Daily 5-minute Cantonese Lesson

↩ Back to homepage

Wet Market Shopping

TEXT

去街市買餸。
heoi3 gaai1 si5 maai5 sou3.

檔主幫我揀咗啲新鮮嘅菜。
dong3 zyu2 bong1 ngo5 gaan2 zo2 di1 san1 sin1 ge3 coi3.

價錢好平,好着數。
gaa3 cin4 hou2 peng4, hou2 zok1 sou3.

TRANSLATION

Went to the wet market to buy groceries.

The vendor helped me pick fresh vegetables.

The prices were cheap – it’s good deal.

BREAKDOWN

去街市買餸。
(heoi3): go;街市 (gaai1 si5): wet market; (maai5): buy; (sou3): groceries/dishes

檔主幫我揀咗啲新鮮嘅菜。
檔主 (dong3 zyu2): vendor; (bong1): help; (ngo5): me; (gaan2): pick/select; (zo2): completed; (di1): some;新鮮 (san1 sin1): fresh; (ge3): possessive; (coi3): vegetables

價錢好平,好着數。
價錢 (gaa3 cin4): price;好平 (hou2 peng4): very cheap; (hou2): very;着數 (zok1 sou3): good deal.

NOTES

■ “餸” specifically means prepared dishes/groceries (different from “食物” which is food)

■ “咗” shows past aspect (like “-ed”) – here’s a link explaining Cantonese tenses and grammar.