个 (ge): Possession, Attribution and Nominalisation

01

Possession

Between two nouns, 个 (geke) makes the first the owner of the second — the same order as English the band's songs, not the songs of the band.

• 𠊎係一家餐廳个廚師。

  ngaiˇ he idˋ gaˊ conˊ tangˊ ge cuˇ siiˊngài he yit kâ chhôn thâng ke chhù sṳ̂

  I am a cook at a restaurant.

• 天光日个天時預報仰仔？

  tienˊ gongˊ ngidˋ ge tienˊ siiˇ i bo ngiongˋ eˇthiên kông ngit ke thiên sṳ̀ yi po ngióng è

  What is tomorrow's weather forecast?

• 該隻樂隊个歌仔。

  ge zagˋ ngog cui ge goˊ eˋke chak ngo̍k chhui ke kô é

  that band's songs

02

Linking a Modifier to a Noun

After a describing word or a whole phrase, 个 (geke) fastens it to the noun that follows. Where English can set an adjective straight in front of a noun, Hakka needs this link, and the modifier may be as long as a full clause.

• 你中意仰仔个面衫？

  nˇ zung i ngiongˋ eˇ ge mien samˊǹ chung yi ngióng è ke mien sâm

  What kind of shirt do you like?

• 蘋果汁有大量个糖。

  lin goˋ ziibˋ iuˊ tai liong ge tongˇlin kó chṳp yû thai liong ke thòng

  Apple juice has a lot of sugar.

• 𠊎戴在一隻有當多牛仔个莊頭。

  ngaiˇ dai di idˋ zagˋ iuˊ dongˊ doˊ ngiuˇ eˋ ge zongˊ teuˇngài tai ti yit chak yû tông tô ngiù é ke chông thèu

  I live in a village that has a lot of cows.

• 你盡中意个電影係麼个？

  nˇ qin zung i ge tien iangˋ he maˋ geǹ chhin chung yi ke thien yáng he má ke

  What is the film you like best?

03

Standing In for the Noun

个 (geke) can close a phrase with no noun after it at all, and the phrase then works as a noun in its own right: the one that …, the one who …. English needs a whole relative clause where Hakka needs a single syllable.

• 同𠊎剪頭那毛个都係佢。

  tungˇ ngaiˇ jienˋ teuˇ naˇ moˊ ge du he giˇthùng ngài chién thèu nà mô ke tu he kì

  The one who cut my hair is him.

• 𫣆俚買一本新个。

  enˊ liˋ maiˊ idˋ bunˋ xinˊ geên lí mâi yit pún sîn ke

  We'll buy a new one.

• 恁仔細，毋過𠊎想愛尋兜仔無共樣个。

  anˋ ziiˋ se mˇ go ngaiˇ xiongˋ oi qimˇ deuˊ eˋ moˇ kiung iong geán chṳ́ se m̀ ko ngài sióng oi chhìm têu é mò khiung yong ke

  Thanks, but I'd like to look for some different ones.

04

Closing a Sentence

The same 个 (geke) rounds off a statement or question about when, where or how something happened, giving the sense of it was … that. The question word stays in the position the answer would occupy, and 个 (geke) closes the sentence off.

• 哪央時發生个？

  nai iongˊ siiˇ fadˋ senˊ genai yông sṳ̀ fat sên ke

  When did it happen?

• 𠊎係八月十二號，禮拜一出世个。

  ngaiˇ he badˋ ngied siib ngi ho liˊ bai idˋ cudˋ se gengài he pat ngie̍t sṳ̍p ngi ho lî pai yit chhut se ke

  I was born on Monday, the twelfth of August.

05

One Particle, Three Jobs

Possession, attribution and nominalisation are one pattern seen from three sides. Something is placed before 个 (geke), and what comes after it — a noun, or nothing at all — decides how the whole is read.