Latest / Learn Cantonese with Fexingo / Cantonese Verbs: Want and Have
Transcript
- Lucas: Welcome back to Learn Cantonese with Fexingo! I'm Lucas. Luna: And I'm Luna! Episode 50, can you believe it? Lucas: I know, right? We've learned so much together. Today we're going to add two super useful verbs to your Cantonese toolkit. Luna: Ooh, I love that. What are they? Lucas: The verbs for 'want' and 'have'. In Cantonese, 'want' is 想, and 'have' is 有. Luna: 想 and 有. Okay, let me try. 想... sounds like 'seung'? Lucas: Exactly! 想. And 有 is 'yau'. Let's start with 想. If you want to say 'I want', it's 我 followed by 想. So 我想要. Luna: 我想要. That sounds like 'ngo seung yiu'. Lucas: Perfect! 我想要 means 'I want'. Now, 我有 means 'I have'. So 我有 is 'ngo yau'. Luna: 我有. So 我有 is 'I have'. What about asking 'Do you have'? Lucas: Great question! To ask 'Do you have?', you say 你有冇？ That's 'nei yau mou?' Luna: 你有冇？ Let me repeat: 你有冇？ Lucas: You got it! Now let's put them together. Imagine you're at a fruit stall. You want apples. You can say 我想要蘋果. Luna: Oh, 蘋果 is apple, right? From the fruit episode? So 我想要蘋果 is 'I want apples'. Lucas: Yes! Then the seller might ask 你有冇錢？ which is 'Do you have money?' Luna: 你有冇錢？ So 錢 is money. And I can answer 我有錢 — 'I have money'. Lucas: Exactly! Let's practice the full pattern. Luna, ask me if I want tea. Luna: Okay... 你想唔想飲茶？ Lucas: Oh, using 想 and 飲! Very nice. Yes, 我想飲茶. I want to drink tea. But wait — I said 想, not 想要. There's a difference: 想要 means 'want to have', while 想 plus a verb means 'want to do'. Luna: Oh right! So 我想要茶 is 'I want tea', and 我想飲茶 is 'I want to drink tea'. Lucas: Exactly! You're catching on fast. Let's do a quick scene. Luna, you're at a shop. You want a book. Luna: Okay... 我想要一本書. I want a book. Lucas: And the shopkeeper asks 你有冇錢？ Do you have money? Luna: 我有錢！ I have money! Well, in this scenario I do. Lucas: Perfect. Now let's review all four phrases: 我想要, 我有, 你有冇？, and 有. Luna: Let me say them: 我想要, 我有, 你有冇？ Lucas: And don't forget 想 on its own. Let's all practice: 想, 有, 我想要, 你有冇？, 我有. Luna: 想, 有, 我想要, 你有冇？, 我有. I think I've got it! Lucas: For sure. Now, a little challenge: How would you say 'I want to have a dog'? Remember, 狗 is dog. Luna: Uhh... 我想要一隻狗? I want to have a dog. Lucas: Yes! 我想要一隻狗. And if someone asks you 你有冇狗？ you can say 我有狗 or 我冇狗. Luna: Oh, 冇 is the negative of 有! So 我冇狗 is 'I don't have a dog'. That's from the 'don't have' pattern. Lucas: Exactly. So today we learned 想 and 有, plus how to combine them. Practice these phrases, and next time you're at a market or with friends, you can use them. Luna: Thanks, Lucas! And thanks to Fexingo for making this possible. See you all next time! Lucas: Keep practicing, and we'll see you on the next episode of Learn Cantonese with Fexingo. Bye for now!