I Tried To Learn Cantonese in 7 Days

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This week, I challenged myself to try to become fluent in Cantonese!
Being born and raised in Canada, I've always struggled to speak my family's language: Cantonese. After pretty much giving up on learning it, I decided to give it one last try - this time, by using efficient language learning techniques from the pros, and giving myself only 7 days to become fluent in it. It was a journey that changed my entire outlook on language learning.

[@jensentung]

The first 1000 people to use the link will get a free trial of Skillshare Premium Membership: skl.sh/jensentung12201 I tried ONLY speaking Cantonese in HONG KONG: kzbin.info/www/bejne/gYDIamSvoc9oqrs

[@Aymen2_9]

From canada too i really love your content keep it up man

[@jensentung]

@@ZoeyTangCRE Just posted it in the video description!

[@jensentung]

@@Aymen2_9 Thank you!

[@chrischau7745]

Tip watch see see tvb :) The tone stuff is easier when you get Canto puns :)

[@chm0225]

An excellent attempt! It’d have been even better if you could pay attention to some often-neglected details, such as one should pronounce「廣」as “Gwong” instead of “Gong”. This is a mistake that many people make, even for native HKers lol. Cheers mate!

[@chowrio9212]

I’m a Hongkonger. I think you pronounce so well! You only learned Cantonese for 7 days, but you can say many different vocabulary. It means you already know many voacbulary from your family member, but didn’t use them before. Language is a tool, we use it to do something what we want to do. Don’t mind too much for your Cantonese is fluent or not!

[@compashinpei]

Hong Kong is China!!!

[@jediknight9371]

@@compashinpei lol true.

[@hidetomatsumoto9094]

@@compashinpei China is Hong Kong

[@dream2020as]

@@compashinpei relax

[@wsnguy5005]

@@compashinpei don't embarrass yourself

[@gabrielchung4907]

In HK, We write actual Cantonese when we’re texting FYI

[@haargaan]

@@kaitlynfung_ wah yuen loi gor gor dou hai gum

[@conan3773]

@@haargaan ying goi ho dor yun dou hai gum

[@Zundzer]

We also sometimes use chinglish or jyut ping as well

[@Ca11mewhatever]

@@kaitlynfung_ ikr so jeng

[@AhLiung]

@@kaitlynfung_ D comment zan hai hou lan jeng! ngo geng yin tai dak meng hahahaha

[@yeungscs]

as a Hong Konger, you sound great!

[@jensentung]

Thank you!

[@sn0wybabi]

Same!

[@billyl8229]

Gwailo accent Cantonese! HK people like this accent, it’s funny ... at least you are trying to improve 👍

[@jinmunsuen]

Oh my god, finally someone who has the same problem!! I grew up in the UK and I have the same issue as you. I can speak a little Cantonese, but I probably have less vocabulary than a primary school kid! I've been trying to find a way to get myself to learn Cantonese, but felt so unmotivated from shame, and my relationship with my family. It gives me a lot of hope to see you improve so much in 7 days!

[@tenshikira645]

You can do this, it may take a while to find a permanent motivation but don't make it a chore type of thing try to make it as fun as you can because I'm struggling af but I'm starting to get the hang of it a lot better now

[@shu-lynlee184]

same! i was born and raised in australia, and there are so many videos from my childhood when i was able to speak fluent cantonese. to be honest, when we call my grandparents in hong kong, i feel ashamed that i can barely maintain a conversation with them, and lately i've been seeing so many videos on cantonese and learning it, and it's motivated me to try relearning it. i don't want my mother tongue to die out, and i really hope i can also keep it alive for my children.

[@ArcticZombie]

Same with me

[@Ejaz100]

@@shu-lynlee184 Update

[@sharkle9]

Bruh so relatable. I'm UK too. At the moment I'm just doing a bit at a time and not commiting too much so I get demotivated.

