[srvblooze]

This goes out to all of the HK long-timers (you know who you are):

1) On the whole, do locals here seem to prefer it when someone that doesn't know conversational Cantonese makes an honest effort on at least some phrases or do they seem to resent the fact that we're taking a hatchet to their language?

2) Are there any magic phrases other than "please", the two kinds of "thank yous", etc.. that would be good to know?

3) What do I say when they keep trying to have a conversation after I've used up all the Cantonese I know (other than pretend I've suddenly been struck deaf and walk away) ?

[Skyhook]

Hmmm, luckilly, they don't treat us with complete contempt, after being here so long, not to know the native language, not like most of our homelands....

Hong Kong people, find it a bit of fun that you atleast make an effort, and are completely blown away when you speak 60% fluent conversational Cantonese... Anybody who likely served 10 years or more in the HK Police force pre 1997, speaks local Cantonese, I know 2 retired members, and their Cantonese is amazing....

Most Hong Kongers fully apreciate the difficulty of their language, they even have trouble with it too on occasions, some are just better developed at it than others. Because of this, us farn gwei, are given a bit of slack...

[KnowItAll]

>> I know 2 retired members, and their Cantonese is amazing....

A lot of the my favorite Wanchai stories revolve around a retired (and now passed away) ex copper called Don Logan .. his english would become incoherent and his cantonese would become more coherent the more he drank.

Needless to say .. what he said grew progressively vulgar in both languages.

[KnowItAll]

If you want to know how bad it really is at the back of a taxi as a foreigner ... learn some of the choice diu phrases. You'll be surprised how bad the conversation on the phone is at times...

Basic numbers are important.

Location names, specially the canto version is also very important. We live in Baguio Villas -- few taxi drivers know the english name. But say "Big-you Waan" and they all know where it is.

Add to that... left, right, forward, backwards etc .. some basic directional phrases.

Your favorite foods and drinks ...

[Lammarite]

i admit to being a bit intimidated at first when we moved up near Sai Kung and had to take light buses. It was the asking them to stop which intimidated until someone pointed out that everyone was saying 'bussy stoppy mgoi' as opposed a cantonese phrase with room for error!

[lowlight]

Every additional word of Cantonese you learn will make your life in Hong Kong better. Whether it's for the attention if you're into that, or just learning a new, useful language.

The first things you should learn are all the numbers, so you don't have to stand there and peek around at the cash register display, wondering exactly how much you owe at a store.

Also, learn all the dishes you order at restaurants. Most of us probably have 20-30 or so dishes we eat regularly for lunch, or whatever. Learning all of these will be easy, if you eat out a lot, and will help with your pronunciation. Be prepared though, most waitresses will not expect to hear Cantonese when you make an order, so they most definitely will not hear you the first time. Consider this extra practice

I can guarantee 99% of the people will NOT be offended, no matter how badly you butcher the language. Unless you say something really rude, and happens to be a common naughty pun.. Like someone said before, everyone respects the difficulty of the language, particularly to foreigners.

[Azuremain]

Originally Posted by Lammarite

i admit to being a bit intimidated at first when we moved up near Sai Kung and had to take light buses. It was the asking them to stop which intimidated until someone pointed out that everyone was saying 'bussy stoppy mgoi' as opposed a cantonese phrase with room for error!

The foreigners that work or live somewhere around the Peak and take the Minibus just say "Stop Please" and it works.

Btw, speaking Cantonese as a foreigner makes you also very attractive or cute to local girls.

[kombuchakid]

CHUNG CHAU FAI LOK

said nonchalantly in place of Nei Ho will not fail to impress listeners, and also get you extra mooncakes [YUET PAANG]

a real tongue twister is if you are spending your mid autumn festival eating mooncakes at Stanely [CHEK CHUE]

[agnesscope]

1) Let's say this... most local shopkeepers or salespersons do not expect that an expatriate to speak Cantonese when they're making an order or just asking questions. So be prepared -- when you speak Cantonese to them, they won't catch you, and they'll look at you with queer eyes! But I think many locals, esp. younger generations, appreciate expatriates' effort into speaking the language and getting the tones right. Cantonese is a tonal language, and for 99.99999% of expatriates they said the tones are the MOST difficult thing to deal with!! Another headaching thing is the symnonyms -- many words share the same tones and same consonants & vowels, but they mean differently!! Just like 'won1'. It could be (?) or (?). The first character ? (won1) means 'a severe disease', whereas the 2nd character ? (won1) means 'warm'. Whatever the character it means, esp. when you hear it, very much depends on the context you use it. But once you've got through the tonal problems and symnonyms, you'll find Cantonese such an amazing language!!! The advertisers and journalists of tabliods are making fun of Cantonese characters to sell their products or spice up their headlines.

If you'd like to practice Cantonese, get a private Cantonese-speaking teacher, talk to some older generations who do not speak English AT ALL, or meet up some Canton-speaking friends. They're all friendly to help.

2) "wai, tzei ar" (?, ??, hey, thanks ar)
"tzei tzei lei" (thank you ????*) It's originally in Mandarin but when you speak it with Cantonese, it well works, and it's more fun to say it.
"mgoi lei" (????*, it makes you sound more sincere)

Other expressions you always hear / overhear from others:
a) "gei2 tzin2 ar3?" (???? how much?) Use this when you're buying something in a wet market.
b) "gei2 door1 dim2 ar3? (????? What time is it?)
c) "lei1 gor3" (??, this --> can refer to a man, woman, child, or things in general, but be careful with the quantifier 'gor')
d) "gum1 yat6" (??, today)
e) "tsum4 yat6" (??, yesterday)

3) You can say "m4 ho2 yi3 si1 ah3, ngor5 m4 sick1 dim2 gong2 ah3" (?????, ???*????: Sorry, I don't know how to say it.)

You can ask even further: "XXXXX (English translation) dim2 gong2 gah3?" (xxxxxxx ???? How do you say XXXXX in Cantonese?)

By asking this question, you can pick up a new phrase and learn how to speak better!

Good luck with that!!

[agnesscope]

sorry i just realized that the Cantonese characters I typed are displayed as all question marks / strange characters.. if you need any Chinese characters for reference, do pm me.