學廣東話 · Cantonese Curriculum
Cantonese Learning Path
Six progressive modules taking you from your first Cantonese sounds to real conversation, with live tutor practice at every stage.
Sounds and Tones
發音與聲調Absolute BeginnerBuild your phonetic foundation. Cantonese has a richer sound system than Mandarin, including distinct finals and six contrastive tones. This module trains your ear and tongue before you tackle vocabulary.
Topics covered
- ✓Initial consonants and their pronunciation
- ✓Vowels, diphthongs, and nasals
- ✓The six Cantonese tones: high level, high rising, mid level, low falling, low rising, low level
- ✓Tone pairs and common tone errors
- ✓Pronunciation practice with minimal pairs
What you'll achieve
- Identify and produce all six Cantonese tones
- Distinguish Cantonese sounds from Mandarin equivalents
- Read Yale romanisation accurately
- Pronounce greetings and common words with correct tone
Duration
2–3 weeks
Level
Absolute Beginner
Recommended
2–3x per week
First Conversations
初次對話BeginnerStart communicating from your first session. Learn the essential phrases for meeting people, making introductions, and having short social exchanges in Cantonese.
Topics covered
- ✓Greetings: hello, goodbye, good morning, how are you
- ✓Introducing yourself: name, nationality, occupation
- ✓Asking where someone is from
- ✓Polite expressions: please, thank you, excuse me
- ✓Numbers 1–20 and asking someone's age
What you'll achieve
- Greet people naturally in Cantonese
- Introduce yourself and ask about others
- Hold a short social conversation
- Use polite forms correctly in context
Duration
2–3 weeks
Level
Beginner
Recommended
2x per week
Everyday Survival Cantonese
日常生活廣東話BeginnerGain the language you need to get through everyday situations in Hong Kong or any Cantonese-speaking environment — without relying on English.
Topics covered
- ✓Shopping: asking for items, quantities, and prices
- ✓Money and prices: how much, too expensive, cheaper please
- ✓Ordering food at restaurants and dim sum
- ✓Asking for help and directions
- ✓Asking where things are located
What you'll achieve
- Shop and negotiate prices in Cantonese
- Order food and drinks confidently
- Ask for and understand simple directions
- Handle common transactional situations
Duration
3–4 weeks
Level
Beginner
Recommended
2x per week
Daily Life
日常話題ElementaryExpand your Cantonese into richer daily contexts — talking about what you like, what time it is, what you did, and making plans with others.
Topics covered
- ✓Hobbies and free time activities
- ✓Telling the time and days of the week
- ✓Talking about your schedule and plans
- ✓Phone conversations: calling, messaging, leaving messages
- ✓Travel: airports, MTR, taxis, hotels
What you'll achieve
- Discuss hobbies and personal interests
- Tell and ask the time accurately
- Make plans and discuss schedules
- Handle basic travel situations in Cantonese
Duration
3–4 weeks
Level
Elementary
Recommended
2x per week
Grammar Foundations
語法基礎ElementaryCantonese grammar differs significantly from both Mandarin and English. This module establishes the key structural patterns you need to form correct, natural sentences.
Topics covered
- ✓Pronouns: I, you, he/she, we, they
- ✓Possession with ge — expressing "my", "your", "his"
- ✓yáuh — expressing possession and existence
- ✓haih — the Cantonese verb "to be"
- ✓Noun classifiers: the essential set for everyday objects
- ✓Negation: móuh and m̀h
- ✓Yes/no questions and tag questions
- ✓Wh-questions: who, what, where, when, why, how
- ✓Sentence-final particles that soften, ask, and assert
What you'll achieve
- Build grammatically correct Cantonese sentences
- Ask and answer a full range of question types
- Express possession, existence, and identity
- Use classifiers correctly with common nouns
Duration
4 weeks
Level
Elementary
Recommended
2x per week
Live Tutor Practice
真人練習OngoingPut everything together with structured live sessions. Your tutor will run conversation drills, correct your pronunciation, run tone challenges, and assign personalised homework to accelerate your progress.
Topics covered
- ✓Tutor-led Cantonese conversation practice
- ✓Pronunciation correction and feedback
- ✓Tone drills targeting your specific weaknesses
- ✓Role-play: shopping, restaurants, phone calls, travel
- ✓Homework review and vocabulary building
What you'll achieve
- Speak Cantonese with natural rhythm and tone
- Receive real-time correction from a native speaker
- Build confidence through practical role-play
- Track progress with tutor-assigned homework
Duration
Flexible
Level
Ongoing
Recommended
1–2x per week
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