Happy Moon Festival

Let us listen to the husband and wife. The husband said when he was a child, he could not listen to stories about the lady in the moon and kept thinking of moon cakes. When he grew up and got fed up with eating moon cakes, in his mind he kept thinking of the lady in the moon.

His wife then asked him what he has been think recently. 

Siang5ngo5

嫦娥

Chinese mythology: the lady in the moon

Do6 zi2go3

在衹塊｜在只块

In this place,

Zog4 so2u6 nang5

祝所有人

Wishing everybody

Dong1ciu1 gia1zoih4 Dong1ciu1 ghuêh8

中秋佳節中秋月｜中秋佳节中秋月

Mid-autumn festive day mid-autumn moon

ghuêh8 in5 se7 in5 nang5 tuang5in5

月圓事圓人團圓｜月圆事圆人团圆

full moon, rounded matters, people have a reunion.

The last two lines, should be read like a couplet

Dong1ciu1 gia1zoih4 Dong1ciu1 ghuêh8

ghuêh8 iⁿ5 se7 iⁿ5 nang5 tuang5iⁿ5

中秋佳節中秋月

月圓事圓人團圓

For those who want to know the details of the conversation between the husband and wife.

Soi3diang1si5

細唺時｜细唺时

When (I) was young

Dong1ciu1 gai7 si5hao7

中秋個時候｜中秋个时候

during the period of Mid-Autumn

Siang5ngo5 gai7 gu3se7

嫦娥個故事｜嫦娥个故事

the story about the lady on the moon

Nang2 li7 tian1 bhoi6loh8

俺哩聽𠁞落｜俺哩听𠀾落

we were unable to listen [pay attention to] [I think he is saying nang2 here to mean "I".]

Diam7 lo2 sion6 ghuêh8bian2

扂裸想月餅｜扂裸想月饼

Kept thinking of moon cakes

Ziah8 dua7 ao6

食大後｜食大后

After having grown up

ghuêh8bian2 li7 ziah8 gao3 uin3

月餅哩食到畏｜月饼哩食到畏

got fed up with eating moon cakes

Zu6 diam7 sion6 Siang5ngo5 dian7

就扂想嫦娥定

Then only kept thinking of the lady on the moon

定  diaⁿ7 here means only

就  is normally said ziu6 but many of us say it as zu6

The wife then said:

Liao2 le2 zi2deng2 diam7 sion6 di7gai5

了汝衹轉扂想底個｜了汝只转扂想底个

Then what are you thinking of recently.

The recording of what the wife said was not very good and I could hear clearly only “Liao2 le2 zi2deng2 diam7 sioⁿ6” but not the last word and I just looked at the Mandarin subtitles and made a guess that the last word should be “di7gai5”. One important note: zi2deng2 means recently and not as written on the subtitles as now as written as “現在”.

======

I hope the above helps you to learn some Teochew words. May I wish you Happy Mid-Autumn Festival. 

Today is also my Chinese birthday.  

I normally make Teochew moon cakes on Mid-autumn Festival but the cost of electricity in London is now prohibitively expensive and I am just eating store bought moon cakes. The cost of electricity has more than double in the last few months.