"I'm not sure if I should get the Aston Martin or the Jaguar XKR," Nicole stared at the glossy automotive magazine, her lunch lying untouched on the table. The growing stream of celebrity endorsements on everything from instant noodles to motor oil was taking its toll on everyone's favorite Cantonese podcaster. "I just wish it were easier to compare high-end performance cars," she sighed....

Learning Cantonese? In our first elementary Cantonese podcast, we take the chance to talk about comparisons. So if you already have a bit of Cantonese under your belt listen in and in less than ten minutes we'll cover the basics of how to make comparisons in the Cantonese language. And if you have any questions or comments? Feel free to leave a note in our discussion section below, or contact us by email. We'd love to hear from you.
thuanta
 said on
May 5, 2011
I'm glad that you guys are starting to put out Elementary lessons. :)
thuanta
 said on
May 5, 2011
In your transcript, why is it that there's a 人 radical in 佰, 仟, and 伍? The standard Chinese characters for these numbers do not have the 人 radical.
Benrose
 said on
May 5, 2011
Hey guys,

I was actually waiting for someone to bring this up... Been wondering about this too ;)

I was formerly under the impression (from having spent time on the mainland) that this is a question of normal writing （小寫）vs bankers anti-fraud numberals (大寫）used on bills, cheques, tickets etc. rather than simplified （簡體字） vs traditional chars （繁體字）.

HOWEVER...looking at written cantonese (e.g. on this very website) and even lyrics to songs in mandarin written by taiwanese (e.g. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NEOGrv0PK0Q) I see 大寫 used quite often instead of normal numbers.

What's the deal here Nicole? ;)

Philipp
nicole
 said on
May 5, 2011
@thuanta @Benrose

Thank you for the question. You're right, the 佰、仟、伍 in the transcript are inappropriate and have been replaced with normal characters now.

Numbers 一、二、三、四、五、六、七、八、九、十、百、千 can be written as 壹、貳、叄、肆、伍、陸、柒、捌、玖、拾、佰、仟。They are 大寫 characters and like Philipp said, are used for anti-fraud purposes and are often seen on checks, bills and receipts, etc. Street venders sometimes write in 大寫 characters.

You might also see them in the names of years for official purpose or historical reason, e.g. 壹玖肆玖年 ( Year of 1949), or 捌零年代 (1980s), like in the lyric to 笨小孩. It's more often used in Taiwan than in mainland or Hong Kong (e.g. 民國玖拾玖年, R.O.C.Year 99, or, Year of 2000). I've also seen cafes and studios use these characters on their names.
Benrose
 said on
May 5, 2011
thanks for clearing that up Nicole!

I guess the just have a little bit of "chique" and sophistication to them - just like 繁體字 on the mainland... (which i totally dig! :D )
nicole
 said on
May 5, 2011
@Benrose

唔使唔該，Phillip, 我應該嘅。

I think so. The more 繁體字 they have, the more 潮(ciu4, "chique") they are.