Your First 10
Words of Cantonese:
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English |
Cantonese |
Comments |
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1 |
Hello |
l’Ai hO |
Nasal
‘l’ Alt ‘nAi hO’
(non-nasal ‘n’) Mandarin ‘ni
hao’ |
2 |
Goodbye |
bYe-bai |
Bye-Bye is ok. Same in Mandarin |
3 |
Good |
hO |
Usually ‘ho-wah, ho-wah, ho-wah’ |
4 |
Bad |
mmm’hO |
Mmm means ‘Opposite’ of the next word used, usually! Nasal ‘mmm’ as in mumming |
5 |
Please |
cheung mmm goi |
Usually stated simply as ‘mmm’goi’ – see below |
6 |
Ok |
mO-men-tie Ok-la |
Coll.
Ok-l. Characters: 冇問題 Opposite
= ‘yO-men-tai’ = ‘not ok’ |
7 |
Yes |
hye |
Is not
often used, use ‘ho’ instead unless ‘y/n’ question |
8 |
No |
mO-wah |
mo + wah
for emphasis! Mandarin
= ma-yo – as in Hellman’s |
9 |
Toilet |
sIe saow Pronounce
as: sigh sow
(female pig) Normally
written as: sai sau
or ‘WC’ |
·
Lit: ‘Wash hands’ ·
Sigh means toilet only, but is rude ·
Green sign. o
Toilets: 廁所 o Gents: 男界 o
Ladies: 女界 ·
Toilets are often mixed sex ·
Take your own toilet paper! (‘sigh zEi’ 廁紙 ) Boys:
Mime by squatting – Only! |
10 |
I don’t
understand |
mmm
d’zhee dOh! |
Mandarin
= tim-per-donk |
v men tai problem
v yaow men tai big problem
v mO men tai OK, no problem
v yO men tai not OK, little problem
v We are spelling this ‘sIe’ = phonetic ‘s’ and ‘e’, Capital sounding’i’
v Meaning 1 = wash + object
v Meaning 2 = West character 西
v Meaning 3 = Polite, self-depricating platitude, as used with ‘mmm goi’ below
Note:
11 |
Please |
mmm goi |
There are about 20 variations of these two phrases – Only use these 4 to start with… Local speakers may say ‘mmm goi-ah’
instead of ‘mmm goi sai’ – but first you need to speak the local languages |
12 |
Thank you |
mmm goi |
|
13 |
Thank You for Service |
mmm goi sai |
|
14 |
My pleasure You are welcome |
mmm sai |
|
15 |
My great pleasure |
mmm sai hI hAi! |
You are most welcome |
16 |
No thank
you |
mmm sai
mmm goi |
Politely
say ‘no’ to more: Food, drink, etc |
17 |
Great thank you |
doh
d’zheei |
Do not
use this in normal speech. Reserved for receiving or giving a very special:
gift, accolade, service or honour only. It is also very difficult to
pronounce properly! |
18 |
Great my
pleasure |
mmm doh
d’zheei sai |
|
19 |
Excuse me |
mmm-hO
yee see |
Said as
‘mO-ee-see’, almost! Leaving a table, etc |
20 |
Classifier
/ Counter: Number of
something ‘xxx of
xxx’ |
gor |
Mandarin
ger. ‘r’ is silent for both languages, ‘o’
uses a nasal seal sound Usage: 6
people, 5 x |
v Use for Please, Thank you, and all variations in daily speech
Note:
21 |
Eat,
meal, dinner |
sic fan |
Written
as ‘xi fan’. fan = rice, min/fun = noodles |
22 |
Drink |
yuaam |
General,
non specific word for fluids |
23 |
Hungry |
tong-nor |
|
24 |
Full,
replete; burp |
hO bao |
Usually
shortened to ‘bao-ah |
25 |
Street
restaurant |
seeU
yeahr |
Usually
late evenings – and throughout the night! |
26 |
Female or
Waitress |
leun(g) loi |
(g) is
pronounced 10% only. Zhi as in ‘Zion’. leun(g) means beautiful. Mandarin =
lang liU |
27 |
Male or
Waiter |
leun(g)
zhi |
|
28 |
The bill |
mai dan |
Saying:
‘My Dan’ is fine. ‘My Dan-na’ is local speaking |
29 |
Beer /
alcohol |
bAi
d’zhao |
‘bAi’ as
in Bay leaf; Zh = J as in jow Mandarin
‘Pee Jew’ (Versions: ‘Bee Jew’) |
30 |
Water |
soi |
Mandarin: Shway |
Vegetarians:
31 |
Money -
Using |
mun |
Mandarin
= kwai |
元 |
32 |
Money |
yuan |
¥ =
yuan = Money or RMB Cantonese:
yuan mun bai Mandarin :
Ren Min Be |
¥ |
33 |
How much |
gAy chin |
Coll. ‘gAy chin-ah’ |
|
34 |
Too
expensive |
hO gui |
‘hO gwi’ is ok to begin with |
|
35 |
Maybe –
weak |
hO lan |
Maybe I
won’t |
|
36 |
Maybe –
strong |
wah
d’zhair |
Maybe I
will |
|
37 |
Huge,
Great, King |
qin |
Also
‘tian’, ‘tien’ and ‘chin’ are
correct |
天 |
38 |
Large |
dai |
Often
‘dai-dai’ Mandarin
‘da’ |
大 |
39 |
Little,
small |
siU |
Coll.
