learning the thai language

Thai Society and culture, Living in Thailand.
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Laan Yaa Mo
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learning the thai language

Post by Laan Yaa Mo » August 5, 2013, 1:34 pm

I cannot write it on here, but typing I would follow speech and say, 'ชื่อบ๊อบอยู่อำเภอเมืองอุดรธานี'.


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learning the thai language

Post by parrot » August 5, 2013, 2:30 pm

Red wolf, the books await you. Got your pm. How about a coffee at book house.......you name the date and time. Please pm with your phone number.

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learning the thai language

Post by rjj04 » August 6, 2013, 10:52 am

/rant on
The difference between two characters/fonts in Thai can be just a slight ripple in a wave, and yet, on the internet especially, the Thai fonts will be smaller than the easily discernable English fonts. Why? It is so frustrating, I must zoom the page almost every time I want to read some webpage written in Thai. :evil: If it were not for this fact, I think I could learn much faster. I suppose if I had been reading Thai for twenty years I could use the context of the sentence to figure out what the probable word is and therefore the character.
/rant off

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learning the thai language

Post by Frankie 1 » August 7, 2013, 11:38 am

rjj04 wrote:/rant on
The difference between two characters/fonts in Thai can be just a slight ripple in a wave, and yet, on the internet especially, the Thai fonts will be smaller than the easily discernable English fonts. Why? It is so frustrating, I must zoom the page almost every time I want to read some webpage written in Thai. :evil: If it were not for this fact, I think I could learn much faster. I suppose if I had been reading Thai for twenty years I could use the context of the sentence to figure out what the probable word is and therefore the character.
/rant off
I had the same problem until recently I started to recognize words as words. In the beginning it's difficult when you stil have to search for letters and have to try to make up a word from the several letters. However, when you keep practicing, you will start to recognize words as words. Then it becomes a lot easier, and will allow you to read a lot faster.

Just keep practicing, it will become easier. Hang in there.

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learning the thai language

Post by parrot » August 11, 2013, 8:31 pm

Today's ThaiRath cartoon not one of the easiest, but since it was titled "Amazing Thailand", I couldn't resist:

A loose translation:


Amazing Thailand:
On the lookout for citizens who protest

Constructed the largest rubber stamp in the world (Parliament's action on reconciliation)

Free oil for the taking available on the beach

Where the country is managed by remote control

Rewarding those who aren't careful using Facebook with free food and accomodation

Where the parliament has the duty to decide (court) cases instead of the court system
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Laan Yaa Mo
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Post by Laan Yaa Mo » August 23, 2013, 10:59 am

About a week or so ago, I came across a Thai or Isaan expression I had never heard before. It is, 'som so'. 'Som' rhymes with the French word for apple, 'pomme'. 'Som so' refers to someone who has sex at night and again in the morning, or at least that is what I was told.
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learning the thai language

Post by KB_Texas » August 23, 2013, 1:33 pm

Laan Yaa Mo wrote:About a week or so ago, I came across a Thai or Isaan expression I had never heard before. It is, 'som so'. 'Som' rhymes with the French word for apple, 'pomme'. 'Som so' refers to someone who has *** at night and again in the morning, or at least that is what I was told.
So som so means normal? ;) :lol: \:D/ (I assume the censored word is s-e-x since it is 3 letters?)

KB

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Post by parrot » August 23, 2013, 3:00 pm

I'm not familiar with the term....but สม (som) means 'to come together, to join' and is used in a variety of ways to describe terms related to recreational activities (usually) in bed.

โซ (so) means 'hungry, starving, famished'

put the two words together and it makes sense.....but without seeing/hearing the actual Thai, it's hard to know for sure.

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Post by Laan Yaa Mo » August 23, 2013, 4:37 pm

Thanks Khun Parrot, that must be it.

I remember hearing the Northern Thai word. 'saaa', many years ago from village Chiang Mai Province to describe someone that was in need of s-e-x.
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Post by parrot » August 25, 2013, 1:21 pm

Sunday's ThaiRath cartoon concerns the recent activities in Parliament.......I was stumped on the very first word in the title. The letter that looks like an underlined 44 didn't fit any I knew in the alphabet. Only as I was enjoying a bowl of duck soup and meditating on the word did I realize what it is.....and thus, figured out what the first word in the title is.
Anyone out there want to take a stab at the first word? (No fair posting if you use a long/short haired translator).
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Post by parrot » August 25, 2013, 2:38 pm

The photo is of one of my favorite neighbors.....a verrrry tradition Thai farmer. Probably the fanciest thing in his arsenal is an iron buffalo. As I was passing by on my bike yesterday I saw him patrolling his rice fields. By the time I got my camera ready, he was heading home....so I asked him to pose for a photo. Not as good as the first zen 'photo'....but still shows the Thai word that crossed my mind when I first saw him.

I asked him in my terrible Thai....."นั้นคืออาวุธทัี่สำคัญที่สุดของชาวนาใช่มั้ย?"

Although I'm probably the only person in the neighborhood who he speaks Thai with, he understood what I said and answered in the affirmative.

