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Lesson 7: Hái Syùdim


(Lòh Ōn-nèih heui Sàn-Wàh Syùdim¹ Sàn-Wàh Syùdim
*Sàn-Wàh Syùdim* 'New China Bookstore' is the state-run bookstore found in most cities of moderate to large size.
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máaih syù.)

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Lòh Ōn-nèih: Síujé, chéngmahn² chéngmahn
Literally, 'please may I ask'; this phrase is used conventionally as a polite preface to a request.
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yáuhmóuh Yìng-Hon³ Yìng-Hon
Yìng-Hon is short for *Yìngyúh* 'English' and *Honyúh* 'Chinese,' which are alternate ways to refer to the two languages. There are several terms that refer to Cantonese and to Chinese generally:

Jūngmàhn
Strictly defined, *Jūngmàhn* refers to the Chinese written language. In casual
usage it refers to any kind of Chinese--spoken or written.

Honyúh
This term is not generally used in spoken Cantonese, but can refer to all varieties of Chinese (written and spoken). In practice, it is often understood to refer to standard Mandarin, the official variety of Chinese in Mainland China. *Hon* itself refers to the Han people, the term for the majority (about 93%) ethnic group in China, which we commonly think of as synonomous with the Chinese people.

Tòhngwá
Literally means the speech of the *Tòhng* or Tang (refering to the
Tang Dynasty (618-903). This term is a colloquial form sometimes used by Cantonese speakers to refer to the Cantonese language.

Jūnggwokwá
Refers specifically to the speech of China and is usually understood to be whatever variety of Chinese speech that is being used at the time.

Gwokyúh
The 'national language.' This term is used mostly outside of Mainland
China to refer to standard Mandarin.

Pòuhtungwá
The 'common language.' This term is used in Mainland China to refer to standard Mandarin. Refers to essentially the same variety of Chinese as does *Gwokyuh*, and the distinction between the two terms is largely a political one.
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jihdín a?
Sauhfo Síujé⁴ Síujé
*Síujé * is the usual form for 'Miss' in Hong Kong and other places outside of Mainland China, and is gaining popularity in Guangdong (and elsewhere) after being out of political favor for decades following the 1949 communist revolution.
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: Yáuh ā. Néih yiu bīn yāt juhng?
Lòh: Ngóh yiu yāt bún⁵ bún
Classifier for bound things such as books.
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pìhngjòngge Yìng-Hon jihdín. Chéhngmahn, géidò chíhn⁶ géidò chíhn
A variant of this form is *géi chín*, which is more commonly heard in Canton.
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yātbún?
Síujé: Sahpyih mān⁷ mān
A colloquial Cantonese word for the basic unit of currency: it can refer to the Yuan in mainland China, the Hong Kong dollar, or even the American dollar. In written Chinese, and in some specific spoken contexts, one can refer to the basic unit as the *Yùhn*. One can generally refer to the money scripts as *Yàhnmáhnbaaih* 'people's script' (abbreviated as RMB), *Góngbaaih* 'Hong Kong script' (where *Góng* is short for *Hèunggóng* 'Hong Kong'), or *Tòihbaaih* 'Taiwan script' (as in *Tòihwāan* 'Taiwan'). American money is usually referred to in everyday speech as *Méihgàm*, or more formally as *Méihyùhn* ( where *Méih* refers to *Méihgwok* 'America,' *gàm* to 'gold,' and where *Yùhn* is the usual written form for dollar.

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ńgh houh⁸ houh
Typical colloquial Cantonese word for the tenth unit. Thus the price cited in this sentence is 12.50 (Yuan). The conversion rate between the Yuan and the US dollar is currently about 8.2 to 1 (May 1998); The Hong Kong dollar is pegged to the US dollar at about 7.8 to 1.
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yātbún.
Lòh: Néihdeih yáuhmóuh jaahpji maaih a?
Síujé: Yáuh. Yáuh hóudò m̀htùhng ge jaahpji.
Lòh: Hái bīndouh a?
Síujé: Hái làuhseuhng.
Lòh: M̀hgòi saai⁹ saai
This suffix is attached to many verbs to intensify their meaning.
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.
Síujé: M̀hsái haakhei.

(Lòh Ōn-nèih seuhng làuh máaih jaahpji.)

