Learn Cantonese - Things You Might Hear in a Taxi 

Thanks so much for the compliment and for subscribing ... and apologies for just replying now! It's funny about the contractions...I'll do a video and then show it to a native-speaking friend and almost always the first thing they'll say is "well, you could also shorten the sentence/phrase/word like this" haha ... love Cantonese for how "economical" it is :)

Thank you so much! I'm glad you find them useful. Happy learning! :)

Thank you so much!! I'm glad to hear even native speakers experience the "what did you say" since it's hard not to think I'm pronouncing it wrong, when actually the driver could just be hard of hearing haha:) I'm thinking I should do another taxi video ... so many interesting things to learn when in a taxi talking to the driver. Thanks for commenting and sorry it took me awhile to see and reply to your comment -- trying to get all caught up before CNY!

HI there and thanks so much for the compliment! While I wasn't born in HK, I moved here when I was relatively young (younger than I am now anyway! :) I love it here and knowing the language makes it even easier to love it. Thanks again!! :)

I love it! Good luck and happy learning! :)

Thanks, Chris! I appreciate your taking the time to leave a comment! :) I'll try to get more done soon, promise! Any particular topics you'd like me to cover? I agree about the numbers ... the Yale-in-China system of accent marks make way more sense to me -- they're so much easier to look at and know exactly how to pronounce the characters. I'll try to do more real-life examples soon for you ... thinking easy ways to practice Cantonese in a restaurant will be next! :)

You're welcome! :)

Thanks, Brittany!!

Hi Ylf Fly! I'm sorry for my late reply -- I just noticed that I haven't yet replied to your comment!! Hmmm...I guess just by using it often. And it helped that I was super interested in wanting to learn. I also think that by listening to it constantly (even if I didn't know what was being said) helped a lot. Because then you get used to the rhythm and the intonation, and then speaking it comes more naturally. Like a baby ... first they listen, then they speak. I hope that helps, and thanks so much for your very nice comment -- I appreciate it!

Hi Bruce ... not sure why I missed your comment before, but I'm seeing it now and yes, I'll do a video on end particles -- they are used a lot in Cantonese and they are confusing ... but useful. That's one thing I think the Let's Learn Cantonese book describes in detail so I'll be doing it soon!

Hi Bruce! I'm going to see about putting them on the video screen itself so that they are really clear and easy to read. I have a problem with whiteboard space as you know, so will try and figure something else out. It can't be that hard, since I see other people do it all the time ... I'm just a bit more technologically challenged sometimes :)

Yup, I've been here since 1988 ... and yes ... back in the day, it used to be only Mong Kok that was super crowded. Now it's everywhere (although since the protests that's changed a bit, I've noticed :(

@@CantoneseCorner Hi Sue Marguerite, I am in HK now around Tsim Tsa Tsui, and there is definitely a lot of elbow room to maneuver around without walking into others. If fact, we stayed at the Panorama Hotel for about $100 US, which is unheard of during the holiday season, and we could have stayed for $60 if we had booked a little later (but no complimentary breakfast included).

Hi Matthew, thanks! That reminds me of when I was first learning and telling myself I was just going to walk into shops and try my best....but chickening out because, honestly, shopkeepers aren't the friendliest and hardly any of them will think you really want to be practicing Cantonese (how many times have you been advised: "learn Mandarin; sooo much easier - only 4 tones!) :D lol So yes, I hear you about about falling back on English when self-doubts creep in! Have you checked out the meetup groups (www.meetup.com) for free Cantonese-English language exchange? There are a few that are really productive -- (I see the Cantonese-English Study Club meets tomorrow night at Starbucks in Prosperity Tower in Central from 7-9. :) For real-life practice, I find that restaurants are good, since you can use numbers and simple commands. Hmmm....I think that will be my next video ... Stay tuned! :)

Great suggestions-- thank you! I will definitely look into the meetup. I've discovered that the herbal tea shops are a great place to practice since they are never busy places and the employees often only seem to speak Cantonese. However, one can only imbibe so much 廿四味!! Keep the great videos coming :)

Hi Matthew - thanks! Sorry it took me so long to reply! Herbal tea shops are a great idea ... I'm guessing you mean the actual Chinese tea shops maybe, but I love Florte (the one in Citysuper with all the floral teas :) Actually, I was thinking of you as I was doing my last video (this, these, that, those) because I had said that a good way to practice would just point to things and ask "nīgo haih mātyéh" repeatedly -- which could work in the tea shops or ice cream shops or restaurants that have the dishes displayed, etc. Hope things are going well!!

