Learn/Cantonese

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.

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Sounds and Tones

發音與聲調Absolute Beginner

Build 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

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First Conversations

初次對話Beginner

Start 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

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Everyday Survival Cantonese

日常生活廣東話Beginner

Gain 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

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Daily Life

日常話題Elementary

Expand 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

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Grammar Foundations

語法基礎Elementary

Cantonese 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

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Live Tutor Practice

真人練習Ongoing

Put 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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Ready to start speaking Cantonese?

Find a Cantonese tutor and book your first session. Whether you're a complete beginner or reconnecting with a heritage language, we'll match you with the right tutor.

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