The key word that crossed my mind as I saw him wielding his hoe was "อาวุธ"

Any guesses?
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learning the thai language

Post by GT93 » August 25, 2013, 2:47 pm

I'm full of red wine (7.45 pm Sunday) and haven't lived in Thailand for over 5 years. Without a dictionary I understood the question at my third reading. Weapon.
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Post by parrot » August 25, 2013, 3:49 pm

Hat's off to you (as it seems you're wearing one!).
When I go on vacation back to the US.....for even a few weeks, I fear I'll lose whatever I've learned. It happened to me with Chinese....2 solid years worth of learning and another decade+ of using the language......poof, gone up in smoke!

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Post by GT93 » August 25, 2013, 4:02 pm

In about 2005 or 2006 I walked past what looked like a Thai bar that was closed in the early afternoon and on the door I saw in Thai "Weapons forbidden". I didn't know the word weapon at that stage and had to look it up in a dictionary. I don't usually learn Thai in such a memorable way.

My Mrs. who lives most of the year in Thailand writes Thai to me so that helps keep me on the ball. My memory and brain seems to be better with written rather than spoken Thai. There's a fair bit of Isan spoken at home so that makes the spoken language more difficult.

She was a farmer so ชาวนา is an easy one.
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learning the thai language

Post by parrot » October 7, 2013, 6:13 pm

Learning to read a little bit of Thai can go a long way to making your life here more enjoyable. Yesterday I was in a rush to get my car cleaned up (post rainy season). I stopped by a shop near Wat Po on Phrosri Rd but there were several vehicles already waiting. I decided to go hunting for another. Around the corner, another shop advertising ล้าง อัด ฉีด had only one car in the bay. Cleaned in and out, top and bottom, armor-all'd throughout.....150 baht. Had I not been able to read the sign, I'd have been hunting for a long time.
Anyone want to take a guess on ล้างอัดฉิด?

Next time....we'll explore the sign that often accompanies ล้างอัดฉีด.......กาแฟ or กาแฟสด......more and more, the two go together like soup and sandwich.
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learning the thai language

Post by trubrit » October 7, 2013, 6:34 pm

You may not realise but the Thai's are very nervous of Farang in general. This accounts for a lot of the bad experiences some have when out and about .I notice when they realise I can speak Thai there is a noticeable relaxing
and out comes the smile which we all love .That alone makes it worthwhile learning for me . \:D/
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Post by Nick@AUA » October 26, 2013, 11:26 am

Ok Thai experts, here's one for you. Kun Nai คุณนาย. I'm told it means ma'am or madame, but I've heard it being used colloquially between friends. What is it's real usage, and who uses it?

Thanks.

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Post by faranginUTH » October 26, 2013, 1:31 pm

my firefox mouse over on the thai text says "madam" so its for anyone that is polite, but in thai-language.com it says: khoonM maaiF

khun nai means big boss

I'll add this to my vocabulary, and its the lesson of the day for me!

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Post by parrot » October 26, 2013, 3:12 pm

Caution: If you care to discuss this subject in depth with your wife, I'd suggest a healthy shot of scotch beforehand to help prevent a short circuit.

There's jao-kaawng-bahn (เจ้าของบ้าน) for everyday people (roughly "landlord, landlady, owner, boss). If you were a delivery person knocking on the door of an enlisted person at the military base, you might ask the person at the door "เจ้าของบ้านอยู่ไหน"....is the boss of the house home?"

There's khun-nai (คุณนาย) that most dictionaries will show as Mrs. or Madam. But reality is that it seems to be reserved for the upper (not the top)crust. So that same delivery person knocking on the door of the officer housing would inquire "คุณนายอยู่ไหน).....is the madam of the house home?"

Then, there's khun-ying (คุณอญิง), that most dictionaries show as princess, dame, and the upper crust of society. Folks like Chavalit's wife are Khun Ying.......I'm pretty sure to get the official designation, you attend one of those freemason-like ceremonies held by HM. A four-star general's wife (or wives) would likely be a Khun Ying.

I don't think anyone will swat your head if you refer to a woman as Khun Nai.....but it's probably better to leave the Khun Ying calling for folks who are wearing strings of pearls around their necks and large diamonds on their hands.

All very unofficial.......so if anyone out there has something to add/delete/edit, please feel free to chime in.

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Post by parrot » November 2, 2013, 7:47 pm

On another thread, there was a short discussion about the correct spelling of the Robes Offering Ceremony. Some expats spell it khatin, some kathin......but all Thais spell it the same way......กฐิน. That makes it so much easier to remember.
We're planning a trip to Trang soon......we're booked at the Sivalai Beach Resort (thanks Mak!). I called up their website today and saw this:
"The legendary warm welcome of its local population, the extreme beauty of its long white sand beaches, and its pristine clear water rich in aquatic life, make Mook island (also spelled Ko mook, Koh Muk, or Ko Muk) a “must-see” place to stay in Trang Province."
The interesting thing about all those variations is......no matter how it's spelled above, you're hardly likely to pronounce the first syllable correctly unless you learn to read Thai.......เกาะ มุก......the first syllable is like a shortened 'gought' where you swallow the 't' sound at the end. It's nothing at all like Ko or Koh.....in my book anyway.

Having gone down the wrong path to learning Thai years ago, the best advice I can give someone who's interested in learning the language is: learn to read the Thai way of spelling right from the beginning.

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