Now you have the tones, let's apply them to some words!
When you are starting out, it's important to establish some good learning habits to pick up Cantonese effectively. To focus on the tones, organise your vocabulary by tone and really make sure you hit the pitch. After a while, this will become second nature.
There are more exercises to widen your vocabulary in Lesson 6: What's Your Favourite? For now, your focus should be on mastering the tones, so that every time you see jyutping written, you can get the right tone. You will find it easy to adjust your way of saying things with the food words. Now it's time to forget about how you usually talk and get your Cantonese head on!
First let's learn some FOOD WORDS. You'll be surprised at how easy it is! You can download this as a worksheet with this button or scroll down to see it on screen.
But I also want to talk you through how it works. You can see the vocabulary is organised by tone. Make sure you get the first tone, before moving onto the second, and so on, then you can be sure of hitting the pitch with all six tones for any new words you learn.
Next you'll see the characters are written twice, once in black and the second one faded. This is so you can trace over it if you also want to learn to write. There is of course an order to the strokes, so I would recommend you find a tutor to help you.
The meaning I have left blank for two reasons. Firstly, not all my students are native English speakers and secondly, if you can't figure out 批 pai1 means pie, then I would be most surprised. By having the opportunity to figure things out for yourself, you will start to appreciate how Cantonese works. If you do have trouble with some of the less obvious ones, point at the word and say:
點 講 呀？
dim2 gong2 aa3
How do you say that?
This is also a good place to say a few more words about JYUTPING. Mostly, it is intuitive - just read it as you would in English. There are a few things to watch out for, however. I have already talked about 'clipped sounds' in Lesson One (words ending in k, p or t), and you can make sure you have that with the words for doughnut and pancake below (both first tone words). Next, let's look at 'z' - think dz. If a words starts 'c' then think ts (keep your lips flat, do not make ch like in church) and if you see j then think ee with a very soft y in front. This sound clip will help you, or ask a friend:
Getting your Cantonese head on: Food
1. First tone
批 批 pai1 meaning:_____________
冬甩 🍩 冬甩 dung1 lat1 meaning:_____________
班𠽤 班𠽤 baan1 kik1 meaning:_____________
2. Second tone
多士 多士 do1 si2 meaning:_____________
芝士 芝士 zi1 si2 meaning:_____________
啤酒🍻 啤酒 be1 zau2 meaning:_____________
芒果🥭 芒果 mong1 gwo2 meaning:_____________
茄汁 茄汁 ke2 zap1 meaning:_____________
3. Third tone
布甸 布甸 bou3 din1 meaning:_____________
咖啡☕️ 咖啡 gaa3 fe1 meaning:_____________
咖喱🍛 咖喱 gaa3 lei1 meaning:_____________
4. Fourth tone
茶☕️ 茶 caa4 meaning:_____________
檸檬🍋 檸檬 ning4 mung1 meaning:_____________
啤梨 啤梨 be1 lei4 meaning:_____________
5. Fifth tone
乳酪 乳酪 jyu5 lok3 meaning:_________
馬卡龍 馬卡龍 maa5 kaa1 lung4 meaning:_________
6. Sixth tone
豆腐 豆腐 dau6 fu6 meaning:_________
壽司🍣 壽司 sau6 si1 meaning:_________
沙律 沙律 saa1 leot6 meaning:_________
新地 新地 san1 dei6 meaning:_________
Mix it up!
士多啤梨🍓 si6 do1 bei1 lei4 meaning:_________
士多啤梨
三文治🥪 saam1 man4 zi6 meaning:_________
三文治
漢堡包🍔 hon3 bou2 baau1 meaning:_________
漢堡包
吞拿魚 taa1 naa4 jyu2 meaning:_________
吞拿魚
威化餅 wai1 faa3 beng2 meaning:_________
威化餅