Daai Seng Aai: Intro to Colloquial Chinese

粵 語 入 門

DAAI SENG AAI Intro to Colloquial Cantonese Jasmine Hui Tin-Wai

DAAI SENG AAI Intro to Colloquial Cantonese

CONTENTS INTRODUCTION

�

HONG KONG CANTONESE

�

LOANWORDS

�

CODE-SWITCHING

�

WRITTEN CHINESE 中文

�

SCRIPT STYLES

�

CHARACTERS 漢字

�

BASIC CHINESE RADICALS

�

SPELLING OUT CANTONESE WITH JYUTPING 粵拼 TONES CANTONESE GRAMMAR

�� �� ��

PRONOUNS

��

FINAL PARTICLES

��

TENSES

��

NEGATION

��

“THOUGHTS IN THE SILENT NIGHT”《靜夜思》 REFERENCES & RECOMMENDED RESOURCES

�� ��

INTRODUCTION

大聲哎 daai�

seng�

aai�

“To shout at the top of your lungs.”

This choice of phrase was inspired by a slogan protesting the restriction of usage of Cantonese in Guangzhou.

In similar spirit, the purpose of this project is to celebrate and encourage the use of colloquial Cantonese, specifically, the Hong Kong dialect and its unique characteristics.

Whether you are a beginner or are a heritage speaker, I hope that this textbook and the workbook supplements your learning and that it helps you feel less intimidated when studying Cantonese.

�

jiu�

ngo�

dei�

sau�

seng�

ngo�

dei�

jyut�

daai�

seng�

“If you want us to shut up, we'll be even louder!”

In this slogan, 粵jyut� is used as an alternative form of

越 jyut�, “more,”in reference to the Cantonese language.

大聲哎

�

HONG KONG CANTONESE A dialect of Cantonese. It is the de facto standard language of Hong Kong. This dialect is distinct from Guangzhou Cantonese, the lingua franca of Guangdong, due to having differences in pronunciation.

Over the years, Hong Kong Cantonese has also absorbed foreign terminology and developed a large set of Hong Kong-specific terms. Code-switching with English is also common. These are the result of British rule between ���� and ����, as well as the closure of the Hong Kong‒mainland China border immediately after the establishment of the People's Republic of China in ����.

�

LOANWORDS Loanwords are words adopted from a foreign language with little or no modification.

There are three methods by which English words have been borrowed into Cantonese.

Phonetic Transliteration

士多 si� do�, “store” Semantic Translation

跛腳鴨 bai� goek� aap�, “lame duck” The Combination of these Two

蛋撻 daan� taat�, “egg tart”

Hong Kong style egg tart.

CODE-SWITCHING Code-switching is the practice of alternating between two or more languages or varieties of language in conversation.

Examples

「我唔sure。」

ngo� m� su�-aa�, “I'm not sure.”

「幫我check一check啊。」bong� ngo� cek� yat� cek� a�, “Help me check for it.” 「兩part 。」loeng� paat�, “Two parts.”

大聲哎

�

WRITTEN CHINESE 中文 All Chinese dialects share a written language, 中文 zung� man�.

The standard vocabulary and grammar of this written language can be understood by any Chinese speaker regardless of the dialect they speak. Cantonese speakers can read the same characters and sentences as a Mandarin speaker. Colloquial Cantonese is also written using 中文 characters but is unintelligible to nonCantonese speakers due to different vocabulary and grammar.

Standard Chinese

Colloquial Cantonese

大聲呼喊

大聲哎

daai� sing� fu� haam�

daai� seng� aai�

Pronunciation of the same word, such as 聲, can be different depending on whether it is read in standard Chinese or spoken colloquially.

�

SCRIPT STYLES Regular script, 楷書kaai� syu�, which is used in this book, is often used to teach students Chinese characters. Compared to gothic script, 黑體 hak� tai�, this typeface resembles the most like handwritten Chinese characters.

Regular Script

楷書

Gothic Script

黑體

kaai� syu�

hak� tai�

Seal Script

Clerical Script

隸書 syun� syu�

dai� syu�

Seal script, 篆書 syun� syu�, is used predominantly in seals or name chops. You can find this script stamped on works of art such as calligraphy and paintings. Clerical script, 隸書 dai� syu�, is used in artistic calligraphy, adverts, and signage.

大聲哎

�

CHARACTERS 漢字 Chinese characters, also called 漢字 hon� zi�, are logograms developed for the writing of Chinese. Chinese characters are traditionally classified as the following types.

Pictograms Characters created by sketching the objects they denote.

