson 5. What Kind of Hong Kong Apartment Would You Like? |
| Nicole: 喺香港租屋嘅故事。 (hai2 hoeng1 gong2 zou1 nguk1 ge3 gu3 si6 。) |
| David: Yeah. We’ve done renting lessons before at lower levels but the vocab in this one is really – it’s really useful at upper levels. |
| Nicole: 唔，冇錯，希望可以幫到你租屋。 ( m4 ，mou5 co3 ，hei1 mong6 ho2 ji5 bong1 dou2 nei5 zou1 nguk1 。) |
| David: Yeah. Especially if you need to talk about what kind of lease you want, how flexible it needs to be. So Nicole, what’s taking place in our dialogue? |
| Nicole: 唔，我覺得係兩個朋友商量緊嘅事。 (m4 ，ngo5 gok3 dak1 hai6 loeng5 go3 pang4 jau5 soeng1 loeng4 gan2 ge3 si6 。) |
| David: Yes. Two friends, one of whom might be able to set their friend up with a place. We are going to find out the details in the dialogue which is in casual Cantonese as always. Okay, we had a bit of fun with a translation as I am sure you guys picked up. We are going to talk a bit about this stuff in our vocab section. |
| DIALOGUE |
| A: 我嘅租約下個月到期，我打算換個地方住。你有冇朋友有屋出租呀？ (A: ngo5 ge3 zou1 joek3 haa6 go3 jyut6 dou3 kei4, ngo5 daa2 syun3 wun6 go3 dei6 fong1 zyu6. nei5 jau5 mou5 pang4 jau5 jau5 uk1 ceot1 zou1 aa3?) |
| B: 你對間屋有乜要求先？ (B: nei5 deoi3 gaan1 uk1 jau5 mat1 jiu1 kau4 sin1?) |
| A: 最好喺市中心，交通方便，近地鐵站。間屋唔使好大，四百呎，兩房一廳就差唔多啦。 (A: zeoi3 hou2 hai2 si2 zung1 sam1, gaau1 tung1 fong1 bin6, kan5 dei6 tit3 zaam6, gaan1 uk1 m4 sai2 hou2 daai6, sei3 baak3 cek3, loeng5 fong2 jat1 teng1 zau6 caa1 m4 do1 laa6.) |
| B: 你可以接受咩價位呀？我表哥嘅朋友有間可能啱你要求嘅屋要放。 (B: nei5 ho2 ji5 zip3 sau6 me1 gaa3 wai6 aa3? ngo5 biu2 go1 ge3 pang4 jau5 jau5 gaan1 ho2 nang4 aam1 nei5 jiu3 kau4 ge3 uk1 jiu3 fong3.) |
| A: 唐樓定洋樓先？ (A: tong4 lau2 ding6 joeng4 lau2 sin1?) |
| B: 洋樓嚟㗎。喺二十六樓。不過唔平喔。 (B: joeng4 lau2 lei4 gaa3. hai2 ji6 sap6 luk6 lau2. bat1 gwo3 m4 peng4 wo3.) |
| A: 你明㗎啦，價錢梗係越低越好。不過如果地段唔錯，風景又幾好嘅話，貴少少都可以接受嘅。 (A: nei5 ming4 gaa3 laa1, gaa3 cin4 gang2 hai6 jyut6 dai1 jyut6 hou2. bat1 gwo3 jyu4 gwo2 dei6 dyun6 m4 co3, fung1 ging2 jau6 gei2 hou2 ge3 waa2, gwai3 siu2 siu2 dou1 ho2 ji5 zip3 sau6 ge2.) |
| B: 咁我聽日打個電話俾佢，約好時間帶你去睇樓。 (B: gam2 ngo5 ting1 jat6 daa2 go3 din6 waa2 bei2 keoi5, joek3 hou2 si4 gaan33 daai3 nei5 heoi3 tai2 lau2.) |
| ENGLISH |
| A: The lease on my apartment will expire next month. I'm thinking about moving. Do you have any friends with an apartment to rent? |
| B: Do you have any needs regarding the apartment? |
| A: It would be the best if it's in downtown and easily accessible, and near the subway station. It doesn't have to be big, maybe 400 square feet; two rooms and one living room. |
| B: How much can you afford? My cousin has a friend with a place that might work. |
| A: Does it have an elevator? |
| B: Yes, it's on the 26th floor, but it will cost you. |
