Chatty Cantonese | 粵語白白講
Episodes
Guest Episode: Zoe Lam (粵語)
29 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas
This episode features an interview with Dr. Zoe Wai-Man Lam, a lecturer in Cantonese at the University of British Columbia and the main instructor and...
Guest Episode: Jennifer Feeley, Part 3 (English)
24 Sep 2024
Contributed by Lukas
This episode features the conclusion of our conversation with Jennifer Feeley. Where in previous episodes we discussed specific Hong Kong literature t...
Guest Episode: Jennifer Feeley, Part 2 (English)
01 Aug 2024
Contributed by Lukas
This episode features the second portion of our conversation with the award-winning literary translator Jennifer Feeley. Where last time we learned ab...
Guest Episode: Jennifer Feeley, Part 1 (English)
14 Jul 2024
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode we interview the award-winning literary translator Jennifer Feeley. Jennifer has helped introduce English-language readers around the ...
Learning Tip: Measure Words/量詞 (loeng6 ci4), Part 1 (粵/Eng)
07 Jul 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Measure words (also referred to as "classifiers" in linguistics, or 量詞/loeng6 ci4) appear in multiple languages, but they have some spec...
Conversation: Reading and Writing for Cantonese Speakers (粵, w/《絮言狂想》)
24 May 2024
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, we are joined by Israel, Kenny, and Samuel from the podcast seoi6 jin4 kwong4 soeng2. In that podcast, the trio uses Cantonese to dis...
Guest Episode: Allan Lau and Duck Lau, Part 2 (粵語)
01 Jan 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Born and raised in Canada, Allan Lau is a versatile musician, doing everything from orchestrating movie scores to crafting commercial theme tracks for...
Guest Episode: Allan Lau and Duck Lau, Part 1 (粵語)
03 Sep 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Welcome to Season 3 of Chatty Cantonese! We start things off with a double-interview with two notable figures from the world of Cantopop, Allan Lau an...
Learning Tip: Thanking in Cantonese, do1 ze6 vs. m4 goi1 (English/粵語)
25 May 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Inspired by a listener question, this episode addresses an issue all beginning Cantonese students face: in thanking someone, when should you use do1 z...
Conversation: Hong Kong Beverages (粵語)
13 Apr 2023
Contributed by Lukas
A discussion about where Hongkongers found cool refreshment in the olden days leads Raymond to share some unique drinks. Wonder what "a monk jump...
Guest Episode: Bernice Chan, Part 2 (粵語)
04 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Bernice Chan is a reporter whose career has stretched across the Pacific, reporting for both the South China Morning Post in Hong Kong and CBC in Vanc...
Guest Episode: Bernice Chan, Part 1 (粵語)
21 Jan 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Bernice Chan is a reporter whose career has stretched across the Pacific, reporting for both the South China Morning Post in Hong Kong and CBC in Vanc...
Learning Tip: SFPs 4 - gwaa3, wo3/bo3, wo4, and wo5 (English/粵語)
20 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
How can this be happening?! In this episode, we dig into SFPs (sentence final particles) useful for expressing surprise, reacting to information that ...
Conversation: Time in the Digital Age (粵語)
05 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
A little chat about time in the digital age... How do we stay focused when there are so many distractions out there? And what do you call a "beds...
Guest Episode: Gina Anne Tam, Part 2 (English, 粵語)
04 Nov 2022
Contributed by Lukas
This episode features the second half of our discussion with Dr. Gina Anne Tam, Associate Professor of History at Trinity University, and author of Di...
Guest Episode: Gina Anne Tam, Part 1 (English, 粵語)
12 Oct 2022
Contributed by Lukas
This episode features the first half of our discussion with Dr. Gina Anne Tam, Associate Professor of History at Trinity University, and author of Dia...
Learning Tip: SFPs 3 - zaa3, ze1, zek1, and zaa4
18 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
More sentence final particles in this episode, this time centering around ones beginning with "z." They can be helpful for talking about qua...
Conversation: Written vs. Spoken Cantonese (粵語)
25 Aug 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Pop quiz: How would you write "Give me that book" in Cantonese?「畀嗰本書我」or 「給我那本書」? The answer is... well, complic...
Guest Episode: Jade Wu, Part 2 (粵語)
30 Jul 2022
Contributed by Lukas
This episode features the second part of our conversation with Jade Wu, where we discuss her publishing process and some of the ways her students have...
Guest Episode: Jade Wu, Part 1 (粵語)
05 Jul 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Part one of our interview with Jade Wu, author, podcaster, and teacher of Cantonese, Taishanese (Toisanese), and Mandarin. She has published textbooks...
Learning Tip: SFPs 2 - gaa3 and laa3
15 Jun 2022
Contributed by Lukas
This week we talk about two more important SFPs, gaa3 (㗎) and laa3 (喇). Raymond has examples aplenty, while Cameron seems to have air conditioning...
