One of the most impressive things about Hong Kong is the absolutely incredible bladder control you will find on display throughout the city. Forget about the Chinese acrobatic acts featuring intense young Buddhists smashing their forearms through concrete cinderblocks. Considering the amount of bottled water locals go through ever day, the Hong Kong ability to stay focused under pressure is nothing short of performance art.We wondered about this for a long time, especially considering the heat and humidity that envelops the island every summer. But then we met Nicole, who is slowly sharing Hong Kong's secrets with us. "We don't really have a lot of choice in the matter," she said, before adding "and I think there's something wrong with you guys biologically." Our table was littered with empty bottles of mango and raspberry juice purchased at the local store. "But we also don't drink so much juice, and that makes a difference too."
trevelyan
said on March 23, 2011
Love this lesson, although I'm still having a hard time telling the difference between the second and fifth tone. In the spirit of practice-makes-perfect, we have now spent the morning going around the office telling our coworkers that there are no toilets in Chile.
Good stuff. :)
nicole
said on March 24, 2011
@trevelyan
Haha. I hope you're using the polite words when you say that.
trevelyan
said on March 24, 2011
We practiced with all three! On a side note, a friend of ours down here is called Maxine. She parents speak Cantonese with her, and when her mother heard her English name, she apparently thought her daughter had gone crazy named herself 咩事....
nicole
said on March 25, 2011
Lol. Maxine, 咩事, Hahahaha...
liangmale
said on April 2, 2011
有意思嘅課文
nicole
said on April 3, 2011
Hi liangmale
多謝捧場！
bryan_d_robinson
said on April 7, 2011
What are the tones on the following characters: 阿,啊,⼄? I tried to use MDBG to look them up, but it gives many pronunciations for 阿 and 啊, and ⼄ is not in the character dictionary.
nicole
said on April 7, 2011
@bryan_d_robinson
Hi Bryan,
Good question.
阿 has two pronunciations, aa3 and o1. aa3 is mostly used to call people by their nicknames or to address them informally, like 阿傑 (aa3 git6, Kit) and 阿成（aa3 sing4, Sing）, while the other sound o1 is rarely used, unless it's in a proper noun like 阿房宮（o1 fong4 gung1, Epang Palace）
啊 is used for all sorts of particles and interjections that has an aa sound. It has all the tones: aa1, aa2, aa3, aa4, aa5, aa6, the meaning of which depends on the context. It can indicate surprise, inquiry, doubt or realization, etc.
When it's aa1, 啊 can also be written as 吖. When it's aa3, aa4, aa5, aa6, 啊 can be written as 呀.
What's the ⼄ in your comment? Sorry I can't read it.
bryan_d_robinson
said on April 7, 2011
Thank you for the explanation on the particles!
⼄ comes from the PDF transcript actually. It is used in conjunction with 甲。 When I had to read legal documents in Japanese, it was used to note complex items in a list or document. Later in the document, one could use ⼄ to refer back to something.
I assume in your lesson PDF, these are used to reference anonymous speakers. While I can find the pronunciation and Cangjie codes for 甲, I was unable to find it for ⼄.
nicole
said on April 8, 2011
@bryan_d_robinson,
Hi Bryan,
No worries.
I think you mean 乙. It's pronounced as jyut3. In Chinese languages, 甲乙丙丁戊己庚辛壬癸 is the twelve characters to refer to orders, like ABCD in English. In our dialogues we have 甲 and 乙 as the two speakers.
Daniu
said on June 14, 2011
I finally got around to listening to this podcast and I noticed you put a natural, quickly spoken segment at the end. It's still a little fast for me now, but I'm really grateful that perhaps when I have a better ear I can listen to it. Thanks guys!Also I have a more general question. I went to Guangzhou last week and I didn't see any characters that looked cantonese. Perhaps they were there and I didn't notice, because they are colloquial. But does mainland China change any of the uniquely cantonese characters into simplified script? Or perhaps a better way to put it: If the CCP wrote this dialogue into a standard memo for distribution among all cadres, would it look largely the same, except for the obvious simplifications? Would a Beijinger know what 乜 means?
