Cantonese Chinese · Cantonese Band 1 (A1) · Chapter 15
唔該，埋單！The bill, please!
Asking for things: 唔該，俾杯水我, and what 唔該 means at the start and at the end; 喇 at the end of a sentence for a change: 冇錢找喇, 唔使喇; plus the menu, the bill, change and the Octopus card. Culture: how do you pay in Hong Kong?
Dialogue
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餐牌— The menu
- Mike阿明，唔該，俾個餐牌我。Ah Ming, the menu, please.
- AhMing好。你要乜嘢呀？Sure. What would you like?
- Mike唔該，俾杯凍奶茶我。A cold milk tea, please.
- AhMing凍奶茶，好。Cold milk tea, got it.
- Mike唔該，俾杯水我。唔該！And a glass of water, please. Thank you!
- AhMingMike，你成日都講唔該！Mike, you're always saying 唔該!
- Mike係呀。唔該！I am. Thanks!
Dialogue
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冇錢找喇！— No change left!
- Mike阿明，唔該，埋單！Ah Ming, the bill, please!
- AhMing二十二蚊。Twenty-two dollars.
- Mike俾你一百蚊。Here's a hundred.
- AhMing一百蚊？我冇錢找喇！A hundred? I've got no change left!
- AhMing你有冇八達通呀？Have you got an Octopus card?
- Mike冇。我冇八達通。No. I don't have an Octopus card.
- KaYan唔使喇，我俾！我有八達通。Never mind, I'll pay! I've got an Octopus card.
- Mike多謝你，家欣！Thank you, Ka-yan!
Vocabulary
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- 餐牌
nounmenu
- 凍
adjectivecold; iced (凍奶茶 "iced milk tea")
- 水
nounwater
- 成日
adverbalways; all the time
- 講
verbto say; to speak
- 埋單
verbto ask for the bill; to pay the bill
- 找錢
verbto give change (冇錢找 "no change to give")
- 八達通
nounOctopus card (Hong Kong's tap-to-pay card)
- 唔使
phraseno need; don't need to (唔使喇 "never mind")
New characters
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- 牌
sign; card (in 餐牌 said paai2)
- 凍
cold; iced
- 水
water
- 成
whole (in 成日 "all day, always", said seng4)
- 日
day; sun
- 講
to say; to speak
- 找
to give change (in 找錢)
- 單
bill; list; single (in 埋單)
- 達
to reach (in 八達通)
- 通
through; to get through (in 八達通)
Grammar
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Asking for things: 唔該，俾 X 我
Explanation
To ask someone to give you something: 唔該，俾 + thing + 我. The thing goes between 俾 "give" and 我 "me": 俾杯水我 "a glass of water for me", 俾個餐牌我 "a menu for me". The thing usually has its measure word. When you want just one, 一 can be left out: 俾杯水我 means 俾一杯水我. 唔該 at the start means "excuse me, could you"; at the end it means "thank you". Like Mike, you can say it at both ends. For a request where nothing is handed over, just say it: 唔該，埋單! "The bill, please!"
Examples
- 唔該，俾杯咖啡我。A coffee, please.
- 唔該俾個袋我。Could I have a bag, please?
- 唔該，俾件衫我試吓。Could I try the top on, please?
- 唔該，埋單。The bill, please.
Grammar
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喇: something has changed
Explanation
喇 laa3 at the end of a sentence tells the listener that things have changed: it is different now. Ah Ming had change before; now he has none: 我冇錢找喇! "I've got no change left!" Ka-yan was waiting for change; now there is no need: 唔使喇 "never mind". Chapter 13's 太貴喇 works the same way: now that you know the price, it has become too expensive. Don't mix it up with 啦 laa1: 啦 suggests or asks (好啦, 試吓啦); 喇 reports a change.
Examples
- 我冇錢喇！I'm out of money!
- 唔使喇，多謝。No need now, thanks.
- 佢廿五歲喇。He's twenty-five now.
- 好喇，埋單！Right, the bill!
Culture
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點樣俾錢？How do you pay in Hong Kong?
There are many ways to pay in Hong Kong: cash, the Octopus card, credit cards, phones. Many hotels, shops and restaurants take them.
Cash
Hong Kong uses the Hong Kong dollar. In speech a dollar is 蚊 man1: 十蚊, 一百蚊.
Some shops may refuse HK$500 and HK$1,000 notes, even though they are legal tender, so smaller notes are easier to use.
The Octopus card
The Octopus card (八達通 baat3 daat6 tung1) was launched in September 1997 to pay fares on public transport.
It is a stored-value card: hold it against or close to the reader, and you have paid. It works on most public transport and in fast-food restaurants, supermarkets, convenience stores and vending machines. When the money runs low, you add value at MTR stations and add-value machines.
In 2018 more than 33 million cards were in circulation, used by 99 per cent of Hong Kong residents.
The name means roughly "go anywhere": 八達 points to the eight directions, and eight is also a lucky number in Chinese culture.
Before you pay the bill
Most restaurants add a 10% service charge to the bill; some cafés and diners do not.
In some places the staff bring tea, sauces or snacks you did not order, and these go on the bill.
When you shop, stores charge at least HK$1 for each plastic bag. Bring your own, as Mrs Wong does, and you don't pay it.
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