Supplementary Vocabulary - Family

Family Dialogue 1 Yale Romanization English Translation A: nei5 uk1kei2 yau5 gei2do1 go3 yan4 a3? A: How many people are there in your family? B: ngo5 uk1kei2 yau5 ng5 go3 yan4; yau5 ngo5 B: There are 5 people in my family: there’s my dad, ba4ba1, ma4ma1, ga1je1, sai3lou2, tung4maai4 ngo5. mom, older sister, younger brother, and me. How nei5 uk1kei2 ne1? about your family? A: ngo5 uk1kei2 ji2 yau5 saam3 go3 yan4 – ngo5 A: There are only 3 people in my family: my dad, fu6mou5 tung4maai4 ngo5. ngo5 mou5 mom, and me. I don’t have brothers and sisters. hing1dai6ji2mui2 Note: [1] uk1kei2 ‘home’ is used here to refer to immediate family; the word uk1 by itself refers to house. [2] ba4ba1ma4ma1 is a more colloquial way of referring to both parents, the more formal way is fu6mou5. Vocabulary Part of Speech English Meaning Yale Romanization uk1kei2 N home; family 2 yau V to exist, to have go3 MW measure for people ba4ba1 N father ma4ma1 N mother ga1je1 N older sister sai3lou2 N younger brother tung4maai4 Conj. and, with mou5 V to not exist, not exist hing1dai6ji2mui2 N brothers and sisters ji2 Adv. only fu6mou5 N parents ma4ma1ba4ba1 N mom and dad Note: For other family members, please refer to handout. Dialogue 2 English Translation Yale Romanization A: nei5 yau3 mou5 hing1dai6ji2mui2 a3? A: Do you have any brothers and sisters? B: ngo5 yau5 yat1 go3 ga1je1. B: I have a sister. 5 6 3 5 2 1 4 3 A: keui daai (gwo ) nei gei do nin a ? A: How many years is she older than you? B: keui5 daai6 (gwo3) ngo5 saam1 nin4. B: She is older than me by 3 years. A: o5…ngo5 yau5 yat1 go3 sai3lou2. keui5 sai3 (gwo3) A: Oh…I have a younger brother. He is younger ngo5 leung5 nin4. than me by 2 years. Note: The comparative gwo3 is occasionally omitted. Vocabulary Yale Romanization daai6 gwo3 2 gei do1 (+ MW) sai3 leung5 Part of Speech Adj. V. QW Adj. Det. Supplementary Adjectives Meaning Yale do1 Adj./Adv. many/more English Meaning big, large to pass how many…? small, little two (used with measures) Yale hau6saang1/ nin1ching1 Meaning young siu2 gou1 ai2 Adj./Adv. few/less tall, high short, low (physically) dai1 cheung4 dyun2 fei4 sau3 hou2 heng1 chung5 waai6 cha1 san1 low long short fat skinny good light heavy bad, out of order worse, bad, lacking new Dialogue 3 Yale Romanization A: nei5 uk1kei2 yau5 mou5 chung2mat6 a3? B: ngo5 yau5 yat1 jek3 gau2 tung4 yat1 jek3 maau1. nei5 ne1? A: ngo5dei6 gau2 tung4 maau1 dou1 mou5, daan6hai6 ngo5 yau5 gei2 tiu4 gam1yu2. B: nei5dei6 dim2gaai2 mou5 gau2 tung4 maau1 a3? A: yan1wai6 ngo5 ma4ma1 m4 jung1yi6 yeung5 gau2 tung4 maau1, so2yi5 ngo5dei6 uk1kei5 mou5 lo1. Vocabulary Yale Romanization chung2mat6 jek3 Part of Speech N MW Supplementary Vocabulary Yale Romanization ni1 + MW go2 + MW ni1dou6 go2dou6 Part of Speech Dem. Dem. N N gwai3 peng4 lek1/ sing2muk6/ chung1ming4 lou5 gau6 cheun2 deun6 yun5 kan2 faai3 maan6 yit6 dung3 naan4 expensive inexpensive smart old old stupid slow-witted far close fast slow hot cold difficult English Translation A: Do you have any pets at home? B: I have a dog and a cat. How about you? A: We neither have cats nor dogs, but I do have a few goldfish. B: Why don’t you have cats and dogs? A: Since my mom doesn’t like to raise cats and dogs, so we don’t have any at home. English Meaning pet measure for many animals, body parts, objects gau2 N dog maau1 N cat tung4 Conj. and, with dou1 Adv. both, all, every 6 6 daan hai Conj. but, however gei2 + MW Det. several, few… tiu4 MW measure for long animals and objects gam1yu2 N goldfish yan1wai6 Conj. because, since yeung5 V. to raise, train, foster 2 5 so yi Conj. therefore, so Note: [1] This use of