Cantonese Chinese · Cantonese Band 1 (A1) · Chapter 6
呢個係我屋企人。This is my family.
Family words: 爸爸, 媽媽, 家姐, 仔, 女. 嘅 for "X's", and when to leave it out: 我媽媽, 我個仔.
Dialogue
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我屋企人— My family
- KaYan呢個係邊個呀？Who's this?
- Mike呢個係我爸爸，呢個係我媽媽。This is my dad, and this is my mum.
- KaYan嗰個呢？And that one?
- Mike嗰個係我家姐。That's my older sister.
- KaYan你家姐好靚呀！Your sister's really pretty!
- Mike多謝！Thanks! (on her behalf)
Dialogue
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黃太嘅仔女— Mrs Wong's son and daughter
- WongTaaiMike，呢個係我個仔。Mike, this is my son.
- Mike黃太嘅仔？好靚仔！Your son, Mrs Wong? Very handsome!
- WongTaai多謝！嗰個係我個女。Thank you! And that's my daughter.
- Mike你個女係唔係老師？Is your daughter a teacher?
- WongTaai係呀！佢係老師。She is! She's a teacher.
- Mike何老師？Ms Ho?
- WongTaai唔係！佢姓黃呀！No! Her surname is Wong!
Vocabulary
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- 屋企人
nounfamily members; family
- 爸爸
noundad
- 媽媽
nounmum
- 家姐
nounolder sister
- 仔
nounson (我個仔 = my son)
- 女
noundaughter (我個女 = my daughter; said neoi2)
- 嘅
particle"'s" — marks whose (黃太嘅仔 = Mrs Wong's son)
- 靚
adjectivepretty; good-looking; nice
- 好
adverbvery (before an adjective: 好靚 = very pretty)
- 靚仔
adjectivehandsome (of a man or boy)
New characters
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- 屋
house (in 屋企)
- 企
to stand; (in 屋企 = home, said kei2)
- 人
person; people
- 爸
dad (爸爸)
- 媽
mum (媽媽)
- 姐
older sister (家姐)
- 仔
son; boy (仔, 靚仔)
- 女
woman; daughter (as "daughter" said neoi2)
- 嘅
"'s" — possessive marker
- 靚
pretty; good-looking
Grammar
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嘅: "X's"
Explanation
嘅 goes between two things to say whose: 黃太嘅仔 "Mrs Wong's son", 家欣嘅電話 "Ka-yan's phone". Pronouns work the same way: 我嘅 "my, mine", 你嘅 "your(s)", 佢嘅 "his, her(s)". When it is clear, the thing after 嘅 can drop: 呢個係我嘅 "this one is mine".
Examples
- 黃太嘅仔Mrs Wong's son
- 家欣嘅電話Ka-yan's phone
- 呢個係我嘅。This one's mine.
- 嗰個係佢嘅。That one's hers.
Grammar
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When 嘅 drops out: family, and a measure word
Explanation
With family and people close to you, 嘅 is usually left out: 我爸爸, 我媽媽, 你家姐, 我朋友. Another way is a measure word in place of 嘅: 我個仔 "my son", 我個女 "my daughter", 佢個電話 "her phone". This is very common in speech. So Mike's 我媽媽 and Mrs Wong's 我個仔 are both right.
Examples
- 我爸爸my dad
- 你家姐your older sister
- 我個仔my son
- 佢個女her daughter
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