山

馬

魚

maa�

jyu�

“horse”

“fish”

saan� “mountain”

Simple Ideograms Any sign without an obvious image in real life or phonetic indicator.

天 tin� “sky”

�

上

下

soeng�

haa�

“up”

“down”

Compound Ideograms Combinations of two or more pictographic or ideographic characters that indicate a new meaning together.

+ → 目

人

見

muk�

jan�

gin�

“eye”

“person”

“to see”

Phono-semantic Compounds Characters consisting of a semantic indicator and a phonetic indicator.

The semantic indicator suggests the general meaning of the character, whereas the phonetic indicator suggests the pronunciation.

艸+早 →草 Semantic

Phonetic

cou�

Indicator

Indicator

“grass”

“grass”

zou� “morning”

大聲哎

�

BASIC CHINESE RADICALS Radicals are components of Chinese characters used to index the characters for Chinese dictionaries. Knowing common radicals is very helpful for learning new Chinese characters.

Radical

�

Example

亻

jan�, “person”

你 nei�, “you”

彳

cik�, “step”

街 gaai�, “street”

氵

seoi�, “water”

河 ho�, “river”

冫

bing�, “ice”

冰 bing�, “ice”

火

fo�, “fire”

燈 dang�, “light”

灬

fo�, “fire from below”

熱 jit�, “hot”

日

jat�, “day/sun”

時 si�, “time”

月

jyut�, “moon/month”

服 fuk�, “clothes”

門

mun�, “door”

間 gaan�, “room”

女

neoi�, “woman”

好 hou�, “good”

子

zi�, “child”

孩 haai�, “child”

扌

sau�, “hand”

推 teoi�, “push”

訁

jin�, “speech”

語 jyu�, “language”

艹

cou�, “grass”

菜 coi�,“vegetable”

土

tou�, “earth”

地 dei�, “ground”

釒

gam�, “metal”

銀 ngan�, “silver”

飠

sik�, “eat”

飯 faan�, “rice”

They are the building blocks of Chinese characters and often reflect some common semantic or phonetic characteristic.

Radical

Example

木

muk�, “tree”

林 lam�, ”forest”

⺮

zuk�, “bamboo”

筆 bat�, “pen”

⻊

zuk�, “foot”

踢 tek�, “kick”

⻌

coek�, “walk”

遠 jyun�, “far”

糹

mik�, “silk”

線 sin�, “thread”

宀

min�, “roof”

家 gaa�, ”home”

口

hau�, “mouth”

唱 coeng�, ”sing”

囗

wai�, “enclosure”

國 gwok�, “country”

衤

ji�, “clothes”

衫 saam�, ”shirt”

疒

nik�, “sickness”

痛 tung�, ”pain”

阝

jap�, “city”

都 dou�, ”both”

广

jim�, “shelter”

店 dim�, “shop”

in any position in a

心

sam�, “heart”

想 soeng�, ”want”

character.

忄

sam�, “feeling”

忙 mong�, ”busy”

力

lik�, “strength”

加 gaa�, “add”

車

ce�, “cart”

軌 gwai�, “path”

魚

jyu�, “fish”

鮑 baau�, “abalone”

Examples of 心/忄.

Radicals may appear

大聲哎

��

SPELLING OUT CANTONESE WITH JYUTPING 粵拼 Jyutping is a romanization system that helps spell out Cantonese words using only letters and specifies tones using numbers.

The English examples are

Initials

Example

English Example

b

巴 baa� 怕 paa� 媽 maa� 花 faa� 打 daa� 他 taa� 那 naa� 啦 laa� 家 gaa� 卡 kaa� 牙 ngaa� 蝦 haa� 瓜 gwaa� 誇 kwaa� 蛙 waa� 渣 zaa� 叉 caa� 沙 saa� 也 jaa�

ball

to help with

p

pronunciation.

m f d t n l g k ng h gw kw w z c

Learn Jyutping by listening!

��

s j

put mouse flower dad tall nose lost get car long happy iguana quack water zip or Joe chick sand yes

Finals

Example

English Example

aa

沙 saa� 徙 saai� 梢 saau� 三 saam� 山 saan� 坑 haang� 圾 saap� 剎 saat� 客 haak�

“aaah”

西 sai� 收 sau� 心 sam� 新 san� 笙 sang� 濕 sap� 失 sat� 塞 sak� 些 se� 四 sei� 掉 deu� 舐 lem� 鄭 zeng� 夾 gep� 石 sek�

flight

aai aau aam aan aang aap aat aak

dye cloud

The p, t, and k sound at the end of these finals are subtle. You don't need to enunciate!