siu-siu Mandarin
‘xiao’ |
小 |
40 |
Few, smaller, less |
siU |
Said the
same, but different character |
少 |
v
gui-lo
= white western person (Lit. interpretation: white ghost). There are other
meanings of course lol; but used as Westerner’s say: ‘Chink’ or ‘Chinky’.
Normally not offensive, but can be, or a compliment
gwi means: terrapin, turtle, or
tortoise
41 |
Person |
yun |
Includes:
One person, Many, Male, Female, Mix |
42 |
Me |
n-gor |
Try to
say ‘Knorr’ as in the soup, but with the ‘o’ sounding like a seal or sea lion
call (Hollow and Nasal) |
43 |
You |
lAi |
As in
‘Lay Lady, Lay…’ |
44 |
Girl |
moo-yi |
If you
talk to an ‘undefined’ girl, use the word ‘loi’. If you speak about a
particular girl, no matter what age, use ‘mooi’ instead. Mooi-mooi = baby or
young girl esp. ‘Sister’ |
45 |
Boy |
zhI |
You are
very safe to use either ‘Girl’ or ‘Boy’ to define any person in China.
Zhi-Zhi means young boy etc |
46 |
Father |
baba |
For
‘Papa’. Cantonese usually say ‘b’ instead of ‘p’ |
47 |
Mother |
mama |
This is
about the time you start worrying about how different the most basic words of
human existence are… |
48 |
Baby |
ba-bAi |
|
49 |
Friend |
pun(g)
- yaow |
Often
prefixed to denote sex or level of friendship |
50 |
Name |
gEU |
20% ‘E’. ‘n-gor
gEU xxx’ = my
name is xxx. |
Notes:
Cantonese nearly always use ‘b’ instead of the more Western ‘p’; hence Baba vs Papa
‘P’ does exist in it’s own right.
51 |
Taxi |
dak-CEi |
Mainlanders
usually swap ‘t’ for ‘d’. Hong Kong does not |
52 |
Straight
on |
d’zhik
hoi |
Try ‘zik’
to begin with, then improve this sound |
53 |
Turn left |
jin jor |
jin
sounds very like the name Jean, but shorter like ‘jien’ |
54 |
Turn
right |
jin yaow |
|
55 |
Left |
jor bin |
bin= On
the, too the: + direction |
56 |
Right |
yaow bin |
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57 |
Traffic
Lights |
hong lop dAng |
Lit. red
green light. Alt. ‘dAng wei’ |
58 |
Bus |
baah-CEE |
CEi, CEE
or see |
59 |
Main Bus
Station |
cheir z’zham |
1% 'r'.
