Latest / Learn Cantonese with Fexingo / Cantonese Fruits - Basic
Transcript
- Lucas: Hey Luna, ready for some Cantonese today? Luna: Yeah! I've been practicing numbers from last time. Twenty! That was tough but fun. Lucas: Great job. Today something lighter — fruit names. Perfect for when you're at a market or making a smoothie. Luna: Ooh, I love fruit. Let's start. Lucas: First one: apple. In Cantonese, apple is 'pìhng gwó'. Say it with me: pìhng gwó. Luna: Pìhng gwó. Lucas: Perfect. The tones are low falling then high rising. Pìhng — like 'ping' but lower. Gwó — like 'gwor' but rising. Luna: Pìhng gwó. That's 'apple'? Lucas: Exactly. Now, banana. Banana is 'hēung jīu'. Hēung — high level. Jīu — high level too. Luna: Hēung jīu. Lucas: Yes! The 'hēung' sounds like 'heung' with a high pitch. And 'jīu' like 'jeew'. Luna: Hēung jīu. That's cute. Banana. Lucas: Next: orange. Orange is 'cháang'. That one's easy — just one word. Luna: Cháang. Lucas: Tone: low rising, like you're asking a question. Cháang. Luna: Cháang. Orange. Okay, what about grapes? Lucas: Grapes are 'tàih jí'. Tàih — low falling. Jí — high rising. Luna: Tàih jí. Lucas: Good. So: apple is pìhng gwó, banana is hēung jīu, orange is cháang, grapes are tàih jí. Luna: Let me try all in a row. Pìhng gwó, hēung jīu, cháang, tàih jí. Lucas: Wow, that was perfect! You've got it. Luna: Aww, thanks. But can we use them in a sentence? Lucas: Of course. Let's make a tiny dialogue. Imagine you're at a fruit stall. You can say: 'I want an apple.' In Cantonese: 'ngóh yiu pìhng gwó.' Remember 'yiu' means 'want'. Luna: Ngóh yiu pìhng gwó. Lucas: Yes. And if you want bananas: 'ngóh yiu hēung jīu.'. Luna: Ngóh yiu hēung jīu. Lucas: Or oranges: 'ngóh yiu cháang.'. Luna: Ngóh yiu cháang. Lucas: And grapes: 'ngóh yiu tàih jí.'. Luna: Ngóh yiu tàih jí. So I can just say 'ngóh yiu' plus the fruit? Lucas: Exactly. Easy, right? Now let's make it even more real. The seller might ask: 'What do you want?' That's 'néih yiu māté?'. Luna: Néih yiu māté? Lucas: Good. 'Néih' is 'you', 'yiu' is 'want', 'māté' is 'what'. So you can answer with any fruit. Luna: Okay, so if someone says 'Néih yiu māté?' I say 'Ngóh yiu cháang.'. Lucas: Perfect. Let's do a quick role-play. I'll be the seller. You're the customer. Ready? Luna: Ready. Lucas: Néih yiu māté? Luna: Ngóh yiu hēung jīu. Lucas: Hēung jīu? Hóu ah! Here you go. And in Cantonese, 'here you go' is 'béi néih'. Say 'béi néih'. Luna: Béi néih. Lucas: Yes. So when you hand something over, you say 'béi néih'. And the customer replies 'm̀hgòi' — that's 'please' or 'excuse me', but also 'thank you' in service situations. Luna: M̀hgòi. We learned that in Episode 6! Lucas: Yep. So the full exchange: seller asks 'néih yiu māté?', you say 'ngóh yiu pìhng gwó', seller says 'béi néih', you say 'm̀hgòi'. Simple. Luna: That's really useful. Okay, one more time: I want grapes. 'Ngóh yiu tàih jí.'. Lucas: Exactly. Tàih jí. You can also say 'ngóh yiu tàih jí' — perfect. Luna: I think I've got it. Let me repeat all four: pìhng gwó, hēung jīu, cháang, tàih jí. Lucas: Flawless. And don't forget, you can use 'ngóh yiu' before any of them. So next time you're at a market, you can impress your friends. Luna: I'm definitely going to use this. Thanks, Lucas. This was fun. Lucas: You're welcome. Keep practicing, and we'll see you next time on Learn Cantonese with Fexingo. Luna: Bye bye! Or as we say: 'baai baai'. Lucas: Baai baai, everyone!