How to count things in Cantonese Hong Kong style

Hi there!
Have you ever seen someone in Hong Kong keep track of something by writing the Chinese character "jing" or 正 ?
Growing up in the US, we all learn to count things by writing 4 lines and then a diagonal across them to stand for "5" of something. So I was surprised to learn when my son was playing baseball in Hong Kong that the other moms who were score-keeping with me were keeping track of balls and strikes and how many runs we had by writing row after row after row of the 正 character! :)
So next time you're keeping score or keeping track of something, try writing the 正 character (in the proper stroke order of course!) instead of the sticks.
I'm also sharing this video to share the news that I'll be launching a traditional character course in Cantonese pronunciation sometime after Easter (2022). If you're interested in learning more, head on over to www.cantolingo.com and get on my subscriber list.
UPDATE!
The character courses have been doing well and here's some more info:
Learn more Cantonese with me and open new windows into Cantonese culture by taking my Traditional Characters in Cantonese Pronunciation courses over at www.cantolingo.com.
Learn traditional Standard Written Chinese characters, their Cantonese equivalent (if any), the radicals, proper stroke order, and much more! Classes are on-going and combine online self-study with Zoom sessions. This is a university-level course based on materials from the Chinese University of Hong Kong, and is effective and fun!
And as always, please support my channel by liking and subscribing.
You can also support me by purchasing a children's book I wrote (in English :) that is a direct result of the life lessons I've learned (mainly from my mother-in-law) during the over 30 years I spent in Hong Kong. You can learn more at www.justroll.co.
One day I'll have everything in one place, but for now am just happy now to be active again on my channel and sharing what I know with you all!
Happy learning!
Sue
IG & FB: @cantonesecorner
www.cantolingo.com
www.justroll.co

[@chungchungchow]

很高興見到身為外國人的你，宣揚港式文化，我身為土生土長的香港人，感激你

[@08_chihu97]

我都係香港人，好開心有外國人教廣東話

[@pso142]

I also like traditional characters, however I'm really terrible at it. Thank you for teaching us 😊👌

[@user-pi5hs5tf5q]

香港人,多謝妳教廣東話,加油繼續支持妳

[@apple123and]

There are some counting quantifier for money. I forgot that whether you have introduced or not. $1=一雞 (usually used as 蚊雞) chicken $10=一草 grass $100=一嚿水 piece of water $1000=一叉嘢 cross $10,000 =一皮嘢 skin $100,000 =十個 ten pieces $1,000,000 =一球 ball

[@CantoneseCorner]

I haven't introduced it, but thanks for sharing it here! I can't say I know these really well -- the one I hear most often is the $100 one -- yāt gauh séui -- I suppose because hundreds are in the most general use? Just another way that Cantonese is the coolest language ever! :)

[@singon9492]

Wow! Really good list of the denominators! I personally use these the most 一嚿/一嚿水 例：我PayMe一嚿你 一皮 例：幾皮嘢買個袋咁快就爛🤬 一球 例：得嗰幾球想買樓？ I think 叉 is the least used. Don’t really hear it in conversations.

[@borar_ose13]

I’m so glad people are appreciating the traditional characters more…. Simplified characters do not explain the meaning behind the words, they just cut short. To all the fellow Chinese learners out there, traditional characters may be the harder way but it is worth the effort! You can learn the meaning, the pronunciation, the usage and even to guess words with similar structure 繁體字嘅魅力要學過先知

[@CantoneseCorner]

Couldn't agree more!! 🤩 🙌 🎉

[@haoql.7686]

简体字也不是近代产物，早在王羲之的兰亭序中就可以看到。

[@nellianna957]

@@haoql.7686 的確不是近代的產物，但她沒有提到兩種字體的歷史，只是說她覺得繁體字更有魅力而已 另外，這兩種字體其實從古時就已經是並用的

[@easyhongkongcooking7406]

I am a Hong Konger, I don't realize that counting method is interesting before. Thanks for sharing

[@jerometsowinghuen]

Very educational and knowledgeable. "正" means correct, positive, straight and just. I remembered we used this traditional Hong Kong style counting method in Chinese class of elementary school, but didn't often apply it in the present day... And it is also effective, in case lose count.

[@oldguy1958hk]

We engineers use 正 to count

[@ctchang9083]

“正”means right ,square ,great ,beautiful , etc. It has a lot of meanings, but all of them are positive.

