In this episode, we’ve learned several ways to talk about identity.
(These show notes use tables and rich formatting. Please visit the episode webpage for an optimal viewing experience.)
| TAIWANESE | ENGLISH |
| Tsioh-mn̄g, lí tó-uī lâng? | Excuse me, where are you from? |
| Tshiánn-mn̄g, lí sī tó-uī-á ê lâng? | May I ask, where are you from? |
| Guá sī Bí-kok-lâng. | I’m American. |
| Bí-kok | The United States of America |
| Tâi-kiâu | overseas Taiwanese (some people also casually use “Tâi-kiâu” to refer to the 2nd and later generations) |
| Guá tuì Ka-ná-tāi lâi--ê. | I come from Canada. |
| Tān-sī guá sī Ing-kok-lâng. | But I’m British. |
| Guá tī Tâi-uân tshut-sì. | I was born in Taiwan. |
| tshut-sì | to be born |
| Guá tī Ò-tsiu tuā-hàn. | I grew up in Australia. |
| tuā-hàn | to grow up; older in age; to have a large physique |
| Guán tau tuà (tī) Sydney | I live in Sydney; My home is in Sydney. |
| tau | one’s home, family or place |
*Syllables requiring tone changes have been greyed out.
GRAMMAR: LOCATION PHRASES, BEFORE OR AFTER THE VERB?
You may have noticed that sometimes we put the location before the verb, and sometimes after the verb.
1) Before the verb: as a backdrop for the main action
e.g. Guá tī Tâi-pak tuā-hàn.
I in Taipei grew up
Most of the time, this “location phrase” is placed before the verb. You can think of the location as the backdrop for the main action, e.g. “to grow up”. If you took out the location, you should still have a sentence that makes sense.
2) After the verb: position, movement, or placement
In some situations, the location comes after the verb. There are certain verbs that have to do with position, movement, or placement, where you need to include the location to have a complete meaning.
e.g. Guá tuà (tī) Tâi-pak.
I reside in Taipei
If you just said, “I reside...”, “I live in…” or “I’m staying in...” it feels like you’re lacking something. Those verbs often need a location with it to feel complete. Especially if there is no other object in the sentence, the focus or main information is really the location. In those cases, the location would come after the verb.
For more examples of this grammar point, or to learn how to say other countries and nationalities, check out our workbook. The workbook also gives you some more culture and grammar explanations, and great exercises to reinforce what you’ve learned in this episode.
ONE BITE CHALLENGE: WHAT HAS YOUR CHILD BEEN UP TO?
For all those overachievers out there, we will try to throw in a little something each episode that is a bit more challenging.
The One Bite Challenge for this episode is a saying related to the word “tuā-hàn” (to grow up):
“Sè-hàn thau bán pû, tuā-hàn thau khan gû”
This Taiwanese saying literally means: “If a person harvests someone else’s gourds when little, then he’ll lead away someone else’s cow when grown-up.”
People use this phrase to emphasize how important it is to teach children good habits, otherwise, bad habits may become more serious when they grow up. Let’s break down the sentence:
| TAIWANESE | ENGLISH |
| sè-hàn / suè-hàn | not grown up; younger; physically small |
| tuā-hàn | to grow up; older; to have a big physique |
| thau | to steal; secretly, stealthily |
| bán | to pick (fruits, vegetables); to pull (teeth) |
| pû | gourd |
| khan | to pull; to lead |
| gû | cattle |
Music Credit: TeknoAXE