| A: Well, you know the cheaper the better. But if it's in a good location and has a view, well that's worth a little extra. |
| B: Then I'll call him tomorrow and make an appointment for you seeing the place. |
| POST CONVERSATION BANTER |
| Nicole: Right. |
| David: But first, let’s just review some of the new terms. |
| VOCAB LIST |
| Nicole: 租約。 (zou1 joek3.) |
| David: Lease. |
| Nicole: 租 約, 租約, 生約。 (zou1 joek3, zou1 joek3, saang1 joek3.) |
| David: Flexible lease. |
| Nicole: 生 約 , 生約, 死約。 (saang1 joek3, saang1 joek3, sei2 joek3.) |
| David: Inflexible lease. |
| Nicole: 死 約, 死約, 地產經紀。 (sei2 joek3, sei2 joek3, dei6 caan2 ging1 gei2. ) |
| David: Real estate manager. |
| Nicole: 地 產 經 紀, 地產經紀, 交通。 (dei6 caan2 ging1 gei2, dei6 caan2 ging1 gei2, gaau1 tung1.) |
| David: Transportation. |
| Nicole: 交 通, 交通, 唐樓。(gaau1 tung1, gaau1 tung1, tong4 lau2.) |
| David: Walk-up apartment. |
| Nicole: 唐 樓, 唐樓, 洋樓。 (tong4 lau2, tong4 lau2, joeng4 lau2.) |
| David: An apartment with an elevator. |
| Nicole: 洋 樓, 洋樓, 地段。 (joeng4 lau2, joeng4 lau2, dei6 dyun6.) |
| David: Location. |
| Nicole: 地 段, 地段, 風景。 (dei6 dyun6, dei6 dyun6, fung1 ging2.) |
| David: Scenery. |
| Nicole: 風 景, 風景, 海景。 (fung1 ging2, fung1 ging2, hoi2 ging2.) |
| David: Ocean view. |
| Nicole: 海 景, 海景。 (hoi2 ging2, hoi2 ging2.) |
| VOCAB AND PHRASE USAGE |
| David: Okay let’s start the vocab section by looking at that line in the dialogue which was probably the loosest translation we’ve ever done at cantoneseclass101. Nicole, what was the line? It was a question. |
| Nicole: 唐樓定洋樓先？ (tong4 lau2 ding6 joeng4 lau2 sin1 ？) |
| David: Right which we translated I think perfectly properly as a question, does it have an elevator? |
| Nicole: 冇錯，因為唐樓同洋樓嘅區別就係有冇 (mou5 co3 ，jan1 wai4 tong4 lau2 tung4 joeng4 lau2 ge3 keoi1 bit6 zau6 hai6 jau5 mou5) elevator . |
| David: Right. There are two kinds of apartments in Hong Kong you can get. The first are |
| Nicole: 唐樓。 ( tong4 lau2 。) |
| David: Which are walk-ups. |
| Nicole: 唐樓, 冇?嘅。 (tong4 lau2 , mou5 ?ge3 。) |
| David: Yeah no elevator, nothing. You are walking up with your feet. The second of course. |
| Nicole: 洋樓。 (joeng4 lau2 。) |
| David: Which it doesn’t matter if it’s expensive, doesn’t matter if it’s cheap. If it has an elevator, people in Hong Kong will refer to it as |
| Nicole: 洋樓, 咁一般嚟講洋樓比唐樓會貴少少。 (joeng4 lau2 , gam3 jat1 bun1 lai4 gong2 joeng4 lau2 bei2 tong4 lau2 wui2 gwai3 siu2 siu2 。) |
| David: Yeah. So I was actually – I am actually pleased with that translation. Does it have an elevator? |
| Nicole: Yeah 唐樓定洋樓？ (tong4 lau2 ding6 joeng4 lau2 ？) |
| David: Yeah. We’ve got a bunch of other terms in here which are useful. One of the most important things that’s specific to Hong Kong is how flexible your lease is. |