a ai au am an ang ap at ak e ei eu em eng ep ek

come son sung cup cut suck Ted say melt gem

pep

大聲哎

��

Finals

Example

English Example

i

詩 si� 消 siu� 閃 sim� 先 sin� 星 sing� 攝 sip� 洩 sit� 識 sik� 疏 so� 開 hoi� 蘇 sou� 看 hon� 康 hong� 喝 hot� 索 sok� 夫 fu� 灰 fui� 寬 fun� 鬆 cung� 闊 fut� 叔 suk� 需 seoi� 詢 seon� 摔 seot� 鋸 goe� 商 soeng�

teen

iu im in ing ip it ik o oi ou on ong ot ok u ui un ung ut uk eoi eon eot oe oeng

few seem seen sing seep seat sick Paul boy go on song thought

fool

shoot cook

bird

oet oek yu yun yut m ng ��

削 soek� 書 syu� 孫 syun� 雪 syut� 唔 m� 吳 ng�

work

chute

TONES Cantonese has six to nine tones. For now, you only need to know six. The tone marks appear at the end of the syllables.

�

�

�

� �

�

All of the examples have the same initial and Tone

Example

� (High Level)

詩 si�, “poetry”

� (High Rising)

史 si�, “history”

� (Mid Level)

試 si�, “try”

� (Low Falling)

時 si�, “time”

� (Low Rising)

市 si�, “market”

� (Mid-Low Level)

是 si�, “be”

final, si, but have different tones. Pay attention to the tones or the meaning of your words will change!

You can practice tones with Cantonese songs.

Just scan the QR code below to learn more.

大聲哎

��

CANTONESE GRAMMAR Cantonese has the same basic sentence structure as English: subject (S), verb (V), and object (O).

Examples

• 「你去士多?」 你去士多 S = 你nei�, nei� V = 去heoi�, heoi� O = 士多si� do� Literal translation: “You go store?”

Meaning: “Would you mind going to the store?”

• 「我睇戲。」 我睇戲 S = 我ngo�, ngo� V = 睇tai�, tai� O = 戲hei� Meaning: “I watch a movie.”

��

士多si� do� is a loanword from English!

PRONOUNS Singular

First Person

Second Person

Third Person

我 我嘅 你 你嘅 佢 佢嘅

ngo�,“I / Me” ngo� ge�,“My / Mine” nei�,“You” nei� ge�,“Your / Yours” keoi�,“He / She / It” keoi� ge�,“His / Hers / Its”

Plural

我哋

ngo� dei�,“We”

First Person

Second Person

Third Person

我哋嘅 你哋 你哋嘅 佢哋 佢哋嘅

ngo� dei� ge�,“Ours” nei� dei�,“You (all)” nei� dei� ge� keoi� dei�,“They / Them” keoi� dei� ge�,“Their / Theirs”

我 ngo� and 你 nei� are used in both Cantonese and Standard Chinese/Mandarin, however 佢 keoi�,嘅 ge�, and 哋 dei� are unique to Cantonese.

大聲哎

��

FINAL PARTICLES Final particles are placed at the end of a sentence to indicate the mood or attitude of the speaker, and to make the speech more colloquial.

Example Particles

嘅 ge� Indicates humbleness or understanding; emphasis on raising a fact in a subtle way.

Example Sentence

「唔係是必要你講嘅。」 m� hai� si� bit� jiu� nei� gong� ge� “You are not obliged to say anything unless you wish to do so.”

呀 aa� Indicates enthusiasm and friendliness (usually in a softer tone), or a sarcastic retort.

Example Sentence

「係我呀。」 hai� ngo� aa� “It's me.”

��

喇 laa� Indicates an exclamation with an emphasis on the past; “already.”

Example Sentence

「佢返咗屋企喇。」 keoi� faan� zo� uk� kei� laa� “He already got back home.”

呢 ne� Used in questions to soften the tone when inquiring about facts.

Example Sentence

「飛機機艙到底幾耐清潔一次呢？」 fei� gei� gei� cong� dou� dai� gei� noi� cing� git� jat� ci� ne� “How often would the cabin of a plane be cleaned?”

大聲哎

��

之嘛 zi� maa� Functions like the word“only.”

Example Sentence

「污糟咗之嘛。」 wu� zou� zo� zi� maa� Translation: “It (only) got dirty.”

咋 zaa� Indicates disapproval; “just.”

Example Sentence

「係因為未見過咋。」 hai� jan� wai� mei� gin� gwo� zaa� Translation: “It's (just) because this has never been seen.”

