The Progressive: 佇咧, 當咧 and 咧 — Taiwanese Hokkien Grammar

To say an action is under way, put (tī-lehtī-lehti7-leh4) in front of the verb. Unlike the sentence-final aspect particles, this one goes BEFORE the verb, exactly where English puts am or is.

我佇咧啉水。
guá tī-leh lim tsuígóa tī-leh lim chúigua2 ti7-leh4 lim1 tsui2
I'm drinking water.
阮佇咧食中晝。
guán tī-leh tsia̍h tiong-tàugoán tī-leh chia̍h tiong-tàuguan2 ti7-leh4 tsiah8 tiong1-tau3
We're having lunch.
伊佇咧食蘋果。
i tī-leh tsia̍h phōng-kói tī-leh chia̍h phōng-kói1 ti7-leh4 tsiah8 phong7-ko2
He's eating an apple.

Asking and Answering

It combines freely with the question strategies: add (--bô--bô--bo5) at the end for a yes/no question, or an adverb such as (māmāma7) also in front of it.

你佇咧睏無？
lí tī-leh khùn --bôlí tī-leh khùn --bôli2 ti7-leh4 khun3 --bo5
Are you sleeping?
伊嘛佇咧睏。
i mā tī-leh khùni mā tī-leh khùni1 ma7 ti7-leh4 khun3
He's sleeping too.
恁這馬佇咧創啥物？
lín tsit-má tī-leh tshòng siánn-mihlín chit-má tī-leh chhòng siáⁿ-mihlin2 tsit4-ma2 ti7-leh4 tshong3 siann2-mih4
What are you all doing right now?

當咧 and Bare 咧

(tng-lehtng-lehtng1-leh4) is the emphatic version — right in the middle of doing something. A bare (lehlehleh4) does the same work in quicker, more casual speech.

我佇我的車內，當咧駛車。
guá tī guá-ê tshia lāi tng-leh sái-tshiagóa tī góa-ê chhia lāi tng-leh sái-chhiagua2 ti7 gua2-e5 tshia1 lai7 tng1-leh4 sai2-tshia1
I'm in my car, driving.

Where It Sits

(tī-lehtī-lehti7-leh4) attaches to the verb it marks, which is not always the first verb in the sentence. When one action sets the scene for another, the marker lands on the one actually in progress — compare these two, where the same pair of actions is described from different angles.

彼个查某人佇咧𤆬狗散步。
hit ê tsa-bóo-lâng tī-leh tshuā káu sàn-pōohit ê cha-bó͘-lâng tī-leh chhōa káu sàn-pō͘hit4 e5 tsa1-boo2-lang5 ti7-leh4 tshua7 kau2 san3-poo7
That woman is walking the dog.
彼个人牽狗佇咧走。
hit ê lâng khan káu tī-leh tsáuhit ê lâng khan káu tī-leh cháuhit4 e5 lang5 khan1 kau2 ti7-leh4 tsau2
That person is running, leading a dog.

With an inanimate subject it works exactly the same way.

計程車佇咧等。
kè-thîng-tshia tī-leh tánkè-thêng-chhia tī-leh tánke3-thing5-tshia1 ti7-leh4 tan2
The taxi is waiting.
公車司機佇咧駛車。
kong-tshia su-ki tī-leh sái-tshiakong-chhia su-ki tī-leh sái-chhiakong1-tshia1 su1-ki1 ti7-leh4 sai2-tshia1
The bus driver is driving.

No Tense Attached

The progressive says nothing about when. The same sentence covers I am drinking and I was drinking — time comes from a time word, or from the context, and never from the verb itself.

佇 and 佇咧

The marker is visibly related to the preposition (tītīti7) at, in. The logic is the same one behind English he is at work: being at an activity is being in the middle of it.

In the course

Sentences from Lingora’s Taiwanese Hokkien course

33 of the course's 500 sentences use this, the first in lesson 6. A few of them, with the words “The Progressive: 佇咧, 當咧 and 咧” is about in bold:

伊嘛佇咧睏。伊無睏。
i mā tī-leh khùn. i bô khùn.i mā tī-leh khùn. i bô khùn.i1 ma7 ti7-leh4 khun3. i1 bo5 khun3.
He is also sleeping. She isn't.
Lesson 16

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