| Nicole: 租約。 (zou1 joek3 。) |
| David: Yeah. And we’ve got two kinds. |
| Nicole: 生約同 死約。 (saang1 joek3 tung4 sei2 joek3 。) |
| David: Right. Literally, I mean it’s like the living lease and the dead lease. |
| Nicole: 冇錯啦！ (mou5 co3 laa1 ！) |
| David: The good one is the living lease. |
| Nicole: 唔，生約，因為佢比較靈活啲，你可以一個月前通知你就搬走㗎喇！ (m4 ，saang1 joek3 ，jan1 wai4 keoi5 bei2 gaau3 ling4 wut6 di1 ，nei5 ho2 ji5 jat1 go3 jyut6 cin4 tung1 zi1 nei5 zau6 bun1 zau2 gaa2 laa1 ！) |
| David: Yeah. You only really need to give a month’s notice and you can get your deposit back. Normally, if you rent a place, your second year on, it’s going to be flexible. |
| Nicole: 冇錯，第二年係生約。 ( mou5 co3 ，dai6 ji6 nin4 hai6 saang1 joek3 。) |
| David: Yeah but your first year is a dead lease. |
| Nicole: 死約。 (sei2 joek3 。) |
| David: Right. And that’s the opposite. If you move out, you lose everything. |
| Nicole: 冇錯嘞！死約, 完全唔可以搬走。 (mou5 co3 laak3 ！sei2 joek3 , jyun4 cyun4 m4 ho2 ji5 bun1 zau2 。) |
| David: Yeah. So once again, we’ve got two kinds of leases. |
| Nicole: 生約同 死約。 (saang1 joek3 tung4 sei2 joek3 。) |
| David: Right. Last but not least almost everywhere in Hong Kong advertises itself as having an ocean view. |
| Nicole: 海景，望得到大海。 (hoi2 ging2 ，mong6 dak1 dou3 daai6 hoi2 。) |
| David: Right. Nicole, you were in an ocean view walk-up. |
| Nicole: 冇錯。 (mou5 co3 。) |
| David: More or less. |
| Nicole: 大概行兩個鐘可以望到。 (daai6 koi3 hang4 loeng5 go3 zung1 ho2 ji5 mong6 dou3 。) |
| David: Yeah. Anyway, anything else you want to highlight from the vocab of this lesson? |
| Nicole: Hmm, 冇！我覺得我哋可以去講 (mou5 ！ngo5 gok3 dak1 ngo5 dei6 ho2 ji5 heoi3 gong2) grammar point. |
Lesson focus |
|---|
| David: It’s grammar time. Okay, our grammar point is about the usage of this character. |
| Nicole: 先。 (sin1 。) |
| David: At the end of sentences. Now we’ve run into this before in simple sentences. |
| Nicole: 冇錯，譬如話你走先。 (mou5 co3 ，pei3 jyu4 waa6 nei5 zau2 sin1 。) |
| David: You go first. |
| Nicole: 唔，或者係我食先。 (m4 ，waak6 ze2 hai6 ngo5 sik6 sin1 。) |
| David: I will eat first. Right, don’t need to wait for you to get fed. Yeah, so those are statements. In our dialogue in this lesson, we’ve run into this being used in questions. |
| Nicole: 冇錯嘞！嗱，譬如我哋聽到, “你對間屋有乜要求先？” (mou5 co3 laak3 ！naa4 ，pei3 jyu4 ngo5 dei6 ting3 dou3 , “nei5 deoi3 gaan1 nguk1 jau5 mat1 jiu3 kau4 sin1 ？”) |
| David: Okay but let’s talk about what your requirements are for the apartment. |
| Nicole: 你對間屋有乜要求先？ (nei5 deoi3 gaan1 nguk1 jau5 mat1 jiu3 kau4 sin1 ？) |
| David: Right. That’s the first usage. The second usage is the other speaker. |
| Nicole: 唐樓定洋樓先？ (tong4 lau2 ding6 joeng4 lau2 sin1 ？) |
| David: Okay. Let’s talk about if it has an elevator. It’s my favorite sentence. Anyway, moving on, the important part is, Nicole, what does this mean? |
