Introduction
If this is your first time here, you can visit https://cantolounge.com/cantodrills-intro/ to learn more about CantoDrills (including examples demonstrating techniques on translation and listening).
In essence, each issue of CantoDrills is split into two parts: output and input.
In output (Part A), you’ll have a collection of sentences across a variety of topics to translate into Cantonese, and in the input part (Part B), you’ll have an audio of around 10 minutes to improve your ability to understand Cantonese on a general topic spoken at normal speed.
Each CantoDrills issue is freely available to readers, but if you’d like to dive in the materials more deeply, a package containing sample translations, Jyutping, sample recordings for Part A, and a full Cantonese transcript, with Jyutping and an English translation for Part B is available at a modest price here.
Click here to learn more about the CantoDrills Issue #1 Package.
In any case, welcome to the series and enjoy the lesson!
Part A: Sentence Drills
In the first part of CantoDrills, you’ll be tasked to translate the following 25 sentences into Cantonese. This is a really good way to practise your output, and I highly recommend that you give it a try if you have time!
1. The typhoon forecast system has been implemented for about a century, the Hong Kong Observatory usually warns citizens before typhoons arrive, hence, as we enter the 21st century, I believe most youngsters don’t have a very deep impression of typhoons with Hurricane signal No. 10.
> 廣東話:
2. From a geographical point of view, if we have a look at our physical environment, Hong Kong is surrounded by seas on all four sides, it doesn’t sit in an earthquake zone, nor are there impending dangers of tsunamis, so Hong Kong is rightly called a “blessed land”.
> 廣東話:
3. Hong Kong tops the rankings for the country with the greatest life expectancy, surpassing even Japan, but whether we look at Hongkongers’ living environment, lifestyle habits, work pressure or public discontent, it’s quite difficult to believe that any of the aforementioned factors have anything to do with “prolonging longevity”.
> 廣東話:
4. But, as the Buddhist saying goes, “to those who are kind, even if good fortune hasn’t befallen them, bad fortune has already distanced itself; to those who are evil, even if bad fortune hasn’t befallen them, good fortune has already distanced itself”, every time there’s a natural disaster in the world in another country, Hongkongers are only too willing to offer a hand selflessly, apparently, “as a man sows, so he shall reap” still exists in this world.
> 廣東話:
5. Hong Kong and China’s economy are constantly developing in recent years, but the air quality in Hong Kong is progressively worsening, according to statistics from the Environment Bureau, days in which the air pollution index exceeds “severe” amounts to 147 days last year, or a third of the entire year, as one can imagine, the problem is quite serious.
> 廣東話:
6. As air pollution becomes more and more serious, the health of many respiratory and cardiac patients are declining, this won’t solely prolong waiting times at the clinics, it also imposes more stress and increases the workload of front line workers, which brings down the quality of Hong Kong’s medical services as a result.
> 廣東話:
7. Hong Kong’s traffic congestion problems derives from the fact that more and more citizens own private vehicles, but Hong Kong’s roads haven’t increased very much over the same period, there’s only been an increase of about 10 km over ten years, making it difficult to relieve congestion related issues.
> 廣東話:
8. Everyday during rush hour, it’s not just drivers who face congestion problems, citizens who travel via public transport also feel the squeeze, if you have the unfortunate experience of switching lines at Admiralty station during dawn, you might have to wait up to 15 minutes before being able to get on board.
> 廣東話:
9. McDonald’s has already operated in Hong Kong for over 40 years, in light of inflation and the increase in the prices of ingredients, McDonald’s has recently announced a price hike across its entire menu, but despite the announcement, McDonald’s remains popular as ever among Hong Kong citizens, every time I pass by a branch, there’s usually be a long line forming, which, upon reflection, is quite mysterious.
> 廣東話:
10. Most people dispose of the banana sin after finishing the banana, but the skin itself is actually edible, and its fiber content is actually much higher than the banana’s flesh, so after using coarse salt and clean water to wash the banana, it can be used just like any other ingredient, and the most popular method is to blend a smoothie out of the skin and the banana flesh, or even as an ingredient to prepare curry.
> 廣東話:
11. Naam Kei Spring Roll Noodles is a time-honored brand in Hong Kong, I still remember happily munching on a bowl of spring roll with rice spaghetti (瀨粉), the shop has a really family feel as well, even though the space isn’t so big, but it was really comfortable, so a lot of people choose to dine there.
> 廣東話:
12. The most important thing about a bowl of noodles is undoubtedly the soup base, the reason I love this noodles stall is because its soup base is made from real ingredients, simple Chinese herbs like Chinese yam, longan meat, so finishing the soup is actually beneficial to your health.
