Dim Sum!

I'm sure there are lots of people that love Chinese food, myself included.
It's customary for Chinese people to have dim sum with their family once a week. 
So today I will be teaching you how to say some of the yummy dishes available! 

First of all dim sum in Chinese - 點心 .

When Chinese people have dim sum, they don't say they're going for dim sum, they say they're going to 飲茶 - yam chaa which also means to drink tea. You could see it as a Chinese style afternoon tea. Small portions mean you can try a bit of everything!

Now, let's get started! 

蝦餃 : haa gow - prawn dumplings. A prawn mince wrapped in a soft shell. The easiest way I can describe the pronunciation is to emphasise the a in haa which is why I've put double a and gow rhymes with cow. 

燒賣 : siw maai - prawn and pork dumplings. Not similar to the above although they're both called dumplings. A meaty mixture encased in a thin wrap. 

上海小籠包 : seurng hoy siw lung baow - aka xiaolongbao. A steamed dumpling of meat encased in a soft shell that also has soup inside! Beware when eating as it can be very hot! 

腸粉 : cheung fann (exaggerate the n) - this is a steam rice roll. It uses rice flour so there's not actual rice pieces in it. It can be serves plain with soy sauce or filled with different meats such as char siu, beef, prawns or pork.

油炸鬼 : yaow jaa gway - deep fried dough sticks. It's light and airy, ideal with congee. This is not really something you would order for dim sum but I felt the need to add it on due to the next dish.

炸兩 : Jaa leung - what I would call two in one! Yaow jaa gway wrapped in cheung fann sprinkled with spring onions and dipped in peanut sauce and hoisin sauce is the perfect combination!

叉燒包 : chaa siw baow - steamed buns with Chinese bbq pork filling. 

If you want a flaky pastry then 叉燒酥 chaa siw so is filled with the same meat. 

奶皇包 : naai/laai wong baow - steamed custard bun. Baow refers to a steamed bun made with a soft dough. 

魷魚鬚 : yaow yu so - deep fried squid 

鹹水角 : haam sui gok - deep fried dumpling made with a mixture of glutinous rice flour filled with pork.

芋角 : wu gok - similar to the above but with a layer of taro. This dumpling has a lot of textures. Crispy outer layer, a soft layer of taro and a firmer filling made with meat.

煎竹卷: Jeen juk goon - fried bean curd/(tofu) rolls. This is made with a vegetarian or meat filling wrapped in bean curd skin and then fried. This dish is also served steamed, called 蒸竹卷 - jing juk goon. Jing meaning steamed. 

蛋撻 : daan taat - egg custard tart. One of my favs! 

Some of the main dishes include:

海鮮炒麵 aka 三鮮炒麵 - Hoy seen chow meen aka sam seen chow meen. One of my favourites - seafood fried noodles which are also called three seafood fried noodles. It is called that because there are normally three types of seafood with the dish; prawns, scallops and squid on a bed of crispy, crunchy fried noodles...yummmm!

三燒飯 Sam siw faan. Three roast rice, usually consists of roast pork, char siu and roast duck. 

Holiday phrases in Cantonese

Hong Kong is full of life and (in my opinion) one of the best holiday hotspots. So in this lesson I will be teaching you some helpful phrases in Cantonese you may need whilst on holiday.

幾多錢呀 "gei dor cheen ah?" How much is it?

可唔可以平啲呀? "hor m hor yi peng di ah?" Can it be cheaper? (Mini lesson: Traditionally the word 平 "ping" meaning level or balanced can also be pronounced "peng" informally which would also change the meaning to cheap.)  

廁所喺邊呀? "chi sor hai bin ah?" Where's the toilet?

請問港鐵站喺邊呀? "ching man gong teet jam hai bin ah?" Where's the MTR? MTR is the one of the transport systems in Hong Kong. It is very tourist friendly as it announces each stop in both Cantonese and English. 

多謝/唔該 "dor jeh/m goi" both mean thanks, although "m goi" can also mean please.

你識唔識講英文? "nei sik m sik gong ying man?" Do you know how to speak English?

對唔住/唔好意思 "dui m ju/m hou yi si"  Sorry

呢度附近有冇餐廳? "nei dou fu gan yau mou chaan teng?" Is there a restaurant nearby?

And just in case you run into anything crazy
救命呀 "Gau meng ah!" is HELP!

Hope you have a safe and happy holiday! :) 

Chinese Family Members

Today's topic is Chinese family members. 

Chinese people are very clear when calling their family members. For example, typically in western countries both your mom and dad's sisters are both called your aunt. However, the Chinese have different names for family members on each side. To make things more clear I have created a family tree to your dad's side of the family, your mom's side of the family and your immediate family. 

(Click on the images for a larger view.)

As you can see, it can be a bit confusing. In short, the word for aunt on your dad's side is 姑 "goo" whether or not they are older or younger than your dad. However, the word uncle on your dad's side is different depending on whether they are older or younger than your dad. If they are older, they are called 大伯 "daai bak" and if they are younger they are called 叔 "suk". 

On your mom's side, the word for aunt is 姨 "yi" whether they are older or younger than your mom. The word for uncle on your mom's side is 舅 "kau". 

As well as this, some family members will call their aunt or uncle by their name followed by the word aunt or uncle. For example, 薇姑 "mei goo" is aunt May (not the translation of the month May), or 寶叔  "bou suk" which would be uncle Bou. 

As well as the names shown above, some people would use other words to call their family members. For example, your dad's younger sister is called 姑姐 "goo jeh" but can also be called 孻姑 "laai goo" which means youngest aunt. 

Sometimes, people would call their aunt or uncle by how old they are in the family. E.g. if your dad is the eldest, his brothers would all be called 叔 "suk". So your dad's younger brother who is second eldest in the family would be 二叔 "yi suk" which is the word two followed by uncle. 

I hope this post helped you understand more about Chinese family member names and it hasn't made it more confusing! 

Birthday Phrases in Cantonese

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.

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. 

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".

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