zanemay Posted June 21, 2002 Report Share Posted June 21, 2002 I thought I was beginning to get this, but then one person used dai when I thought pen was the standard. Or are they interchageable? "poot pasa thai mai pen" or "mai dai" or "mai owk" ? "wai nam mai pen" ? Yes? Why? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mentors Posted June 21, 2002 Report Share Posted June 21, 2002 mai owk is only colloquial speech and typical bargirl language. 'mai pen' means 'is not/not be', mai dai means 'can not' - i think. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted June 22, 2002 Report Share Posted June 22, 2002 ?one person used dai when I thought pen was the standard. Or are they interchangeable?? Probably for a non native speaker those could be interchangeable, although they are different concepts the meaning would be understood. "poot pasa thai mai pen" = "(I) don't know how to speak Thai" "poot mai dai" = "can't speak" Know how but for whatever reason can't. I?ll take a stab at ?mai owk?: "poot mai owk" = You know or have an idea of what you would like to say but you can't think of the proper way to say it. "wai nam mai pen" = don't know how to swim "wai nam mai dai" = know how to swim but for whatever reason can't (your sick, parents said no etc). No doubt there are better explanations than mine out there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted June 22, 2002 Report Share Posted June 22, 2002 I've heard something similar, where "mai pen" means categorically not capable of, vs "mai dai" which is more situational, i.e. in principle possible but cannot. However, in usage, as far as I can tell, they are fully interchangable. If I say, "poot pasaa Thai mai dai," it doesn't mean, "yeah, I can speak Thai, but I don't feel like it right know," it means "I cannot speak Thai." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted June 22, 2002 Report Share Posted June 22, 2002 I posted a question on this before: http://board.nanaplaza.com/showthreaded.php?Cat=&Board=UBB8&Number=36002&page=&view=&sb=&o= [color:blue]?one person used dai when I thought pen was the standard. Or are they interchangeable?? Probably for a non native speaker those could be interchangeable, although they are different concepts the meaning would be understood.color=blue> It could be some Thais are lazy and use them loosely. Much like many English speakers use "can" when they should use "may". "Can I go to the bathroom, Mrs. Peabody?" "I should hope so, young man, you're 14 years old." [color:blue]However, in usage, as far as I can tell, they are fully interchangable. If I say, "poot pasaa Thai mai dai," it doesn't mean, "yeah, I can speak Thai, but I don't feel like it right know," it means "I cannot speak Thai."color=blue> My guess is that people treat "mai dai" as a subset of "mai bpen". "wai nam mai dai" means you are unable to swim right now and it could be for many reasons including that you don't know how (although you are being not very precise). "poot pasaa Thai mai dai" is pretty unambigious this way, however, so it is acceptable. However, I don't think you can ever use "mai bpen" if you mean you know how, but just can't right now. What does the word "owk" literally translate to? I've never heard the phrase "mai owk". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted June 22, 2002 Report Share Posted June 22, 2002 I agree with you. Thinking about a similar situation in English if somebody were to ask, "Can you swim?" an appropriate response would be, "Yes, I can swim." Fully understood to mean you are capable, have the knowledge i.e. pen à êê»çè¹. It is colloquial to interchange dai ä´é with pen à êê»çè¹ (and sometimes wai äËÇ). I stand corrected. PS I couldn?t resist the temptation to insert Thai fonts using MS Word2002 on a non Thai OS as I just learned how to. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted June 22, 2002 Report Share Posted June 22, 2002 "owk" or Ãá means 'out'. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted June 22, 2002 Report Share Posted June 22, 2002 ?owk? Ãá literally translates to ?out?. A common phrase "kit mai awk" ¤Ô´äÃèÃá something like the thought won?t come out, indecisive. Sorry, I can?t think of a direct translation (kit mai awk). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted June 22, 2002 Report Share Posted June 22, 2002 Okay thanks. "awk" I know, but with the tones and subtle consonant differences, I'm never even sure of that. I take it there's a very narrow range of activities that you can use this with. You probably can't say "wai nam mai awk", unless maybe you used to know how to swim, but suddenly your body spazzed . How about "jam mai awk"? I would use that to mean something like a brain cramp where you can't quite put your finger on a name (that happens to me a lot and usually I end up battered and bruised). Whenever I get too creative in Thai I get into trouble (more than usual even). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BkkShaggy Posted June 22, 2002 Report Share Posted June 22, 2002 HI Mentors, >mai owk is only colloquial speech and typical bargirl language. I don't think so. Everybody uses the words. bahnawk's explanation is perfect. >FarangDang: >How about "jam mai awk"? I would use that to mean something like a brain cramp where you can't quite put your finger on a name (that happens to me a lot and usually I end up battered and bruised). I think it's 'kid mai awk'. The Thais use this expression in your example instead of 'jam' (remember) in English. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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