I haven't posted in absolutely AGES.
SO SORRY !
I've been on a little break.
Back to the post, today's lesson will be birthday phrases as per the title.
I suppose some of these phrases you can use for new year too.
The most common/basic is 生日快樂 - sang yat fai lok; which means happy birthday.
Although it may not make sense in English direct translation as these are just phrases and not sentences, it makes full sense in Cantonese :)
The following can also be used as new year greetings.
笑口常開 - Siw hou seung hoi - meaning smile always open, which is like laughing frequently.
心想事成 - Sam seurng see sing - meaning whatever your heart wants is successful. Similar to "may all your wishes come true".
萬事如意 - Maan see yue yee - meaning 10,000 is as you want it. Similar to may all things go as you wish.
身體健康 - San tai gin hong - meaning body is healthy. Similar to "wish you the best of health".
龍馬精神 - Lung maa jing san - meaning healthy as dragon and horse.
Tuesday, 2 August 2011
Tuesday, 5 April 2011
清明節
Today is 清明節 "Ching Ming Jit".
The direct translation of Ching Ming Jit is Clear Bright Festival but more commonly known as Ching Ming Festival or Tomb Sweeping Day.
It occurs yearly in the beginning of April.
On this day it is a tradition for the Chinese to go to the cemetery and pay respect to their ancestors and 掃墓 "sou mou" which translate to sweep tomb.
This year, like every year, my family went to the cemetery to pay respect to my late grandfather.
We would bring with us lots of food as offerings, Chinese tea, wine, incense, candles and things to burn.
元寶,蠟燭,香 "Yun bou, lap juk, heung", the three main things to burn. "Money, candles, incense".
This list is also used when cursing people like so 請你食元寶蠟燭香! "Cheng nei sik yeun bou lap juk heung!" meaning "treat you to eat money candles and incense!". This is used as a curse because these things are burnt for the dead people.
金,銀,衣紙 "gam, ngan, yi jzi" which is "gold, silver, paper clothes" are also burnt.
Traditionally, the Chinese would use tissue paper, or other similar types of thin coloured paper to cut out into a shirt and trousers. As time went by, these paper clothes can be bought ready made along with paper watches, shoes and even handbags!
The Chinese believe in afterlife, and the dead would receive items we burn for them.
As well as going to the cemetery, traditional Chinese families would have alters in their houses for the 祖先 "jou seen" "ancestors" where they burn incense and offer fruit and/or cooked food such as chicken, pork and fish on special festivals, or if its the 1st or 15th of the Chinese lunar calendar. Along with the food, there is also 三茶五酒 "saam cha ng jau" "three (cups of) tea five (cups of) wine" which is a tradition to have when making offerings to the ancestors.
The direct translation of Ching Ming Jit is Clear Bright Festival but more commonly known as Ching Ming Festival or Tomb Sweeping Day.
It occurs yearly in the beginning of April.
On this day it is a tradition for the Chinese to go to the cemetery and pay respect to their ancestors and 掃墓 "sou mou" which translate to sweep tomb.
This year, like every year, my family went to the cemetery to pay respect to my late grandfather.
We would bring with us lots of food as offerings, Chinese tea, wine, incense, candles and things to burn.
元寶,蠟燭,香 "Yun bou, lap juk, heung", the three main things to burn. "Money, candles, incense".
This list is also used when cursing people like so 請你食元寶蠟燭香! "Cheng nei sik yeun bou lap juk heung!" meaning "treat you to eat money candles and incense!". This is used as a curse because these things are burnt for the dead people.
金,銀,衣紙 "gam, ngan, yi jzi" which is "gold, silver, paper clothes" are also burnt.
Traditionally, the Chinese would use tissue paper, or other similar types of thin coloured paper to cut out into a shirt and trousers. As time went by, these paper clothes can be bought ready made along with paper watches, shoes and even handbags!
The Chinese believe in afterlife, and the dead would receive items we burn for them.
As well as going to the cemetery, traditional Chinese families would have alters in their houses for the 祖先 "jou seen" "ancestors" where they burn incense and offer fruit and/or cooked food such as chicken, pork and fish on special festivals, or if its the 1st or 15th of the Chinese lunar calendar. Along with the food, there is also 三茶五酒 "saam cha ng jau" "three (cups of) tea five (cups of) wine" which is a tradition to have when making offerings to the ancestors.
Cantonese Ending sounds
Ending sounds do not mean anything in particular, but are just used to make a sentence more speech friendly.
I will be going through some of the most used sounds.
呀 - Aa is probably the most common ending word/sound used.
This is used at the end of most sentences just to make it sound more informal.
E.g. 好悶呀 "hou mun aa" which literally translates to "so bored aa".
