Can you understand cantonese

Where are you from? Good Health! Do you speak Cantonese? Would you like to dance with me? Call the police! Can you translate it for me? What does this mean? How do you pronounce that? Are you free this evening? That is: other discouraging learners. Instead of looking at whether or not a language is difficult, focus on why you want to learn the language, how you will use the language, and what learning this language means to you.

Are you willing to do what it takes to learn it? Once you are clear on the why and what learning this language means to you, then you can start learning. If you consistently work on it, the only way you can fail is if you quit. It will give you a leg up if you choose to take Cantonese on! At the time when I contacted Carlos, he had just moved to Hong Kong for good and I was about to fly there. It was perfect synchronicity.

We set up an interview on how he learned to speak Cantonese like a champ. Carlos said it is tempting to want to learn to read and write Chinese but he would rather be really great at speaking only, than to be average in speaking, reading and writing.

If you are great at speaking Cantonese only, you are able to not only wow the locals every time you open your mouth, you can also communicate with the natives more effectively. Carlos uses the Yale romanization system which was developed for English speakers and takes into account the sound and the 6 tones in Cantonese. He recommends using a romanization system so you are taking out the guess work and inconsistency of playing it by ear. Imagine learning English without the alphabet and only learning by ear.

Why would anyone attempt to learn a language with 6 tones without a romanization system? Since you have an idea of how the tone and sound works, you can learn the basic sentence structures by practicing your speech with native speakers. Cantonese is not a tense language, which means it does not distinguish past, present, and future in verb forms. There is no verb conjugation chart to study and there is no gender in the language unlike the Romance languages woohoo.

The structure is pretty straight forward and all it takes is practice. The native speaker will understand you even if you are saying it correctly or not. In this way, you are training your listening and speaking skills at the same time. But if you focus on pronunciation and learn a little every day, you'll get the hang of it! Start with common words and phrases that will allow you to have a basic conversation.

Talking to native speakers is the best way to learn Cantonese. Written Cantonese, which uses Chinese characters, is even more difficult to learn. The easiest way to get started speaking is with jyutping , which uses the Latin alphabet and numbers to indicate the tone of each syllable.

To learn Cantonese, start by picking up basic vocabulary you'll need in daily conversation, like "Neih hou" which means "Hello" and "Neih hou ma" for "How are you? You could also search online for Chinese schools in your local area and sign up for a language class. Alternatively, if you're serious about learning quickly, travel to Hong Kong or Macao and take an immersion course, where you'll speak Cantonese all the time.

To find out how to count to 10 in Cantonese, read on! Did this summary help you? Yes No. Log in Social login does not work in incognito and private browsers. Please log in with your username or email to continue. No account yet? Create an account. Edit this Article. We use cookies to make wikiHow great. By using our site, you agree to our cookie policy.

Cookie Settings. Learn why people trust wikiHow. Download Article Explore this Article methods. Tips and Warnings. Related Articles. Article Summary. Method 1. All rights reserved. This image may not be used by other entities without the express written consent of wikiHow, Inc. Say "hello" with "nei5 hou2. Follow up with "nei5 hou2 maa3" to ask the person "How are you?

If the other person asks you first, you might add "nei5 ne1," which means "how about you" or "and you. In Hong Kong, you might also use "haa1 lo3" as a casual greeting. Change your greetings depending on the time of the day. Like other languages, Cantonese also has greetings that are specific to morning, afternoon, and evening. As with "nei5 hou2," these greetings are appropriate in any social setting. Here are some you can try: [6] X Research source "Zou2 san4": good morning "Ng5 on1": good afternoon "Maan5 on1": good evening.

Use "ngo5 hai6" followed by your name to introduce yourself. This phrase allows you to tell the person you're name. Don't worry about making your name sound Chinese. Just say your name as you would normally pronounce it in your native language. You might follow with "nei5 giu3 me1 meng2," which means "what's your name? Ask questions to keep the conversation going.

One of the easiest ways to get to know someone in any language is to ask them questions about themselves. It's okay if you don't understand their answers completely! This is a good way to learn more of the language. Here are some questions to ask: [10] X Research source "Nei5 hai6 bin1 dou6 lai4?

Explain that you're in the process of learning Cantonese. When you first start speaking to a native speaker, you want to let them know pretty early on in the conversation that you aren't fluent in Cantonese.

This way, they'll be more willing to help you if you make a mistake. Some phrases to learn include: [11] X Research source "M4 goi1 zoi3 gong2? End a conversation by saying "zoi3 gin3. Method 2.