Cantonese Chinese · Cantonese Band 1 (A1) · Chapter 9
你做乜嘢工？What do you do for work?
Talking about work: 做乜嘢工, 侍應, 公司; saying where you work with 喺, the place going before the verb. Pronunciation: how 一, 六, 十 and 食 end.
Dialogue
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茶餐廳— The café
- Mike阿明，你做乜嘢工呀？Ah Ming, what do you do for work?
- AhMing我喺呢間茶餐廳做嘢。I work at this café.
- Mike你係侍應？You're a waiter?
- AhMing係呀。我係學生，都係侍應。Yep. I'm a student — and a waiter too.
- Mike好辛苦呀！That must be tough!
- AhMing唔辛苦！我食好多嘢！Not tough! I get to eat loads!
Dialogue
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你喺邊度做嘢？— Where do you work?
- WongTaaiMike，你喺邊度做嘢呀？Mike, where do you work?
- Mike我喺一間公司做嘢。I work at a company.
- WongTaai乜嘢公司呀？What kind of company?
- Mike電腦公司。A computer company.
- WongTaai我個仔都喺電腦公司做嘢！My son works at a computer company too!
- Mike邊間呀？Which one?
- WongTaai唔知呀！No idea!
Vocabulary
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- 做
verbto do; to work as
- 做嘢
verbto work (lit. do things)
- 工
nounjob (做乜嘢工？ "what job do you do?")
- 喺
prepositionat; in; to be at (place before the verb)
- 間
m.measure word for shops, companies, rooms
- 茶餐廳
nounHong Kong-style café (cha chaan teng)
- 侍應
nounwaiter; waitress
- 辛苦
adjectivehard; tough; tiring
- 食
verbto eat
- 公司
nouncompany; office
- 電腦
nouncomputer
- 邊度
pronounwhere
- 知
verbto know (a fact) — 唔知 = don't know
New characters
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- 做
to do; to make
- 工
work; job
- 喺
at; in (a Cantonese character)
- 間
measure word for shops and companies; room
- 茶
tea
- 餐
meal (in 茶餐廳)
- 廳
hall (in 茶餐廳)
- 侍
to serve (in 侍應)
- 應
to respond (in 侍應, said jing3)
- 辛
hard; bitter (in 辛苦)
- 苦
bitter; hardship (in 辛苦)
- 食
to eat
- 公
public (in 公司)
- 司
to manage (in 公司)
- 腦
brain (in 電腦 = computer)
- 度
place (in 邊度, 呢度)
- 知
to know
Grammar
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Asking about jobs: 做乜嘢工
Explanation
The usual way to ask someone's job is 你做乜嘢工呀? — literally "what work do you do?". There are two ways to answer. With 係 + a job: 我係侍應 "I'm a waiter", 我係老師 "I'm a teacher". Or with where you work: 我喺茶餐廳做嘢 "I work at a café". 做嘢 "to work" is everyday speech: literally "to do things".
Examples
- 你做乜嘢工呀？What do you do for work?
- 我係侍應。I'm a waiter.
- 佢係老師。She's a teacher.
- 我喺公司做嘢。I work at a company.
Grammar
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喺 + place + verb: the place comes first
Explanation
To say where you do something, the place goes before the verb: 我喺公司做嘢 "I work at a company" — not 我做嘢喺公司. 喺 can also be the verb itself, "to be at": 佢喺茶餐廳 "he's at the café". Ask with 邊度 "where": 你喺邊度做嘢呀? The answer goes in the same slot: 我喺公司做嘢.
Examples
- 我喺茶餐廳做嘢。I work at a café.
- 你喺邊度做嘢呀？Where do you work?
- 佢喺茶餐廳。He's at the café.
- 我個仔都喺電腦公司做嘢。My son works at a computer company too.
pronunciation
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