Bus Stop = baah-CEE z’zham |
60 |
Aeroplane |
fAi gAy |
Airport = fAi cheurng |
‘cheir’ and ‘CEE’
v We pronounce this ‘CEE’ as in ‘see’ – as a great generalisation. It may alter slightly depending upon the Chinese character it relates to and it’s common local daily useage
o ‘cheir’ means car 1% ‘r’
o four cheir means lorry
o baa CEE means bus
61 |
Here |
li-dO |
As in
English, these 2 words are relatively interchangeable. ‘r’ is
pronounced correctly … weird! |
|
62 |
There |
gor-dO |
||
63 |
Go, Come |
hoi |
To go …
be somewhere else is actual meaning |
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64 |
Electricity |
din |
‘din wah’
means (mobile) phone (Simple version) |
|
65 |
Bodily
functions |
au |
au liu –
urinate au pAi = pass
wind au xi = number
two au xi soi = diarrhoea |
Not
polite, but not too bad either, and simple! Think ‘Piss’ vs ‘Urinate’ French
‘au’ sound used |
66 |
Heah! or
Hey! |
wYEEi? |
First
word you say in a phone conversation |
|
67 |
Where are
you |
hI bin dOh |
Normal
form of greetings for friends on the telephone |
|
68 |
Where is
‘xyz’ |
hoi bin dOh |
Use for
both people and things |
|
69 |
How are
you? |
lAi hO ma ? |
Do not
use this as a general greeting: see below… |
|
70 |
Have you
eaten (rice) today? |
lAi sic fan mAi-ya? Or sic
lAi mut yeahr? |
This is
what all-Chinese say as formal and informal greeting. Only very
good friends say ‘Wyeei. lAi-hO, hI bin dOh?’ |
din
电
v Basically anything to do with electricity
v You can use this for such diverse things as: Lightning, power, light and light bulb, static shock, any electrical appliance or function
v Try to learn ‘din wah’ = mobile phone. Lit. Electric talking
v Similar with ‘jin’ and ‘lin’, there is a very slight 5% ‘e’ sound between the ‘i’ and ‘n’ = di(e)n
wah 华
v Means language or ‘way of speaking’ or talking
v Sounds almost identical to the Mandarin ‘hua’
v You will use this word far more than you imagine
71 |
Very |
fAi
sheurng |
‘sheurng’
is used in association with many other words Shanghai
is called ‘sheurng hOi’ in Cantonese It can
mean: ‘Up, top, previous, main, best, etc) |
|
72 |
Photograph |
ying
sheurng |
|
|
73 |
Wake up |
sheurng
jaw |
|
|
74 |
Sleep |
fun gao |
|
|
75 |
Hot |
ye-euh |
hO ye-euh
means very hot (Weather, drink, I’m hot, etc) |
|
76 |
Cold |
dong |
As above usage :
‘hO dong’ it is cold. ‘dong-ah’ for cold drink |
|
77 |
Hotel |
zhao dim |
|
酒店 |
78 |
Finish
(Work) |
gaao dim |
9
o’clock = ‘gao dim’ |
|
79 |
Conversation |
gong yeahr |
Speak to
somebody |
|
80 |
Die |
sAi jaw |
Coll. Get
married (End of a [boys] single life) |
|
81 |
Zero |
len |
Actually
‘lien’ with 10% ‘i’ Mandarin Ling |
零 |
82 |
1 |
yut |
One (Person,
Number, etc) Mandarin = ee |
一 |
83 |
2 |
leurng or yee |
For
Calculations & specified numbers use ‘yee’ (10% ‘y’) Use
‘leurng’ whenever possible = pair, couple, double etc (Sounds very like
Mandarin ‘ee’) Mandarin
= e’ur. |
二 |
84 |
3 |
sam |
Mandarin
= san |
三 |
85 |
4 |
sAy |
Mandarin
= s’eur |
四 |
86 |
5 |
mmm |
Mandarin
= wu |
五 |
87 |
6 |
lop |
10% ‘P’
sound Mandarin
= liu Cantonese
phrasebooks will always use ‘luk’ = Wrong! |
六 |
88 |
7 |
t’chyut |
Please
say ‘tut’ to begin, the ‘Tchy’ sound is complex Mandarin = chee or qi |
七 |
89 |
8 |
bak |
Be very
careful with this sound, very short, flat with sharp ‘k’ Mandarin = ba |
八 |
90 |
9 |
gao |
gao also means Dog (Coll. gao-gao) Mandarin
= niu (Also jiu) |
九 |
91 |
10 |
sup |
Written as ‘+’, so do not get confused with English ‘add’ Mandarin
= sh-uer or shi |
十 |
92 |
Defined
number, Classifier |
Number +
‘gor’ |
Persons
at a table, number of weeks, Dice and Card Games, etc |
個 |
93 |
100 |
baak |
Long and