Conversation: 爛gag (粵語)
29 May 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Following up on the last episode about Cantonese stand-up comedy, Raymond challenges Cameron with some Cantonese "爛gag," or anti-humor jok...
Guest Episode: Vivek Mahbubani, Part 2 (粵語)
06 May 2022
Contributed by Lukas
This week features the second half of our discussion with Vivek Mahbubani, a bilingual stand-up comedian from Hong Kong who performs in both Cantonese...
Guest Episode: Vivek Mahbubani, Part 1 (粵語)
18 Apr 2022
Contributed by Lukas
This week features the first half of our discussion with Vivek Mahbubani, a bilingual stand-up comedian from Hong Kong who performs in both Cantonese ...
Learning Tip: Intro to Sentence Final Particles and the Uses of "aa" (English/粵語)
02 Apr 2022
Contributed by Lukas
In the first of a series of episodes on Sentence Final Particles (SFPs), we look at how just one syllable can change the feeling of a Cantonese senten...
Conversation: Updating Old Movie Lines (粵語)
23 Mar 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Have you ever watched an old movie and wondered if some of the lines might be spoken differently today? This week, Cameron challenges Raymond to a gam...
Guest Episode: Chaakming Lau, Part 2 (粵語)
17 Mar 2022
Contributed by Lukas
This episode features the second part of our interview with Dr. Lau, Chaakming, a long-term researcher and proponent of Cantonese in Hong Kong, his pr...
Guest Episode: Chaakming Lau, Part 1 (粵語)
08 Mar 2022
Contributed by Lukas
This episode features the first part of our interview with Dr. Lau, Chaakming, a long-term researcher and proponent of Cantonese in Hong Kong, his pre...
Learning Tip: How can I differentiate between "a" and "aa"? (English/粵語)
23 Feb 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Cantonese is rich with vowel sounds, but some of them can be difficult for non-native speakers. One of the biggest challenges in this realm is differe...
Conversation: Winter food cravings (粵語)
15 Feb 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Are there any foods that you love to eat when it gets cold out? Today we chat about a Cantonese winter staple, claypot rice (煲仔飯 bou1 zai2 faan6...
Guest Episode: Brittany Chan, Part 2 (English/粵語)
09 Feb 2022
Contributed by Lukas
This episode features part two of our conversation with YouTuber and blogger Brittany Chan. She shares some of her goals for studying Cantonese, as we...
Guest Episode: Brittany Chan, Part 1 (English/粵語)
31 Jan 2022
Contributed by Lukas
The first part of a two-part conversation with YouTuber and blogger Brittany Chan, who creates content about overseas Chinese communities and studying...
Learning Tip: Is 你 pronounced "nei5" or "lei5"? (English/粵語)
25 Jan 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Most students of Cantonese have probably encountered different pronunciations when it comes to words beginning with an "n" or "l" ...
Conversation: Talking about fandom in Cantonese (粵語)
18 Jan 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Everyone seems to be a fan of something, but how do you talk about it in Cantonese? This week, Raymond tells Cameron about a few ways that Hongkongers...
Guest Episode: John Wakefield, Part 2 (粵語)
07 Dec 2021
Contributed by Lukas
The second half of a two-part conversation with Professor John Wakefield, this episode focuses on his linguistic research and thoughts on how Cantones...
Guest Episode: John Wakefield, Part 1 (粵語)
29 Nov 2021
Contributed by Lukas
This week's guest is John Wakefield, an Associate Professor at Hong Kong Baptist University and a veteran Cantonese screen actor. The conversatio...
Learning Tip: How can I tell the difference between similar tones? (English/粵語)
22 Nov 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Some tones in Cantonese can seem very similar to new learners, particularly when they're similar "shapes" (e.g. tones 2 and 5). How can...
Conversation: Can you learn Cantonese through Cantopop? (粵）
15 Nov 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Raymond and Cameron discuss how Cantopop (Cantonese pop music) can act as a tool for language learning, as well as some of the medium's challenge...
Guest Episode: Pearl Low, Part 2 (English/粵語)
08 Nov 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Cameron and Raymond continue their conversation with Pearl Low, a Vancouver-based author, artist, and animator, about their experience studying Canton...
Guest Episode: Pearl Low, Part 1 (English/粵語)
01 Nov 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Cameron and Raymond chat with Pearl Low, a Vancouver-based author, artist, and animator, about their experience studying Cantonese as a heritage langu...
Learning Tip: How many tones does Cantonese have? (English/粵語)
25 Oct 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Raymond and Cameron tackle the subject of tones--does Cantonese have 6 or 9? Then Raymond shares his own tip for helping students practice tones. As f...
Conversation: What brings us to Cantonese? (粵語)
18 Oct 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Raymond and Cameron chat a little about their experiences with Cantonese, as well as why it helps to be interested in what one studies. SPOILER: Today...
Trailer: Chatty Cantonese | 粵語白白講
04 Oct 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Welcome to Chatty Cantonese, also known as 粵語白白講, a podcast all about studying Cantonese. Our regular episodes feature brief conversations i...