Yes! This is a great way to practice... even if you clearly know the answer!

Hi and sorry I'm just seeing your comment now! I think the easiest way is to use the word "haahng". So say you're in Central and wanting to go to Happy Valley. You can either go via Queen's Road East or take the harbour way. English: "Happy Valley ... go via Queen's Road East, please". Cantonese: "Páau màh deih (Happy Valley) ... hàahng (take [literally walk]) wòhng hauh daaih douh dūng (Queen's Road East), mh goi (please). "haahng" literally means to walk, but it can also mean "to go" if you're in a vehicle or giving directions. If you want to go the harbour way, you'd say: "Páau màh deih (Happy Valley) ... hàahng (take [literally walk]) hói pòhng (seaside / adjacent to the sea), mh gōi (please). The "pòhng" means "side" or "adjacent" and the 'hói" is "sea" ... so take the way next to the sea/harbour is what you're saying. I hope that helps!! :)

@@CantoneseCorner thanks a lot. Most of time i take taxi from kwun tong to tst and its always a trafic jam near tunnel junction so i will tell taxi drivers to go tst via to kwa wan but i was saying it all wrong. Thanks again.

@@Kenkalsi You're welcome!! I could also add that if you want to simply say "TST but don't take the tunnel" and leave it to them to figure out how best to go, then that would be: "Jīm sà jéui (TST - not sure if the Yale is correct though ... I don't have my dictionary handy :) .... daahn haih (but) mh hóu (don't) hàahng (take) seuih douh (tunnel)" . I think the "mh hóu" (唔好 which literally means "not good" but also used to mean "don't") is such a useful thing to know how to say...mh hóu sihk (don't eat), mh hóu heui (don't go), "mh hóu a! (don't!!)

Hi there! More than half my life now .... so I wasn't born here....I arrived after university, and didn't start learning Cantonese until after I got here, but had been listening to HK friends speak it amongst each other all four years of school, so I think that gave me a massive headstart when I started to officially learn. :)

Hi Alex! Thanks for commenting and sharing that you're learning Korean. It's cool to hear (or read) your perspective since I look at Korean writing and think it's beautiful but I actually have thought before that I could never wrap my head around the lines and circles LOL! Glad to know it's not as difficult to learn - maybe I should give it a try. If you ever do change your mind about Cantonese, I guess it may help to remember that we actually do use tones in English ... not to convey a different meaning of a word, but if you think about how we ask questions with the raised tone at the end for yes-no questions, then at least there is one frame of reference. For example, ask yourself in English: Are you American? and typically the tone would be higher at the end (unless you're an immigration officer, then it might be more of a command or statement lol). And certain words stress the syllables differently ... one that comes to mind that HK people seem to get wrong all the time is the word "purchase" ... an American like me would say "PURchase" but they say: "perCHASE" ... pronouncing "chase" as if they're running after something. :) Thanks again for commenting ... i love learning and discussing these kinds of things!

lol they pronounce it like "Per Chase" ??? loool. No problom. I am a bit of a language nerd and so I like looking into differnt languages and alphabets, things like that. Asian languages are very interesting to me. Cantonese is one of the hardest languages in the world to speak right? 6 tones is insane. I agree that we use tones to convey meaning, but not to change the word itself, and that is what tones do in Mandarin and Cantonese. So like in Korean I might not say it like the locals say it, but they know the word so they understand. In Chinese I could say it and just by tone is could mean something TOTALLY differnt. Like ma in mandarin could mean goat, hemp , mom , and some other things LOL. I just can't wrap my brain around that fact. Actually if I relaly really tried I could probably learn it, but tonal languages is one of those things that I just don't get. Where are you from? Like I said I am a big language nerd. Right now I am about intermediate in Korean. Korean is the only language I am learning but in a year or 2 when I am fluent I will move on to another Asian language. Not sure if I want to try Japanese , Cantonese or Mandarin. If I try to learn Cantonese I will DEFF contact you as a possible tutor or to answer questions. Do you know anything about Japanese? Their writing system is insane I am curious how it actually works. I like the Traditional Chinese Characters used in Hong Kong. It was stupid to simplify them.... They contain their own culture and so they should not be simplified. That is why I like Hong Kong. How on earth do you memorize thousands of Characters??? to be honest Korean is very very easy in comparison to Chinese languages. You would learn the alphabet in a day or 2. Korean is child's play in comparison.

