Latest / Learn Cantonese with Fexingo / Cantonese Time Phrases - Now and Later
Transcript
- Lucas: Hey everyone, welcome back to Learn Cantonese with Fexingo! I'm Lucas. Luna: And I'm Luna! Ready for another tiny lesson. Lucas: So, last time we did months of the year. Today, let's talk about two super useful time words: now and later. Luna: Oh, I like that. I'm always saying 'I'll do it later' but then I don't. Lucas: Perfect. So 'now' in Cantonese is 而家. Let me say it slowly: 而家. Luna: 而家. Lucas: Good. 而家. Can you say it again? Luna: 而家. That's nice and short. Lucas: Right. Now, 'later' is 遲啲. Repeat after me: 遲啲. Luna: 遲啲. That one's a bit trickier. 遲啲. Lucas: You got it. 遲啲. Let's try a quick exchange. If I say '而家', you say 'now', and if I say '遲啲', you say 'later'. Ready? Luna: Yes! Lucas: 而家. Luna: Now. Lucas: 遲啲. Luna: Later. Lucas: Perfect. Now let's add a verb. Remember 'do' or 'make'? It's 做. So 'I'm doing it now' is '我而家做緊'. The 緊 means 'in progress'. Listen: 我而家做緊. Luna: 我而家做緊. 'I'm doing it now.' That's handy. Lucas: Exactly. And 'I'll do it later' is '我遲啲做'. No 緊, because it's not happening yet. Say it with me: 我遲啲做. Luna: 我遲啲做. I'll do it later. That sounds like me talking to my laundry. Lucas: Right? Let's practice a mini-scene. Imagine you're at work and your boss asks, 'Have you finished the report?' You can say '我而家做緊'. Luna: 我而家做緊. I'm doing it now. That's better than 'I'll do it later'! Lucas: Or if you want to put it off, '我遲啲做'. But use that carefully. Luna: 我遲啲做. I'll do it later. Got it. So, 而家 is now, 遲啲 is later. What about 'right now'? Is that the same? Lucas: Good question. You can just say '而家' for right now. Or add '即刻' for 'immediately', but let's keep it simple today. Luna: Okay, I'll stick with 而家 and 遲啲. Can we try another scene? Lucas: Sure. Let's say you're eating lunch and your friend calls. You can say '我而家食緊飯'. Remember '食' is eat and '飯' is rice or meal. So 'I'm eating now'. Luna: 我而家食緊飯. That's a mouthful but I like it. I'm eating now. Lucas: And if you want to call back later, you say '我遲啲打畀你'. '打畀你' means 'call you'. So 'I'll call you later'. Luna: 我遲啲打畀你. That's smooth. I can use that. Lucas: Let's do a quick back-and-forth. I'll ask you, '你而家做緊咩?' That means 'What are you doing now?' You answer. Luna: Ah, okay. '我而家做緊 podcast'? Is that right? Lucas: Perfect! '我而家做緊 podcast'. You're doing the podcast now. Very meta. Luna: And if I were to say 'I'll do the podcast later', I'd say '我遲啲做 podcast'? Lucas: Exactly. But we're doing it now, so let's keep going. Let's review all four phrases we learned today. Luna: Yes! First: 而家. Second: 遲啲. Third: 我而家做緊. Fourth: 我遲啲做. Lucas: Great summary. Let's say them together one more time: 而家, 遲啲, 我而家做緊, 我遲啲做. Luna: 而家, 遲啲, 我而家做緊, 我遲啲做. Lucas: Wonderful. Now you can talk about your schedule in Cantonese. Remember, practice these with Fexingo's other episodes too. Luna: That's it for today, folks. Thanks for learning with us! See you next time. Lucas: Bye bye! 拜拜!