dou1 is different from the usage of dou1 meaning ‘also’. English Meaning this… that… here there, over there ni1bin6(1) go2bin6(1) N N this side that side, over that side Grammar 1) Existential Verbs yau5 ‘to exist, to have’, mou5 ‘to not exist, to have’ In Cantonese, the verb yau5, which loosely translates to “to exist, to have, there is” has an extensive set of functions depending on whether it is used with nouns, verbs, or adjectives. In this lesson, we will make use yau5 followed by nouns, which has the above-mentioned meaning of existence and possession. Examples: ngo5 yau5 saam1 jek3 gau2. I have three dogs. Paak3Hak1Loi4 yau5 hou2 do1 hok6saang1. Berkeley has many students/There are many students in Berkeley. ni1dou6 yau5 yat1 jek3 maau1 There is a cat here. The negative form of yau5 is mou5, which means ‘to not have, to not exist’. Example: ngo5 mou5 hing1dai6ji2mui2. I have no brothers and sisters. fo3sat1 leui5min6 mou5 toi2dang3. (fo3sat1: classroom, leui5min6: inside, toi2dang3: tables and chairs) There are tables or chairs in the classroom. go2dou6 mou5 chi3so2 (chi3so2: toilet, restroom) There are no restrooms there. 2) Measure Words Measure words (or noun classifiers) are a crucial part of the structure of Cantonese nouns. Each noun in Cantonese is assigned in classifier, whether it be one specific to the noun or a more generic one. In English, the closest things to measure words are count words that are specific to certain nouns, such as: a pride of lions, a pair of pants, a cup of coffee, a flock of sheep. As with these count words, measure words in Cantonese have to be learned, and the use of the proper measure is important in conversation. Measure words are needed in the following situations: a) when counting/quantifying Ex: yat1 jek3 gau2 ‘one dog’; mui5 tiu4 fish ‘every fish’ b) with demonstratives ni1 ‘this’, go2 ‘that’ Ex: ni1 go3 hok6saang1 ‘this student’; go2 gaan1 hok1haau6 ‘that school’ c) with question words (QW) Ex: gei2do1 go3 yan4 ‘how many persons?’; bin1 jo6 suk1se5 ‘which dorm?’ 3) Conjunction tung4 (maai4) ‘and, with’ tung4 or tung4maai4 is used when connecting nouns, noun phrases, or for lists. They are interchangeable in many cases, although when used to express personal relationships tung4 is often used. Examples: ngo5 jung1yi3 sou3hok6, ging1jai3hok6, tung4maai4 ying1man4 I like Math, Economics, and English. keui5 tung4 ngo5 hai6 hou2 pang4yau5. He and I are good friends. ngo5 hou2 jang1 sai2 saam1 tung4 dou2 laap6saap3. (jang1: to hate, sai2 saam1: to wash clothes; dou2 laap6saap3: to take out the trash) I really hate doing laundry and taking out the trash. ngo5 tung4 keui5 yat1chai4 heui3 leui5hang4. (yat1chai4: together; heui3: to go; leui5hang4: travel) I go traveling together with him/He and I go traveling together. 4) Making Comparisons with gwo3 gwo3 in Chinese originally meant ‘to pass’, but in Cantonese it developed a comparative usage, in the following pattern: A + Adj. + gwo3 + B + [Adv/degree modifier] Examples: keui5 gou1 gwo3 ngo5. “A is more [adj.] than B” He is taller than me. Mei5Gwok3 daai6 gwo3 Ying1Gwok3 hou2 do1. The USA is a lot larger than England. ngo5 ga1je1 daai6 (gwo3) sei3 nin4. My sister is 4 years older than I am. Note: This is not the only comparative pattern used in Cantonese; there is another more formal construction that is similar to the Mandarin comparative. This will be discussed later. 