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I was watching a local hong kong show when an interviewer (I) asked a lady (L):

I: 40歲未呀？ L: 點止呀！三個嫲嫲⋯⋯

What did the lady answer? The subtitle was in standard written Chinese and i couldn’t make out what was being said. Furthermore, the lady’s response was lightning fast and there might have been some words, particles, or expressions that I have missed out. I could only make out the ones I typed.

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It is in Cantonese

40歲未呀？ =　(Are you) 40 years old yet? = (你今年) 有40歲了嗎？

點止呀！ = how could (I am) only (40) = (我) 怎么可能只有 (40岁)？

三個嫲嫲⋯⋯ = (I am ) three (grandchildren's) grandma... = (我已經是) 三個 (孫子的) 奶奶了

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  • Thanks. Wow this is extremely hard for beginner/intermediate learners to pick up. So many words were ommitted and assumed (?) to be understood in context. Thanks
    – cgo
    Commented Jan 10, 2021 at 4:42
  • Don't worry, "三個嫲嫲" (three grandmas) is not making any sense in this context, I have to presume she meant to say "三個(孫子的)嫲嫲" based on the rest of the context
    – Tang Ho ♦
    Commented Jan 10, 2021 at 4:54
  • Quote:- "So many words were omitted and assumed (?)" Not really for Cantonese speakers. The 點止呀 is pretty obvious in responding to the question, and on its own a very common colloquial phrase meaning something like the pidgin English "How can"? If interested here's all the 點 you can handle-- cantonese.org/search.php?q=%E9%BB%9E However, the 三個嫲嫲 may be open to situational interpretation. The 嫲嫲 means "grand mom" as in 奶奶. So, 三個嫲嫲 means "a grand mom thrice over", or "three grand kids calling me 嫲嫲" The resultant meaning is the same, but two ways to translate into English.
    – Wayne Cheah
    Commented Jan 10, 2021 at 7:14

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