Thai language for newbies

[Guest]

Great work.

 

Now don't forget the 2 most important Thai phrases.

 

For them......mai me satang :hubba:

 

To them.....kineo

[Guest]

You should be rewarded for taking on this very worthwhile task Mr. HIGH THAIED

 

Seeing I am not able to reward you with a knighthood (maybe our british friends could do something) I have decided to make a donation in your good name to the home for unwed bargirls past their prime.

[samak]

Says lovethai:

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I have decided to make a donation in your good name to the home for unwed bargirls past their prime

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i donate there regularly as well; so i will do it over the next couple of weeks sanapsanoon doi mister high thaied!

this will for sure spread his good reputation

[Guest]

Just a quick post for format suggestions. Made this first lesson a little fun, and not too hard so won't scare anyone away. I was thinking that in the rest, will be more straight forward, without as much dialog for each word, but at the bottom, place an area where (for example) 'want' = 'ao' can be further explored, to include 'yaak', yaak dai', 'khor', 'tang karn', etc., for those wanting more info. Just a thought.

 

HT

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Quick Lesson #1: Hello..Where is?...How much?

 

Assuming that you've already read the intro page, we are ready to begin. First phrase: "1,000 baht s/t ok?" Whoa! Slow down there, fellow punter. :: We need to get you out of the airport first, and to your hotel. But then again, there is this barber shop at the airport....never mind. :: First things first. The first three phrases out of your mouth in Thailand, will most likely entail 'Hello..Where is?...How much?'

 

Hello = Sa-wat-dee (sl- as it looks, with 'a's sounding same, as in 'father') (Sa*-wat*(l)-dee). Remember it's always nice to say 'Crop' at the end, to make polite. Example: "Sa-wat-dee, crop".

 

Where is..? = ...you tea-nai (rw- you tea-pie) (yoo(l) tee(f)-nai*®) It's easy to ask where something is, in Thai. Just name the place, object, or person, and then say "you tea nai" right after. Let's learn a new word, so we can show an example. "long lamb" = hotel. So if you want to ask where Nana Hotel is, you would say "Long lamb Nana, you tea nai." = "Hotel Nana, where is it?" If you were looking for your friend 'Noi', you would say "Noi, you tea nai" = "Noi, where is she"? "Taxi, you tea nai" asks "Where is there a taxi"? (taxi same-same word in Thai and English). Another same-same word is ATM (automatic teller machine). You might need some cash at the airport, so what would you ask? "ATM, you tea nai" = "ATM, where is one".

 

How much? = .....Towel-lie (thao*(f)-rai*(l)) This is also, quite easy, and the word is also always placed at the end of the sentence, or simply said by itself, if person you're talking to already knows what you're referring to. If you go to the airport store, and pick up a pack of gum, all you need to do is hold it up, and say "towel-lie" to cashier, and she will tell you the price, in baht (name of the money they use in Thailand). Note: One thing to remember here, again is; if you don't know the proper tones (they are shown above), then speak in a flat monotone middle range voice. We falang, have a tendency to raise our pitch at the end, especially when asking a question. As you can see above, 'towel' is a falling tone, and 'lie' is a low tone, both spoken quickly. If you were to apply the usual English style, you would most likely say exactly opposite, as you are supposed to. So just talk like a robot, if you don't know the proper tone yet, with no lowering or raising of pitch, and you will be understood much better. OK, time to learn two new words here, so we can have an example of 'how much'?. Nee (sl- knee) = This. And 'nan' (sl- non, as in non-evident) = That. So "Nee towel lie" = "This, how much?" or "How much is this?", while "Non towel-lie" = "How much is that?"

 

Wow....you're on fire! You're speaking Thai already! Yea? Don't get too cocky. "Mai mai mai mai mai" can mean "New wood doesn't burn, does it?" if applying the right tones. Sobering, isn't it. So let's see just how good you are so far.

 

"Sa-wat-dee crop. Taxi you tea nai. Long lamb Nana towel-lie (said to taxi driver). (get to hotel, and see some Singha beer in a shop). Sa-wat-dee crop. Nan towel-lie. ATM you tea nai."

 

Can you figure it out? No? For the correct transliteration, send US $50 to High Thaied @ nanapla....ok! Here it is.

 

Hello. Taxi's are located where? Hotel Nana, how much? (said to taxi driver). (get to hotel, and see some Singha in a shop). Hello. How much is 'that' Singha beer? Where is the ATM?

 

Quick Lesson #2(make clickable) Go, Want, Like, Have,Thank youl

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[samak]

what is the "long lamb nana"???

 

also in thailand we have year of the goat and not year of the lamb!

[markle]

Would that be rong ram Nana?

 

HT

I would never address a man or woman as puu-chai or puu-ying 'kun' is more accurate and easier.

[samak]

sure markle; i also read it like this.

however i was so amazed about the "long lamb" creation, that i could not resist....

[Guest]

Hi Markel,

 

Yea, I struggled with that one. My problem was Khun represents 'you', as well as 'Mr.' or 'Mrs. I didn't want to throw a single word that has two meanings at them, right away. Come to think of it, I don't remember seeing poo-ying/chai ever being in my phrasebooks. I'll pull that out, then, and delete from lesson, as "khun' in 'you' is much more important for them to know, right away.

 

Samak.....What! You don't like my 'long lamb' translation. Hey, I thought that was pretty good!. Sounds right, and gives them an animated visual to remember word by. Seriously, it's pretty hard coming up with an English word that sounds like Thai word. Also have to concider that Aussie's, Brit's, and US'ers might all pronounce an English word differently, when concidering what to use. If you see something that is questionable, please step up. The more input, the better.