> 廣東話:
13. Artwork doesn’t necessarily have to be expensive, there was recently a special art gallery in Sheung Wan, where lots of ceramic products, whose theme were based on everyday objects found in life, manufactured in JiangXi, were put on display, and the artists sold these pieces of artwork for low prices, leading people to reflect upon the issue of “how to define the value of art”.
> 廣東話:
14. As the weather grows colder and colder, many people want to eat hot foods to fend off the cold, to warm the stomach, so everyone loves having hot pot, Chinese people use the term “sik6 fo2 wo1”, there are also a few new hot pot shops in the area.
> 廣東話:
15. To those who’ve been to Hong Kong, I’m certain you’ll know that one of the most famous foods in Hong Kong is “cart noodles” (車仔面), but the competition is very intense in the cart noodles industry, and if you have to stand out among the crowd, you have to offer different choices from others, while maintaining a reasonable price, so even though there are many cart noodle stalls across Hong Kong, those who have made a name for themselves are in the minority.
> 廣東話:
16. This noodles stall is very special, you can even eat fish tripe, and its squid cakes are made using fresh diced squid everyday, its texture is what you might describe as “al dente”, there’s also caa siu made with braised pork meat as well as soft boiled eggs available, making it quite popular among the citizens who live nearby.
> 廣東話:
17. This soy factory is one of the few that produces bean curd puffs, because the production of bean curd puffs is complex, it’s not very profitable, and with the increases in prices of raw ingredients, business is more and more difficult, but the owner of the establishment still insists on persisting on, because they’ve been doing it for four generations, and she would like to preserve the family business.
> 廣東話:
18. When talking about beef noodles stalls, I think that this stall in particular leaves quite the impression among Hongkongers, in front of the stall, on a piece of red paper, these words are written, “those who think we’re slow, expensive or too chatty are refused service”, how bold!
> 廣東話:
19. This leisure farm is surrounded by mountains, situated away from the main roads, if you want a change of mood, the best thing to do is to get away from city life, guests can pick vegetables, feed animals in the farm, the workshop inside even has instructors teaching you how to make steamed buns, boiled dumplings, pickled vegetables, it only costs 88 dollars per person, it’s totally worth it!
> 廣東話:
20. It’s quite an intricate experience dining in a high class restaurant, I suggest that you familiarize yourself with basic table manners before going, there are basically five things you need to know, what to drink before eating, how to order bread, napkin etiquette, how to hold a wine glass, how to use utensils, you’d better know all this before attending the evening banquet!
> 廣東話:
21. Thinking back, if you wanted to enter the hotel industry, if you didn’t have connections, it’s impossible, I was very lucky to have had a friend who worked there, and thanks to nepotism, I was able to work my way up, experiencing many things along the way, I’ve even served many famous people from business circles, as well as various heads of state, and I’ve experienced firsthand the importance of the adage “the customer is always right”.
> 廣東話:
22. It’s only after I’ve been to Tokyo that I came to realize Japan has lots of interesting things, for example, Japan has over four million lost items every year, and if nobody comes forward to claim these items, they’re sold to citizens through a market, or resold to independent businesses, sometimes you’ll see these “lost and found grocery shops”, where you’ll find all sorts of strange and weird items, I’ve even seen walking canes and curling irons!
> 廣東話:
23. There’s a fresh trend in Osaka, where youngsters spend a year to learn how to craft handmade shoes, because even though shoes made by machines are finely made, and can produce congruent looking shoes, each pair of handmade shoes is different, imbued with the shoemaker’s personality, and if well made, a handmade pair of shoes could even last for three to four decades.
> 廣東話:
24. When people say Hong Kong dining is expensive, there may be some truth to that, those who’ve been to Taiwan might think the same way, that it’s not just expensive, it’s expensive to the point where it doesn’t make sense, for example, it costs over a hundred dollars for salmon rice in Hong Kong when in Taiwan, for half the price, you can have the same meal, each slice of salmon is really thick, it’s not too oily either, it’s just right, even now, I can still remember the taste!
> 廣東話:
25. There’s a place in Germany that specializes in making Christmas decorations, and one of its most famous creations has to be the nutcracker, it’s a toy that looks simple, but in reality, each nutcracker contains 30 – 50 components, and requires over hundreds of steps in the production process, from the splitting of logs, carving, to painting on facial features, it ain’t an easy job!
> 廣東話:
Part B: Passage Drill
Try to do the following:
- First time: Listen for overall gist (topic, overall theme, ideas)
- Second time: Listen for details (slow down to repeat words that you might have left out)
- Third time: Jot down words that are hindering your understanding and look them up