[@augustinepatke]

Thank you very much for your contribution to Cantonese and HK. As I Hong Konger, I love traditional Chinese characters, thought it could be eliminates in someday after 2019….sadly to say so.

[@ochiaichannel1189]

In Japan, we do the same! Back 30＋ yrs ago in the US, I showed this to my high school classmates, they absolutely loved it, and all the boys started doing this! Long old memory, haha!

[@CantoneseCorner]

I'm so glad this could bring back a happy memory for you! 🥰

[@tsangtsang2020]

Thanks for sharing the knowledge of Cantonese.

[@blueeye1017]

Thank you for loving Cantonese!!

[@hvuvtjs]

I learned about this from a Japanese girl when I was in college. She would write out 正 every time she played a passage on the piano "correctly," five times.

[@phoebechiu3172]

As a Hong Kong person living over sea it makes me so happy to stumble across a video like this !! 次次聽到廣東話都覺得好親切，好感激有你咁嘅人願意去幫更多人了解廣東話

[@ronitsang5329]

Hello, I am Hongkonger. I am very happy when I am watching your channel. I can learn English from here as I know the traditional Hong Kong culture. I can learn English easily. Also, thanks for promoting Cantonese to the world. Thank you very much.

[@leungcharlene712]

Thank you so much for supporting our language 多謝你呀❤️

[@hihichanel]

Thank you for supporting traditional chinese :D

[@royluluho]

Miss Sue! Thank you for your hard work in promoting Cantonese culture 😊 This is so jenggg

[@Jeffffrey0902]

HKer here. I've just subscribed even though I don't need to learn my mother tongue because it's always interesting to see my own culture through the eyes of a foreigner. It's been quite a while since I used this counting system, so thank you for bringing back memories.

[@CantoneseCorner]

Hi and thank you!! I appreciate your subscribing and glad that I could bring back happy memories for you! 🥰

[@MayasLunchbox]

Same here

[@joaoleong522]

happy you are doing this. and thank you for keeping and spreading our culture; i have been in uk for donkey years now and my writing is rusty. i find reading very hard these days. i definitely will follow and best of luck.

[@ted222227]

Thanks so much for the contents and everything you did for Cantonese

[@whytemartin4810]

Knowledgeable!

[@janisay568]

Omggggg! Glad that there are still ppl like u who love the traditional characters !!! 🤍💕

[@pwong802]

I love your channel very much! : )

[@geoks.509]

Hope you keep up with the videos, I have been aspiring to learn Cantonese, love your pronunciation.

[@Yuemokuo]

Love your video! 正！👍

[@brianlau4737]

Really appreciate your effort！

[@keikay2733]

Thank you so much for promoting Cantonese/culture of Hong Kong people!!

[@shushunroychow705]

I love your channel!

[@garytung5936]

我第一個like 👍

[@foxskinn]

I just stumbled upon your channel and I love your content! Thanks :)

[@CantoneseCorner]

You're welcome and I'm so glad you "found" me. :) Thank you so much! 💖

[@snufkin319]

Amazing

[@mel9657]

As a HKer, I am ashamed and grateful for what you have contributed to Cantonese. So much thanks to you ❤

[@tatlo2293]

I was born in Hong Kong and Chinese myself, but grew up in Australia and this is very interesting!! My canto is conversational at best definitely will be watching some more videos to pick up some more knowledge!

[@ducroxy8201]

Thank you very much for this video, really appreciate it

[@stevew1619]

Thank you for promoting Cantonese and Traditional Chinese Characters! You pronounce the words beautifully and accurately. Those who wants to learn about Chinese should know that Simplified Chinese is for the illiterate.

[@charlottel6137]

Thank you so much for your wonderful tutorials! 謝謝☺️

[@bluesky-tq9dc]

thank you for teaching cantonese!

[@kenjij]

正 = 5 ⋯⋯ You so smart to teach others 😇👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻😇

[@UtopiA910]

wow ~ amazing sharing, thanks a lot!

[@alexmcleod7663]

Super good video 我也喜歡繁體字 …有文化還有歷史。 Your Cantonese is incredible btw 加油

[@PP-wg8em]

That’s so cooool

[@matthewchan852]

Support from Hongkonger!

[@DesMcCrind]

I love your hair!

[@kestrellam6939]

Didn’t realise that this is so unique to HK people until now! And, thanks for speaking out to Traditional Chinese’

[@Cynner1111]

How come I didn't discover your content sooner? Your videos are really great

[@CantoneseCorner]

Thank you! 😍 better late than never, I guess? ☺️ So happy you’re here!

