ABSTRACT
In this unit, we look at ways of making simple comparisons. In colloquial Cantonese, there are two basic kinds of comparison:
Where two things are explicitly being compared, gwo 過 is used to mean ‘more (adjective) than (noun)’. The word order is similar to the English (and quite unlike that in Mandarin): Jenny sai gwo ngóh Jenny 細過我 Jenny is younger than me. Baat láu hóu gwo yih láu 八樓好過二樓 The eighth floor is better than the second floor. Lī deui gwai gwo gó deui 呢對貴過嗰對 This pair is more expensive than that one.
Note that gwo 過 is also a verb meaning ‘cross’ or ‘pass’, so it is natural that it comes to mean ‘surpass’ in comparisons.
If the object of comparison is not expressed (i.e. there is no ‘than …’), dī 啲 is used instead: Jenny sai dī Jenny 細啲 Jenny is younger. Baat láu hóu dī 八樓好啲 The eighth floor is better. Gó deui gwai dī 嗰對貴啲 That pair is more expensive.
dī 啲 literally means ‘a little’ but here serves largely to indicate a difference between the two items with respect to some property.
