Rapid Cantonese

6. Is there …?Excuse me!May I ask ...(lit.: Please ask ...)... is there a bank near here?(lit.: Nearby ~ is there ~ a bank-qu?**)Nearby …… is there… a bank?M-goy!Tzeng mun* ...Fu gun yao-mo ngun hong-aa?**Fu gun …… yao-mo… ngun hong?Note: The expression for ‘Is there …?’ is literally ‘Have / Not have …?’.The root meaning is ‘Does this place have?’.a supermarkettiew cub see cheunga toilettsee sawMemory hook: think of a toilet sign showing male & female images balancing ona ''see saw''!a hospitalyi yoonNearby is there a hospital-qu?**Sorry, ...... I ~ don’t ~ know.I know.Fu gun yao-mo yi yoon-aa?**Mm-ho-yee-see, ...... ngor ~ mm ~ tsee-doe.Ngor tsee-doe.Literal translation:To get a feeling for the language one should appreciate exactly how thingsare formulated, i.e. the literal translation. For example: 'May I ask?' istranslated as 'Please ask?' or 'Is there a bank nearby?' is translatedas 'Nearby, there is / is not a bank?'.The word order and sometimes the words used, although understandable, aredifferent to English. Another example in song 3 is instead of saying 'Can I pay bycredit card?' you actually say 'I can / not can swipe card?'.* When asking for help or information, it is polite to precede the question with:May I ask ...? = Tzeng mun ...?** At the end of a question you often hear the sound ‘aa’ which just emphasisesthat it is a question, a kind of audible question mark.mbt ®earwormsMusical Brain Trainer