It can also be used at the end of questions like so 掛唔掛住我呀? "Gwaa m gwaa ji ngo aa?" meaning "do you miss me?"
咩 - Meh is used mainly after a question.
E.g. 係咩? " hai meh? This means "really?"
咩 - Meh is also short for 乜野呀 "mat yeh aa" meaning "what".
啦/喇 - Laa is also used quite often in Cantonese speech and is popular amongst foreign Cantonese speakers incorporating it within their text with friends.
An example of this is "Then get some food la".
A Cantonese example would be 去睇電視啦 "heoi tai din si la" meaning "go watch TV la".
嗎 - Maa is used at the end of questions.
E.g. 肚餓嗎? "Tou ngor maa?" meaning "are you hungry?"
啩 - Gwaa is used when the statement given is not certain.
E.g. 係啩 "hai gwaa" which directly translates to "yes gwaa" which passes as "maybe" or "probably".
Another example would be 去咗街啩 "heoi chor gaai gwaa" meaning "gone to the shop probably".
嘅 - Ge is used in some questions.
E.g. 點解係咁嘅? "Dim gaai hai gam ge?" meaning "how come it's like that?"
嘅 Ge can also be used as a possession word.
For example 佢嘅 "keoi ge" meaning "his" or "hers".
哂 - Saai is used at the end of sentences as a substitute for all
E.g. 靚哂 "leng saai" meaning "all pretty".
Another example is 乾淨哂 "gon jeng saai" meaning "all clean".
喎 - Wo added at the end of a sentence can make it mean different things.
E.g. 係喎 "hai wo" meaning "oh yeah" or 唔係咁喎 "m hai gam wo" meaning "it's not like that".
I will be going through some of the most used sounds.
呀 - Aa is probably the most common ending word/sound used.
This is used at the end of most sentences just to make it sound more informal.
E.g. 好悶呀 "hou mun aa" which literally translates to "so bored aa".
It can also be used at the end of questions like so 掛唔掛住我呀? "Gwaa m gwaa ji ngo aa?" meaning "do you miss me?"
咩 - Meh is used mainly after a question.
E.g. 係咩? " hai meh? This means "really?"
咩 - Meh is also short for 乜野呀 "mat yeh aa" meaning "what".
啦/喇 - Laa is also used quite often in Cantonese speech and is popular amongst foreign Cantonese speakers incorporating it within their text with friends.
An example of this is "Then get some food la".
A Cantonese example would be 去睇電視啦 "heoi tai din si la" meaning "go watch TV la".
嗎 - Maa is used at the end of questions.
E.g. 肚餓嗎? "Tou ngor maa?" meaning "are you hungry?"
啩 - Gwaa is used when the statement given is not certain.
E.g. 係啩 "hai gwaa" which directly translates to "yes gwaa" which passes as "maybe" or "probably".
Another example would be 去咗街啩 "heoi chor gaai gwaa" meaning "gone to the shop probably".
嘅 - Ge is used in some questions.
E.g. 點解係咁嘅? "Dim gaai hai gam ge?" meaning "how come it's like that?"
嘅 Ge can also be used as a possession word.
For example 佢嘅 "keoi ge" meaning "his" or "hers".
哂 - Saai is used at the end of sentences as a substitute for all
E.g. 靚哂 "leng saai" meaning "all pretty".
Another example is 乾淨哂 "gon jeng saai" meaning "all clean".
喎 - Wo added at the end of a sentence can make it mean different things.
E.g. 係喎 "hai wo" meaning "oh yeah" or 唔係咁喎 "m hai gam wo" meaning "it's not like that".
Monday, 4 April 2011
Numbers in Cantonese
One - 一 - Yat
Two - 二 - Yi - There is also another way of saying two 兩 - Lurng
Three - 三 - Saam
Four - 四 - Sei
Five - 五 - Ng
Six - 六 - Luk
Seven - 七 - Tsaat
Eight - 八 - Baat
Nine - 九 - Gau
Ten - 十 - Sap
One to ten are the basic numbers you need to know. The rest branch off the main ten. For example
Eleven - 十一 - Sap yat
Twelve - 十二 - Sap yi
Twenty - 二十 - Yi sap
Twenty one - 二十一 - Yi sap yat
Twenty two - 二十二 - Ji sap yi
There is also another way of typing twenty 廿 which is pronounced "yaa".