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Lòh: Sīnsàang, chéngmahn jaahpji hái¹⁰ hái
*Hái* has two basic senses. It can be used as a location marker meaning 'at, on' as in the phrase *hái bīndouh a?* 'Where is it (at)?' as it does earlier in this dialogue. In this sentence *hái* serves as a stative verb meaning 'is, at.'
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bīndouh a?
Sauhfo Sīnsàang : Hái nīdouh. Néih séung máaih bīnjuhng jaahpji a?
Lòh: Léuhngbún Méihgwokge <Sìhdoih> tùhngmàaih yātbún Jùnggwokge. <Jùnggwok Chìnglìhng>.
Sīnsàang: Deuim̀hjyuh, ngóhdeih jíyáuh Jùnggwokge jaahpji, m̀hmaaih ngoihgwokge¹¹ ngoihgwokge
The presence of *ge* here implies the noun *jaahpji* following *ngoihgwoge* and means 'foreign ones', or 'of foreign origin.'
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bo.
Lòh: Boují hái bīndouh máaihdākdou¹² máaihdākdou
This is another example of a resultative verb compound, with *dāk* 'able' indicating positive potential. The compound thus means 'able to buy.'
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a?
Sīnsàang: Hái boutàan gódouh. Ngóhdeih syùdim m̀hmaaih boují.
Lòh: Chéngmahn, syùdim maaih m̀hmaaih lìhngsihk ga?
Sīnsàang: M̀hhóu yihsi. Syùdim m̀hmaaih lìhngsihk ge¹³ Syùdim m̀hmaaih lìhngsihk ge
Though it is common for bookstores in the U.S. to sell snack foods, Chinese bookstores rarely do.
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. Néih heui chìusih máaih lā.
Lòh: Hóu, m̀hgòisaai.

____________Additional Notes____________
This lesson shown with Chinese Characters This lesson shown with Chinese Characters
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[ Conventions and Grammatical Terms¹⁴ Conventions and Grammatical Terms

Click outside of this box to return to the lesson | Particles¹⁵ Particles

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Shopping Vocabulary Shopping Vocabulary
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| A Bookstore Receipt¹⁶ A Bookstore Receipt

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*Sàn-Wàh Syùdim* 'New China Bookstore' is the state-run bookstore found in most cities of moderate to large size.
Literally, 'please may I ask'; this phrase is used conventionally as a polite preface to a request.
Yìng-Hon is short for *Yìngyúh* 'English' and *Honyúh* 'Chinese,' which are alternate ways to refer to the two languages. There are several terms that refer to Cantonese and to Chinese generally:

Jūngmàhn
Strictly defined, *Jūngmàhn* refers to the Chinese written language. In casual
usage it refers to any kind of Chinese--spoken or written.

Honyúh
This term is not generally used in spoken Cantonese, but can refer to all varieties of Chinese (written and spoken). In practice, it is often understood to refer to standard Mandarin, the official variety of Chinese in Mainland China. *Hon* itself refers to the Han people, the term for the majority (about 93%) ethnic group in China, which we commonly think of as synonomous with the Chinese people.

Tòhngwá
Literally means the speech of the *Tòhng* or Tang (refering to the
Tang Dynasty (618-903). This term is a colloquial form sometimes used by Cantonese speakers to refer to the Cantonese language.

Jūnggwokwá
Refers specifically to the speech of China and is usually understood to be whatever variety of Chinese speech that is being used at the time.

Gwokyúh
The 'national language.' This term is used mostly outside of Mainland
China to refer to standard Mandarin.

Pòuhtungwá
The 'common language.' This term is used in Mainland China to refer to standard Mandarin. Refers to essentially the same variety of Chinese as does *Gwokyuh*, and the distinction between the two terms is largely a political one.
*Síujé * is the usual form for 'Miss' in Hong Kong and other places outside of Mainland China, and is gaining popularity in Guangdong (and elsewhere) after being out of political favor for decades following the 1949 communist revolution.
Classifier for bound things such as books.
A variant of this form is *géi chín*, which is more commonly heard in Canton.
A colloquial Cantonese word for the basic unit of currency: it can refer to the Yuan in mainland China, the Hong Kong dollar, or even the American dollar. In written Chinese, and in some specific spoken contexts, one can refer to the basic unit as the *Yùhn*. One can generally refer to the money scripts as *Yàhnmáhnbaaih* 'people's script' (abbreviated as RMB), *Góngbaaih* 'Hong Kong script' (where *Góng* is short for *Hèunggóng* 'Hong Kong'), or *Tòihbaaih* 'Taiwan script' (as in *Tòihwāan* 'Taiwan'). American money is usually referred to in everyday speech as *Méihgàm*, or more formally as *Méihyùhn* ( where *Méih* refers to *Méihgwok* 'America,' *gàm* to 'gold,' and where *Yùhn* is the usual written form for dollar.