[@crystalzhang6015]

This was honestly so heart warming to watch. As a CBC who can speak, read and write fluently, I’ve always found myself to purposely speak more English so I don’t seem too “fobby” bc I’ve had CBC friends who made fun of me. As I got older, I’ve realized it’s actually something I’m super proud of because it gave me an advantage at some job interviews, I can fully communicate with my non English speaking parents and I stayed connected to my culture. And seeing your video boosted that pridefulness even more bc it shows others who are trying to connect to their canto culture even when you’re so mainstream- that it’s not lame to wanna learn our mother tongue! I love these videos because it helps us connect to other parts of us that some of us may never be able to discover bc we grew up here (kinda like what your mom said about being afraid you not getting along with other kiddos if you went to Chinese school). She’s also right about Chinese school LOL. I went to mando school for 14 years and I learned all my mando and canto from hk and tw dramas growing up 😂 maybe in the future, you can try videos with a bunch of diff CBCs doing a series of tests to see how gold their Chinese is etc. (Been watching too many of those videos lately that it’s kinda getting addicting lol). ANYWAYS, after the long rant, I just wanna say keep up the good work and thank you. It really means a lot seeing our representation being put up there 😌🥰🙏🏼

[@damien_bfg7033]

What is CBC?

[@jacobdejongh9042]

@@damien_bfg7033 canadian born chinese i guess

[@TheSebastian1012]

Being a FOB is nothing to be ashamed of - it's part of your culture I'm born and bred in Hong Kong though so I might see things differently

[@CancorseTV1]

Love your comment :) Growing up I hated how much Chinese I spoke at home. I ended up not learning or speaking it for five years because all the other CBC kids would bully me. I regret those years. Over the last five years I've worked hard at learning more Cantonese and teaching myself Mandarin. Like you I am also proud of the strong base my parents gave me. Though I used to hate them for making me speak Cantonese, I'm very thankful now.

[@chuifongtam4703]

Never give up Jensen! I am also Chinese American and I am lucky because my parents didn't speak English at all so I was forced to speak Cantonese at home. Now I am 30 years old and starting to learn Mandarin slowly. 加油!

[@chungkwanming]

I speak Cantonese natively. At first, I thought the video is a click bait as there is no way anyone can learn Cantonese in 7 days. But hearing your conversation with your mum proved me wrong, and your Cantonese was truly impressive. Keep up the good work!

[@SalmonSalmonfish]

U have to take into account that he didn't start from scratch + that he grew up around people who speak the language but it is still impressive:)

[@hibye7378]

Bro I’m in the same exact situation as you. My parents always speak cantonese but I could never learn to speak it. I could listen perfectly fine but end up speaking in fragments or absolutely can’t find the right words

[@jensentung]

CBC struggles man. We're in the power to change it!

[@chocomint8261]

that's me with tagalog, i'm filipino but i know mandarin and cantonese while not knowing my own native language btw people in macau and hk actually do type in cantonese like it's written, like they will write 佢食飯 and not 他吃飯

[@kidknoppers8358]

​@@chocomint8261wow, did you live in HongKong since child? I am a Filipino, want to learn Cantonese

[@Colby00]

These videos are always so high quality

[@jensentung]

Thank you dude!

[@cantobritt]

Whoa! I just stumbled on your video and was surprised to see myself at 1:55! Kudos to you for putting yourself on this challenge and setting a goal to be fluent in 2021! I think you did great :) You touched on so many important points about why Cantonese is so difficult to learn especially for those of us who were born overseas. As someone who makes content in Cantonese, I've found it hard to find suitable resources to share with my followers. But the process has been really fulfilling, and I'm constantly learning about this beautiful and expressive language of ours. I'm really looking forward to Part 2 of this video! Liked & subscribed! 加油!

[@jensentung]

Thank you for making such great Cantonese content and sharing the language and culture to the world!

[@umokeyy]

Pls promote Cantonese more!! dun let it die so soon...:(

[@nelic2111]

If HKers don't want Cantonese to die, I think the first steps should be standardizing 粵文 and some sort of system to learn the characters. As of right now, a lot of Cantonese speakers have their own way of transliterating Cantonese so it's a bit inconsistent. I don't see it being standardized in HK itself so it probably has to happen overseas.

[@PatheticTV]

It's really not dying my friend. As a hongkonger myself, everyone here (and I really do mean everyone) speaks Cantonese. What else would we really speak?

