That! 嗰個！

Here’s a word, short, unassuming, that often creates trouble for my clients (“victims”). It’s 嗰 (go – that.)
Now, the word this is never a problem for any of my clients. It’s all 呢個(li go – this thing, this piece) this, li go that, all day long with them. Without any problems at all! But when it comes to the word THAT that’s trouble. I’d like to show you to use it through examples. Take the photo above.
嗰個人瞓覺(go go yan fen gau – that piece person sleep[that person’s sleeping])

嗰個人唔係差人 (go go yan m hai chai yan – that piece person not is messenger person [that person’s not a police officer. Yes, the one to the left]).

If you’re pointing to or talking about something that doesn’t have 個 (go – piece, item, thing) as classifier, you just put the other classifier after 嗰(go – that). As in the photo above: 嗰隻水牛游水 (go JEK seoi au yau seoi – that [classifier for animals] water cow swim water; that water buffalo is swimming).

Get it? Tomorrow: PLURAL!!!!!! I’ve said and said that there’s no plural in Cantonese and that’s true. And yet – there is.

Here is the ultimate way to learn about that: Through the medium of bluegrass!

Learn more about this and that by taking a 2 hour crash course in Cantonese this summer! You’ll thank me for it later.