​@@alexfriedman2047 How did I miss your reply!??! I'm sorry for only seeing it now. So interesting ... now I want to go learn Korean since K-Pop and designers and things are so popular right now :) I'm actually from Chicago, but have lived in Hong Kong since 1988. I guess I'd classify myself as a language nerd as well ... love how languages evolve and the meanings of words, where they came from, etc. I would love to be able to speak Japanese ... have been there lots of times and know a few words and that they have like 3 writing systems, but that's about it. I think English-French/Spanish-Mandarin-Japanese is the perfect quartet of languages to know ... I took years and years of French in school but have almost nothing to show for it (typical!), and Mandarin is just something I know I should learn, but until I NEED to learn it, I won't. I completely agree with you about simplified characters - what an abomination and it was so stupid to simplify them. It really says how little they think about their own people to dumb it down for them. If I had any say in it they would ban simplified characters everywhere in the world - they're so ugly and meaningless. But learning the characters isn't really that hard ... there are thousands of them, but there is a system and you can tell what some of them mean and how to pronounce them even if you don't know them based on their radical and other parts of the character. It's really not that hard and they're so beautiful. :) Thanks again for chatting with me and sorry again it took me so long to reply!

Cantonese Corner Oh cool I'm from SF California. Yeah Korean is super easy to learn. You can learn Hangul in a few days. The grammar is extreamly complex though. I heard Chinese grammar in the languages are much more like English and much easier. No tones though, and no Characters. They do use Hanja (Hanzi) and it is still part of the ancient culture , as well as good for learning nouns. I know like 30 or so. I intend to learn like 500. I want to be better at solid Korean though. It is such a beautiful language. I don't particularly like Mandarin, but I like Cantonese and I love the Hanja. It's weird that Hanja is ancient pronunciations for Korean that are nothing like modern Chinese. But it's cool that you can still communicate with them. For example I don't know a single word of Cantonese but with Hanja I could still communicate with you. I think that's pretty cool. It's so hard to learn languages. I am just going to stick with Korean, with Hanja on the side for fun. I would love to learn Mandarin or Cantonese one day. Do they mostly speak Cantonese in Hong Kong? It sounds like Hong Kong would be awesome to go to, compared to mainland China. I would love to go there one day. I am planning a trip to Korea, Japan and China. I love how the characters have thousands of years of history. For example 시간 sounds similar in Chinese. It means Time. There are so many words like that. 실 is the sound for the character 室 Even though room is 방 in Korean 실 is part of words like 화장실 (Bathroom.) So By knowing the Hanja you can guess what nouns mean without actually knowing. It is interesting. Languages all evolve from eachother. There are words from Japanese, Chiense ,English in Korean. I love the Chiense characters. I love being able to write "I have to go to school today in differnt languages."오늘 저는 학교에 가야 돼요. In Chinese 학교 is 學校 or just 校 right? 學校 is one of the 30 or so ones that I can actually draw correctly. The problem is I am speaking it in Korean, Not Chinese. So I would only be able to communicate by writing, not by speaking. I love language learning. Sorry I am rambling. I love Korean and Chinese. I also want to learn German and Russian at some point. German is beautiful and I am German so I want to learn it. Korean has been such a huge part of my life for almost a year now. I love learning new words and grammar rules , and writing sentences to myself in Hangul. Ok thanks for videos, have a good one.

@@annaku_eatswieners_ahaha They curse all the time for no reason, thankfully it's not usually directed at their passengers. I was using the literal translation as an example.