A few Cantonese questions...
1.
有車啦
“There is a car coming”
what does the 啦 mean?
I know this particle in Mandarin, but it clearly has a different meaning here, because the 啦 in Mandarin makes it past tense + emphasis (啦＝了＋啊). This sentence is in present tense, so the meaning in Cantonese must be different (and of course Cantonese doesn’t use 了 to indicate past tense anyway). Could somebody please clarify what 啦 means?

2.
What is the difference in Cantonese between 行 and 走?

3.
“佢有錢多過頭”
is this the same as saying:
“佢有錢過頭”
？
Does the 多 change or add anything to the meaning?

Thanks!

Yair

Question

A few Cantonese questions...
1.
有車啦
“There is a car coming”
what does the 啦 mean?
I know this particle in Mandarin, but it clearly has a different meaning here, because the 啦 in Mandarin makes it past tense + emphasis (啦＝了＋啊). This sentence is in present tense, so the meaning in Cantonese must be different (and of course Cantonese doesn’t use 了 to indicate past tense anyway). Could somebody please clarify what  啦 means?

2.
What is the difference in Cantonese between 行 and 走?

3.
“佢有錢多過頭”
is this the same as saying:
“佢有錢過頭”
？
Does the 多 change or add anything to the meaning?

Thanks!

Yair

Answer

Hi Yair
1. 有車啦 and 有車

有車啦 usually means, hey ,  a specific car or bus is coming here.  有車, it could mean so and so has a car or a car has arrived.

2.
What is the difference in Cantonese between 行 and 走?
The first one is for walking, and the second one is for running but they can also mean the same thing.

3.
“佢有錢多過頭”
is this the same as saying:
“佢有錢過頭”

They both mean the same thing. 多 places more emphasis on "more than enough"