Language/Yue-chinese/Grammar/Questions
Hi Yue Chinese learners! 😊
In this lesson, we will learn about asking questions in Yue Chinese. Asking questions is essential in communication, and Yue Chinese has several ways to inquire about information. We will cover different types of questions, including yes-no questions, wh- questions, and tag questions. We will also provide cultural information and interesting facts to enrich your learning experience. Don't forget to practice and use the Find native speakers to ask any questions you may have! Let's get started!
Yes-No Questions
One way to form yes-no questions is by using the particle 唔 "m4". This particle is placed at the end of the sentence to indicate a question. For example:
| Yue Chinese | Pronunciation | English |
|---|---|---|
| 你識唔識講廣東話？ | nei5 sik1 m4 sik1 gong2 gwong2 dung1 waa2? | Do you know how to speak Cantonese? |
Notice how the particle "m4" changes the tone of the sentence, making it raise at the end. This tone change is necessary to indicate that it is a question.
Another way to ask yes-no questions is by repeating the verb or adjective and adding 否 "fou6" at the end. This construction is similar to the English construction "Is it...or not?" For example:
| Yue Chinese | Pronunciation | English |
|---|---|---|
| 佢係唔係香港人？ | keoi5 hai6 m4 hai6 hoeng1 gong2 jan4? | Is he/she from Hong Kong or not? |
This construction can also be shortened to just the verb/adjective and 否 "fou6". For example:
| Yue Chinese | Pronunciation | English |
|---|---|---|
| 你識唔識唱歌否？ | nei5 sik1 m4 sik1 coeng3 go1 fou6? | Can you sing or not? |
Wh- Questions
Wh- questions begin with a question word, such as "what", "where", "when", "why", "who", or "how". In Yue Chinese, the typical construction is to place the question word at the beginning of the sentence. For example:
| Yue Chinese | Pronunciation | English |
|---|---|---|
| 點解你唔識講廣東話？ | dim2 gaai2 nei5 m4 sik1 gong2 gwong2 dung1 waa2? | Why don't you know how to speak Cantonese? |
| 你係邊到人？ | nei5 hai6 bin1 dou2 jan4? | Where are you from? |
| 幾點鐘？ | gei2 dim2 jung1? | What time is it? |
| 點樣做？ | dim2 yeung6 zou6? | How to do? |
| 點解你識講日語？ | dim2 gaai2 nei5 sik1 gong2 jat6 jyu5? | Why do you know how to speak Japanese? |
Notice how the sentence structure is the same as a statement, but with a question word replacing the subject, object, or the location.
There are other ways to form wh- questions in Yue Chinese, such as by using the construction 係唔係 "hai6 m4 hai6" (similar to the English construction "Is it...?") or by using the verb 有冇 "jau5 mou5" (which means "have or not have" and is used to inquire about the presence or absence of something). For example:
| Yue Chinese | Pronunciation | English |
|---|---|---|
| 係唔係呢個？ | hai6 m4 hai6 ni1 go3? | Is this one? |
| 你有冇問題？ | nei5 jau5 mou5 man6 tai4? | Do you have any questions? |
Tag Questions
Tag questions are short sentences added at the end of a statement to ask for confirmation or agreement. In English, tag questions typically use the construction "isn't it?" or "don't you?" In Yue Chinese, the typical construction is to use the particle 呢 "ne1". For example:
| Yue Chinese | Pronunciation | English |
|---|---|---|
| 你識講廣東話咖喺？ | nei5 sik1 gong2 gwong2 dung1 waa2 gaa3 hai2? | You know how to speak Cantonese, right? |
Notice how the particle "ne1" is placed after the verb or adjective and before the final particle (if there is one). This construction serves to confirm or seek agreement from the listener.
Dialogue
- Person 1: 點解你唔識講廣東話？ (Why don't you know how to speak Cantonese?)
- Person 2: 因為我係美國人，唔係香港人。(Because I am American, not from Hong Kong.)
- Person 1: 你識唔識唱歌？ (Can you sing?)
- Person 2: 唔識。 (No, I can't.)
- Person 1: 飲嘢未？ (Have you eaten?)
- Person 2: 食咗啦，你呢？ (Yes, I have. How about you?)
Cultural Information and Interesting Facts
- In Hong Kong, it is common to greet people by asking "食咗未？" (Have you eaten?). This question serves as a greeting and acknowledges the importance of food in Cantonese culture. - The wh- word "點解" (dim2 gaai2) means "why" and is derived from a combination of the characters "點" (dim2), which means "what", and "解" (gaai2), which means "reason". Therefore, "點解" literally means "what reason" or "for what reason". - In informal situations, it is common to use the particle "咪" (mai6) instead of "唔" (m4) to form yes-no questions. For example, instead of saying "你識唔識講廣東話？" (Do you know how to speak Cantonese?), one could say "你識咪識講廣東話？" to indicate a more casual and informal tone. - Cantonese is a tonal language, which means that the meaning of a word changes depending on the tone used to pronounce it. There are six tones in Cantonese, which can make it challenging for non-native speakers to master the language.
Sources
Related Lessons
- Plurals
- Give your Opinion
- How to Use Have
- Nouns
- Conditional Mood
- How to Use Be
- Adjectives
- Future Tense
- Negation