Learn Cantonese - Books you gotta have

Hey there!
It's Sue Marguerite and I thought I'd do a video about how I learned Cantonese and what books I found useful (and still find useful!).
One thing I forgot to mention was that I listened to Cantonese ALL THE TIME when I was first learning (and of course now) because you really need to burn the rhythm and intonations into your brain.
So here are some books (and a huge box of flashcards) that you gotta have to help you learn Cantonese. Even in this day and age of the internet, these books are must-haves.
I hope you find this video useful (even if you can't find these resources anymore :( ). Let me know if you have any questions or comments below, and be sure to subscribe to my channel!
Happy learning! :)
Sue Marguerite
Follow me on Instagram and Facebook @cantonesecorner
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!

[@justinsummerill8231]

"He would use a piano to do the different tones" love it!

[@lemstermelon]

Combination of characters are super useful to know. Like for example, grass paper 草纸 when put together means toilet paper. 🙂

[@mitekat]

Hello 👋 I am living in France. And many friends ask about Cantonese and they can’t find any book for learning Cantonese. I just share your video with them. I hope they still can find what book you share on youtube

[@julialewis271]

You are awesome! My fiancee says your accent is great. I am motivated and going to watch all your videos. Thanks so much!

[@nicholasmass3125]

This video was very helpful Sue!

[@AgentJazzHands]

This is great 👍 thanks

[@glorych1168]

u r smart.clear minded

[@CantoneseCorner]

Thank you! Just seeing your comment now ... sorry for the delayed reply!

[@lololol80204]

you are so awesome! thank you for all your videos! I am forcing my kids to watch them all!

[@CantoneseCorner]

Thank you so so much! If there are any topics you'd like me to cover for them, please let me know! :)

[@shrimboy7492]

U are the best Sue. Just what we self-learner needed. Thank you!

[@CantoneseCorner]

Thanks so much, Ray, and you're welcome!! I really appreciate your taking the time to leave a comment ... and I'll do my best to make more videos!

[@fujitafunk]

I know I'm late, but I'm really so happy to see this video! I feel like you've really nailed my location in learning with reading. I can totally "read" sentences and yet, it means nothing to me. Thank you for these suggestions! You've earned a subscriber. Looking forward to more from you soon!

[@CantoneseCorner]

Hi there! Thanks so much and I’m happy to know you’ve subscribed! Hope you’ll find the other videos useful! 😁

[@fujitafunk]

I'm watching 1-2 of your videos everyday. I'm trying to refrain from commenting on every one of them because I don't want to be "that guy" but it's just great to see someone else who is sharing their experience in the same language.

[@CantoneseCorner]

Thanks so much (again! :) That's exactly what I was thinking when I started doing these videos for some friends of mine ... just share what I know and hope it helps (plus proves to my future grandkids and great grandkids and so on that I actually did know how to speak Cantonese LOL). It's been such a great surprise to know that so many people appreciate my videos...I'm just hoping I can get some more done soon! In the middle of a move, so it's been really busy, but I have a few I'm planning to do soon! Thanks again! :)

[@eugenemayuga2497]

Hi Sue I'm already a fan, I wish I could have those materials so I could master the Cantonese language so well.

[@CantoneseCorner]

Me too! Sadly, as I've mentioned in other comments, a lot of the books I used when learning (and still use) are out of print or super hard to find. I'm working on some of my own resources ... stay tuned and thanks for commenting! :)

[@concernedhermit7153]

That’s really impressive, I am Chinese but I can only speak Mandarin, always want to learn Cantonese though... lol

[@CantoneseCorner]

Thanks!! You should learn! But then again, I should learn Mandarin haha. I know a few words, but I guess until I really need to speak it, I won't really take the time to learn it! lol

[@Ray89135]

Mandarin is suppose to replace Cantonese, but it should be the other way. Mandarin's weakness is they use very few sounds (~200) and they mostly end with vowels, so there's lots of over use of the same sounds. For example: the sound "shi" has around 200 meanings: ten, yes, rock, corpse, silk, etc. Even with different tones, it's way over used. Whereas Cantonese makes much use of consonants (at word endings). So words are not so confused. If you had 3 sons, would you name them all "John"?

[@aleung9822]

妳：教中文教得好好呀！

[@CantoneseCorner]

Thanks, Shuk Leung! Or I should say: do jeh! :D

[@australian1018]

Oh I need that dictionary now. Also Lam Tin ends at Po Lam in Tseung Kwan O now..