| Nicole: “先” 嘅意思即係話我哋喺開始其他討論之前，先講清楚呢一個問題。 (“sin1 ” ge3 ji3 si1 zik1 hai6 waa6 ngo5 dei6 hai2 hoi1 ci2 kei4 taa1 tou2 leon6 zi1 cin4 ，sin1 gong2 cing1 co2 ni1 jat1 go3 man6 tai4 。) |
| David: Yeah. It means, we’ve got to get this out of the way. |
| Nicole: 冇錯。 ( mou5 co3 。) |
| David: Let’s talk about this first or before we talk about anything else, before we deal with anything else, we need to know this. |
| Nicole: 冇錯嘞！咁我哋可以舉多兩個例子添嘅，第一個, “你而家係生約定死約先？” (mou5 co3 laak3 ！gam3 ngo5 dei6 ho2 ji5 geoi2 do1 loeng5 go3 lai6 zi2 tim1 ge3 ，dai6 jat1 go3 , “nei5 ji4 gaa1 hai6 saang1 joek3 ding6 sei2 joek3 sin1 ？”) |
| David: First of all, are you in a flexible lease or not? |
| Nicole: 你而家係生約定死約先？ ( nei5 ji4 gaa1 hai6 saang1 joek3 ding6 sei2 joek3 sin1 ？) |
| David: Right. So if you go and look for a new apartment, this is what the real estate agent might ask you, right. How flexible can you be about moving in. |
| Nicole: 冇錯嘞！咁第二個例子，你買唐樓定洋樓先？ (mou5 co3 laak3 ！gam2 dai6 ji6 go3 lai6 zi2 ，nei5 maai5 tong4 lau2 ding6 joeng4 lau2 sin1 ？) |
| David: Right. First thing first, how do you feel about the elevator? |
| Nicole: 冇錯嘞！ (mou5 co3 laak3 ！) |
| David: Right. |
| Nicole: 咁你係想買有𨋢嘅呢 定係冇𨋢嘅？ (gam2 nei5 hai6 soeng2 maai5 jau5 lip1 ge3 ne1 ding6 hai6 mou5 lip1 ge3 ？) |
| David: One more time. |
| Nicole: 你買唐樓定洋樓先？ (nei5 maai5 tong4 lau2 ding6 joeng4 lau2 sin1 ？) |
| David: Right. And the key point is, this is kind of like the usage that we introduced in earlier lessons but the difference is, it’s all about attitude really. |
| Nicole: 冇錯，係關於你要控制呢個對話嘅態度。 (mou5 co3 ，hai6 gwaan1 jyu1 nei5 jiu3 hung3 zai3 ni1 go3 deoi3 waa6 ge3 taai3 dou6 。) |
| David: Yeah. If you use this when you are asking a question or making a suggestion, you are taking control of the conversation. That’s what we hear in the dialogue. It’s brushing this other stuff aside and saying, let’s focus on this first. |
| Nicole: 唔，冇錯嘞！所以同地產經紀講嗰陣呢，記得用呢個句式去講明白你嘅要求。 (m4 ，mou5 co3 laak3 ！so2 ji5 tung4 dei6 caan2 ging1 gei2 gong2 go2 zan6 ne1 ，gei3 dak1 jung6 ni1 go3 geoi3 sik1 heoi3 gong2 ming4 baak6 nei5 ge3 jiu3 kau4 。) |
Outro |
| David: Yeah. Totally useful when you are renting an apartment. With that though, that is our lesson for today. If you guys have any questions, be sure to write us. Our email address is |
| Nicole: Contactus@cantoneseclass101.com |
| David: Right. And if you have not checked out the premium PDFs, be sure to do that. They are extremely useful. For now though, from Hong Kong, I am David. |
| Nicole: I am Nicole. |
| David: Thanks a lot for listening and we will see you guys online. |
| Nicole: 下次見。 ( haa6 ci3 gin3 。) |
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