[@kingcheese1065]

@@PatheticTV it dying at a very fast rate, the young Hongkongers are forced to learn mandarin in Hong Kong, and the younger generation who speak Cantonese aren’t teaching their kids Cantonese

[@thaoto3455]

Cantonese is a traditional .it is a beautiful language.i know Hongkong now belong to china but just keep it ,don't give up Hongkongers 🎉🎉🎉

[@thaoto3455]

No you can't give up.we must keep this traditional.

[@bigsweet6472]

Dude, I think I've been in "the dip" for like 6 years now with Spanish. I want to be able to have a conversation with my grandma in Peru though. She's turning 94 this year.

[@petertran4514]

I have to tell you, as I'm teaching my 5 y/o how to speak, read, and (kind of) write Cantonese, that what you're doing almost brought a tear to my eye. It is NEVER too late to learn anything, let alone a language. Cantonese is HARD. Unless you have someone to practice with, and to correct you, it is almost impossible to speak it "right". When you're talking to your mom, it is quite obvious that you're still thinking in English and translating it to Cantonese as you speak. This is probably the BIGGEST obstacle to speaking fluent Cantonese - you HAVE to think in Cantonese, otherwise you will either use the wrong words/phrase, or you'll be pausing a lot trying to pick the correct word to use after the translation. I was born in HK and moved here when I was 9, I'm still fluent and is still able to think in Cantonese, but I can feel it starting to leave me as I don't really have someone to converse with in Cantonese. Teaching my son has really brought it back for me and perhaps trying to teach it to a friend will help you too. Keep up the good work, it was AWESOME to see your progress!!

[@stg8761]

as a local from hong kong i can tell you its pretty hard to learn cantonese, you nailed it

[@nickychan9666]

As a British born Chinese i can relate a lot as my canto isn’t the best either and I’m also wanting to improve and i wish you the best, you have earned a new subscriber

[@Apochocolate]

Mad respect for putting your cantonese convo on video for the world to see, that takes a lot of bravery I don't think I have!

[@jeff__w]

_Don’t_ use “sounds like” association 5:14 in learning new words-it gums up the process with extra steps: _gaai² sik¹ 解釋 → guy who’s sick → explain_ _and_ it’s just something you have to unlearn later. It’s better to use prompts (like pictures with various situations) in which you can use _gaai² sik¹_ 解釋 appropriately in a sentence so that you learn the word in a _context_ in which it might be used. I’ve come to the conclusion that language learning is much more like playing an instrument or playing a sport than it is like studying a subject like history. The bottom line strategy is to _do_ it: to get better at speaking, you have to *speak* (thinking to yourself counts as a form of speaking), to get better at listening, you have to *listen,* to get better at writing, you have to *write,* and to get better at reading, you have to *read.* Those aren’t sufficient-obviously, you have to learn vocabulary, grammar, etc.-but they are necessary.

[@bloopbloop6920]

The increase of ABC's and CBC's wanting to be more fluent in Cantonese is really encouraging to me. I always thought it was odd that I was one of very few kids (even in a Cantonese American community) that learned Cantonese fairly well from just growing up in a Cantonese household. Then, I realized, it was because my mom fostered a love for classic cantonese movies in me (Her fatal ways series is my favorite) and always told me that I need to reply in the language that I was being spoken to. Hopefully, they're concepts that I can pass to my kids in the future. Thanks for the entertaining video! PS. Your cantonese had amazing improvement...would just use different phrases for a more natural conversation. Cantonese is just a bunch of "you can say it that way, but it sounds better this way because no one says it like the other way."

