牛唔飲水唔撳得牛é 低 (Cantonese Proverb)
ngau m yam sœy m kam tak ngau t'au tai
Literal translation: If the cow doesn't want to drink water, there is no way to press it's head down
Meaning: Can't force to do something involuntarily
another saying - Mao hao lou shu ka ci bei
Originally posted by hasene:another saying - Mao hao lou shu ka ci bei
Another on cats:
貓兒洗�，系�� (Cantonese proverb)
maau yi sai min, hai kam yi
Literal translation: Kitty washes its face, just for show
Meaning: Not taking things seriously
---> ho sum bei loi pack
----> wark gong zai umm sai wark choat cheong - are these the right words?
Originally posted by hasene:---> ho sum bei loi pack
----> wark gong zai umm sai wark choat cheong - are these the right words?
好心畀雷劈 (Cantonese Proverb)
hou sam pei lœy p'É›k
畫公仔唔使畫出腸 (Cantonese Proverb)
waak kuÅ‹ tsai m sai waak ts'œt ts'œÅ‹
Originally posted by BanguIzai:好心畀雷劈 (Cantonese Proverb)
hou sam pei lœy p'É›k畫公仔唔使畫出腸 (Cantonese Proverb)
waak kuÅ‹ tsai m sai waak ts'œt ts'œÅ‹
bingo to me!
some more ===> shang tuck san tor zong yu fu
Originally posted by hasene:
bingo to me!some more ===> shang tuck san tor zong yu fu
上得山多終�虎 (Cantonese Proverb)
sœÅ‹ tak saan tÉ” tsuÅ‹ yü fu
Originally posted by BanguIzai:上得山多終�虎 (Cantonese Proverb)
sœÅ‹ tak saan tÉ” tsuÅ‹ yü fu
Mandarin shares the same proverb. In fact, I find Cantonese which is close to Mandarin much more easier to pick up than other dialects.
My cantonese friend that they were choosing between Cantonese and Mandarin to be the official dialect/language for China, is this true?
Originally posted by hasene:
Mandarin shares the same proverb. In fact, I find Cantonese which is close to Mandarin much more easier to pick up than other dialects.My cantonese friend that they were choosing between Cantonese and Mandarin to be the official dialect/language for China, is this true?
1st part: It just happens that the proverbs were borrowed from Northern Mandarin dialects into Cantonese thus the similarity. Regarding phonology, Cantonese indeed has a closer correspondence to Mandarin than Hokkien, Teochew, Hainanese and Foochow. How about Hakka? Hakka has even closer correspondence to Mandarin so should be easier to pick up for you.
2nd part: I always hear about that. Whether it (really happened in the past) is rumour or not, actually i dunno cos i never check hehe
Originally posted by BanguIzai:1st part: It just happens that the proverbs were borrowed from Northern Mandarin dialects into Cantonese thus the similarity. Regarding phonology, Cantonese indeed has a closer correspondence to Mandarin than Hokkien, Teochew, Hainanese and Foochow. How about Hakka? Hakka has even closer correspondence to Mandarin so should be easier to pick up for you.
2nd part: I always hear about that. Whether it (really happened in the past) is rumour or not, actually i dunno cos i never check hehe
Hakka not an easy dialect to learn. Cantonese sounds nicer
so ancient china uses cantonese as their language?
Originally posted by Rooney9:so ancient china uses cantonese as their language?
nope. It happen during the Sun Yat Sen admin. Cantonese lose out by one vote to be the common language to Beijing dialect. Otherwise we will be speaking Cantonese instead.
That what I was told, anyone can confirm?
at least cantonese from the southern china. i prefer southern china
Originally posted by Rooney9:so ancient china uses cantonese as their language?
who told u so?
Diu ... diu ... diu diu
Originally posted by Clivebenss:nope. It happen during the Sun Yat Sen admin. Cantonese lose out by one vote to be the common language to Beijing dialect. Otherwise we will be speaking Cantonese instead.
That what I was told, anyone can confirm?
what i was told is that if xiao sun won rather than xiao mao... then China will be all speaking cantonese now........ my useless lazy HK boss say one......