Guest Posted December 27, 2002 Report Share Posted December 27, 2002 I am confused about "lai" which is supposed to mean both many and several. But many and several are totally different things in English! WHat are the correct words to say "many" and "several" Also, my "Essential Thai" book says ready is "riap roi" but it also says that "riap roi" means well-dressed or something. Which is right? Another book says that "ready" is "set laeo" which I thought meant finished! Ready and finished are not the same thing!!! Can someone explain? Thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted December 27, 2002 Report Share Posted December 27, 2002 Your book is correct. "Lai" can indeed mean either several or many. If you want to be more specific, you should use the Thai equivalent of "three or four", "five or six", or "over ten", etc. These constructions are commonly used when you want to be a bit more specific as to how many things you're talking about. "Riap roi" can indeed have many meanings, including ready, well-dressed, well-mannered, and finished. Who says a word can have only one meaning? You must look at the context in which the word is used to understand its meaning. "Set laew" can also mean finished, completed, or ready. It is used when someone is acting on something else -- i.e., "I finished fixing the car" would be "pom sorm rot set laew", or "pom sorm rot riap roi laew". "Jop laew" also means something is finished or over, but usually when something is happening on its own instead of when someone is causing something to happen. Like "the movie is over" is "nang jop laew" -- not "nang set laew" or "nang riap roi laew". But "I finished watching the movie" would be "pom du nang set laew" or "pom du nang riap roi laew". To make matters more confusing, riap roi can also be added to "set" or "jop" and laew to add emphasis: "pom sorm rot set riap roi laew" ("I've completely finished fixing the car") or "nang jop riap roi laew" ("the movie is completely over"). You can really only get a feel for these things by listening a lot to the language being spoken by native speakers, so don't give up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pescator Posted December 28, 2002 Report Share Posted December 28, 2002 And to add to the confusion. Laai also means "very" or "very much" in Issarn. Cheers Hua Nguu Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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