[@nicholast]

As a CBC, my Cantonese sucks too 😂

[@jensentung]

We're in this together! ahaha

[@myfartstinks]

Same and ive been living here my whole life😂

[@ailo8964]

加油，中文唔難學

[@kevinjin3274]

@@ailo8964 ？

[@oilfree1285]

@@ailo8964 我唔信！

[@HARUTMONO]

Hey Jensen! Thanks for this video. I'm also a Canadian born Cantonese person and I 100% feel your struggle here. I've always felt so much shame for not being fluent in Cantonese (especially reading). I def faced the same issues you have with family speaking English / environments. I'm trying to learn on my own but it's hard. But I'm really glad to have found this video, because maybe there is still hope for me

[@vincentxie3090]

It's so amazing how he takes some practice speaking Cantonese so fluently in 7 days, in fact Cantonese is probably the hardest language to learn and he still learnt it so well

[@big_bang_wayland]

I am also a CBC and in the same boat as you! You've inspired me to re-learn my mother tongue. I want to talk to my cousins, parents, and grandparents in more depth in Cantonese! And then pass it down to my future kids.

[@513dgehammer]

I am from Hong Kong and you spoke really well imo!

[@jensentung]

I tried! Thank you!

[@wendyyu2282]

Love this! As an ABC, I’m on this same journey with you Jensen! Thanks so much for making and sharing this video, it really hit home

[@HelenNERD]

so cool to see you and your mum talking together! She looks so excited for you and I can see your love for each other - good luck with your Cantonese studies!

[@pearlee6848]

Aw this was great! You did really well, and I'm sure your mom is proud that you're taking the steps to learn Cantonese 😃

[@user-bs7ty9or5d]

You spoke really good Cantonese in just 7 days! KA YAU! 💪

[@schniekii9582]

Completely underrated videos ,this guy deserve more attention for this high quality videos .

[@s0200121]

strongly support, keep it up Jensen!

[@BronzeCheng]

hi! as a hongkonger I found the way you pronounce me as “ngor” as very unnatural and strong, we pronounce it like “oaw” or “aoww”. I do appreciate all the hard work you put in to study Cantonese so far!! It’s definitely not too late to improve your Cantonese, and it’s not that bad so far!! keep going :) as a Canadian Chinese who grew up in HK in an international school and living in Canada now, I’m definitely very fortunate to be trilingual :) I kind of sense an heavy accent from another dialect when your mum speaks Cantonese though, maybe that’s why it might have influenced how you speak.

[@penguin-tc1cx]

i believe some canto speaking regions other than hk pronounce the ng in words like your example as well as pronouncing words with an n sound instead of an l (an example of this is milk), so that may be where he's getting the ng- from. like you said, his mom does have a non-hk accent so that could be the reason

[@chocomint8261]

i've heard some people here in macau and some guangdong people pronounce the ng, although it's not very strong and very easy to miss if you're not paying attention

[@beomgyu_files]

Yea hehe

[@rainieskys]

Yes it’s strong but it’s fine. People need to stop using “lazy” tones...and actually “chew” the words.

[@user-we9jq2gn4k]

Two things that stood out to me about his mom's accent: 1. The way she says 英文 (Jensen's pronunciation of 文 is what I'm more used to) @8:51 2. 想 as having an "si-" sort of sound at the beginning @8:10

[@Tinywisherrr]

This was so heartwarming to watch. I have a similar background to you in regards to Cantonese. It honestly hurts that I can't communicate fluently with my grandparents. Thank you for this encouragement. I want to try harder to learn Cantonese again!!

[@jollyjudy]

I’m so proud of you! Keep it up!

[@natdabest]

Sounds great! Thank you for putting so much effort on learning Cantonese! Love your videos

[@hayleyp5677]

As a CBC who can't even speak canto at the level of a toddler, this video caught my attention lol. It's also my goal this new year to improve my cantonese and this video brought up some good tips I'll be sure to try them. Good luck to your learning adventure and I'll be subscribing and can't wait to see the progress vid at the end of the year!

[@ApicProductions]

Loved the idea and the effort Jensen! Your canto is great 💪 keep it up and can't wait to see your progress by the end of year!

[@genechan]

Amazing! Way to share your journey and putting yourself out there!

[@josephinelam715]

so much appreciation and respect to you for making the effort to learn Canto, and this avery nice video introducing Cantonese learning especially intercepting all these local Hong Kong scenes! I think you made a lot of progress and it is fluent enough to make conversations with any native~ you did great!!

[@somaiumair]

i reALLY love youre content keep grinding

[@jensentung]

Thanks bro!

