Bite 5 - To Be

2020-11-12 Update: we updated this bite so it is more consistent grammatically

Today we bite into sentences.

係

係
hai6

Not going to explain what this is. Not right away.

I am…

One way you can use 係 is to introduce yourself.

我    係   彼   得
ngo5 hai6 bei2 dak1

Literally:
I    am   Peter

Quick:

and slow:

I am -an / -ese / -er…

2020-11-12 Update: This used to be “I come from the U.S.”. This was not a direct translation and not consistent with this bite, so I changed it to “I am American”.

我    係   美    國    人
ngo5 hai6 mei5 gwok3 jan4
I     am   Americ   -an

I am American.

Fast:

Slow:

How about MY NAME? MY MOTHERLAND?

That’s a lot. Ask me on Discord! I will happily translate for you. Recording them will take time though. I will make a dedicated post for those (not soon and not at once! As I’ve said, it will take time).

Summary

Today we explored 係. It means “be” in English but it’s not the only character we can use when we make a statement. Sorry, features not 1:1 to European languages :P

We go into other simple statements in the following bites. Sit tight! It’s going to get… more exciting :)