Cantonese Chinese · Cantonese Band 1 (A1) · Chapter 27
你做緊乜嘢？What are you doing?
On the phone (喂); what someone is doing right now: eating, reading, writing, chatting (verb + 緊); they (佢哋).
Dialogue
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你做緊乜嘢？— What are you doing?
- KaYan喂，Mike？Hello, Mike?
- Mike喂，家欣！Hello, Ka-yan!
- KaYan你做緊乜嘢呀？What are you doing?
- Mike我食晚飯緊。I'm eating dinner. (he puts 緊 after the object)
- KaYan哦，你食緊晚飯。我一陣再打電話。Oh, you're eating dinner. I'll call again in a bit.
- Mike唔使！我聽緊，你講啦。No need! I'm listening. Go ahead.
- KaYan我同阿明喺大學傾偈。你嚟唔嚟呀？Ah Ming and I are chatting at the university. Are you coming?
- Mike好，我一陣嚟！OK, I'll come in a bit!
Dialogue
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佢哋做緊乜嘢？— What are they doing?
- Mike阿明！家欣呢？Ah Ming! Where's Ka-yan?
- AhMing佢喺嗰度，寫緊功課。She's over there, doing her homework.
- Mike嗰啲學生呢？佢哋做緊乜嘢呀？And those students? What are they doing?
- AhMing佢哋睇緊書。They're reading.
- Mike你呢？你做緊乜嘢呀？And you? What are you doing?
- AhMing我……玩緊手機。Me… I'm playing on my phone.
- Mike我哋都睇書啦！你有冇筆呀？Let's read too! Have you got a pen?
- AhMing冇呀。搵家欣囉！No. Ask Ka-yan, then!
Vocabulary
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- 緊
particlein the middle of (after a verb: 食緊 "eating")
- 睇
verbto look; to watch; to read (睇書)
- 聽
verbto listen, to hear
- 打電話
verbto make a phone call
- 傾偈
verbto chat
- 喂
interjectionhello (on the phone); hey
- 一陣
adverbin a moment; a moment
- 寫
verbto write
- 玩
verbto play
- 筆
nounpen
- 佢哋
pronounthey; them
New characters
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- 喂
hello (on the phone); hey
- 緊
tight; in progress (after a verb)
- 陣
a spell, a while (in 一陣)
- 打
to hit; to make (a call: 打電話)
- 傾
to talk (in 傾偈)
- 偈
chat (in 傾偈)
- 寫
to write
- 筆
pen
Grammar
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Doing it right now: verb + 緊
Explanation
緊 after a verb means it is happening right now: 我食緊晚飯 "I'm eating dinner", 佢睇緊書 "she's reading". 緊 goes straight after the verb and before the object: 食緊晚飯, not 食晚飯緊. 傾偈 "chat" and 打電話 "make a call" are each a verb + an object, so 緊 goes in the middle: 傾緊偈, 打緊電話. Ask 你做緊乜嘢呀？ "what are you doing?". The answer uses its own verb + 緊: 我寫緊功課 "I'm doing my homework".
Examples
- 佢哋傾緊偈。They're chatting.
- 阿明打緊電話。Ah Ming is on the phone.
- 你做緊乜嘢呀？我寫緊功課。What are you doing? I'm doing my homework.
Grammar
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We, you, they: 我哋, 你哋, 佢哋
Explanation
Add 哋 to 我, 你, 佢 for more than one person: 我哋 "we", 你哋 "you (all)", 佢哋 "they". 我哋 and 你哋 came in chapter 3. 佢哋 is "they" for men, women or a mix: 佢哋係學生 "they're students". 佢哋做緊乜嘢呀？ "what are they doing?". 佢哋睇緊書 "they're reading".
Examples
- 佢哋係學生。They're students.
- 佢哋住喺大學附近。They live near the university.
- 你哋去邊度呀？我哋去街市。Where are you all going? We're going to the market.
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