Popup Cantonese

We'll admit that male grooming patterns in Hong Kong continue to mystify us even after several years of exposure. But while we aren't this mean in real life, it's inevitable that sometimes you might want to be, because it doesn't take a lot of getting quoted the foreign prices before you'll want to toss out a bit of fluent Cantonese to drag the prices down. And that's exactly where this Cantonese lesson comes into play.... Starting to learn Cantonese? This lesson is intended for students with a bit of background in the Cantonese language, so if you're an absolute beginner this one is going to be too difficult for you. Instead, navigate to our first Critical Phrases lesson in our series of Basic Cantonese lessons. You'll be back up here in no time ready to tackle our more difficult material.

Now that we're at the advanced level we can afford to be straight with you: Hong Kong is not as perfect as we have led you to believe. Sadly, the city still has the occasional faults. And while there aren't many of them, we'd be doing you a disservice to gloss over the worst this city has to offer. And that's why Nicole is joined today by two friends on a mission to expose the seamy underbelly of everyone's favorite Cantonese-speaking city. Yes... they're talking about bad restaurants today. If you're in Hong Kong, there's no reason to settle for second best when it comes to dining, and absolutely no reason to lose two days to chronic stomach pain thanks to food poisoning from grotty dim-sum. So join us today for our quick review of what we consider the top restaurants to avoid during your stay in Hong Kong. And if you aren't fluent yet, let the threat of missing this essential knowledge be powerful motivation to keep studying....

Being in the global trade business meant frequent trips around Southern Asia strengthening connections with suppliers. At one time this had been a major benefit of working in the field, and one of the reasons Nancy entered the sourcing industry. Yet this time was different, because no matter how beautiful the scenery, Nancy couldn't help but think of the new puppy she had been forced to leave at home. It was true that she had only raised Brewster for a few months, but he was already part of the family and completely dependent on her, and God only knows how the poor creature would deal with her week-long absence. So while she'd asked a friend to drop by and take care of him while she was gone, Nancy couldn't help feel that this - her entire lifestyle - was a betrayal of sorts. And she resolved to make it up to him when she returned.

Learning Cantonese? One of the things you'll learn about us here at Popup Cantonese is that we move at a pretty fast pace. But we know some of you are struggling to keep up, which is why in today's lesson we take a step back and review some of the things we've learned at the Beginner level up to now. And if you've been following along you have no excuse not to know the answers to these questions. Or most of these questions. Because we'll just be honest and admit there's at least one tucked away here that's entirely subjective. Nicole is polite and calls it a bonus question, but don't let that fool you. The rest of us in the office consider it the single most important question on the test, and are willing to issue pass/fail credit on it alone. So see how you do, and please don't fail. At least not the one that really matters.

We've heard women complain that Hong Kong men can't be romantic, and then we've heard the same men complain about the same women that they just don't appreciate the finer things in life. So we don't really know where we stand, except that when it comes time for planning a romantic night out, you're probably best off avoiding our advice and steering by your own compass. Want to learn Cantonese? In today's elementary Cantonese lesson, we cover a lot of damn useful vocabulary for finding your way through the rocky shoals of dating, and if you're learning Cantonese this lesson is pretty much a must hear. But if you need more motivation, we've got it too in the form of an easy way to turn perfectly innocuous statements into emotional accusations that you've been deceived. We look forward to hearing how you put it into practice!

We meet the teary-eyed couple over drinks Lan Kwai Fong. Their story is pretty typical for Hong Kong and goes something like this: girl meets boy, they fall in love and maybe even move in together. He gets a raise and she gets a promotion and life is going well... right up until the family finds out. And then within days family relations hit a crisis point and rumours surface that a distant uncle has asked the Triads to get involved.... Learning Cantonese? Our advanced Cantonese podcasts at Popup Cantonese are a no-mercy plunge into full-speed, native-level Cantonese. We're also willing to call things as we see them and pass judgment on everything from Hong Kong Disney to your office gossip. So take a listen, and if you've got a story you'd like to share write us at service@popupcantonese.com.

Learning Cantonese? Let your other textbooks teach you office pleasantries. At Popup Cantonese we're all about the watercooler gossip: who is sleeping with whom, who was spotted drunk at Lan Kwai Fong last night, and the perfect angle of descent for really sticking it to the worst of your office chums. Or maybe you landed that job at HSBC and your office environment is amazingly good. In which case you can skip this lesson no harm done. On a separate note, since it's been a while since our last lesson we wanted to share meta-news about the reason why. For those of you who haven't noticed, we've just upgraded the whole backend behind our platform for learning mandarin and are preparing to upgrade this site in a few weeks. This all takes a bit of work, so if you have any suggestions on things you would love or hate to see here as we move forward, please get them in to us at suggestions@popupcantonese.com. We'd love to hear from you.