Typical colloquial Cantonese word for the tenth unit. Thus the price cited in this sentence is 12.50 (Yuan). The conversion rate between the Yuan and the US dollar is currently about 8.2 to 1 (May 1998); The Hong Kong dollar is pegged to the US dollar at about 7.8 to 1.
This suffix is attached to many verbs to intensify their meaning.
*Hái* has two basic senses. It can be used as a location marker meaning 'at, on' as in the phrase *hái bīndouh a?* 'Where is it (at)?' as it does earlier in this dialogue. In this sentence *hái* serves as a stative verb meaning 'is, at.'
The presence of *ge* here implies the noun *jaahpji* following *ngoihgwoge* and means 'foreign ones', or 'of foreign origin.'
This is another example of a resultative verb compound, with *dāk* 'able' indicating positive potential. The compound thus means 'able to buy.'
Though it is common for bookstores in the U.S. to sell snack foods, Chinese bookstores rarely do.

Cantonese: Word View, click below to listen
Lesson 7: Hái Syùdim


(Lòh Ōn-nèih heui Sàn-Wàh Syùdim máaih syù.)


Lòh Ōn-nèih: Síujé, chéngmahn yáuhmóuh Yìng-Hon jihdín a?
Sauhfo Síujé: Yáuh ā. Néih yiu bīn yāt juhng?
Lòh: Ngóh yiu yātbún pìhngjòngge Yìng-Hon jihdín. Chéhngmahn, géidò chíhn yātbún?
Síujé: Sahpyih mān ńgh houh yātbún.
Lòh: Néihdeih yáuhmóuh jaahpji maaih a?
Síujé: Yáuh. Yáuh hóudò m̀htùhng ge jaahpji.
Lòh: Hái bīndouh a?
Síujé: Hái làuhseuhng.
Lòh: M̀hgòisaai.
Síujé: M̀hsái haakhei.

(Lòh Ōn-nèih seuhng làuh máaih jaahpji.)


Lòh: Sīnsàang, chéngmahn jaahpji hái bīndouh a?
Sauhfo Sīnsàang : Hái nīdouh. Néih séung máaih bīnjuhng jaahpji a?
Lòh: Léuhngbún Méihgwokge <Sìhdoih> tùhngmàaih yātbún Jùnggwokge. <Jùnggwok Chìnglìhng>.
Sīnsàang: Deuim̀hjyuh, ngóhdeih jíyáuh Jùnggwokge jaahpji, m̀hmaaih ngoihgwokge bo.
Lòh: Boují hái bīndouh máaihdākdou a?
Sīnsàang: Hái boutàan gódouh. Ngóhdeih syùdim m̀hmaaih boují.
Lòh: Chéngmahn, syùdim maaih m̀hmaaih lìhngsihk ga?
Sīnsàang: M̀hhóu yihsi. Syùdim m̀hmaaih lìhngsihk ge. Néih heui chìusih máaih lā.
Lòh: Hóu, m̀hgòisaai.

____________Additional Notes____________
This lesson shown with Chinese Characters
[Conventions and Grammatical Terms | Particles
Shopping Vocabulary | A Bookstore Receipt ]

Cantonese: Sentence View, click below to listen
Lesson 7: Hái Syùdim


(Lòh Ōn-nèih heui Sàn-Wàh Syùdim máaih syù.)


Lòh Ōn-nèih: Síujé, chéngmahn yáuhmóuh Yìng-Hon jihdín a?
Sauhfo Síujé: Yáuh ā. Néih yiu bīn yāt juhng?
Lòh: Ngóh yiu yātbún pìhngjòngge Yìng-Hon jihdín. Chéhngmahn, géidò chíhn yātbún?
Síujé: Sahpyih mān ńgh houh yātbún.
Lòh: Néihdeih yáuhmóuh jaahpji maaih a?
Síujé: Yáuh. Yáuh hóudò m̀htùhng ge jaahpji.
Lòh: Hái bīndouh a?
Síujé: Hái làuhseuhng.
Lòh: M̀hgòisaai.
Síujé: M̀hsái haakhei.

(Lòh Ōn-nèih seuhng làuh máaih jaahpji.)


Lòh: Sīnsàang, chéngmahn jaahpji hái bīndouh a?
Sauhfo Sīnsàang : Hái nīdouh. Néih séung máaih bīnjuhng jaahpji a?
Lòh: Léuhngbún Méihgwokge tùhngmàaih yātbún Jùnggwokge. .
Sīnsàang: Deuim̀hjyuh, ngóhdeih jíyáuh Jùnggwokge jaahpji, m̀hmaaih ngoihgwokge bo.
Lòh: Boují hái bīndouh máaihdākdou a?
Sīnsàang: Hái boutàan gódouh. Ngóhdeih syùdim m̀hmaaih boují.
Lòh: Chéngmahn, syùdim maaih m̀hmaaih lìhngsihk ga?
Sīnsàang: M̀hhóu yihsi. Syùdim m̀hmaaih lìhngsihk ge. Néih heui chìusih máaih lā.
Lòh: Hóu, m̀hgòisaai.