So the rest of the numbers in the twenties can also be typed with "yaa" 廿 replacing "yi sap" 二十。
Thirty - 三十 - Saam sap
etc
One hundred - 一百 - Yat baak
Two hundred - 二百 - Yi baak
One thousand - 一千 - Yat cheen
Ten thousand - 一萬 - Yat maan
One million - 一百萬 - Yat baak maan
Two - 二 - Yi - There is also another way of saying two 兩 - Lurng
Three - 三 - Saam
Four - 四 - Sei
Five - 五 - Ng
Six - 六 - Luk
Seven - 七 - Tsaat
Eight - 八 - Baat
Nine - 九 - Gau
Ten - 十 - Sap
One to ten are the basic numbers you need to know. The rest branch off the main ten. For example
Eleven - 十一 - Sap yat
Twelve - 十二 - Sap yi
Twenty - 二十 - Yi sap
Twenty one - 二十一 - Yi sap yat
Twenty two - 二十二 - Ji sap yi
There is also another way of typing twenty 廿 which is pronounced "yaa".
So the rest of the numbers in the twenties can also be typed with "yaa" 廿 replacing "yi sap" 二十。
Thirty - 三十 - Saam sap
etc
One hundred - 一百 - Yat baak
Two hundred - 二百 - Yi baak
One thousand - 一千 - Yat cheen
Ten thousand - 一萬 - Yat maan
One million - 一百萬 - Yat baak maan
Basics
Please note that the Cantonese pronunciations are not necessarily the Jyutping of the word.
Cantonese and Mandarin are different dialects although the same characters are used, it could have a different meaning. Sometimes characters with the similar sound are used in informal Cantonese, which is what I will be covering.
English - Chinese characters - Cantonese Pronunciation
Hello(used when answering the phone ONLY) - 喂 - Wai
Can also be used as "hey" when said in a slightly higher tone but you wouldn't necessarily use it to greet people as you would do with "hello". Wai is an informal greeting.
How are you - 你好嗎? - Nei hou maa?
How have you been recently? - 最近點呀? Jeoi gan dim aa?
I'm called - 我叫 - Ngo giu
You say this, followed by your name.
Yes - 係 - Hai
No - 唔係 - M hai
Good/yes - 好 - Hou
Not good/no - 唔好 - M hou
The "M" is pronounced like you are thinking, and you make a mm sound.
Have you eaten rice? - 食咗飯未呀? Sik chor faan mei aa?
This is usually asked as manners like "how are you?"
Replies:
Eaten - 食咗 - Sik chor
Not eaten - 未食 - Mei sik
Do you want tea? - 飲唔飲茶呀? Yam m yam cha aa?
Chinese people are very polite, and when people come in the house, tea is always offered.
The two main teas offered are milk tea - 奶茶 - naai cha and Chinese tea/green tea - 中國茶/綠茶。
I shall go through the different types of Chinese tea at a later date if needed.
Milk tea is English tea, it is called milk tea in Cantonese because you add milk in it.
Replies:
No need thanks - 唔使啦唔該 - M sai la m goi
Yes please - 好呀唔該 - Hou a m goi
呀 - aa is usually added on the end of most sentences, it doesn't mean anything, it's just an ending sound. We have quite a few of these in the Cantonese dialect, I shall cover these in another post.
Cantonese and Mandarin are different dialects although the same characters are used, it could have a different meaning. Sometimes characters with the similar sound are used in informal Cantonese, which is what I will be covering.
English - Chinese characters - Cantonese Pronunciation
Hello(used when answering the phone ONLY) - 喂 - Wai
Can also be used as "hey" when said in a slightly higher tone but you wouldn't necessarily use it to greet people as you would do with "hello". Wai is an informal greeting.
How are you - 你好嗎? - Nei hou maa?
How have you been recently? - 最近點呀? Jeoi gan dim aa?
I'm called - 我叫 - Ngo giu
You say this, followed by your name.
Yes - 係 - Hai
No - 唔係 - M hai
Good/yes - 好 - Hou
Not good/no - 唔好 - M hou
The "M" is pronounced like you are thinking, and you make a mm sound.
Have you eaten rice? - 食咗飯未呀? Sik chor faan mei aa?
This is usually asked as manners like "how are you?"
Replies:
Eaten - 食咗 - Sik chor
Not eaten - 未食 - Mei sik
Do you want tea? - 飲唔飲茶呀? Yam m yam cha aa?
Chinese people are very polite, and when people come in the house, tea is always offered.
The two main teas offered are milk tea - 奶茶 - naai cha and Chinese tea/green tea - 中國茶/綠茶。
I shall go through the different types of Chinese tea at a later date if needed.
Milk tea is English tea, it is called milk tea in Cantonese because you add milk in it.
Replies:
No need thanks - 唔使啦唔該 - M sai la m goi
Yes please - 好呀唔該 - Hou a m goi
呀 - aa is usually added on the end of most sentences, it doesn't mean anything, it's just an ending sound. We have quite a few of these in the Cantonese dialect, I shall cover these in another post.
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