luckyfarang Posted April 10, 2003 Report Share Posted April 10, 2003 Many Thai words have several direct English translations and you must infer from context which meaning is appropriate. It is a lot easier for a farang learning Thai to deduce the correct meaning when hearing a word used several different ways, than for a Thai learning English to identify and select the correct English word to use from several possible translations. LIANG(h)?..1) to raise (a child or animal) to raise (lift) something up would be YOK(h) or YOK(h) KEUN(f), an adopted mother or stepmother would be MAE(f) LIANG(h) 2) to treat (pay for food/drinks/entertainment) to treat medically would be: RAK-SAA® 3) to support (financially, as in MEE KON LIANG(h) she has a person supporting her, she has a sponsor) 4) to serve (as in JA LIANG(h) A-RAI ?what are you serving?) more literally ?what are you treating us to?. The English word ?serve? has been adopted into Thai and is widely used, as in DEK(l) SERV - a waitress or serving girl. RAP(h) CHAI(f) also means ?to serve? as in KON RAP(h) CHAI(f) ?a servant? This means to perform a service, not to serve refreshments. NGAAN?..1)work, 2)festival, 3)party JAP(l)?..1) to grab, 2) to catch, 3) to arrest, 4) to touch PA(l)-TI-SEHT(l)?..1) to deny, 2) to refuse SA-MAK(l)?..1) to apply , 2) to volunteer When used in the second way, it may be short for AH-SAA®-SA-MAK(l), a more formal written term for 'volunteer' The full form is used in the translation of "Peace Corps". PONG(f)-KAN?..1) to protect, 2) to defend, 3) to prevent THAA(f)-TAAN?..1) pose, 2) position, 3) posture SIA®?..1) to waste, 2) to pay 3) to die, 4) damaged/broken/ruined/kaput/out of order The usual word for "pay" is JAAI(l) Using the word SIA® to mean "pay" tends to suggest that the payment is for something unnecessary or frivolous, or to emphasize who the person is that has to pay. When using SIA® to mean "die", it is often short for SIA® CHEE-WIT(h). SIA® CHEE-WIT(h) tends to imply an accidental or tragic death, not a death from old age. It can also mean a noble, voluntary or heroic death (He laid down his life to protect someone). When used alone to mean "dead", SIA® takes on a softer meaning closer to "gone" or "passed away" as in SIA® LAEO(h) I have noticed that Thais prefer using this to describe the passing of close friends or relatives than TAAI, which is the literal translation of 'die' TEUAN(l)?..1) to warn, 2) to remind DAA?..1) to curse, 2) to scold AAI?..1) shy, 2) embarrassed, 3) in awe of/intimidated by This third example has a frequently used, highly idiomatic usage as in AAI KAO® where AAI becomes a transitive verb and takes an object. There is no perfect translation into English, but roughly: I am shy around him/her/them, or I am intimidated by him/her/them. Generally used by women only, you will get a feel for it once you hear it a few times. FAHK(l)?..1) to deposit, 2) to hold something for someone, 3) to give as a gift, as in: MEE ARAI MAA FAHK(l)? ?What did you bring me (as a gift)?? HAAI®?..1) to disappear, 2) to recover from an illness, as in: ?GA-MA-ROHK(f) HAAI® DEE REU YANG? ?Have you recovered yet from your venereal disease?? 3) Also used for ?to breathe? HAAI® JAI HAI(f)?.. to give, to let, for me/you/him/her/them?.. HAI(f) KHAO® THAM HAI(f)?.. This phrase can have many meanings and must be in context to tell which: ?Let him do it for you?, ?Let her do it for me?, ?Let her do it for them?, etc. THEEO(f)?.. to visit, to vacation, to go out (for fun), to party, to tour When asked why you came to Thailand, you can answer MAA THEEO(f), meaning ?I?m on holiday?. To travel would be DERN-TAANG NAE(f)-NAM?.. 1) to recommend, 2) to introduce, 3) to suggest KHAW® NAE(f)-NAM KHUN BOB - May I introduce Mr. Bob? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
samak Posted April 10, 2003 Report Share Posted April 10, 2003 interesting list; you are right, but there are also a lot of cases, where it is the other way round. there are also words in english, that can be translated with several different thai words depending on the context Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
markle Posted April 10, 2003 Report Share Posted April 10, 2003 Nothing wrong with the list but what's your point? I mean most of the definitions you give are simply synoyms of each other -a dictionary does the same thing. What would be truly useful would be a list of words where the word had different meaning that were totally unrelated. Try these (off the top of my head) à ÃÕºÃéà(riab-roy) ÊÃà (sa) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pharcyde Posted April 10, 2003 Report Share Posted April 10, 2003 yep, completely unrelated here come a tongue twister §Ù¡Ô¹Ë¹Ù¨¹§Ù§§§Ç (translation...?) What do you make of it, the words are nowhere similar, nor is the meaning. Can also be used as a drunk test: if you cant say the words, dont drive home. Greets, Pharcyde Ps: markle, your (sa)...should be (s-ra)...or what?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted April 10, 2003 Report Share Posted April 10, 2003 "Ps: markle, your (sa)...should be (s-ra)...or what?? " I'm not markle but can answer.. ÊÃà (s-ra) can translate as 'vowel'.. where as ÊÃà (sa) with same spelling but a silent 'r' sound means pond, or pool as in sa-wai-nam.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pharcyde Posted April 10, 2003 Report Share Posted April 10, 2003 ahhh...I get your drift...thanks for the explanation. ....but you still havent translated the tongue twister... have you? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
luckyfarang Posted April 10, 2003 Author Report Share Posted April 10, 2003 <<<Nothing wrong with the list but what's your point? I mean most of the definitions you give are simply[color:"red"] synoyms [/color] of each other -a dictionary does the same thing. What would be truly useful would be a list of words where the word had different meaning that were totally unrelated.>>> Yet another post from Markle that is solely argumentative and makes absolutely no useful contribution. The point is obvious (to anyone open minded) that NONE of these definitions are perfect synonyms of each other. And while you're at it, learn how to spell "synonym". The point is that the dictionary is incomplete and innaccurate, and does not list the various possible meanings and usages in a comprehensive way for the newbies out there. My post was for the newbies out there and not for you, and I will let them judge it's usefulness. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
luckyfarang Posted April 10, 2003 Author Report Share Posted April 10, 2003 <<<there are also words in english, that can be translated with several different thai words depending on the context >>> I am working on a list of those, but it is much shorter. Maybe you can add to it when I'm finished. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
markle Posted April 10, 2003 Report Share Posted April 10, 2003 Says Pharcyde: §Ù¡Ô¹Ë¹Ù¨¹§Ù§§§Ç (translation...?) The snake ate mice until it became confused Ps: markle, your (sa)...should be (s-ra)...or what?? Yes but I wanted to leave out the 'r' to save confusion Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
markle Posted April 10, 2003 Report Share Posted April 10, 2003 Says friendlyfiend: ÊÃà (s-ra) can translate as 'vowel'.. where as ÊÃà (sa) with same spelling but a silent 'r' sound means pond, or pool as in sa-wai-nam.. Well done, I'd forgotten about ÊÃÃ(although a transliteration would have it as sa-ra) but you overlooked ÊÃüà (sa pom) 'to wash' (used with hair only) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.