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My TestDaF Experience

On Wednesday, 18.05.2022 I took the TestDaF at the Goethe-Institut Malaysia. In Malaysia there are only two places you can take TestDaF, eit...

Friday, July 24, 2009

How to Say "Please Give Me His Book" in Chinese

There are at least three ways to say "Please give me his book" in Chinese. Depends whether you're talking Mandarin, Cantonese or Classical Chinese.

Mandarin: 请给我他的书 qǐng gěi wǒ tā de shū
It's the same in both spoken and written Mandarin. The Cantonese pronunciation of these words would be "chíng kāp ngó tā dīk syū".

Cantonese: 唔该畀佢本书我 m ̀ gōi béi kéui bún syū ngó
That's how it's said in spoken Cantonese. The formal written version of Cantonese follows exactly the Mandarin grammar and Mandarin vocabulary, but pronounced in Cantonese. However, nobody says "chíng kāp ngó tā dīk syū" in real life. Everyone says "m ̀ gōi béi kéui bún syū ngó in real-life situations.

Classical Chinese: 求尔予我其书
Mandarin pronunciation: qiú ěr yǔ wǒ qí shū
Cantonese pronunciation: kàu yí yú ngó kèi syū
Nobody talks to each other in Classical Chinese anymore. It's only used in ancient literature and quotations from the classics. Since nobody remembers exactly how people pronounced those words 2000 years ago, everyone today uses their own dialect pronunciation when reading Classical Chinese. Ever thought of ordering a pizza in Classical Chinese?

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