"I'm not sure if I should get the Aston Martin or the Jaguar XKR," Nicole stared at the glossy automotive magazine, her lunch lying untouched on the table. The growing stream of celebrity endorsements on everything from instant noodles to motor oil was taking its toll on everyone's favorite Cantonese podcaster. "I just wish it were easier to compare high-end performance cars," she sighed.... Learning Cantonese? In our first elementary Cantonese podcast, we take the chance to talk about comparisons. So if you already have a bit of Cantonese under your belt listen in and in less than ten minutes we'll cover the basics of how to make comparisons in the Cantonese language. And if you have any questions or comments? Feel free to leave a note in our discussion section below, or contact us by email. We'd love to hear from you.

We'd been cornered outside a 7/11 and were getting a lecture on professional ethics. "It's a simple exchange," the professor said. "You contribute a little bit to the cause and we're endlessly grateful in return." Our thoughts on this gentleman's forwardness notwithstanding, the prospect of such a boundless return on investment did stimulate a little charity on our part. Learning Cantonese? You've probably noticed by now that most native Cantonese speakers have around a million ways of saying thanks. We strongly suspect that some are even paid professionally to dream up more each day in order to confuse tourists, mainlanders and everyone else passing through the city. But fortunately, there are only a few dozen variants in common usage, and in this podcast we'll set you right so you know how and when to use them.

Now that you've lived in Hong Kong for a day or two, you might feel the need to venture out to buy some essentials like food, clothing and water. In other countries this would be a pretty routine affair. Go down to the corner store, flash that winning smile and walk out with your arms full of free goods. Sadly, in Hong Kong's relentlessly capitalist society, people expect you to pay. And that's where this lesson comes in. Regardless of whether you're haggling ten bucks off the price of that Dongguan shirt or trying to save twenty cents on your next purchase of life-giving mango juice, you'll need to know how to talk about money in Cantonese. Which is why we spend our lesson today covering the money, learning how to talk about prices, and then demanding lower prices repeatedly and insistently, although we leave the yelling and screaming up to you.

Fearful of being forced into marriage against your will? Concerned your prospective husband may be murderous scum and your family putting political allegiances above your health and longevity? Our advanced Cantonese lesson today is a listening test offering practical advice to the modern woman. If you've already been learning Cantonese for a while listen in and see how much you understand. Note: our Cantonese lesson for today is an advanced listening test. This means we have a relatively lengthy dialogue followed by a short quiz that tests your comprehension. Try listening to our dialogue once and then taking the test. And if you don't quite understand what you've heard? Look for the answers using our annotated online transcript with its word-by-word mouseover popups.

This podcast is dedicated to a certain ex-coworker of ours known widely throughout Hong Kong for his uncanny abilities in the art of pen theft. No matter how many we'd buy or where we'd hide them, by the end of the week every single writing instrument in the office would have magically gravitated to his desk. And he was always on the hunt for more. If you're just getting started learning Cantonese, this podcast will be a bit advanced for you; get started by listening to our Critical Phrases series for Absolute Beginners. Once you've worked through them, join us here for a quick look at asking to borrow things, as well as another way to make requests in general. And if you have any questions or comments, feel free to write us at service@popupcantonese.com or leave a note in our discussion section below.

Learning Cantonese? This lesson is about the art of the denial. Which is highly-critical language you may just find yourself using the next time you sweep through Hong Kong on business, or just want to disavow any knowledge once again of that little incident it would be best if everyone just forgot. Because it was years ago. And who is really keeping track, anyway? Also... do you remember that earlier lesson in which we learned that Cantonese speakers are particularly fond of turning odd emotional exclamations into high frequency words? Well heavens if there isn't another example lurking in this lesson, along with a dramatic Cantonese dialogue that is several degrees towards strange. But we think you'll enjoy it. So listen in, and good luck!

In our introduction series, we taught you the most simple way to ask where things are in Cantonese. In this lesson, we introduce another way to find out who has taken your stuff. This is the difference between asking "where is my wallet" and "where's my wallet gone". The first is emotionally neutral, while the second is more colloquial and signals your frustration with the fact that you clearly placed the damn thing on the desk last night and it doesn't have legs so where on earth could it have gone? Our beginner Cantonese lessons are all dialogue-based lessons that move at the speed you'll hear Cantonese spoken in Hong Kong. So if you're totally new to Cantonese you may find this a bit difficult to dissect. So if you're learning and want to practice these sentences over and over, be sure to visit our online transcript and vocabulary pages, where every sentence and word in our dialogue is accompanied by special audio recordings you can play over and over again. And let us know if you have any questions in the comment section below!

One of the most impressive things about Hong Kong is the absolutely incredible bladder control you will find on display throughout the city. Forget about the Chinese acrobatic acts featuring intense young Buddhists smashing their forearms through concrete cinderblocks. Considering the amount of bottled water locals go through ever day, the Hong Kong ability to stay focused under pressure is nothing short of performance art. We wondered about this for a long time, especially considering the heat and humidity that envelops the island every summer. But then we met Nicole, who is slowly sharing Hong Kong's secrets with us. "We don't really have a lot of choice in the matter," she said, before adding "and I think there's something wrong with you guys biologically." Our table was littered with empty bottles of mango and raspberry juice purchased at the local store. "But we also don't drink so much juice, and that makes a difference too."