luckyfarang Posted October 15, 2001 Report Share Posted October 15, 2001 TAEM® is a very useful Thai idiom that everyone should know. The nearest I can translate it literally is "extra", "bonus" or "additional". I would be curious what the dictionary says and what the more fluent expats might say. But, as with many Thai words, the true translation is knowing the usage of the word, not trying unsuccessfuly to approximate a literal translation. KAUNG® TAEM®....."an additional thing". This is the free toothbrush attached to the 3 pack of toothpaste, the tiny bottle of conditioner attached to the bottle of shampoo, etc. The bonus promotional item. SEUU(h)NEUNG(l)TAEM®NEUNG(l).... "Buy one and get one free", "two for the price of one" At the market you may buy a dozen oranges and the market lady may throw in one extra, smiling and simply say "TAEM®" Once in Chiangmai, my girlfriend in a very accusatory tone said "KHUN MEE KON TAEM® MAI(h)? I did not fully understand the word TAEM® at the time and had only heard it used to mean "bonus", but I'm pretty sure she was accusing me of fooling around, and at the time I was being completely faithful. This might translate to "do you have an extra/additional person?" Ordinarily she would use the word "CHOO(h)" meaning "illicit lover", so even after consulting the dictionary this puzzled me. To my way of thinking, a "bonus person" should be another girl that she brings home to sleep with us. In Thailand, unlike at home, I can use the Thai-English dictionary because I just have my lady of the moment look up the word and read it to me and explain the usage. Unfortunately many Thai dictionaries resemble more of an attempt to translate a Funk & Wagnals word for word into Thai. I'm rambling now, better sign off. [ October 15, 2001: Message edited by: luckyfarang ] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted October 15, 2001 Report Share Posted October 15, 2001 My dictionary defines this word (แถม as a verb meaning "plus; add as a gift; give". Obviously, it can also be used as an adjective. I agree; a very useful word (especially when bargaining for something and you want to try to get them to throw something extra into the deal). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pescator Posted October 15, 2001 Report Share Posted October 15, 2001 quote: Originally posted by luckyfarang: TAEM® is a very useful Thai idiom that everyone should know. The nearest I can translate it literally is "extra", "bonus" or "additional". I would be curious what the dictionary says and what the more fluent expats might say. But, as with many Thai words, the true translation is knowing the usage of the word, not trying unsuccessfuly to approximate a literal translation. snip [ October 15, 2001: Message edited by: luckyfarang ] My wife`s name is TAEM(a name of which she is not particularly proud) so she tells everybody that her name is LEK. Initially I thought that too until I went to her village where everybody called her TAEM much to my surprise. The reason for her being called that is that her mother was rather old when she unexpectedly got pregnant at the age of middle forties. So giving birth to my wife was sort of a "bonus" not calculated with. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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