nicole
said on June 15, 2011
Hi Daniu,Thanks for the comment and feedback. Please try later podcast in this series. I believe they've got slower dialogues.The uniquely Cantonese characters like 乜 咩 嘅 are commonly spoken by all Cantonese but are rarely seen in publications, especially in mainland China, which means, if the CCP wrote this dialogue, it would look like a Mandarin script without any Cantonese character. And if you show 乜 or 嘅 to a Beijinger or Shanghaiese they probably would not know what it means. Scripts on our site are consistent with the dialogues on the podcast for study purpose, but normally spoken Cantonese are not consistent with what is written down, be it on Books or TV subtitles. For example, you might hear 去乜鬼廁所啫 in a HK TV show but you'll probably see 去什麽廁所 in the subtitle. This is especially common and obvious in mainland China as the subtitle or any text written down have to be intelligible to non-Cantonese speakers from outside Guangdong who are currently working or staying in Guangzhou otherwise they'll lose a large number of audience or customers, and also because Mandarin is the standard Chinese promoted by the government. But when colloquial Cantonese characters are written it feels especially Cantonese-y and dramatic and funny. My favorite HK actor/standup comedian 黃子華 had a standup comedy called 冇炭用, or, there's no coal. The 冇 is a uniquely Cantonese character.Hope it answers your question.
palafx
said on October 4, 2011
Hey, in the transcript and in the discussion, you talk about the guy saying "去乜鬼廁所啫?", but it sounds to me like he just says "去乜鬼廁所啊?", with a 啊 and not a 啫.
chiuyan
said on October 4, 2011
The male speaker in the dialogue definitely says "去乜鬼廁所吖", but when reviewing the dialogue, Nicole says 啫 instead of 吖. Maybe Nicole or another native can explain the differences.
Beginner
said on October 13, 2011
@chiuyanYes, Nicole says "啫" in the reviewing section.But in this context, actually, there is no big difference betwwen "去乜鬼廁所啊" and "去乜鬼廁所啫"; both "啫" and "啊" suggest a kind of impatience and irritation. Actually, "啫" and "啊" are freqquently used in conversations (as @palafx has mentioned in another discussion) and most time they are interchangeable. But unlike "啊", which is more general and can have different meanings according to the context and the speaker's intonation, "啫" is frequently used to suggest a kind of impatience and/or irritation (as in this lesson). If you see a "啫" at the end of a sentence with "!", it typically falls into this category. At other time, "啫" may be used to form a rhetorical question like "你做乜啫?" (What are you doing?). The speaker here usually is expressing his/her irrtation rather than literally asking what the other person is doing. Anyway, since "啫" is equivalent to "啊" in most cases, it's definitely okay to leave aside "啫" and just use "啊" to convey your meaning and feelings as well!Lotus
ChickenBall
said on April 26, 2012
This has nothing to do with the lesson (although it was an interesting lesson), but at 2:34, Brendan has me suspecting that he is a Battlestar Galactica fan. :)
fgfgdfgfgfd
said on April 21, 2023
As a pure document consultant for Biometric Passport and driving licence we are the best consultant for citizenship documents and Certificate. Pure documents have years in processing genuine documents and we also help new citizens from Europe and Asia to get valid documents from the real department. Pure Documents is the only place where you can use 15 minutes of your time and apply for a Fast EU Driving Licence/License or International Driving Licence application online. How to get a genuine second Passport and Second Citizenship Online from Pure Documents,Having dual citizenship means having two passports. It is an advantage to have two Passport for your immigration process. There are many reasons and advantage of having dual citizenship for example if you have two passport and the Government only knows about one you can use your second Passport and travel when you are in danger. A second Passport can help you increase your economic capital in a country as a foreigner.Most people carrying only one Citizenship and one Passport are vulnerable to capitals controls or restrictions of their movements. Pure Documents is the Best Passport Consultant Online and we have over 100 agents in Passport department from different countries and Fast visa consultant online for Immigration, Documents for new Passport Application online from Pure Documents as a genuine Passport Consultant online are genuine documents required for passport application,ADVANTAGES OF A SECOND PASSPORT-By acquiring a second passport, you can achieve a peace of mind that you will always have another place to turn to with your second citizenship or passport.