[@1AsianNinja1]

aweeee you improved so much Jensen I feel so proud!! also, your mom is gorgeous!!!!

[@jensentung]

I'll show her this comment LOL thank you!

[@louisadavison3928]

Dude this is amazing, your dedication to learning canto inspires me to do the same with other languages. At the end of the day, your fluency does't matter that much honestly, as long as your are able communicate ideas, people will understand you and see the amount if effort you've put into the language and think that you're amazing as well!

[@aila_chu]

Congrats man! That's pretty good! Keep it up!

[@lilyngo]

So cool to see that you were able to pick up some new words but you also seemed more comfortable speaking even if you messed up. Looking forward to Pt.2!!

[@jensentung]

Thanks Lily!

[@CantoneseCouple]

Awesome video Jensen! Keep grinding!!!

[@jensentung]

Thanks you two!

[@eamonkelly588]

Awesome result man, really well done!

[@thaonhiphan2455]

I can't wait to watch the 2nd part in one year. Keep believing in yourself! As a Vietnamese growing up in Germany, I have also been insecure about speaking Vietnamese and received many discouraging comments, so your video reminded me that we don't need to be great to start, but we need to start to be great. Therefore, I also want to challenge myself. Thanks, Jensen!

[@jerrywong4901]

You have already done a very good job in attempting Cantonese! A suggestion for Canto pop with conversational Cantonese: My Little Airport, a band in Hong Kong that write songs with Cantonese words that you will speak in day to day life.

[@jensentung]

I'll check them out!

[@auwanho]

@@jensentung be sure to checkout rap music from Hong Kong which also written in spoken cantonese such as youngqueenz JB and doughboy, theyre pretty lit 🔥

[@oceanbythecake]

mla fans here!!! my fav is 邊一個發明了返工～

[@cecilwaro974]

I've been learning cantonese with songs and there are very good songs and singers in HK. They've been so creative during this last year. JB was one of my first "teacher" . I really like Novel Friday, but also BMW, and the YPU. Seanie P, Novel Flash, Y5, Heyo, Geniuz F... So many good things. But really good ! I'm a little bit sad that girls are out of the game ( except Luna is a beep, Alexandria, and the girl of A#minor ) Where are they in rap music ? I usually can't listen to cantopop. People said "after one year of cantonese, you will listen and like it" but...no.Thanks. But...Namawee have good songs and i'm in love with faiology from On Chan. Jensen Tung: Have a look to my playlist. I'm sure you will find something you'll like. kzbin.info/aero/PLGZhMulp6ylsagQlUOrlzLXR-r_iqgFlu

[@oceanbythecake]

@@cecilwaro974 u got a really good taste ngl, people here dont listen to most of your list’s song just becz those songs are indie songs. (u know that alternate cringe style) keep it on! Ga yau

[@daninthelionsden]

Jensen is gonna be absolutely huge on KZbin, I can tell already

[@iiYoan]

Agreed. Guy is soo wholesome!!

[@jensentung]

🙏🙏🙏 Thank you brother

[@hafsaali9609]

Just got this recommended and his videos are sooo good and of high quality

[@MagdelineHuang]

You did so well and the convo with your mum was so wholesome! I also really need to start practising my Chinese and Malay before I forget them 😅

[@studywithcarley3724]

Canton actually consists of 9 tones🤣but I really appreciate your endeavor, it's amazing!!!

[@dominickwok8163]

Dang Jensen, great on you to learn more Cantonese and it sounds good! Definitely listening to Cantonese music and watching Cantonese shows/movies helped me a lot in learning the language as well. 😄

[@jensentung]

Thanks man! Time to start binge watching haha

[@mariefong1704]

This is amazing and super encouraging!!! There are so many CBCs and ABCs, including myself, who can relate. Thank you for sharing your experience and your excel sheet too!!

[@TTZZchar]

Love your determination and focus! With that mindset, you will be able to do it for sure! Learning language is all about practice. Keep talking with your parents and friends in Cantonese. 👍👍

[@germanchow9491]

When seeing the part of the conversation with your mum, my tears dropped as I’m so proud of you. If I were your mum, I am so touched to see my son saying Cantonese to me. Keep it going. From the one just sitting in HK over the screen.

