Cantonese Chinese · Cantonese Band 1 (A1) · Chapter 13
太貴喇！That's too expensive!
太 + adjective + 喇 "too…": 太貴喇! — and how 好貴 differs from 太貴; adjective + 啲 "a bit more…": 平啲, 靚啲, and 平啲啦 for bargaining; plus shops, bags, and hundreds: 一百, 九百.
Dialogue
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喺舖頭— At the shop
- Mike家欣，呢個袋好靚呀！Ka-yan, this bag is really nice!
- KaYan幾多錢呀？How much is it?
- Mike九百蚊。Nine hundred dollars.
- KaYan九百蚊？太貴喇！Nine hundred? That's too expensive!
- KaYan呢個平啲，三百蚊。This one's cheaper — three hundred.
- Mike三百蚊？都好貴呀！Three hundred? That's expensive too!
- KaYan你個袋呢？幾多錢呀？What about your bag? How much was it?
- Mike我個袋？喺街市買，十五蚊！My bag? Bought at the market — fifteen dollars!
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平啲啦！— Cheaper, please!
- WongTaai老闆，橙幾多錢呀？Boss, how much are the oranges?
- LouBaan三個二十蚊。Three for twenty dollars.
- WongTaai二十蚊？太貴喇！平啲啦！Twenty? That's too much! Cheaper, please!
- LouBaan平啲？三個十八蚊啦。Cheaper? Three for eighteen, then.
- WongTaai十五蚊！Fifteen!
- LouBaan好啦好啦，十五蚊。要唔要袋呀？All right, all right — fifteen. Do you want a bag?
- WongTaai唔要，我有袋。No need, I have a bag.
Vocabulary
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- 舖頭
nounshop
- 袋
nounbag (said doi2)
- 百
numeralhundred (九百 "nine hundred")
- 貴
adjectiveexpensive
- 平
adjectivecheap
- 太
adverbtoo (太貴 "too expensive")
- 喇
particleparticle: something has changed or now holds (太貴喇 "that's too expensive")
- 啲
m.a bit (after an adjective: 平啲 "a bit cheaper")
New characters
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- 舖
shop (in 舖頭)
- 頭
head; a noun ending (in 舖頭 said tau2)
- 袋
bag (said doi2 as "a bag")
- 百
hundred
- 貴
expensive
- 平
cheap (said peng4)
- 喇
particle of change (太貴喇)
- 啲
a bit; some
Grammar
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Too much: 太 + adjective + 喇
Explanation
太 + adjective = "too…": more than you want. 太貴 "too expensive", 太熱 "too hot", 太後生 "too young". The sentence usually ends in 喇: 太貴喇! 喇 says "that's how it is now". 好貴 and 太貴 are different. 好貴 just says it is expensive; 太貴喇 says it is so expensive that you won't buy it. The moment Ka-yan hears nine hundred: 九百蚊？太貴喇! Mrs Wong says the same: 二十蚊？太貴喇!
Examples
- 呢個袋太貴喇。This bag is too expensive.
- 呢杯咖啡太熱喇。This coffee is too hot.
- 九百蚊太貴喇。Nine hundred dollars is too much.
- 佢太後生喇。He's too young.
Grammar
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A bit more: adjective + 啲 (平啲 "cheaper")
Explanation
An adjective + 啲 means "a bit more…": 平啲 "cheaper", 靚啲 "nicer", 熱啲 "hotter". 啲 goes after the adjective, never before it: 平啲, not 啲平. It is also how you compare two things: 呢個平啲 "this one is cheaper" (than the other one). To bargain: 平啲啦! 啦 turns it into a request. As soon as Mrs Wong says 平啲啦, the stallholder comes down from twenty dollars to eighteen.
Examples
- 呢個平啲。This one is cheaper.
- 老闆，平啲啦！Boss, a bit cheaper, please!
- 嗰件衫靚啲。That top is nicer.
- 有冇平啲呀？Is there anything cheaper?
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