-A second Passport gives you a hatch in times of economic or political choose when your country currency collapse.-With a second Passport you will have more options, while some might suggest that having one Passport makes you a slave to the Government.Passport1) Apply for Passport Online 2) Best Passport application 3) Passport Document number ((Mobile & WhatsApp : +1 (947) 465-0623 ))Email Info puredocumentsonline@gmail.com https://puredocuments.com/https://puredocuments.com/apply-for-birth-certificate-online/https://puredocuments.com/apply-for-cscs-card-after-passing-test/https://puredocuments.com/apply-for-green-card/https://puredocuments.com/apply-for-a-national-id-card-online/https://puredocuments.com/ielts-certificate-without-exams/https://puredocuments.com/apply-for-driving-license/https://puredocuments.com/apply-for-marriage-certificate/https://puredocuments.com/apply-for-passports-online/https://puredocuments.com/get-a-pte-certificate-online/https://puredocuments.com/get-a-telc-certificate-online/https://puredocuments.com/schengen-visa/ We are a leading provider of documents and services related to travel, citizenship, identification and licensing. We specialize in creating official government As a pure document consultant for Biometric Passport and driving licence we are the best consultant for citizenship documents and Certificate. Pure documents have years in processing genuine documents and we also help new citizens from Europe and Asia to get valid documents from the real department. Pure Documents is the only place where you can use 15 minutes of your time and apply for a Fast EU Driving Licence/License or International Driving Licence application online. How to get a genuine second Passport and Second Citizenship Online from Pure Documents,Having dual citizenship means having two passports. It is an advantage to have two Passport for your immigration process. There are many reasons and advantage of having dual citizenship for example if you have two passport and the Government only knows about one you can use your second Passport and travel when you are in danger. A second Passport can help you increase your economic capital in a country as a foreigner.Most people carrying only one Citizenship and one Passport are vulnerable to capitals controls or restrictions of their movements. Pure Documents is the Best Passport Consultant Online and we have over 100 agents in Passport department from different countries and Fast visa consultant online for Immigration, Documents for new Passport Application online from Pure Documents as a genuine Passport Consultant online are genuine documents required for passport application,ADVANTAGES OF A SECOND PASSPORT-By acquiring a second passport, you can achieve a peace of mind that you will always have another place to turn to with your second citizenship or passport.-A second Passport gives you a hatch in times of economic or political choose when your country currency collapse.-With a second Passport you will have more options, while some might suggest that having one Passport makes you a slave to the Government.Passport1) Apply for Passport Online 2) Best Passport application 3) Passport Document number ((Mobile & WhatsApp : +1 (947) 465-0623 ))Email Info puredocumentsonline@gmail.com https://puredocuments.com/https://puredocuments.com/apply-for-birth-certificate-online/https://puredocuments.com/apply-for-cscs-card-after-passing-test/https://puredocuments.com/apply-for-green-card/https://puredocuments.com/apply-for-a-national-id-card-online/https://puredocuments.com/ielts-certificate-without-exams/https://puredocuments.com/apply-for-driving-license/https://puredocuments.com/apply-for-marriage-certificate/https://puredocuments.com/apply-for-passports-online/https://puredocuments.com/get-a-pte-certificate-online/https://puredocuments.com/get-a-telc-certificate-online/https://puredocuments.com/schengen-visa/ We are a leading provider of documents and services related to travel, citizenship, identification and licensing. We specialize in creating official government As a pure document consultant for Biometric Passport and driving licence we are the best consultant for citizenship documents and Certificate. Pure documents have years in processing genuine documents and we also help new citizens from Europe and Asia to get valid documents from the real department. Pure Documents is the only place where you can use 15 minutes of your time