A Victory

I just have to post this comment from one of my students, ah Laan, here. She, as well as I and everybody who’d ever attempted to take on the Canto, has fought through being answered in English, no matter what she said, for weeks. But then: “...Great victory today in the vida Canto - I often visit the small shop near our apartment for juice or snacks and always greet the proprietress in Cantonese. She greets me in English then responds to my statements - "How much is this" or "I don't need a bag" in English. But today - VICTORY! I went down to buy a beer, said hello (she answered me in Canto), asked how much it cost (she answered me in Canto), and said I didn't need a bag (she got a huge smile andwell, she said something in Canto that I couldn't understand), but dammit! It worked! It finally worked!.”

It does work. Believe me. As long as you don’t back down, break down or give up.

Back By Popular Demand: Classifiers

Photo: 四個靚女 (sei go leeng loy, 4 beautiful girls)

Classifiers, measure words, counting words, whatever you want to call them, they are a vital feature of Cantonese. Here you can learn some of them through the medium of song:

See if you can pick out the classifiers to these things from the song:

一個朋友 One friend
兩隻狗 two dogs
三隻蝨 three lice
四個仔 four sons
五隻雞 five chickens
六支筆 six pens
七條魚 seven fish
八張檯（枱） eight tables
九個袋 nine bags
十本書 ten books

But good news: You really can use 個 (goh, “piece of”) for everything! Everyone will understand. Still, learn this song by heart and you won’t have to worry much about classifiers. If you want the lyrics, sound and Chinese characters, just contact me.

A Little Proddie Placie

Wei wei, it’s finally happening: I’m launching my new book Don’t Joke On The Stairs on Blacksmith Books this week. I actually wrote most of it four years ago and had signed a contract with →

Joke-share

Here’s a joke that I’d like to share with all Cantonese speakers/learners – well, not all. It only works if you’re caucasian. In Norway we have a saying: Beloved child has many names. So it →

New Book on the Block

Hallo, hallo, everybody everywhere. My new book is finally being published and you are invited to the launch. As well as beer and books for sale, there is also my new DVD ‘Going Native’ which →

Preview of Documentary

This is 54 seconds of our three week trip. More later in the documentary you can download from this site!

Camels, what’s not to like? They are haughty but kindly, patient but laconic. They understand human nature, then spit on it. In Dunhuang, an oasis town between the Gobi and Taklamakan deserts, there are camels →

This is probably my favourite spot in all of China – apart from the Lo Wu Shopping Center of course. It’s Jiayuguan Fort far into Gansu province and is said to be the end of →

Last year I went from Lanzhou to Xiahe, a Tibetan stronghold, by bus. I had read in a book about the Silk Road that this would involve an “eight hour hair-raising bus trip” and looked →

Despite the charms of the Chinese train and that to travel hopefully (and painfully) is better than … not at all, it’s always good to arrive when the destination is beautiful Lanzhou. It’s the most →

.. an old podcast: A Sojourn in Shenzhen. Yes, one whole person has expressed interest in hearing it, so I must oblige. Also I happen to be going to Shenzhen again tomorrow as part of →

Yes, soon you’ll be able to download more than three hours of Canto magic from this very site!I met my computer expert friend yesterday behind the third toilet from the left, and handed over the →

Impress Your Friends, Feel In Control

Here is G with some lovely ha gau and another gau, ordered from the Chinese menu by him. Now you can also learn to navigate a Chinese menu with impunity! This Saturday, November 10th, I’m →