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Cantonese character of the day

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Comments

  • #62
    DEmeant0r
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 3,165 ✭✭✭DEmeant0r


    In an effort to revive "Cantonese Character of the day" I'll be re-starting again on the 30th January 2006, if anyone would like to help with this task, give me a pm :)


  • #63
    huangyangChina
    Closed Accounts Posts: 7 ✭huangyangChina


    if you want to communicate with more chinese people,it's better to learn the standard chinese(tu tong hua). the cantonese is just one dialect of our language,it's use area is too limited.


  • #64
    huangyangChina
    Closed Accounts Posts: 7 ✭huangyangChina


    AMurphy wrote:
    Can you offer an explaination why "ma-ma-fhu-fhu" = "horse horse, tiger tiger" translates into "like this like that" or eq.

    btw, "ma", is also used as a Question mark. "bao le ma", are you "fed/full yet?"

    And "San Ba", "3-8" means airhead or nuts.
    you can email to my box ,I will give your more explainations about "ma ma hu hu"


  • #65
    Unpossible
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 2,191 ✭✭✭Unpossible


    I have a few questions, first what do you mean when you write a number next to a word (like wo4) is the number the tone thats meant to be used? if so what are the numbers for the tones? (like 1 for flat, 2 for up etc).

    What is the main difference between mandarin and cantonese? Are the words written the same but pronounced differently? (I was given this as a muddled explanation before). If the words are written differently could someone write the equivalent mandarin word please?

    Thanks, or should I say xie xie :D


  • #66
    rivers
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 152 ✭✭rivers


    When a number is written after the word (as in wo(3)) it indeed means the tone.
    so the 1st tone is flat tone, the 2nd tone is rising tone, the 3rd tone is falling-rising tone and the 4th tone is falling. As you probably know tone differentiates meanings. A syllable has different meanings when pronounced in different tones.

    alot of the characters of mandarin and cantonese are the same, but they can represent different words or pronunciations. So in other words it's never certain that the same character holds the same meaning, even if pronounced the same way.

    Can we make another sticky in this forum for mandarin character of the day.
    I just think this would be more useful, as there are far more mandarin learners then cantonese learners. And i think inthe future cantonese will be used less and less. I felt this when i was in Hong kong recently and most people i spoke to spoke to me in Mandarin chinese not cantonese.


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