��

TENSES The Past Placed after the verb

咗 zo�, “have done” 過 gwo�, “tried” 完 jyun�, “did” 曬 saai�, “completed” Placed at the beginning of a sentence or right after the subject

啱啱 aam� aam�, “just now” 頭先 tau� sin�, “a moment ago” 前排 cin� paai�, “a while back” 幾個禮拜之前 gei� go� lai� baai� zi� cin�, “a few weeks ago” 上個月 soeng� go� jyut�, “last month” 舊年 gau� nin�, “last year”

大聲哎

��

The Present / Present Continuous Placed before the verb

喺度 hai� dou�, “be / doing” Placed after the verb to indicate the present

緊 gan�, “in progress” 住 zyu�, “doing” Placed at the beginning of a sentence or right after the subject

而家 ji� gaa�, “now”

Calendars are commonly given away at Asian grocery stores for New Years.

��

The Future Placed before the verb

會 wui�, “will” Placed at the beginning of a sentence or right after the subject

到時 dou� si�, “then” 陣間 zan� gaan�, “later” 跟住 gan� zyu�, “and then” 之後 zi� hau�, “after” 聽日 ting� jat�, “tomorrow” 後日 hau� jat�, “the day after tomorrow” 下個禮拜 haa� go� lai� baai�, “next week” 下個月 haa� go� jyut�, “next month” 出年 ceot� nin�, “next year”

大聲哎

��

NEGATION Here are the main ways of negating a sentence.

Negating the Past

未 mei� + verb + 過 gwo� 「我未去過英國。」

“I have never been to the UK.”

→

ngo� mei� heoi� gwo� jing� gwok�

冇 mou� + verb 「我冇食嘢。」 ngo� mou� sik� je� “I didn't eat anything.”

冇 mou�, “don't have,”is from the removal of the two inner strokes from

有 jau�, “to have.”

��

Negating the Present

唔 m� + verb 「我唔識講普通話。」 ngo� m� sik� gong� pou� tung� waa� “I don't know how to speak Mandarin.”

Negating the Future

唔會 m� wui� + verb 「我唔會去。」 ngo� m� wui� heoi� “I am not going.”

大聲哎 ��

“THOUGHTS IN THE SILENT NIGHT” 《靜夜思》 “Thoughts in the Silent Night”is a Tang Dynasty poem, commonly taught in Chinese-language schools.

《靜夜思》

zing� je� si�

床前明月光，

cong� cin� ming� jyut� gwong�

疑是地上霜。

ji� si� dei� soeng� soeng�

舉頭望明月，

geoi� tau� mong� ming� jyut�

低頭思故鄉。

dai� tau� si� gu� hoeng�

“Thoughts in the Silent Night” Moon shining bright in front of my bed, I think there is frost upon the ground.

I raise my head and gaze at the bright moon,

I bow my head and reminisce about my hometown.

��

This Cantonese nursery rhyme is inspired by “Thoughts in the Silent Night.”

《床前明月光》

cong� cin� ming� jyut� gwong�

月亮光月亮明

jyut� loeng� gwong� jyut� loeng� ming�

窗前明月亮又圓

coeng� cin� ming� jyut� loeng� jau� jyun�

我念故園思故鄉

ngo� nim� gu� jyun� si� gu� hoeng�

故鄉今日可否無恙

gu� hoeng� gam� jat� ho� fau� mou� joeng�

明月光地上霜

ming� jyut� gwong� dei� soeng� soeng�

望明月思故鄉

mong� ming� jyut� si� gu� hoeng�

床前明月光

cong� cin� ming� jyut� gwong�

疑是地上霜

ji� si� dei� soeng� soeng�

舉頭望明月

geoi� tau� mong� ming� jyut�

低頭思故鄉

dai� tau� si� gu� hoeng�

念故園思故鄉

nim� gu� jyun� si� gu� hoeng�

故鄉今日可否無恙

gu� hoeng� gam� jat� ho� fau� mou� joeng�

大聲哎

��

REFERENCES Most of the information in this book is drawn from various online and print resources. Scan the QR code to a webpage with links to every resource referenced for each topic in this book!

��

RECOMMENDED RESOURCES For more Cantonese learning resources, scan the QR for another webpage of additional links .

大聲哎 ��

Cover and book design by Jasmine Hui Tin-Wai / HuiTWai.carrd.co Daai Seng Aai: Intro to Colloquial Cantonese may be distributed online and printed but may not be printed and sold for profit under any circumstances.

Daai Seng Aai: Intro to Colloquial Cantonese was created in Seattle, WA, USA using Affinity Publisher and Affinity Designer.

Typefaces used in this book are Noto Sans Hong Kong, designed by Google, DFKai-SB, and Rubik, designed by Philipp Hubert and Sebastian Fischer.

姓名 Full Name