[@CantoneseCorner]

Yes, it's crazy how the MTR has expanded ... was on the MTR the other day and looking at the map and thinking back to the days when it was only 3 colors -- red, blue and green. Which dictionary do you mean? Did you get a copy or are you using another one that you'd recommend?

[@australian1018]

@@CantoneseCorner No i have not got the dictionary, will go to HK in march, maybe I can get it then.

[@binayathulung4343]

Hi ma'am, i loved your presentation charm🙏, also gave me hope that i can do it too. May i know where can i learn Cantonese writing in Hong Kong? 🙏

[@s.s.9320]

Hi Sue, don't you have any recommendations for jyutping or yale books?

[@CantoneseCorner]

Ah! Good question ... I want to say I have another video up about books I used ages ago for learning (but sadly they're not available anymore to buy) ... the Let's Talk Cantonese book and the RTHK book "Everyday Cantonese". While those are out of print, there are books to buy from Chinese University that were published just last year (but quite academic - no pictures, lots of text, very in-depth) and also I've been interested recently in the more conversationally-friendly SOW (Stream of Wisdom) books (www.sowpublishinghk.com). I haven't used them personally, but from what I've seen they look very engaging. I hope that helps and apologies for my late reply! By the way, which books/sites/etc. are you using to learn?

[@williamwong9919]

Hi Sue, like the videos. Can you advise where you got the flash cards I tried to find the book shop but not sure if I found the right place?

[@CantoneseCorner]

Hi William! I bought the flash cards direct from Chinese University -- I'm not sure if they sell them outside the school, but I would hope they still do at their little bookshop there at the Yale-in-China Chinese Language Centre: www.ycclc.cuhk.edu.hk I admit I haven't been there in ages (but just looking at their website makes me wish I had the time to take a class!), so I'm not sure what the set-up is like now. If you do find them, can you let me know? Thanks!!

[@CantoneseCorner]

Hi William ... here's an update: I went to Chinese University last week and they no longer have them. See my reply to River Bound above for more details ... I'm going to see what we can do to get them back in production. Will keep you posted!

[@frankie0414]

Hello Sue, those flash cards have been out of print for a long time now. A set will popup on eBay every now and again, but it's usually incomplete. The Right Word in Cantonese is great book if you are living in Hong Kong, as it pretty common there, but people outside of HK may have a harder time finding an affordable copy. The Chik Hon Man Chinse-English dictionary from CUHK is available on Amazon for pretty cheap, and it's sold everywhere in HK. The other dictionary you posted I've never seen before. Does it include any type of romanization or is it just an English and Chinese dictionary? Thanks for making these videos and keeping Cantonese alive. We need more people like you :D

[@CantoneseCorner]

Hi Frankie and apologies for not replying sooner! Thanks for the support, too! It's great to hear from you. :) Hmm...the other dictionary ... I can't remember where I got it and it doesn't have any romanization, but it is great for combinations, so I used it to look up a character and then see all the combinations with an English translation. If I didn't know the character it was combined with, I'd have to look it up in my other dictionary to know how to pronounce it and what it meant on its own. Thanks for adding to the info on the other books .... Sad to say though that The Right Word in Cantonese is out of print and when I went to Commercial Press to enquire, they said there were no plans to reprint it again :( :( :( So sad!! In fact, after making this video, I quickly realised how hard it is now to get Cantonese resources ... or ones that are relatively affordable. Speaking of that, though, have you heard of the "SOW" or Stream of Wisdom books? I've taken a look and they look great, but I don't have any first-hand experience using them to learn ... yet, anyway!

[@ChinaChao]

Hi! I'm trying to teach my 3.5 yr old (and maybe the 2 yr old, too) how to speak and maybe read Cantonese/Chinese. My parents read, write and speak. I only speak it. Do you recommend any specific workbooks or a curriculum for someone that young? Thank you in advance.

[@CantoneseCorner]

Hi there! I know there are some channels focused on teaching Cantonese to young children. @cantonesemommy is one. @twinklebots is another. Maybe you’ve seen them before? I know Cantonesemommy has some amazing posts for learning materials for writing characters on her Instagram channel for young kids (and probably her KZbin channel too!). I hope that helps! :-)

[@ChinaChao]

@@CantoneseCorner, thank you for the quick reply and I saw them when I did a KZbin search, but I'll check out their Instagram accts. Thank you!

[@CantoneseCorner]

@@ChinaChao You're welcome! :)