Cantonese Skills Lesson 7
Phone Calls

Holding a phone conversation is essentially the same as discussion in person, with the addition of the need to be put in touch with the person you are calling.  This lesson focuses on the skills required to reach the person you are trying to call and skills for dealing with inbound calls.

Vocabulary

jauh

then

 

giu

call, tell

\teng\

listen

/wan/

to find

-dang-

wait

jyuh

to live (somewhere)

\faan\

return

/da/

to hit

dihn wah

telephone

電話

/wei/

hello? hey!

-mat- /yeh/

what?

乜嘢

/wai/

{mw
for people}

/hai/ dou

here

係喥

sih

thing/matter

\bong\ joh

help

幫助

cho

mistake/error

-cheut- heui

go out

出去

/dim/

how?

-cheut- \gaai\

go out

出街

houh

number

Answering the Phone & Asking Business


Listen

/Wei/?

喂?

Hello?


Listen

 /Wei/?

/Neih/

/wan/

-bin-

/wai/?

喂?

位?

Hello? you find which? {mw}
Hello, who are you looking for?

Listen

/Wei/?

/Neih/

/wan/

-bin-

go?

喂?

個?

Hello? you find which? {mw}
Hello, who are you looking for?

Listen

/Neih/

haih

-bin-

/wai/?

位?

you  are which? {mw}
Who are you?

Listen

/Neih/

haih

-bin-

go?

個?

you are  which {mw}
Who are you?

Listen

/Neih/

/yauh/

-mat- /yeh/

sih?

乜嘢*?

you   have what? matter
What's your business?

Listen

/Ngoh/

/dim/

/ho/ /yih/

\bong\ joh

/neih/?

點?

可以

幫助

I how? can help you
How can I help you?

/wei/ is used both for "hello" on the telephone and for "hey" when trying to get someone's attention.  It also has a second pronunciation- /wai/.

-bin- go 邊個 and -bin- /wai/ 邊位 can both be translated as "who" or "whom".  Literally, however, they mean "which one" and "which seat" respectively. -bin- /wai/ is a more polite term of address, although -bin- go is not at all impolite.  More details will be given in a grammar lesson on measure words.

-mat- /yeh/ is often shortened to "me'ah"

Asking to Speak With Someone


Listen

/hai/

\mh\

/hai/

-uk- \keih\?

先生

屋企

Yellow Mr. at not at? home
Is Mr. Wong home?

Listen

/hai/

\mh\

/hai/

dou?

先生

Yellow Mr. at not at? here/there
Is Mr. Wong there?

Listen

/Ngoh/

/wan/

先生

I find Yellow Mr.
I'm looking for Mr. Wong.

Response Case 1: The person is not at home


Listen

/Keuih/

\mh\

/hai/

-uk- \keih\

屋企

He/she/it not at home
He's not home.

Listen

/Keuih/

\mh\

/hai/

dou

He/she/it not at here/there
He's not here.

Listen

/Keuih/

-cheut-

/jo/

heui

He/she/it out {cmplt} go
He left/stepped out.

Listen

/Keuih/

-cheut-

/jo/

\gaai\

He/she/it out {cmplt} street
He went out.

/Keuih/ -cheut- /jo/ heui refers to the act of physically leaving while /Keuih/ -cheut- /jo/ \gaai\ refers to "going out" to run errands, enjoy oneself, etc.  If a person just "stepped out" you would use /keuih/ -cheut- /jo/ heui while if you say /keuih/ -cheut- /jo/ \gaai\ it implies that the person will not be back for some time.

Response Case 2: The person is home


Listen

/Hai/

-uk- \keih\

屋企

at home
At home.

Listen

/Han/

dou

at here/there
Here.

Listen

/Neih/

/yauh/

-mat- /yeh/

sih

/wan/

/keuih/?

乜嘢

佢?

you have what? matter find he/she/it
Why are you looking for him?

Listen

/Neih/

/wan/

/keuih/

jouh

-mat- /yeh/?

乜嘢?

you find he/she/it do what?
What do you want with him?

Listen

/Neih/

/ho/

\mh\

/ho/ /yih/

giu

/keuih/

\teng\

dihn wah?

可以

電話?

you can not can tell he/she/it listen telephone
Can you tell him to answer the phone?

Listen

-Dang-

-dang-

wait wait
Hold on.

Hong Kong culture differs from Western culture when it comes to telephone protocol.  Telephone contact is often very brief and to the point, even when those speaking are well acquainted.  It is not uncommon for those non-acquainted to probe into the business of a caller.  It is also common practice for a caller to ignore such an inquiry or give a perfunctory answer.

Response Case 3: Have reached the person speaking


Listen

/Ngoh/

haih

I am
Speaking.

Listen

/Ngoh/

jauh

haih

I then am
That's me.

Listen

/Ngoh/

haih,

/neih/

haih

-bin-

/wai/?

係,

位?

I am you are which {mw}
Speaking, who is this?

Naturally, the response will be different if the speaker recognizes the caller.

Response Case 4: Wrong number/Doesn't live here


Listen

/Da/

cho

hit wrong
Wrong number.

Listen

/Da/

cho

dihn wah

電話

hit wrong telephone
You called the wrong number.

Listen

/Keuih/

\mh\

/hai/

-ni-

dou

jyuh

he/she/it not at this here live
He doesn't live here.

Listen

/Mouh/

-ni-

go

\yahn\

not have this {mw} person
No such person.

Listen

-Ni-

go

haih

\mh\

haih

?

2435-1234

this {mw} is not is? 2435-1234
Is this 2435-1234?

When you dial a wrong number, the person answering the phone frequently simply says "wrong number" and hangs up without a pause.  If calling someone you are not familiar with or whose family is not familiar with you, the person may very likely hang up prematurely.

/Keuih/ \mh\ /hai/ -ni- dou jyuh can mean either that the person does not know the person you are calling for or that this person has moved out.  /Mouh/ -ni- go \yahn\ clearly means that the person is unknown to the respondent.

Inquire/Leaving a Message


Listen

/Keuih/

/gei/ sih

\faan\

\leih\?

幾時

嚟?

he/she/it when? return come
When will he return?

Listen

/Ngoh/

\mh\

\ji\ dou

知道

I not know
I don't know.

Listen

/Neih/

/ho/

\mh\

/ho/ /yih/

\lauh\

seun -sik-

/bei/

/keuih/?

可以

信息

佢?

you can not can? leave message  give he/she/it
Can you give him a message?

Listen

/Neih/

/ho/

\mh\

/ho/ /yih/

giu

/keuih/

/bei/

dihn wah

/ngoh/?

可以

電話

我?

you can not can? tell he/she/it give telephone me
Can you tell him to give me a call?

Listen

/Neih/

ge

dihn wah

haih

/gei/ \do\

houh?

電話

幾多

號?

you {pssv} telephone is how much? number
What is your number?


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