5) Conjunction daan6hai6 ‘but, however’ A common pattern in Cantonese is seui1yin4…, daan6hai6…, which means ‘although…, but…’ and is used when the first clause is used to make a concession that the second (main) clause contradicts. Examples: seui1yin4 ngo5 hai6 Gwong2Dung1Yan4, daan6hai6 ngo5 m4 sik1 Gwong2Dung1Wa2. (sik1: to know, Gwong2Dung1Wa2: Cantonese) Although I am Cantonese, (but) I don’t know Cantonese. seui1yin4 ngo5 ma4ma1 m4 jung1yi3 gau2, daan6hai6 ngo5 jung1yi6. Although my mom dislikes dogs, I like (them). In the dialogue daan6hai6 is used by itself in the second clause, which simply concedes what was mentioned before it. Examples: ni1 bun2 syu1 hou2 cheung4, daan6hai6 hou2 tai2. (bun2: MW, syu1: book, tai2: to look) This book is long, but good. ngo5 jung1yi3 yeung5 maau1, daan6hai6 m4 jung1yi3 yeung5 gau2. I like raising cats, but I dislike raising dogs. 6) Expression yan1wai6…so2yi5… ‘since/because…, therefore…” The expression yan1wai6…so2yi5… is used to indicate a reason for something, in which the first clause gives the reason for whatever is in the second (main) clause. Examples: yan1wai6 jyu6 dorm hou2 gwai6, so2yi5 ngo5 jou1 paak1man2 jyu6. (jou1: to rent) Since living in dorms is very expensive; (therefore), I’m renting an apartment. yan1wai6 ngo5 jung1yi3 gai3sou3, so2yi5 ngo5 jyu2sau1 sou3hok6. (gai3sou3: to do calculations, do math) Since I like to do math, I’m majoring in Mathematics. so2yi5 ‘therefore, so’ can also be used by itself in the second clause. Example: keui5 hai2 Heung1Gong2 lei4, so2yi5 keui5 sik1 Gwong2Dung1Wa2. He’s from Hong Kong, so he knows Cantonese. 7) Adverb dou1 ‘both, all, every, each’ dou1 is a word that has a broad range of functions. One function, to simply put it, is to express a sense of ‘both’, all, every, each’ in referring to a noun in the sentence. Example: ngo5dei6 gau2 tung4 maau1 dou1 mou5. We do not have cats or dogs. (In English, since it’s a negative, we have to translate it a bit differently, but literally, we’re saying [we - cats - and - dogs - both - not have]. Take for example the positive statement below and it’s a bit more obvious) ngo5dei6 gau2 tung4 maau1 dou1 yau5. We have both cats and dogs. Other Examples: keui5 ga3ga3 che1 dou1 jung1yi3. (ga3: MW, che1: car) He likes every car. ngo5 mat1ye5 syu1 dou1 m4 tai2 I don’t read any books. (Again, as we pointed out, in English dou1 doesn’t have a direct translation) Note: As mentioned earlier, this function of dou1 is grammatically different from the dou1 meaning ‘also’ (even though it’s the same character) 8) Demonstratives ni1 ‘this’, go2 ‘that’ The demonstratives ni1 ‘this’, go2 ‘that’ must be accompanied by a measure word. Example: ni1 go3 pang4yau5 ‘this friend’ ni1 jo6 daai6ha6 ‘this building’ go2 go3 tung4hok6 ‘that classmate’ go2 bun2 syu1 ‘that book’ Family Terms (ga1 juk6) father mother brother (older) (younger) brothers sister (older) (younger) sisters ba4 ba1 / a3 ba4 / lou2 dau6 (colloq.) ma4 ma1 / a3 ma1 go4 go1 / a3 go1 / daai6 lou2 (colloq.) sai3 lou2 hing1 dai6 ga1 je1 sai3 mui2 / mui2 ji2 mui2 son daughter husband wife jai2 neui2 jeung6 fu1/ lou5 gung1 (colloq.) taai3 taai2 / lou5 po4 (colloq.) Paternal Relatives grandfather grandmother cousin (male, older) (male, younger) (female, older) (female, younger) uncle (older than father) uncle’s wife uncle (younger than father) uncle’s wife aunt (older than father) (younger than father) aunt’s husband ye4 ye2 / a3 ye4 ma4 ma4 / a3 ma4 tong4 a3 go1 tong4 sai3 lou2 tong4 ga1 je1 tong4 sai3 mui2 baak3 fu6 baak3 leung4/baak3 mou5 a3 suk1 a3 sam2 gu1 ma1 gu1 je1 gu1 jeung2 Maternal Relatives grandfather gung1 gung1 / a3 gung1 grandmother po4 po2 / a3 po4 cousin (male, older) biu2 go1 (male, younger) biu2 dai6 (female, older) biu2 je2 (female, younger) biu2 mui2 uncle kau5 fu2 uncle’s wife kam5 mou2 aunt (older than mother) yi4 ma1 (younger than mother)a3 yi1 aunt’s husband yi4 jeung2