and apply for a Fast EU Driving Licence/License or International Driving Licence application online. How to get a genuine second Passport and Second Citizenship Online from Pure Documents,Having dual citizenship means having two passports. It is an advantage to have two Passport for your immigration process. There are many reasons and advantage of having dual citizenship for example if you have two passport and the Government only knows about one you can use your second Passport and travel when you are in danger. A second Passport can help you increase your economic capital in a country as a foreigner.Most people carrying only one Citizenship and one Passport are vulnerable to capitals controls or restrictions of their movements. Pure Documents is the Best Passport Consultant Online and we have over 100 agents in Passport department from different countries and Fast visa consultant online for Immigration, Documents for new Passport Application online from Pure Documents as a genuine Passport Consultant online are genuine documents required for passport application,ADVANTAGES OF A SECOND PASSPORT-By acquiring a second passport, you can achieve a peace of mind that you will always have another place to turn to with your second citizenship or passport.-A second Passport gives you a hatch in times of economic or political choose when your country currency collapse.-With a second Passport you will have more options, while some might suggest that having one Passport makes you a slave to the Government.Passport1) Apply for Passport Online 2) Best Passport application 3) Passport Document number ((Mobile & WhatsApp : +1 (947) 465-0623 ))Email Info puredocumentsonline@gmail.com https://puredocuments.com/https://puredocuments.com/apply-for-birth-certificate-online/https://puredocuments.com/apply-for-cscs-card-after-passing-test/https://puredocuments.com/apply-for-green-card/https://puredocuments.com/apply-for-a-national-id-card-online/https://puredocuments.com/ielts-certificate-without-exams/https://puredocuments.com/apply-for-driving-license/https://puredocuments.com/apply-for-marriage-certificate/https://puredocuments.com/apply-for-passports-online/https://puredocuments.com/get-a-pte-certificate-online/https://puredocuments.com/get-a-telc-certificate-online/https://puredocuments.com/schengen-visa/ We are a leading provider of documents and services related to travel, citizenship, identification and licensing. We specialize in creating official government
qualitybills-documents
said on January 18, 2024
BUY QUALITY BANK NOTES TOP CURRENCIES AVAILABLE Whatsapp:(+639950791362)GET YOUR VALID DOCUMENTS TOTOP QUALITY MONEY FOR SALE. DOLLAR, POUNDS, EUROS AND OTHER CURRENCIESAVAILABLE WE HAVE PARTNERS IN EVERY CONTINENT SO IF IN CASE YOU ARE LOOKINGFOR A FACE TO FACE DEAL THEN JUST CONTACT AND STATE YOUR LOCATION AND YOUSHALL HAVE YOUR BILLS. WE ALSO ISSUE DOCUMENTS LIKE (PASSPORTS, DRIVER LICENSE, ID CARDS, IELTS, TOEFL, PTE AND ALL KIND OF DOCUMENTS YOU MIGHT NEED TODAYWith over a billion of our products circulating around the world. We offer onlyoriginal high-quality currency NOTES. We ship worldwide. We also printand sell Grade A banknotes of over 52 currencies in the world. Here is your chanceto be a millionaire. Our money is perfectly reproduced,Indistinguishable to the eyeand to the touch. We are sending in various sizes, packed and hidden. All our notescarries all the holograms and water marks and passes the light detector test. Wewill deliver the money directly to your home without the interference of customs .we have a Huge quantity ready in stock.We use latest technology to produce our notes so that it looks 100% identical tothe real note. This thus implies all security features present in the real notesare present in the note we make. Our team is made up of Quality IT technicians fromNorth Korea, USA, Russia, India and China. We offer high quality NOTES for all currencies.TO FIND OUT IF YOU CAN BUY FROM ME OR NOT ALL YOU NEED TO DO IS CONTCAT ME FIRST, I CAN GUARANTEEYOU THAT YOU WILL BE SHOCKED WITH MY SERVICE. FACE TO FACE DEALS ALSO AVAILABLE TO THOSE WHO ARE SKEPTICAL SO YOU CAN BUY FACE TO FACE AND ALSOGET TO TEST SAMPLES FIRST BEFORE YOU PLACE AN ORDER. CONTACT ME WITH CONFIDENT AND FIND OUT THE MAGIC IN COUNTERFEIT AND DOCUMENTS WORLD!!! CONTACT FOR MORE DETAILS!!!Email-: qualitybills-documents@proton.meSkype Name:Ranko322Wickr: Ranko322Telegram: @Bestplug505WhatsApp: +639950791362Website Links: https://rankodocsolutions.com/euro-bills/Feel free to ask questions before placing your order, I AM HERE TO HELP 100%SERIOUS INQUIRIES ONLY PLEASE