flat sound… See ‘ Mandarin bai |
百 |
94 |
1, 000 |
qin |
Alt:
‘tien’, ‘qian’, ‘chin’. Can mean
‘Money’ & ‘A Grand’ Mandarin tian |
千 |
95 |
10, 000 |
maah |
Chinese
do not count higher than this! For
higher numbers they simply add component parts Mandarin
wan |
万 |
96 |
1, 000,
000 |
baak maah |
1 million
is said as ‘One Hundred, Ten-Thousand: (100 x 10,000) |
百万 |
97 |
Half |
boon |
General
word: ‘yut boon/ boon’ = ‘One half and a half’ Mandarin
‘ban’. Cantonese
character is slightly different |
半 |
98 |
50-50 |
mmm sup/
mmm sup |
Used
often - Has very similar usage to above |
|
99 |
Decimal
Currency 1 |
jiow角 |
1 yuan元 = 10 jiao角 1 jiao
= 10 fen分 Mandarin
Jiao. |
|
100 |
Dozen |
daa |
Mandarin
‘da’ |
打 |
Note:
1. Special numbers:
i. Not listed here, but special numbers do exist for: 20, 30, 40, etc.
ii. As is ‘Old’ England, products are often sold by the dozen.
2. Composite numbers - Highest first, hence: 888 = bak baak, bak sup, bak
3. Using Numbers:
i. 10 people for dinner = ‘sup gor yun’
ii.
I
have 3 x
iii. Phone numbers can be stated: 888002222 = ‘sam gor bak, leurng len, sai gor yee’
4. Money, let’s say: 92.50元 = “Gao sup leurng mun – boon” = ie Number + mun + ‘and a half’
5. Year Date: Use numbers separately: Hence 2008 = yee len len bak lin
You will find
it extremely useful to learn to count up to 19 using just the digits of your
right hand. Not only is this very practicable in noisy situation – like playing
dice in a nightclub – but you will also find it very useful in daily situations. For example: You walk
into a restaurant and the waitress immediately says something to you. She
is asking how many people will be at your table. She may not speak Cantonese,
nor any recognisable form of Mandarin. Simply say s above, but also hold out
your hand indicating the number. Easy!
Here’s how we count:
Take your
right hand and hold in front of you with palm inwards
1.
Closed
fist, thumb hidden, index finger
extended horizontally
2.
As
above, index and middle finger extended
3.
As
above, index, middle and third finger extended
4.
As
above, all fingers extended
5.
All
fingers and thumb extended vertically
6.
Vertical closed fist with
thumb and pinky extended horizontally ( --nnn-- )
7.
Closed
fist, index finger pointing down, thumb pointing to your left – then rotate
this to read 9.30 hours
8.
Two
versions:
a)
Thumb and index finger either
side of your nose, and pull away in a sweeping gesture
b)
As
7 above, but index finger at 9.30 and thumb at 12.30
9.
Closed
fist sideways (Thumb to you). Raise the middle joint of your index finger
10.
Simply
a closed fist
For numbers
between 10 and 19, simply make two very quick number signs as one movement, so ten
(Closed fist) first, followed by integer sign
You can
actually use this method to count up to 99 – but this is quite rare. In this
case there are three movements as if one: tens value, followed by closed fist
(ten), followed by number less than ten
Usage for dice:
Having learnt to count as above, here is
a brief introduction to usage:
a.
Six
fours is stated as two separate hand movements
b.
Repeating
numbers as in ‘six sixes’ are usually indicated by emphasising the hand sign
and waggling the whole fist repeatedly
c.
Twelve
sixes would be stated as a ten sign flowing into a two sign as one movement,
followed by a separate six sign
d.
To
raise one time, lets say to thirteen sixes, simply tap your fist on your dice
pot with thumb up
e.
To call ‘No Ones’ say ‘zhaI-ah’
(Upper case i) and indicate this using your fist with thumb extended in front
of you, and move your arm to indicate this is behind your head – again one
movement
And that’s
all there is to it!