[@nasyawong]

Thanks for making such a well thought out video! I experienced the same issue when I returned to Hong Kong in high school. It was such a shameful experience not being able to speak the language of our home. But throughout the years having more friends who didn’t judge me I freely spoke more canto! Now I am 95% fluent so there’s hope! Thanks for sharing your experience excited for you!

[@jensentung]

That's so awesome! You've given me hope haha

[@richeevans3973]

Stumbled upon your channel today and really loving your content, keep it up 🙌

[@KevinYeePharmD]

I'm joining you with your new years resolution. I've always felt super insecure about my cantonese and it always made me feel less chinese, despite being so ingrained in the culture. I'm glad that you shot this video!

[@shivankarsingh1620]

Good for you man, you seemed to have learned really well during that week! Born in Canada as well, I struggled and felt embarrased to speak Punjabi with my parents because they would make fun of my pronunciations. But, my parents' English not being the best worked out in my favor 😂. They always spoke to my siblings and I in Punjabi and we're now decently fluent in it. I can now comfortably speak to my grandparents in the language that they feel most comfortable with, which means the world to me. Keep it up! I'm sure you'll make your goal of being fluent by next year 🤗

[@jensentung]

Funny how life works! Thanks for relating and your support!

[@semataryy1367]

I feel u, I just watched some “educational” Cantonese videos and I’m already struggling. I go to mother tongue lessons but i don’t understand anything my teacher says, I just nod and act like I know what she’s saying. This video gave me motivation to learn Cantonese😺

[@thepfam]

Proud of you! Pretty good. Keep working on it!👍

[@markiscouch6729]

Wow! I really love watching your vlogs. Please keep me updated. Thanks.

[@karlycreates]

Love this video!

[@Crazytrainkid]

I, too, have a similar story and share the same feelings as you did regarding my inability to fluently speak canto, despite my lifelong exposure to it. I've felt motivated in the past to learn it but I wasn't persistent. I feel compelled to continue where I left off after watching this video. Would you be able to share/recommend the same resources you used: dictionaries, types of shows+music, etc? It'd really be appreciated. Keep up the work 🙌

[@Ellax8686]

Wow, hats off to you! You spoke very well with your mom

[@brianjyun7147]

Hey, love your videos. I myself also a Viet born, my mom speaks Cantonese and I am still trying to learn it day by day. Your video really encourage me! Subbed!

[@LJohann]

Damn the timing of this video is crazy lol. Im also cantonese and my parents keep telling me to learn it coz i cant speak or write it at all. I can understand some of it tho. Great video btw. Also watched ur playground workout video and ur content is amazing!

[@daimingsing]

Very impressive, I got into Cantonese a long time ago although I've always been pretty basic in my knowledge, I found everytime I went to HK it really helped my vocab and confiednce to a certain extent because as live, breath and think the language! I started out singing in Chinese and was very well known for being "The Black guy that sang Chinese" and getting over 1M views on my first Canto singing video, this is like 15 years ago lol over the past year, even more so the past few months I've really wanted to get back into Cantonese so it's very inspiring to see videos like this! well done, you did really well 👏🏾

[@MTRHayHay]

nice

[@robchenhere]

Dudeee your video came to me at the right time! Been thinking about getting fluent in Canto (and Mando) especially since my friend wanted me to MC her wedding...IN CANTONESE. This was inspiring, thank you for always posting such high quality videos!

[@yitang9486]

I’m very proud of you!!! I’m so happy 😁 like I’m ecstatic to hear you speak 🗣 keep going mate you are amazing

[@jamietran6965]

I happened to stumble upon this video and I don't regret it. I'm from Vietnamese descent and the only American born child in my entire immigrant family so I also had quite some difficulty with Vietnamese. And man, I really felt something when you said you were ashamed of not being able to speak your native language. I think, back then, I hated being so different, for not being able to pronunciate like a native, and not being able to act like a Vietnamese person, but now I realize that it wasn't my fault for where I was born, or my diversity of belief, and acceptance of multicultures in America. To be honest, I feel proud that I hadn't let the haters lose my language lol well I guess it's just an asian way of tough love and maybe some jeolousy but I guess I'm just glad I had overcome that roadblock and been able to bridge American and Vietnamese cultures.

