Basic Cantonese Course

M`hji` a/ne?

I wonder...?; Could you tell me...?

Gwo'ngdu`ng

Guangdong

ga fei

coffee

heise'ui

soda

jo'usa`hn

Good morning

hohksa`ang

student

Sa`ang

Mr.

Ho`h Sa`ang, jo'usa`hn

Good morning, Mr. Ho

sinsa`ang

teacher; man

Ta'ai

Mrs.

Le'ih Ta'ai, jo'usa`hn.

Good morning, Mrs. Lee

deuim`hjyuh

excuse me

ngo'h

I

haih

am, is, are

m`h

not

m`hhaih

am not, is not, are not

Ngo'h m`hhaih Le'ih Ta'ai.

I am not Mrs. Lee.

Deuim`hjyuh, ngo'h m`hhaih Le'ih Ta'ai.

Excuse me, I'm not Mrs. Lee.

sing

have the surname

Ngo'h sing Cha`hn

My name is Chan

si'uje'

Miss; unmarried woman

A

Oh, Ah, a mild exclamation

A, deuim`hjyuh, Cha`hn Si'uje'.

Oh, excuse me, Miss Chan.

M`hga'nyiu.

That's all right; It doesn't matter.

Joigin.

Goodbye.

gwaising

your surname (polite)

Si'uje' gwaising a?

What is your surname, Miss? (polite)

ne?

sentence suffix for questions

si'using

my name (polite)

Si'using La`uh.

My name is Lau. (polite)

La`uh Sa`ang.

Mr. Lau.

matye'h; meye'h; miye'h

what?

sing meyeh a?

have what surname?

pa`hngya'uh

friend

ne'ih

you, your

ne'ih pa`hngya'uh

your friend

Ne'ih pa`hngya'uh sing meyeh a?

What is your friend's name?

sing Ma'h

has the name Ma

ge

noun-forming boundword

sing Ma'h ge

is a named-Ma one

ke'uih

he, she, it

Ke'uih sing Ma'h ge

Her name is Ma.

ya`hn

person

Gwo'ngdu`ngya`hn

Cantonese person

haih m`hhaih a?

is/not-is?

Ke'uih haih m`hhaih Gwo'ngdu`ngya`hn a?

Is she Cantonese?

Seuhngho'i

Shanghai

Seuhngho'iya`hn

Shanghai person

M`hhaih a. Ke'uih haih Seuhngho'iya`hn.

No, she's from Shanghai.

ga'm

Well then

Ne'ih ne?

And you?

dou

also, both

Ngo'h dou haih Seuhngho'iya`hn

I'm also from Shanghai

Ju`nggwokya`hn

Chinese person

ke'uihdeih

they, them, their

Me'ihgwokya`hn

American person

ne'ihdeih

you, your (plural)

ngo'hdeih

we, our, us

To`ihsaan

Toishan

To`ihsaanya`hn

person from Toishan

Yahtbu'nya`hn

Japanese person

Yi`nggwokya`hn

Englishman

wa

language

meyeh wa' a?

what language?

go'ng

speak

Ke'uihdeih go'ng meyeh wa' a?

What language are they speaking?

ji/jidou

know

ji` m`hji` a?

know/not know?

Ne'ih ji` m`hji` ke'uihdeih go'ng meyeh wa' a?

Do you know what language they are speaking?

Gwokyu'h

Mandarin

go'ng Gwokyu'h

speak Mandarin

Haih m`hhaih go'ng Gwokyu'h a?

Are they speaking Mandarin?

Seuhngho'iwa'

Shanghai dialect

Ke'uihdeih go'ng Seuhngho'iwa'

They're speaking the Shanghai dialect

sik

know (how)

me?

sentence suffix indicating surprised question

Ne'ih sik go'ng Seuhngho'iwa' me?

You can speak Shanghai dialect?!

se`si'u

a little, somewhat

je (sentence suffix)

sentence suffix indicating "merely", "only", "that's all"

Sik se`si'u je.

I know a little, that's all.

tu`hng

and

ke'uih dou sik go'ng

he speaks both

ga

sentence suffix for fact assertion

Seuhngho'iwa' tu`hng Gwokyu'h ke'uih dou sik go'ng ga

he speaks both Shanghai dialect and Mandarin

Yi`ngma'n; Yi`ngma`hn

English language

Ga'm, ne'ih sik m`hsik Yi`ngma'n a?

Well, do you know English?

sik go'ng se`si'u

can speak a little

se'

write

m`hsik se'

can't write

daahnhaih

but

Sik go'ng se`si'u, daahnhaih m`hsik se'

I can speak a little, but I can't write.

hohk

study, learn

se'ung

wish to, want to, would like to

di

a little, some, mass measure

Ngo'h se'ung hohk di Yi`ngma'n

I'd like to learn a little English

di'm a?

how?

di'm go'ng a?

how (do you) say?

Yi`ngma'n, dim go'ng a?

how is it said in English?

yat yih sa`am sei n'gh

one two three four five

chi`ngcho'

clear