Latest / Learn Cantonese with Fexingo / Cantonese Time: Yesterday Today Tomorrow
Transcript
- Lucas: Hey everyone, welcome back to Learn Cantonese with Fexingo. I'm Lucas. Luna: And I'm Luna. Episode 69! We're getting closer to 70. Lucas: We sure are. And today, I want to build on something we touched on before — talking about time. We've done 'now and later', 'today and tomorrow' briefly, but let's really lock in yesterday, today, and tomorrow. Luna: Oh good, because I still mix those up sometimes. Lucas: Totally normal. So let's start with the easiest one: 今日. That's 'today'. Say it with me: 今日. Luna: 今日. Lucas: Perfect. Now, yesterday in Cantonese is 尋日. Repeat after me: 尋日. Luna: 尋日. That sounds kind of like 'cham yat'. Lucas: Yeah, close enough. And tomorrow is 聽日. Give it a try: 聽日. Luna: 聽日. Like 'ting yat'. Okay, I think I've got those. Lucas: Great. Now let's put them into full sentences. If you want to ask 'What did you do yesterday?' in Cantonese, it's 尋日你去做咩？ Let's break it down: 尋日 is yesterday, 你 is you, 去 is go, 做咩 is do what. So together: 尋日你去做咩？. Luna: 尋日你去做咩？ That's a lot! Can I try? 尋日你去做咩？ Lucas: Yeah, that was really good! Just a tiny bit flatter on the tone of 去, but honestly, perfect. So you can answer with something like 今日我好忙 — 'Today I'm very busy'. 今日 is today, 我 is I, 好忙 is very busy. So: 今日我好忙. Luna: 今日我好忙. That feels useful. What if I want to say 'See you tomorrow'? Lucas: Ah, that's a common one. 聽日見. Literally 'tomorrow see'. So: 聽日見. Luna: 聽日見. I love that. It's short. Lucas: Yep. So let's recap the three words: 尋日, 今日, 聽日. Say them with me one more time. Luna: 尋日, 今日, 聽日. Lucas: Perfect. Now let's imagine a little scenario. Say Luna, 尋日你去做咩？ Luna: Oh, 尋日我去咗超市。 That means 'Yesterday I went to the supermarket.' Right? Lucas: Exactly! You used 尋日 perfectly. And then I could say 今日我好忙, and you could say 聽日見. So it flows. Luna: Okay, let me try a full mini-conversation. 尋日你去做咩？ 今日我好忙。 聽日見。 Lucas: Wow, that was smooth! You're a natural. Luna: Thanks! You know, if Fexingo has been helping you make actual progress with Cantonese, honestly, that's what keeps us going. If today was worth a coffee to you, that's the link — buy me a coffee dot com slash fexingo. No pressure, just a little way to support the show. Lucas: Yeah, we really appreciate anyone who finds this useful. So back to time words — let's do one more round of drilling. I'll say the English, you say the Cantonese. Yesterday. Luna: 尋日. Lucas: Today. Luna: 今日. Lucas: Tomorrow. Luna: 聽日. Lucas: Perfect. Now, a challenge: try saying 'Yesterday I was busy, today I'm free, tomorrow I'll go to the park.' In Cantonese, that would be 尋日我好忙，今日我得閒，聽日我去公園。 Want to give it a shot? Luna: 尋日我好忙，今日我得閒，聽日我去公園. How was that? Lucas: Fantastic! You nailed it. And that's a great natural sentence. So listeners, practice those three words and try making your own sentences. We'll be back with more soon. Luna: 聽日見, everyone! Lucas: 聽日見. Bye!