[AMIbunny]

I speak okayy cantonese and i can understand it pretty well...but everytime I listen to a cantonese song, I dont understand it AT ALL!!! I mean, i do understand some phrases here and there, but not the whole song.... its like...what the heck is it saying??? O_o

Do you Cantonese speakers understand the songs?? Or am I just really Cantonese challenged >.<

[chewy_cookie]

You're not alone. I have a hard time understanding them too, not so much the oldies though.

[alwayzujustme]

lolz...i don't think it's just you...that happens to me too...lolz...funny enough i understand songs in mandarin better than i do cantonese songs...and i speak cantonese perfectly fine and mandarin...i can't speak it at all...i just understand it...lolz...i think it has to do with the fact that the way they sing is different from the way words are spoken..lolz...i have to listen to the songs a few times before i full comprend what's being sang...lolz...i don't think it's just you..lolz...

[misz.perfect.]

EDIT...Never mind. I think my reasoning was wrong. :x

[witchyangelkk]

Hmmm... i think it all depends on how the song is sung...
If its in formal "reading" language... then I might have to listen to it two or three more times to get the meaning...
But if its in "speaking" language... then i usually can pick it up on the first go...

This applies to all songs except rap songs.... they're WAYYYY too fast for me to hear... =P

HAHA.. .and some songs really dont have much of a meaning...
for example: Just listen to the english bit of Jill Vidal's song "Lonely"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cp_8ggXAuDM

- HaiKi

[x.yoru]

I'm the same too. XDD Sometimes I kinda catch bits and pieces of a song, and then sometimes I hear things and I'm like... what are they saying? O.O

[Kay*Kay]

that's because cantonese music is written formally and when we speak cantonese it's informal so there's some words that are different. if someone understands mandarin and canto it's much easier to understand the music. [=

[_ping_]

yeah me too XDDD~

that's because cantonese music is written formally and when we speak cantonese it's informal so there's some words that are different. if someone understands mandarin and canto it's much easier to understand the music. [=

yeah...i think you�re right

[Tonyc402]

that's because cantonese music is written formally and when we speak cantonese it's informal so there's some words that are different. if someone understands mandarin and canto it's much easier to understand the music. [=

Yeah agreed. We speak with so much slang that when its sung in formal , its confuses a bit.

[simplirain]

lolz...i don't think it's just you...that happens to me too...lolz...funny enough i understand songs in mandarin better than i do cantonese songs...and i speak cantonese perfectly fine and mandarin...i can't speak it at all...i just understand it...lolz...i think it has to do with the fact that the way they sing is different from the way words are spoken..lolz...i have to listen to the songs a few times before i full comprend what's being sang...lolz...i don't think it's just you..lolz...

True, true. lol. Mandarin seems so much easier for me to understand. xD

[illusions]

lols i think thats another reason why i dont like listening to canto music
i never seem to get the meaning of the whole song
and i feel like the mv`s are completly different from the song

[lucky*13]

It's okay. When I listen to one, I can only understand either the chorus or some part of the verses.
I am pretty good at Cantonese, Mandrin is easier to understand.

[THiS ONE LOSER]

It's the same for me. Ha. For as long as I can remember.

[sixth.]

i understand pretty much all of it.
but yeah, i know mando as well, so i guess that's why.
before, i would only really understand the chorus and that's it

[moldysquash]

I think the problem with the Cantonese music today is that there is NO meaning. So it's not that you can't understand the song, it's cuz there's nothing to understand to start with. If you know Cantonese, I'm sure you have no problems understanding the oldies. I can speak Cantonese fluently, but I find most of the songs today to not make any sense. They force the lyrics to rhyme and try to put in silly metaphors.

[snowytearz]

yeah my canto isnt 100% grwat so i only catch parts of the song

[twist&fall-]

you're not the only one XD
i can't pick up much of what they are singing -__-; even when i speak cantonese
at home.

[miss scarlett]

I speak Cantonese fluently and I understand a good portion of the lyrics when I first hear a song.

I think the reason why people don't understand Cantonese songs as well as others is because Cantonese is slang. The way how we speak and write is different. Singers sing according to the written work instead of the spoken work. In other words, the singers don't sing in slang.

Dude, I can't explain this well, lol. But basically - a lot of the Cantonese-speaking ABCs don't understand Cantonese songs well when they first hear it because the ABCs only understand conversational Cantonese instead of the written language. Unless you know how to read Chinese and understand what the phrases mean when different words are put together, you will get to understand the song.

And yes, many Cantonese songs nowadays have no meaning. *cough*twins*cough* It's like, even if you know what they're singing, you don't know what it's singing about lol

[kfreak]

i understand what they're talking...
but don't understand the point of the whole song...
its like im only listening to the beat of the music and the voice...
im not focusing on the lyrics...

[chashek]

haha; yep, I'm like that too.
I can understand conversational cantonese, but when I listen some canto songs...
what are they singing?! @.@

hehe; 'haps the aforementioned fact that alot of them don't actually have any meaning plays a part >.>