44.4 The Sentence Particle 話 waa2 (Repetition)
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When we talk to another person, we sometimes can’t catch everything they are saying and will miss some of the information. We can use the sentence particle 話 waa2 to form a question that asks them to repeat the information we have missed. To form the question, we will repeat what the other person has said, but replace the information we have missed with a question word (e.g., 乜嘢 mat1 je5 / 咩 me1 ‘what’, 幾多錢 gei2 do1 cin2 / 幾錢 gei2 cin2 ‘how much’).
| A: | 呢啲係咩嚟㗎？ ni1 di1 hai6 me1 lai4 gaa3? What are these? |
| B: | 蟶子嚟嘅。 sing3 zi2 lai4 ge3. These are razor clams. |
| A: | 咩嚟嘅話？ me1 lai4 ge3 waa2? Pardon? What are these? |
| B: | 蟶子嚟嘅。 sing3 zi2 lai4 ge3. These are razor clams. |
| A: | 大眼雞點賣呀？ daai6 ngaan5 gai1 dim2 maai6 aa3? How is bigeye sold? |
| B: | 五蚊一両。 ng5 man1 jat1 loeng2. $5 for one tael. |
| A: | 幾錢一両話？ gei2 cin2 jat1 loeng2 waa2? Pardon? How much for one tael? |
| B: | 五蚊一両。 ng5 man1 jat1 loeng2. $5 for one tael. |
If the information is the choice between two options, we can simply repeat the two options to form the question.
| A: | 大眼雞鹹水魚定淡水魚嚟㗎？ daai6 ngaan5 gai1 haam4 seoi2 jyu2 ding6 taam5 seoi2 jyu2 lai4 gaa3? Is bigeye saltwater fish or freshwater fish? |
| B: | 大眼雞鹹水魚嚟嘅。 daai6 ngaan5 gai1 haam4 seoi2 jyu2 lai4 ge3. Bigeye is saltwater fish. |
| A: | 鹹水魚定淡水魚話？ haam4 seoi2 jyu2 ding6 taam5 seoi2 jyu2 waa2? Pardon? Saltwater fish or freshwater fish? |
| B: | 鹹水魚嚟嘅。 haam4 seoi2 jyu2 lai4 ge3. It is saltwater fish. |
If we don’t catch anything and are totally lost 🤯, we can say 乜嘢話 mat1 je5 waa2 / 咩話 me1 waa2.
| A: | 使唔使幫你劏埋呀？ sai2 m4 sai2 bong1 nei5 tong1 maai4 aa3? Do I need to cut and clean it [the fish] for you as well? |
| B: | 咩話？ me1 waa2? Pardon? What? |
| A: | 使唔使幫你劏埋呀？ sai2 m4 sai2 bong1 nei5 tong1 maai4 aa3? Do I need to cut and clean it for you as well? |
| B: | 好呀，唔該。 hou2 aa3, m4 goi1. Good. [= Yes]. Thank you. |