Cantonese Language Classes
néih hóu!
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Learn Cantonese at Santa Monica Language Academy. Speak Cantonese the very first day!
We offer Cantonese classes for all levels: beginner, intermediate, advanced and conversation. Learn Cantonese in a comfortable, casual environment and make it a fun, enriching experience! Cantonese is a variety of the Chinese language spoken in and around the city of Guangzhou (formerly known as Canton) in Southern China, by the majority population of Hong Kong and Macau, and as a lingua franca of Guangdong province, eastern Guangxi province. It is used in Hong Kong and Macau as the de facto official spoken language of government and instruction in schools. In common usage, "Cantonese" usually refers to the spoken forms from Hong Kong or Guangzhou, or other closely related dialects, although it is sometimes also used to refer to the Yue dialect group. Check our Weekly Schedule for times and days of our Cantonese language lessons. We currently offer online Cantonese group and private classes. |
The Cantonese weekly program is structured into three levels: beginner, intermediate, advanced. Each level is divided into four sub-levels: A, B, C, and D.
For the Beginner levels we use Colloquial Cantonese by Routledge.
Beginner A (chapters 1-4)
Topics: meeting people, shopping, interests and leisure activities, telling the time
Grammar: the verbs "to be", "can", forming negative statements, forming choice-type questions with question-words, naming conventions, names of countries, languages, nationalities, personal pronouns, forming simple statements, forming questions with question phrases, expressing likes and dislikes, verb-object constructions, expressing frequency, the uses of yáuh "to have" and "to exist", the uses of hái "(to be) in/at", asking and telling the time, discussing daily routines, discussing what time things happen, yiu as a modal verb, "to have to", etc.
Beginner B (chapters 5-8)
Topics: physical appearances, prices, commuting, what are they doing
Grammar: describing people's age and physical appearance, pointing out people and objects, terms for family members, possessive forms, lerger numbers, comparing, using -jó for completion of action, how to indicate the superlative, describing means of transportation, discussing how long journeys take, expressing necessity, discussing what people are doing and where, using -gan to show action in progress, more uses of -jó for completed actions, etc.
Beginner C (chapters 9-12)
Topics: asking for a favor, finding things and places, ordering food, the weather
Grammar: asking people to do things, responding to requests, using meih for actions still to be taken, using yùhn to discuss when actions are completed, discussing where an object or a building is, using dóu to indicate succeeding in an action, ordering food and asking for the bill, stating preferences, adjectives of size, understanding broadcast weather forecasts, talking about the weather, making predictions, giving advice, dates, festive greetings,
Beginner D (chapters 13-15)
Topics: the clothes we wear, traveling experiences, on the telephone
Grammar: describing what people are wearing, colors, question to indicate recognition and slight surprise, discussing past experiences, asking "how often", "how long", "when", describing countries and cities, telephone conversations, how to invite somebody out, how to arrange to meet somebody, etc.
For the Beginner levels we use Colloquial Cantonese by Routledge.
Beginner A (chapters 1-4)
Topics: meeting people, shopping, interests and leisure activities, telling the time
Grammar: the verbs "to be", "can", forming negative statements, forming choice-type questions with question-words, naming conventions, names of countries, languages, nationalities, personal pronouns, forming simple statements, forming questions with question phrases, expressing likes and dislikes, verb-object constructions, expressing frequency, the uses of yáuh "to have" and "to exist", the uses of hái "(to be) in/at", asking and telling the time, discussing daily routines, discussing what time things happen, yiu as a modal verb, "to have to", etc.
Beginner B (chapters 5-8)
Topics: physical appearances, prices, commuting, what are they doing
Grammar: describing people's age and physical appearance, pointing out people and objects, terms for family members, possessive forms, lerger numbers, comparing, using -jó for completion of action, how to indicate the superlative, describing means of transportation, discussing how long journeys take, expressing necessity, discussing what people are doing and where, using -gan to show action in progress, more uses of -jó for completed actions, etc.
Beginner C (chapters 9-12)
Topics: asking for a favor, finding things and places, ordering food, the weather
Grammar: asking people to do things, responding to requests, using meih for actions still to be taken, using yùhn to discuss when actions are completed, discussing where an object or a building is, using dóu to indicate succeeding in an action, ordering food and asking for the bill, stating preferences, adjectives of size, understanding broadcast weather forecasts, talking about the weather, making predictions, giving advice, dates, festive greetings,
Beginner D (chapters 13-15)
Topics: the clothes we wear, traveling experiences, on the telephone
Grammar: describing what people are wearing, colors, question to indicate recognition and slight surprise, discussing past experiences, asking "how often", "how long", "when", describing countries and cities, telephone conversations, how to invite somebody out, how to arrange to meet somebody, etc.