[@okazay]

I was the same as you. My mom is Korean but speaks English really well so even when she used Korean/Konglish with me I just replied solely in English. But as I got older I wanted to learn to speak but couldn't never get passed just understanding, so i did what you mentioned and moved to the motherland. Been here for 3 years and can finally get around without having to use any English! Don't give up!

[@entee.n.t.e9157]

Your're so an underated KZbinr Great content btw, keep it up🔥

[@elvinfung147]

You speak very well. Appreciate your effort.

[@randomrosa1116]

I believe in you Jensen! (May I just say, your mom is so pretty!😍)

[@jensentung]

Thank you! I'll show this comment to my mom haha

[@iiYoan]

Oh man. CBC here also and my canto is even worse than your canto at the start of the video. But I believe I can learn it eventually. Simply gotta do it 😁 And your video definately gave me the motivation to start doing it!

[@jensentung]

It's our time! You got this.

[@nadiyals6114]

Such an improvement, this video really motivated me. Wholesome. 加油！

[@vincyagain]

excellent attempt and effort! cantonese is such a hard language to learn, thank you for trying to preserve our language i hope you can practice and keep improving jensen!

[@tanangies]

i'm early! i'm looking forward to part 2 haha

[@jensentung]

Time for me to get to studying LOL thank you!

[@mariojahn8219]

Most important thing is, you have to believe in yourself that you can do it. Learned that lesson from a guy on youtube, who taught me how to do the most amazing haircut myself. Gotta tell you, guy was 100% right.

[@jensentung]

Believe and you will achieve, that's the motto!

[@56zeva]

Thank you for this content Jensen. I think your pronunciation has improved a lot during this video. I also grew up speaking english too but as I grew older I started to improve on my cantonese skills by hang out with my family.

[@CafeJoyce]

great video! well done for putting yourself out there and making the effort, I agree that it's only as we get older that we really understand how important our mother tongue / language is!! wish you the best of luck to keep going, your convo with your mum was such a great result!

[@panel_t]

As a Hong Konger, I can say your Cantonese is pretty decent, at least I understand what you said. Good job!!!🎊🎊

[@brianong5045]

I definitely agree with you about being shamed by relatives. I’m half Laotian and Chinese and the more I’m ridiculed, the less motivated I am to be fluent. I understand it’s all out of love, but I can’t help but let it affect me.

[@MinaTee0]

ah amazing! congrats on your progression! i am in the same boat and trying to learn too, i picked up bits and pieces from listening to my parents speak Cantonese but could never string a sentence together myself.. even after going to Chinese school when younger. good luck with your learning, i have no doubt you'll be fluent in no time

[@iihithereii]

I love this video. So inspiring.

[@CodeRay]

dang, i couldnt even learn canto in 6 months HAHA good stuff fam

[@jensentung]

I tried my best! Thanks bro!

[@foodlover195_]

As someone trying to learn Japanese my advice is consistency over quantity or quality! You obviously put in a lot of work over the seven days, but don't hold yourself to that standard of trying to put in hours everyday then also giving up after a day/week/month. Best of luck!

[@jqkob7407]

Thank you! Your channel gives me motivation to learn something new.

[@hauyung1210]

So glad to hear somebody at least wants or tries to learn Cantonese:) 加油💪🏻

[@kori228]

work on that "ng" sound at the beginning of syllables. Or drop it, don't make it an "n" sound.

[@imedul8645]

what's a word with the "ng" sound in it? Can you list examples?

[@kori228]

@@imedul8645 我，眼，銀，牛，鈎，噏，牙，韌 and depending on the speaker 屋，鴨，暗，愛

[@pikapikaxi]

@@imedul8645 Usually, when speakers of other languages learn Cantonese, they try really hard to learn the "ng" sound but turned out to pronounce the "n" sound. Native Cantonese speakers do not really pronounce the "ng" sound at all (because we are lazy? lol) unless you are a news reporter. So if you are not comfortable making the "ng" sound, just drop it and you will actually sound more native.