____________Additional Notes____________
This lesson shown with Chinese Characters
[Conventions and Grammatical Terms | Particles
Shopping Vocabulary | A Bookstore Receipt ]

American English: Word View, click below to listen
Lesson 7: Hái Syùdim


(Lòh Ōn-nèih heui Sàn-Wàh Syùdim máaih syù.)


Lòh Ōn-nèih: Síujé, chéngmahn yáuhmóuh Yìng-Hon jihdín a?
Sauhfo Síujé: Yáuh ā. Néih yiu bīn yāt juhng?
Lòh: Ngóh yiu yātbún pìhngjòngge Yìng-Hon jihdín. Chéhngmahn, géidò chíhn yātbún?
Síujé: Sahpyih mān ńgh houh yātbún.
Lòh: Néihdeih yáuhmóuh jaahpji maaih a?
Síujé: Yáuh. Yáuh hóudò m̀htùhng ge jaahpji.
Lòh: Hái bīndouh a?
Síujé: Hái làuhseuhng.
Lòh: M̀hgòisaai.
Síujé: M̀hsái haakhei.

(Lòh Ōn-nèih seuhng làuh máaih jaahpji.)


Lòh: Sīnsàang, chéngmahn jaahpji hái bīndouh a?
Sauhfo Sīnsàang : Hái nīdouh. Néih séung máaih bīnjuhng jaahpji a?
Lòh: Léuhngbún Méihgwokge <Sìhdoih> tùhngmàaih yātbún Jùnggwokge. <Jùnggwok Chìnglìhng>.
Sīnsàang: Deuim̀hjyuh, ngóhdeih jíyáuh Jùnggwokge jaahpji, m̀hmaaih ngoihgwokge bo.
Lòh: Boují hái bīndouh máaihdākdou a?
Sīnsàang: Hái boutàan gódouh. Ngóhdeih syùdim m̀hmaaih boují.
Lòh: Chéngmahn, syùdim maaih m̀hmaaih lìhngsihk ga?
Sīnsàang: M̀hhóu yihsi. Syùdim m̀hmaaih lìhngsihk ge. Néih heui chìusih máaih lā.
Lòh: Hóu, m̀hgòisaai.

____________Additional Notes____________
This lesson shown with Chinese Characters
[Conventions and Grammatical Terms | Particles
Shopping Vocabulary | A Bookstore Receipt ]

American English: Sentence View, click below to listen
Lesson 7: Hái Syùdim


(Lòh Ōn-nèih heui Sàn-Wàh Syùdim máaih syù.)


Lòh Ōn-nèih: Síujé, chéngmahn yáuhmóuh Yìng-Hon jihdín a?
Sauhfo Síujé: Yáuh ā. Néih yiu bīn yāt juhng?
Lòh: Ngóh yiu yātbún pìhngjòngge Yìng-Hon jihdín. Chéhngmahn, géidò chíhn yātbún?
Síujé: Sahpyih mān ńgh houh yātbún.
Lòh: Néihdeih yáuhmóuh jaahpji maaih a?
Síujé: Yáuh. Yáuh hóudò m̀htùhng ge jaahpji.
Lòh: Hái bīndouh a?
Síujé: Hái làuhseuhng.
Lòh: M̀hgòisaai.
Síujé: M̀hsái haakhei.

(Lòh Ōn-nèih seuhng làuh máaih jaahpji.)


Lòh: Sīnsàang, chéngmahn jaahpji hái bīndouh a?
Sauhfo Sīnsàang : Hái nīdouh. Néih séung máaih bīnjuhng jaahpji a?
Lòh: Léuhngbún Méihgwokge tùhngmàaih yātbún Jùnggwokge. .
Sīnsàang: Deuim̀hjyuh, ngóhdeih jíyáuh Jùnggwokge jaahpji, m̀hmaaih ngoihgwokge bo.
Lòh: Boují hái bīndouh máaihdākdou a?
Sīnsàang: Hái boutàan gódouh. Ngóhdeih syùdim m̀hmaaih boují.
Lòh: Chéngmahn, syùdim maaih m̀hmaaih lìhngsihk ga?
Sīnsàang: M̀hhóu yihsi. Syùdim m̀hmaaih lìhngsihk ge. Néih heui chìusih máaih lā.
Lòh: Hóu, m̀hgòisaai.

____________Additional Notes____________
This lesson shown with Chinese Characters
[Conventions and Grammatical Terms | Particles
Shopping Vocabulary | A Bookstore Receipt ]