Quote:
Originally Posted by mfer
When you say Chinese, you need to specify between Mandarin and Cantonese. Hong Kong is Cantonese. The numbers are pronounced very much differently and that is part of the reason why they are lucky or unlucky.
Almost all words in Cantonese have 6 (yes six) tones.
The tones are:
1 - high level
2 - high rising
3 - middle level
4 - low falling
5 - low rising
6 - low level
Basically Cantonese people "sing" their sentences.
The number 4 is pronounced - sei^3. The 3 indicates middle level
The word "dead" is pronounced - sei^2. See how similar they are.
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Very interesting Mik. Thanks for the info. Amazing how much there is in this world to learn...