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Mai pen rai = Let by-gones be by-gones ?


Goodthaigirl

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When we say 'Mai pen rai' we usually say (or at least imply) some following words like 'ªèÒ§Ãѹà¶Ãà àÃ×èçÃѹáÅéÇä»áÅéÇ (chang man teh, rueang man leuw pai leuw) ' or sth like that. To me this means very similar to 'Let by-gones be by-gones'

 

 

 

Can I conclude that these two words are similar in meaning?

 

 

 

Insightful explanations from bi-lingual (Thai and English) speakers are very welcome.

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'To let bygones be bygones' - this means to let old grievances be forgotten and never brought to mind (forgive and forget). Which I guess could be somewhat synonymous with rueang man leaw pai leaw - àÃ×èçÃѹáÅéÇä»áÅéÇ. Firstly, I understood this to mean 'forget it, you can't do anything about it now'... Probably more akin to the English phrase 'don't cry over spilt milk' I thought.

 

 

 

Though 'let bygones be bygones' is often used in a context that is a bit more serious than dropping your ice-cream or spilling your beer. An example would be: "He had cheated on her but promised not to do it again, so she decided to let bygones be bygones".

 

 

 

Hope this helps.

 

FF

 

 

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Goodthaigirl:

 

 

 

my meaning was if you were the one that got the worst of the situation the other person ( not just thais) are usually happy to forget it.

 

 

 

I'm sure "oldhands" got the drift of it.

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