Latest / Learn Cantonese with Fexingo / Cantonese Quantifiers: A Few and Many
Transcript
- Lucas: Hey everyone, welcome back to Learn Cantonese with Fexingo. I'm Lucas. Luna: And I'm Luna! Episode 52, can you believe it? Lucas: I know, right? And today we've got a super useful little word that'll make your Cantonese sound way more natural. Luna: Ooh, I love tiny but mighty words. What is it? Lucas: It's 啲. It means 'some' or 'a few'. Like, you want some rice? Or a few apples. Luna: 啲. Can you say it slowly? Lucas: 啲. It's a high rising tone. 啲. Luna: 啲. 啲. Lucas: Yeah, you got it. So if you're at a restaurant and you want some rice, you say: 我要啲飯. Luna: 我要啲飯. That's 'I want some rice', right? Lucas: Exactly. 飯 is rice, we learned that in episode 42. So 我要啲飯. Luna: Okay, let me try: 我要啲飯. Lucas: Perfect. Now, what if you want a lot of something? We use 好多. It means 'many' or 'a lot'. Luna: 好多. Like, 'I have many books'? 我有好多書. Lucas: Yes! 書 is book, from episode 43. 我有好多書. Luna: 我有好多書. That's a good one. Lucas: Let's do a quick practice. I'll say a sentence, you repeat. 我要啲水. Luna: 我要啲水. Water, right? We learned that in drinks episode. Lucas: Yeah, exactly. Now: 我有好多朋友. Luna: 我有好多朋友. Friends! I have many friends. That's sweet. Lucas: Right. So these two words are super handy. Let's do a little scene. Imagine we're at a market. Luna: Okay, I'm ready. Lucas: I say: 你食唔食啲嘢？ That means 'Do you want to eat some things?' or 'Do you want some food?' Luna: 你食唔食啲嘢？ 嘢 means 'things' or 'stuff'. Lucas: Exactly. So you can reply: 係呀，我要啲蘋果. Luna: 係呀，我要啲蘋果. 'Yes, I want some apples.' Lucas: Great! Now you try asking me: 你食唔食啲嘢？ Luna: 你食唔食啲嘢？ Lucas: 好呀，我要好多飯！ 'Okay, I want a lot of rice!' Luna: 好呀，我要好多飯！ So you used 好多 there. Lucas: Yep. So 啲 for some, 好多 for a lot. Let's do a quick review. 啲 means... Luna: Some, a few. Lucas: 好多 means... Luna: Many, a lot. Lucas: And 我要啲飯 means... Luna: I want some rice. Lucas: And 我有好多書 means... Luna: I have many books. Lucas: Amazing. You're a natural. Luna: Thanks, Lucas. These are so useful. I can already imagine using 啲 all the time. Lucas: For sure. And don't forget, you can combine them with other words you know, like 好多朋友, 啲水, 啲嘢. Luna: Right. So 你食唔食啲嘢？ becomes a great phrase to offer food. Lucas: Exactly. Alright, that's our episode for today. Practice saying 啲 and 好多 with the things around you. Luna: Yeah! Look at your desk and say 我有好多筆 or 我要啲紙. Lucas: Love it. Thanks for joining us on Learn Cantonese with Fexingo. Keep practicing, and we'll see you next time. Luna: 拜拜！