[@harrisdy8498]

Really gives me flashbacks of studying in primary school and junior secondary. It was so long since that I even became unfamiliar with this counting method! The nostalgia…..

[@CantoneseCorner]

Love it!! 😍

[@taimanchan4191]

Thank you💪🏻🙏🏼

[@lxxcxsxx]

Good

[@benchanhkjc]

you are awesome

[@1713xdxd]

Support!

[@dolores6204]

雖然我不是香港人，但是以華人的角度 感覺老師您很厲害！ 謝謝您的教學！☺️

[@sinoroman]

thank you for this

[@CantoneseCorner]

You’re welcome! :)

[@andyan6776]

Haha same in China mainland we also use 正 to count

[@jessli2008]

Very 正！

[@carsrick3230]

wow

[@nicolacruz3537]

正！ Sue 你好正！👍🍾🥂

[@kentsoi7634]

Good handwriting 👍

[@fungpingfong4559]

好正呀👍👍

[@pp-lp7qe]

Hi, i am a chinese and i also think your cantonese is so good, can try to speak putongua

[@breadyegg]

Ah... I remember learning these. Completely forgot how to do them of course 😂 Can sort of remember the normal characters for 1 to 10 though

[@kelvinliew8992]

Amazing! It’s pure local accent, I can’t hardly believe you’re foreigner.

[@josephng5969]

You write Chinese characters very well. Good Chinese calligraphy. 你寫字寫得好好，係書法。你好有心推廣中文和廣東話。Off caps to you.

[@paulqiu9902]

BTW, not only Cantonese using "正" for counting. Other people that use Chinese characters also do it this way - Mandarin speaking people, Japanese and Korean, especailly in formal tallying of voting results.

[@user-jm5fn1uk2e]

我好中意你個channel ar 😍😍😍

[@jackyso6741]

I have watched your video, it's excellent. I very much appreciate that you have very fluent Cantonese speaking skills. I'm wondering about the pronunciation of "Ng (伍, 唔, 五)" in Cantonese. In my opinion, which is the hardest to pronounce and pronounce easily wrong for foreigners. Also, the pronunciation of "Ng" has so many combos, which has "Ngaa (雅, 鴉)", "Ngai (矮)", "Ngan (銀)", "Ngoi (哀)"...something else. Can you able to teach everyone how to pronounce the pronunciation of "Ng" and their combos? By the way, thank you for teaching Cantonese to everyone who wants to learn.

[@yukakayu]

正呀 could you do a video on 花碼？ Its also a cool number system that you see in old stores, restaurants, or minibuses. But not much people use it these days.

[@CantoneseCorner]

Thanks! That's a great idea ... but I'd have to learn it myself first LOL .... I always see it in the wet markets, and written on sticks that are sticking out of rice barrels in the old shop in Happy Valley just by the wet market, and so I have a general idea, but would have to really learn it well to teach it!

[@vinccilai5746]

I remember we have learnt 花碼 in primary school but not sure in grade 5 or grade 6 (i was born in 1981), people used it a lot in the wet market, food stalls and Chinese restaurants but i can rarely see it now, maybe the schools no longer teach it, sad

[@smatthewyb]

正啊！

[@heiheiheiheiheihei]

正！

[@CantoneseCorner]

🥰

[@Firemud]

Japan is also using the same way to count and same character. Subscribed by the way.

[@CantoneseCorner]

I didn't know that -- thanks for adding to the conversation! And thank you so much for subscribing! 💖

[@notmeching]

That’s my mom used to teach me. My name has the 正

[@hillmoon9833]

🤗🤗🤗🤗🤗🤗

[@WonderfulWorld333]

好耶

[@ivanchau2868]

I love u

[@jameschan2404]

正斗！

[@MrMishkababy]

Support Cantonese

[@ShowUSomething]

Really appreciate ur effort on Cantonese teaching …As u know Cantonese n I would like to introduce u one meaningful Cantonese song…赤子….u could search KZbin by this key words “葉德嫻 赤子1991”…(because we can’t post link here ..)

[@oldguy1958hk]

I m an engineer...counting items shown on drawings is one of daily routines. 正 is the system i have been using

[@choiwanjohnnychong40]

❤💕💓🌹⚘💐👍👍👍

[@helensoon9850]

High five

[@choiwanjohnnychong40]

妳深愛香港， 熱愛香港人， 衷心感謝妳。 現今香港人， 悲愴又可憐。 精英被流放， 四散某地方。 鬱鬱生長地， 含淚念香江。 體制何其陋， 殘害我香港。 可憐香港人， 希望在何方？ I love you so much， Sue

[@lipingwang5092]

Can you advertise cooperation?

