<p>I know 咁 means &quot;so&quot;, as in &quot;so big&quot; = &quot;gam daai&quot;. However, I just found this sentence:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>我仲未失望咁係度等</p>
<p>Ngo5 zung6-mei6 sat1-mong6 gam3 hai6 dou6 dang2</p>
</blockquote>
<p>In which I think it ought to be interpreted as an adverbial suffix, like English -ly. Maybe it is just because I saw a Mandarin rendition of this which makes it a 地. So can this gam sometimes be used as Mandarin 地? Also, I translated this sentence to:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>I haven't yet been disappointed of being here waiting</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Before seeing the Mandarin version. Would that be a valid translation?</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-12-04T17:51:40.513Z
The romanization is self-made. The spellig is from the lyrics of this song in a version posted by a speaker of Hakka on Fb, and that version is full of spelling mistakes. For example, hai can mean to be or at, and they are spelt the same in that version, whereas they should be spelt differently.
MickG
CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-12-04T17:53:38.153Z
@Maroon those particles you mention, are they 恁 and 噉?
MickG
CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-12-04T18:00:29.657Z
Indeed that hai is misspelt. The romanization is based on the characters, basically a character-by-character translit usig MDBG and CantoDict. Even with it under my eyes I cannot distinguish all the syllables in the recording: much too fast :).
MickG
CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-12-04T18:00:58.297Z
Btw is dou also misspelt?
MickG
CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-12-04T18:03:38.530Z
No, dou is right. hai should have an extra mouth radical on the left.
MickG
CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-12-04T19:05:49.273Z
This sentence sounds a little odd to me, too. Strictly speaking, although 咁 is often translated to "so", it should be perceived as **"that" (emphasis)**, like "I don't know you are **that** stupid." While, this one makes perfect sense to me: `你 慢慢咁 過來啦`, here 咁 indeed can be replaced with 地 in Mandarin and the meaning doesn't change much – but I think the translation that can convey the subtlety in Mandarin should be, `你 慢慢地那樣 過來啦`.
Stan
CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-12-08T10:35:50.213Z
Where did you find that sentence?  Movie?  It does not sound like natural Cantonese.
Henry HO
CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-12-08T11:15:50.443Z
See the answer below fo the sentence's source.
MickG
CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-12-08T11:53:04.667Z
Precise Youtube link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=utBNsy7MVAU&index=1&list=RDutBNsy7MVAU
MickG
<grammar><cantonese>
Cantonese 咁: adverb suffix?
# Cantonese 咁: adverb suffix?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2015-12-04)

I know 咁 means "so", as in "so big" = "gam daai". However, I just found this sentence:

> 我仲未失望咁係度等
>
> Ngo5 zung6-mei6 sat1-mong6 gam3 hai6 dou6 dang2

In which I think it ought to be interpreted as an adverbial suffix, like English -ly. Maybe it is just because I saw a Mandarin rendition of this which makes it a 地. So can this gam sometimes be used as Mandarin 地? Also, I translated this sentence to:

> I haven't yet been disappointed of being here waiting

Before seeing the Mandarin version. Would that be a valid translation?

**Tags:** grammar, cantonese

> **Comments:**
> **username_0**: The romanization is self-made. The spellig is from the lyrics of this song in a version posted by a speaker of Hakka on Fb, and that version is full of spelling mistakes. For example, hai can mean to be or at, and they are spelt the same in that version, whereas they should be spelt differently.  
> **username_0**: @Maroon those particles you mention, are they 恁 and 噉?  
> **username_0**: Indeed that hai is misspelt. The romanization is based on the characters, basically a character-by-character translit usig MDBG and CantoDict. Even with it under my eyes I cannot distinguish all the syllables in the recording: much too fast :).  
> **username_0**: Btw is dou also misspelt?  
> **username_0**: No, dou is right. hai should have an extra mouth radical on the left.  
> **username_1**: This sentence sounds a little odd to me, too. Strictly speaking, although 咁 is often translated to "so", it should be perceived as **"that" (emphasis)**, like "I don't know you are **that** stupid." While, this one makes perfect sense to me: `你 慢慢咁 過來啦`, here 咁 indeed can be replaced with 地 in Mandarin and the meaning doesn't change much – but I think the translation that can convey the subtlety in Mandarin should be, `你 慢慢地那樣 過來啦`.  
> **username_2**: Where did you find that sentence?  Movie?  It does not sound like natural Cantonese.  
> **username_0**: See the answer below fo the sentence's source.  
> **username_0**: Precise Youtube link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=utBNsy7MVAU&index=1&list=RDutBNsy7MVAU  

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## 0 answers

