I Got It, I Got it

It’s not technically true to say that I have learned no Cantonese in my eight months here.

I have learned one word: hai-ya. It means “Yeah, I got what you are saying, I understand.” It’s kind of like saying “okay, okay, okay.” It seems that most people use it when the person with whom they’re talking is going on and on in more detail than is necessary.

It’s not pronounced hi-YA like a karate chop. It’s closer to the first two syllables of “How ya doing?”

“So when you get to the corner, there’s going to be 7-Eleven on your left. . . “

“Hai-ya, Hai-ya”

“On your right will be a bank . . . “

“Hai-ya, Hai-ya.”

Since it is the one Cantonese word that I know, naturally I am inclined to overuse it. It drives Elise absolutely bonkers when I use “hai-ya” in public. “Dad, you’re not Chinese!”

I’m not sure which she loathes more, me using my one Cantonese word at every possible opportunity or me taking pictures of people on the streets of Hong Kong.

-Jack

It cracks me up when I toss in the occasional “Hai-ya” when I am talking with people. Once in a while I’ll have a Chinese person light up and say excitedly and with all sincerity, “Ah, you speak Chinese!” At least I think it’s with all sincerity. Either that or the Chinese have a really subtle sense of sarcastic humor.