 

I use Rong Ram when I am there, because I learned it that way. And am always understood. The problem enters, when I hear it as long lamb. I still have to sit back and think...'what the hell is long lam'? Oh...you mean Rong Ram. Would have been easier if I had just learned it with L's, instead of R's. Also, the reason I used lamb, instead of lam, is that lamb determines the correct sound of the 'a', where lam, does not. Lam could be interpreted as sounding like "lum, lom, lame, etc.

 

HT

[samak]

you misunderstood...i just love the long lamb...

 

as to you; khun is formal; in daily life, thais mostly address other people (also strangers) as phee (for elder or "higher" person and "nong" for younger person)

i do not say, that a farang speaking thai (and not very fluent) should adapt this concept; khun is fine

[Guest]

Lesson #2 Want, Like, Go, Thank you, and Have

 

We know how to ask the price (towel rye) of this (nee) or that (nan), say hello (sa-wat-dee), and ask where something is (you tea-nai). By the way, the hyphen (-)in between 'tea-nai' just means that you say the two words, kind of as though they were one. Want, Like, Go, Thank you, and Have will be our next area of concern, and we'll use them to enhance what we already know. Listed right below are the generic words to use. At the bottom of this page, we'll have discussion on more advanced ways to express 'wanting something'.

 

Thank you = cop coon crop (sl- it looks) (khawp*(l) khun khrap*(h)). Note: Remember 'my' (mai)? Putting 'my' in front of 'thank you' does not turn it into 'no thank you'. 'My' (mai) only negates the word immediately it comes before, not everything in the entire phrase, so won't work in this case.

 

Want = aw (ao*) (sl- 'now' without the 'n') So, 'aw' = 'want', and "my aw" = "not want". Example: "Poem aw coon" = "I want you". "Poem my aw coon" = "I not want you".

 

Go = bye (bai*) (sl- it looks) Emphasis is put at the beginning part, so the 'b' part is said a little louder. Example: "phom chop bye" = "I like go". "I want to go to the Nana Hotel. Do you know where it is"? = "Poem aw bye long lamb Nana. Nana, you tea nai" = "I want go hotel Nana. Nana is where"?

 

Like = chop (chawp(f)) (sl- it looks, but as you can see in the proper spelling, there is a little "w" sound right before the "p") Example: "poem chop coon" = "I like you". "Coon chop nee my" = "you like this"? Remember "my" at the end of a statement turns it into a question, so "you like this" turns into "Do you like this?" with 'my' placed at the end.

 

Have = me (mee(m)) (sl- it looks) Example: poem me baht = I have baht. Poem my me baht = I not have baht. Coon me baht my = You have baht?

 

Sa-wat-dee crop, Noi. Poem my chop coon me nan Singha. Poem aw coon bye long lamb Nana. Cop coon crop = Hello Noi. I not like you have that Singha beer. I want you (to)go (to) Nana Hotel. Thank you.

 

As you can tell, Thai speech eliminates a lot of unnecessary words when expressing something. "I am going to the store". In Thai, it is simply "I go store". I might say, "I was thinking I might enjoy a trip down to the local merchant to see what they have". A Thai would say "I go store". They don't mess around with anything they don't need to get the message across.

 

Very good, class. We're going on a field trip tonight to Nana Plaza parking lot at 2:00am. I want everyone to go L/T over the weekend, with one of my many substitute teachers, who will be available for a small fee, so practice, practice, practice, and be back in the classroom at 9:00am sharp, Monday morning. Next lesson: Maak, What, Can, Yes, Name, Age

 

We're doing quite well. Memorize everything up to this point, and you can put together many, many different sentences by just learning the name of a food. You can say you like it, want it, find out where it is, if you have it, or not, if it that or this, find out how much it costs, etc. Below, if interested, I'll discuss the various ways to ask for something, besides using the word 'aw'.

 

Aw = want. Aw means 'want'. That's it. Say "Aw beer", and you are saying "Want beer". Not very polite. So, there are some words that allow you to ask for something, in a more polite manor: To use "my aw", however, is very expectable, especially when telling street vendors, and go-go touts, that you have no need of their services. "My aw" is the way to tell someone that you don't want something. But remember to put the 'crop' at the end, to make it more polite; "My aw crop". You'll be using this phrase ten times a day, at least.

 

I'd like = caw (kaw®) (rw- raw) This is the polite way of ordering a beer. "Caw beer" = "I would like a beer". Because 'caw' represents more than a single word, you can't put 'my' in front of it to say "not I would like".

 

I want (object) = yak dai (rw- sock buy) (yak(l) dia(f)) More polite than 'aw'. Literal (lit.) translation is 'want get'. Yak sort of means desire, so yak dai is 'I desire to get, or have'. You are not demanding the object, as in 'aw', but are expressing your desire to have it, which makes it a more polite request. When saying the 'dai' part, say it with falling tone. The Thai word for die/death, is very similar, but is said with a middle tone. So, saying "Poem yak dai coon" (I want you) in an even tone, is telling them "I want dead you".

 

I want = yak (rw- sock) (yak(l)) See above. Is used when wanting something you can't touch. Example: "I yak (want) to be somewhere else" = "I desire not to be here".

 

I need = tong-karn (rw- tong barn) (tawng*(f)-karn) This is the word you would use when wanting a band-aid. You really don't want it, you NEED it. In saying this, it is often used in formal speech, and does not necessarily have to mean an urgent connotation. In a punters environment, you can pretty much save this for only when you really do have to have something. Example: "Poem tong-carn smoke". You don't just want to get smoked, you NEED to get smoked.

 

HT