Determiners

Cantonese Lesson 10 (Determiners and People)

Duration: 30 mins

I should congratulate you since you made it to our 10th lesson about determiners, articles, and quantifiers in Cantonese. I hope you have already learned a lot so far. I will also provide in this page a vocabulary list about people, and finally some common phrases. I will try to give examples using both vocabulary and grammar. That way it will be easy for you to see the words when they are separate and when they are in a sentence. Going through the whole page should take about 30 min. Make sure to read the pronunciation and hear the audio as well. If you have any question about this course, please email me directly at Cantonese Classes.

Articles

Determiners include definite and indefinite articles (like the, a or an), demonstratives (this and that), quantifiers (many, some etc.

The following are several sentences which include the determiners mentioned above. That way you will be able to see how the determiner is used in a full sentence. The table contains 3 columns (English, Cantonese, and Audio). Make sure you repeat each word after hearing it by either clicking on the audio button or by reading the pronunciation. That should help with memorization as well as improving your pronunciation.

Determiners in Cantonese

Determiners Cantonese Audio
The yellow pen is easy to find嗰枝黃色筆好易揾
go2 zi1 wong4 sik1 bat1 hou2 ji6 wan2 
A yellow pen is easy to find黃色筆好易揾
wong4 sik1 bat1 hou2 ji6 wan2 
A French teacher is here有一個法文老師喺度
jau5 jat1 go3 faat3 man4 lou5 si1 hai2 dou6 
The French teacher is here嗰個法文老師喺度
go2 go3 faat3 man4 lou5 si1 hai2 dou6 
Some languages are hard有啲語言好難
jau5 di1 jyu5 jin4 hou2 naan4 
Many languages are easy好多語言係容易嘅
hou2 do1 jyu5 jin4 hai6 jung4 ji6 ge3 
The student speaks Korean嗰個學生識講韓文
go2 go3 hok6 saang1 sik1 gong2 hon4 man4 
A student speaks Korean有個學生識講韓文
jau5 go3 hok6 saang1 sik1 gong2 hon4 man4 
Some students speak Korean有啲學生識講韓文
jau5 di1 hok6 saang1 sik1 gong2 hon4 man4 
Many students speak Korean好多學生識講韓文
hou2 do1 hok6 saang1 sik1 gong2 hon4 man4 
This student speaks Korean呢個學生識講韓文
ne1 go3 hok6 saang1 sik1 gong2 hon4 man4 
That student speaks Korean嗰個學生識講韓文
go2 go3 hok6 saang1 sik1 gong2 hon4 man4 
These students speak Korean呢啲學生識講韓文
ne1 di1 hok6 saang1 sik1 gong2 hon4 man4 
Those students speak Korean嗰啲學生識講韓文
go2 di1 hok6 saang1 sik1 gong2 hon4 man4 

Questions?

If you have any questions, please contact me using the Cantonese contact form on the header above.

Vocabulary List about People

Below is a list of 24 words related to people such as family members, siblings ... etc. At the end of the list, there will be examples where those terms are used in a sentence.

People in Cantonese

People Cantonese Audio
Aunt伯母;嬸母;姑媽;姨媽;舅母
baak3 mou5 ;sam2 mou5 ;gu1 maa1 ;ji4 maa1 ;kau5 mou5 
Baby蘇哈仔(old fashion way) bb仔(modern Hong Kong)
sou1 haa1 zai2 (old  fashion  way ) bb zai2 (modern  Hong  Kong )
Boy男仔
naam4 zai2 
Brother兄弟
hing1 dai6 
Child (female)女仔
neoi5 zai2 
Child (male)男仔
naam4 zai2 
Cousin (female)表姐/姊(older than you) /表妹(younger than you)
biu2 ze2 /zi2 (older  than  you ) /biu2 mui6 (younger  than  you )
Cousin (male)表哥(older than you)/表弟(younger than you)
biu2 go1 (older  than  you )/biu2 dai6 (younger  than  you )
Daughter
neoi5 
Father爸爸
baa1 baa1 
Girl女仔
neoi5 zai2 
Grandfather阿爺 (paternal), 外公(maternal)
aa3 je4  (paternal ), ngoi6 gung1 (maternal )
Grandmother阿嫲(paternal), 外婆(maternal)
aa3 maa4 (paternal ), ngoi6 po4 (maternal )
Husband老公
lou5 gung1 
Man男人
naam4 jan4 
Mother媽媽
maa1 maa1 
Nephew姪仔/姪女, 外甥/外甥女
zat6 zai2 /zat6 neoi5 , ngoi6 saang1 /ngoi6 saang1 neoi5 
Niece姪女, 外甥女
zat6 neoi5 , ngoi6 saang1 neoi5 
People
jan4 
Sister姐/姊妹
ze2 /zi2 mui6 
Son
zai2 
Uncle伯父;叔父;姑丈;姨丈;舅父
baak3 fu6 ;suk1 fu6 ;gu1 zoeng6 ;ji4 zoeng6 ;kau5 fu6 
Wife老婆
lou5 po4 
Woman女人
neoi5 jan4 

Daily Conversation in Cantonese

Finally, a couple sentences that you might need to use or see very often. For a complete list of commonly used sentences, please visit our Cantonese Phrases page. Enjoy!

Common Expressions in Cantonese

English Cantonese Audio
How old is your sister?你家姐/細妹幾歲?
nei5 gaa1 ze2 /sai3 mui6 gei2 seoi3 ?
I love my husband我愛我老公
ngo5 ngoi3 ngo5 lou5 gung1 
This is my wife呢個係我老婆
ne1 go3 hai6 ngo5 lou5 po4 
What's your brother called?你阿哥/細佬叫咩名?
nei5 aa3 go1 /sai3 lou2 giu3 me1 ming4 ?
Where does your father work?你爸爸係邊度做嘢?
nei5 baa1 baa1 hai6 bin1 dou6 zou6 je5 ?
Your daughter is very cute你個女好得意
nei5 go3 neoi5 hou2 dak1 ji3 
What time is it?而家幾點?
ji4 gaa1 gei2 dim2 ?
It's 10 o'clock而家十點
ji4 gaa1 sap6 dim2 
Give me this!俾呢個我
bei2 ne1 go3 ngo5 
I love you我愛你
ngo5 ngoi3 nei5 
Are you free tomorrow evening?聽日傍晚你得唔得閒?
ting3 jat6 bong6 maan5 nei5 dak1 m4 dak1 haan4 ?
I would like to invite you for dinner我想約你食晚飯
ngo5 soeng2 joek3 nei5 sik6 maan5 faan6 

Fun Facts

Language Quote ❝If you talk to a man in a language he understands, that goes to his head. If you talk to him in his own language, that goes to his heart.❞ ‒Nelson Mandela

Congratulations! You finished your 10th lesson in Cantonese about determiners, people and jobs. Are you ready for the next lesson? We recommend Cantonese Lesson 11. You can also simply click on one of the links below or go back to our Learn Cantonese homepage.