[@user-dg2lw1wx9e]

謝謝你喜歡香港 (＾－＾)V

[@sarahpanda3252]

Hello! Firstly, I appreciate your videos so much. I want to ask you, is there any way to get in touch with you? Do you happen to have a mail, or any other platform I could write to you? I would like to ask you about participating in a voice-over project of mine. I'd love to write to you and explain everything.

[@ilmnt.guidance]

Tried to access ur website to no avail. Somethings happening?

[@waterfu7793]

Respect..support

[@Nicolewong1242]

Wow 你廣東話很好👍🏻

[@CantoneseCorner]

多謝 ! ❤️

[@Nicolewong1242]

@@CantoneseCorner your welcome

[@jackal3643]

your Cantonese even better than me (native speaker) haha

[@CantoneseCorner]

😂 I seriously doubt it! lol 😂

[@selectyoutuification]

The old saying prisoners counting days in prison since they do not have access to phones to check what day it is today so they write on their prison wall "一" as the first day in prison and T as the second day in prison and so on....

[@CantoneseCorner]

That’s so cool! Well, not for the prisoners 😣 but is there a reason they chose that particular character of 正, over say another 5-stroke character like the 由 in 自由？🤔

[@selectyoutuification]

@@CantoneseCorner really? that part i have never heard of back in those days before 1997 we never paid attention to the word 自由 we thought we already "had"

[@selectyoutuification]

Thank you Sue for your reply 😘

[@IT-9]

@@CantoneseCorner I guess the word 正 is widely used for counting 5 is because the sequence of writing 正 is alternating between horizontal and vertical stokes, which makes counting/writing on the board / paper easy.

[@CantoneseCorner]

@@IT-9 that makes perfect sense! :)

[@a1234ddf]

I need your private lessons 😢😢

[@CantoneseCorner]

I would love to teach you! I'm working on a beginner character course now ... details to come soon!

[@a1234ddf]

@@CantoneseCorner do you have wechat?

[@laupeter4594]

They picked 正because it only has straight lines in its word

[@CantoneseCorner]

That make sense :)

[@australian1018]

I have used the Chinese version for years. Thanks. Simplified look horrible.

[@mrslcom]

Simplified characters has its place as it makes writing so much simpler and faster. As a learner of Chinese, I think you may appreciate that traditional Chinese can be so complicated. Hopefully it will not be forgotten as ancient manuscripts were written in traditional or older characters.

[@alexchan3287]

Traditional characters users always have different techniques to simplify strokes or use simpler alternate forms which are traditionally used when writing speed is needed. Simplified characters has its place because it has been the official character mandated by a ruling party and learnt/used daily by a much larger population for 70 years.

[@mrslcom]

I believe simplified Chinese was formulated by the CCP in order to raise the literacy level of the population. Hence it’s used only in mainland China.

[@IT-9]

I think debate on traditional Chinese characters and simplified Chinese characters is an ongoing dispute. Since young, I always appreciate how Traditional Chinese characters are constructed/written. On the other hand, Simplified Chinese allows more people to communicate in Chinese. I used to be very particular on one over the other. But now as we are always in front of our computers, writing in TC or SC is just click in Google Translation.

[@CantoneseCorner]

It's funny because I don't find them complicated at all -- they're so full of meaning and there's a real connection to the past. Instead, I find that simplifying them has killed two beautiful birds with one big stone: it has destroyed the cultural meaning and connection to the past, while also sending the message to people that they aren't intelligent enough to learn the more complicated "traditional" characters. Both of which I find incredibly sad and heartbreaking. :( So yes, the only way to not forget the traditional characters is to learn and use them -- and everyone is capable of that! :)

[@CantoneseCorner]

@@alexchan3287 Sad but true that that is the reason they have a place ... and how colossally sad it will be if TC are ultimately swallowed by quantity, not quality. :(

[@yinzi3743]

这是中文 是汉字

[@abw4734]

说普通话的我向老外学粤语🤣🤣

[@sovan7050]

damm i cant even tell you are from hong kong or not

[@doc0core]

Above 10k, good job. But you can see how many people actually care about Cantonese? Better do some political bash job. That will get your views. There are many ways to get clicks and views, you aren't doing them.