Today’s Classifier …s! 樖 and 架

That’s right; double whammy today! The classifiers for vehicles and trees!!! 樖 (po) is classifier for trees and plants (but a flower is 一枝花 （yat ji fa) a twig of flower. 呢樖樹好X靚呀。（Li po syu hou →

Today’s Classifier: 隻

Yes I know I’ve done 隻 （jek) before, but then I saw this 水牛，seoi ao, yesterday morning, and was lost in classifier-ation once again. It seems that classifiers are simplifying and that people often use →

Caring and Sharing

I’m currently in Hunan province and thought I would share this, one of many wonderful English signs we’ve seen during the last few days, with you. Throwing garbage into the dustbin is indeed lofty behaviour, →

Canto Persona

Have you read ‘Outliers’ by Malcolm Gladwell? Splendid book, absolutely fascinating. Eye-opening, funny, full of a-ha moments, it spurs you on so you have to get up at 5am to finish it, having started at →

New Podcast: A Sojourn in Shenzhen!!!!

It’s not a rare occasion for Happy Jellyfish People’s Democratic Language Bureau to go to Shenzhen and have clothes made, as well as buying fake Ray-Ban’s. But no trip to Lo Wu Shopping Center has →

How (not) To Learn Cantonese 2

How to learn Cantonese: By doing the above. Carefully sliding down, into the water, then swimming. In my first post about this topic a couple of weeks ago I used the swimming analogy – how →

Are All Whitey Total Morons? (Or is it just me?)

I think one of my biggest weaknesses is my temper, or rather that I sometimes can’t control it. I specifically blow my top at government officials and other puffed-up people in uniform, telling me what →

How (not) To Learn Cantonese

I’ve realised for many years now that learning a language, especially a language like Cantonese where the locals’ resistance to foreigners (Caucasians) acquiring their language can take on epic proportions sometimes, is about personality, not →

Autumn in Tokyo

Wei, language enthusiasts everywhere, or should I say: Konichiwa! Or Bunka kakumei! (Cultural revolution) Yes, I’ve been to Tokyo （東京）and what a lovely trip it was. The air was so fresh, the train stations so →

New Film: Learn Cantonese and Become a Babe-Magnet

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It’s Official! You’re About To Leave Illiteracy Behind!

Okay, it’s official. This Saturday we’re kicking off a character-learning extravaganza like you’ve never seen; the first in a series of two hour workshops where you’ll learn everything you need to set you on the road to proficiency in reading and writing Chinese.

There are two main reasons (as well as a large number of sub-reasons) why you should learn at least to read at least 100 common characters.

1. You live in Hong Kong where the official language is written in Chinese characters and it’s weird not to be able to read a single word of the official language where you live – the place you may even call “your home.”

2. When so many people say “you’ll never learn it” and “it’s too difficult for you” – doesn’t that piss you off sufficiently to want to prove them wrong?

The sub-reasons are too numerous to mention here, but here are some of the many ways in which you’ll benefit:

You’ll never get cheated in the market again. “15 dollars for three oranges? But here it clearly says 10!”

You’ll find out what the place names and names of dishes really mean “Siu Mai means “Fried Sell,” Mong Kok (actually Wong Gok) means “prosperous corner”

It keeps Alzheimer’s at bay

You will enter into a new and fascinating world where just a walk around boring old Central becomes exciting

Your spoken Cantonese will improve no end

You will feel a new confidence

If you’re already learning characters, please tell me how you have benefited so far!

Right, so it’s 2pm this Saturday at Honolulu Coffee Shop (which is actually a Cha Chanteng) 33 Stanley street, Central.
Please sign up with your email address because I need to send you some course material. Maximum 12 people.
Price: 6 people: HK$300 each
7 people: 280 each
8 people and up: 250 each

Don’t forget notebook and pen. I’ll bring the dictionary. Here is Honolulu:

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