learning the thai language

Post by **Poko** » February 22, 2016, 9:52 am

Poko first you must learn to read & write English.
You keep commenting on posts which are at least 6 months old.
This one you have commented on advising to the poster to learn Thai was posted on August 4th 2013.
I would hope he has learnt Isaan by now some 30 months later. [-o<

Thank you for your advice.

Post by **pal52** » February 22, 2016, 2:49 pm

Thats Ok Poko
No offence intended.

Post by **BigRick808** » February 23, 2016, 6:24 am

Poko wrote:
Poko first you must learn to read & write English.
You keep commenting on posts which are at least 6 months old.
This one you have commented on advising to the poster to learn Thai was posted on August 4th 2013.
I would hope he has learnt Isaan by now some 30 months later. [-o<
Thank you for your advice.

I've seen many people do the same thing. I've even done that before. I think your advice will be helpful to another person

Post by **parrot** » February 25, 2016, 3:30 pm

I got faked out a few years ago with Tipco's Apple Cider......a big 100% underneath the words Apple Cider. I should have read the finer print......Apple Cider 6%. That was all in English......I just let my eyes get ahead of me with the 100%

Today, while in Makro shopping for coffee, I spotted this bag of "ROASTED COFFEE BLENDS", 860 grams, for a mere 70 Baht. I'm pretty good at knowing something too good to be true, so today I read the finer print:
ข้าวโพดคั่ว 50%
ข้าวคั่ว 25%
กาแฟคั่ว 20%
น้ำตาล 5%

This might help explain why that cup-of-coffee-made-in-an-expensive-Italian-coffee-machine-in-a-fancy-looking-coffee-shop doesn't taste right. It will also help explain why a cup of coffee from one of those roadside carts (กาแฟโบราณ) tastes the way it does. I suspected chicory, but now I know better.

Reason #1847 that a little Thai goes a long way.

Any takers on the translation?

Post by **the-monk** » February 25, 2016, 5:35 pm

Amazing Thailand Another reminder to always carefully read the label. Thanks Parrot

Post by **can123** » February 25, 2016, 6:45 pm

Popcorn 50 %
Rice 25 %
Roasted coffee 20 %
Brown 5 %

This is according to Google translate.

Post by **parrot** » February 25, 2016, 7:37 pm

Actually, roasted corn, roasted rice, roasted coffee, sugar. Any way you cut it, it's hardly coffee.

My wife tells me the old fashioned way of making กาแฟโบราณ (old-fashioned coffee) was to use crushed roasted tamarind seeds instead of roasted corn.

Post by **FrazeeDK** » February 26, 2016, 9:47 pm

we usually buy "formula 2" ground coffee at Makro. It is about 324 baht a kilo as I recall..

Post by **parrot** » April 7, 2016, 11:19 am

The biggest clue (to me) of a foreign word transliterated into Thai is the use of a ์ on the final consonant. It doesn't work 100% of the time, but enough to suit me.

Today, I came across a local website promoting a new housing area in Udon. The name of the area "อินทาวน์" and the word "เดเวลลอปเมนท์"

Here's the blurb with the two words:
โครงการ อินทาวน์ โดยรุ่งเรืองเดเวลลอปเมนท์
ราคา 1.2 ล้านบาท
ทำเลติดสามแยกและถนนทางเข้าสนามบินนานาชาติอุดรธานี แถว ๆ คิวรถสองแถว

Any takers on the two English words?

Post by **FrazeeDK** » April 7, 2016, 9:13 pm

in-town and development..

Post by **parrot** » April 7, 2016, 9:25 pm

อินทาวน์ - in town
เดเวลลอปเมนท์ - development
Well-done!

But if you were speaking it, you'd say "in tao" and "day-wen-lawb-man"

Post by **parrot** » May 19, 2016, 7:13 am

I'm old school when it comes to learning languages.........and the book at
http://pubhtml5.com/unit/huif/basic fits perfectly into that picture. If you want to start learning to read Thai, practice practice practice. One on one with someone who's patient and not afraid to slam his or her hand on the table when you make a mistake. The whole series is on line........the books probably go back 40years.....but are as applicable today as they were then.
Don't fool yourself that you're too old or not good with languages

Post by **parrot** » June 20, 2016, 3:16 pm

Here's a short one I came across today in an advertisement for a new restaurant:

พระเจ้าช่วย

Anyone want to take a stab?

Post by **Somchai499** » June 20, 2016, 3:19 pm

Oh my god

Post by **FrazeeDK** » June 20, 2016, 4:36 pm

God help me. Prajao - god. Chuay - help

Post by **parrot** » June 20, 2016, 6:14 pm

FrazeeDK wrote:God help me. Prajao - god. Chuay - help

That was my reaction, but it seems to be used more as "Oh, my god!"......or maybe, "Good lord!"

On the subject of Thai language.......when I finally buckled down to learn how to read, I needed a decent dictionary. At the time, there wasn't much available on-line. So I bought a big fat Thai-Eng dictionary and learned how to use it. Now, my Thai speaking skills suck, but, once I learned, I could put many Thais to shame looking up a word in a dictionary (Thai-Eng). Nowadays, though, there are too many good dictionaries available either on or off line. And that got me to wondering.......does anyone need dictionary skills anymore......in any language??

Post by **Shado** » June 20, 2016, 6:42 pm

At our house I typically hear and sometimes say, คุณพระช่วย! (khun phra chuai!) = "Oh, my God!" or "Oh, my goodness!".

I'm wondering what the context was with regard to the new restaurant. พระเจ้าช่วย (Oh my God). Was it something relating to the food or a special offer or just an exclamation?

Post by **parrot** » June 20, 2016, 7:10 pm

Shado wrote:At our house I typically hear and sometimes say, คุณพระช่วย! (khun phra chuai!) = "Oh, my God!" or "Oh, my goodness!".

I'm wondering what the context was with regard to the new restaurant. พระเจ้าช่วย (Oh my God). Was it something relating to the food or a special offer or just an exclamation?

The photo was off of an Udon fb page https://www.facebook.com/%E0%B8%82%E0%B ... 144210623/

It appears to be in reaction to a fried banana (ก้ลวยแซก) vendor's options: fried taro (common), fried tofu (common), fried daikon (apparently not common)

At least, that's my take on the sign

Post by **Shado** » June 20, 2016, 7:51 pm

Thanks parrot. I'm a fried banana fan myself (really good ones). Actually, we sometimes add daikon to our stir fries at home. They really get sweet when stir fried or cooked in soup.

Post by **parrot** » July 31, 2016, 3:57 pm

Learning to read Thai can be a money saver! How? Many of the big stores offer 'buy 2 get 1 free' schemes, but in most all the cases, the signs are in Thai.
For example, the latest flyer from Tesco (below) shows a number of deals:
Deals like.....buy one, get the second at 50% off. Or, buy one, get one free.
The signs in the store will most likely be like the signs in the flyer....all in Thai.

http://www.tescolotus.com/promotion/view/535

Besides offering some of the cheapest prices on dry goods, Ngeesoon regularly offers shopping deals like the one offered in the sign below:
It's for Tipco juice products....the sign says buy two carrot or pro-fiber cherry and get one liter of free. When I inquired with one of the workers, she told me the promotion was good for any flavor. So, I bought two of my favorite vodka mixing blends and received one free at checkout. 51 Baht per container (Tesco regularly sells Tipco for 59-64 Baht)....then one 51 Baht container for free. That's a deal.
Ngeesoon has deals throughout the store.....but you'll have to navigate the Thai signs to know how to cash in.

A little Thai can save a lot of cash.