[@pikapikaxi]

​@@kori228 我ngo5，眼ngaan5，銀ngan4，牛ngau4，鈎ngau1，噏ngap1，牙nga4，韌ngan6 and depending on the speaker 屋*uk1(I don't think uk1 has the ng sound)，鴨 ngaap3，暗am3* (not this one either)，愛 oi6 (nope) For people who can't read Chinese characters..

[@kori228]

@@pikapikaxi which is why I said those last few depend on the speaker. Formally they don't have the "ng" initial consonant, but for those who consistently pronounce "ng" initials in other words, they tend to also be pronounced in these words as well. If you ever watch late 90s early 2000s TVB dramas or listen to older Cantonese songs, many pronounce 愛 as ngoi3 (i.e. 海闊天空 from Beyond, 鐵血丹心 from the opening of the 1982/1983 TVB adaptation of Legend of the Condor Heroes). Half the examples on YT alone use ngoi3 (search "I love you in Cantonese" on here). Technically speaking, 鴨 doesn't have "ng" either, but even you got it confused. It historically didn't have it, but it's common enough that whatever dictionary you searched had it (if you look it up on Cantodict or wiktionary, it won't show the "ng" form). The presence of "ng" initial falls in 2 main categories: those who pronounce it in most if not all contexts, including in null initial words (words that don't start with a consonant); those who drop it in most if not all contexts even for words that are supposed to have it. If you really want to be specific, they are up to 6 different ways to pronounce 我愛你 based on what gets dropped/changed or not. "correct" / common pronunciation 我 ngo5/o5 愛 oi3/ngoi3 你 nei5/lei5 You won't really find someone who drops ngo5 to o5, but pronounces ngoi3 though.

[@maisiefowler4307]

As a half canto, I completely felt every struggle you've listed. I never had to respond or think in canto in my household. I feel so much guilt and slow progress learning the language. I hold it against my mom for letting me quit chinese classes. I hope one day I can conquer this as well.

[@Aniopteryx]

Same, I never felt the need to speak or learn Cantonese since my dad knew nothing and my mom just used English most of the time (other than like saying good morning). She tried to get us to learn it but didn't really make an effort into teaching or talking to us (my twin and I) in the language. I've always been scared of saying something wrong if I do learn bc I didn't grow up learning it and I don't want to awkwardly fumble my way through it especially around her side of the family so I just stuck to English. I've just decided I really want to try to get into learning it again and to not let that get to me too much because ik it's going to be slow going since 1. I'm not a child anymore and 2. I'm not a linguistic genius. Anywho, I hope you're doing well in your progress and good luck with any language endeavors ^^

[@azam987654321]

I love these videos of you speaking Cantonese. Brings me the best laughter

[@pkppt]

You did well and keep it up!!! 👏👍

[@jba68]

That's great man. Seem to be doing great. I need to get back to my studies as I guess I hit the dip and dipped out.... ;/

[@jensentung]

I've dipped out my fair share of times too. Just gotta keep pushing!

[@anniesiu]

while you're learning Cantonese, I'm learning English from your videos 😂

[@jensentung]

Love it!

[@oliverreno4734]

Great video, Jensen!!

[@jensenjiang8407]

It's really impressive that you made such great progress in only 7 days! Not perfect but absolutely clear and understandable enough for communication from a native speaker's view. Keep it up, and we're all looking forward to your part 2 vid ;-)

[@ScarlettKriss]

I'll join you, my goal is to be close to fluent in Korean by Dec 21. I am looking for my bio dad, I hope to speak to him in Korean. I have been trying just like you, it never sticks, there are no Korean speaking friends near me.

[@jensentung]

Best of luck to you! We're in this together!

[@Hotteokzz]

I hope you will have a good time with him, good luck with your study fam

[@itsjvf33]

All your videos are so good man! You're gonna get the silver play button in 2021 I already see it

[@bikachiu8]

well done and it is encouraging!