¿Por qué business & meetings cantonés?
Business Cantonese is the difference between being understood at work and being trusted at work. Hong Kong professional life runs on speed and directness — the same fifty phrases cover ninety percent of meetings, emails, and follow-ups from Central to Kwun Tong. Whether you are writing a status update to a client in Admiralty, opening a video call with a supplier in Shenzhen, or following up on a contract with a partner in Guangzhou, the right phrase in the right register is what makes you sound like a peer, not a foreigner. What separates business Cantonese from conversational Cantonese is not just vocabulary — it is the clipped, efficient phrasing that Hongkongers expect, and the English code-switching that defines corporate Cantonese (send email, follow up, meeting all enter the language as loanwords). A direct 'No' is acceptable in Cantonese culture; a blunt 'm4 dak1' (can't) is more respectful than a vague maybe. LangOria's business-phrase deck is built around the ten sentences that come up in every meeting and every email chain, with politeness calibrated for Hong Kong's fast-paced, mixed-language corporate culture. Master these ten phrases and you can walk into any Cantonese-language meeting and carry your weight — even at A2. The phrases double as templates for the email lines you write the night before.
10 frases que realmente usarás
Estas 10 oraciones cubren aproximadamente el 95% de business & meetings en cantonés. Toca el icono del altavoz para escuchar la pronunciación.
Diálogo de ejemplo
Lee esta conversación en voz alta — utiliza las mismas 10 frases en contexto.
Cultura y etiqueta
Hong Kong business culture is fast and direct — clarity is a virtue, and small talk is brief. Meetings open with a quick 'saan1 zan1' (good morning) and dive into the agenda; long pleasantries read as time-wasting. Code-switching between Cantonese and English is the norm in corporate Hong Kong — 'send go email', 'follow up', 'meeting' all enter Cantonese sentences unchanged. Email subject lines should be specific and often include the action required. Hierarchy is respected but less rigid than in Japan; first names are common in foreign firms, 'sing1 saang1' (Mr) or 'neoi5 si2' (Ms) plus surname in local firms. Business cards are exchanged with both hands and a slight bow. The 10% service charge is standard at business lunches; tipping extra is not expected. Lunch is quick — 45 minutes to an hour, often at a cha chaan teng. Follow up meetings with a 'daam3 ting4' (as agreed) email — Hongkongers value the written record. 'm4 goi1' is thank you for service; 'do1 ze6' is thank you for a gift. Avoid the number four in pricing. Hong Kong runs on WhatsApp for business; WeChat is for Mainland contacts.
Cómo estudiar este escenario
Spend five to seven days on the business deck before your first Cantonese-language meeting. Review the ten phrases with spaced repetition until you produce them cold, then drill the email templates out loud. In real life, listen for the register your colleagues use and mirror it — code-switch to English for technical terms, as Hongkongers do. The ten-minute daily loop plus one real meeting per week is enough to reach professional working Cantonese in three months. Three habits to layer in: (1) Before every meeting, read the agenda once and underline the two phrases you will most likely need ('saan1 zan1, tau4 gaa1' — good morning, everyone; 'ngoi6 zyu6 follow up' — I'll follow up later) — this is your pre-rehearsal; (2) After every meeting, write the follow-up email in Cantonese (code-switched where natural), even if your colleague would accept English — the writing is where the register locks in; (3) Once a week, rewrite in Cantonese one email you would normally send in English. By month three, you should reply in Cantonese without a translator. Record yourself once a week to catch tone errors.
Más escenarios de cantonés
Saltar a un escenario diferente en el mismo idioma.