learning the thai language

Thai Society and culture, Living in Thailand.
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parrot
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learning the thai language

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??



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Shado
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learning the thai 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?

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learning the thai language

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
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learning the thai language

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.

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learning the thai language

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.
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Re: learning the thai language

Post by parrot » August 1, 2016, 6:00 pm

Thinking again about how learning Thai can help you save money:

You need to fill up your 70 liter truck....today, tomorrow, or Wed. You see this headline in today's (1 Aug) Thairath newspaper.

พรุ่งนี้ ตี5 ปตท.-บางจาก ปรับลดน้ำมันทุกชนิด 40 สต./ล.-E85 ลง 20 สต.

Assuming you're keen on saving a few baht, what do you do?

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Re: learning the thai language

Post by parrot » August 15, 2016, 3:52 pm

While at my now favorite greasy spoon for a dollop of fiery basil pork over rice, I noticed the owner had posted the sign below outside her shop.

It made me think of a homeowner perhaps in the US, hard at work in his/her yard, when a new immigrant neighbor comes along and allows his dog to deface the newly planted flowers......despite the sign prominently placed in the yard.

I'll be the first to admit that learning Thai isn't easy........but it's not as difficult as most people make it out to be. You can't hear tones? No problem.....you don't have to hear tones to read/write.

Here's the sign, in individual words

จอด รถ แล้ว (three very common words)
กรุณา (very common) ดับ เครื่อง

Hint: The shop keeper prefers the customers to smell the freshly cooked food rather than fumes from a running vehicle.
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Re: learning the thai language

Post by FrazeeDK » August 15, 2016, 5:15 pm

After You Stop Car, Please turn off your engine...
Dave

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Re: learning the thai language

Post by parrot » August 15, 2016, 6:42 pm

FrazeeDK wrote:After You Stop Car, Please turn off your engine...

And don't let that puppy of yours pee on my flower bed! Good work!

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Re: learning the thai language

Post by parrot » October 1, 2016, 3:53 pm

If you're convinced you will never learn to read Thai, start with some easy common words and build from there. The next 9 or 10 days is the vegetarian festival in Thailand......you'll see lots of roadside stands and restaurants hawking 'vegetarian' dishes during this time. One area was especially busy today......near Maya Restaurant, between Phosri and Srisuk Rds.
You'll see signs advertising 'vegetarian' throughout the year....but more so during the festival.
เ = has the vowel sound of long A (Abe, ape, age)
+
จ = has the consonent sound of a J (jet, joe)
เ+จ = เจ = jay
The signs are almost always in yellow and red.

When you see the sign, tell yourself you 'can read' Thai........okay, maybe just a little bit, but now you can identify vegetarian restaurants from the comfort of your vehicle. That's more than many other expats can do.
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Re: learning the thai language

Post by parrot » January 23, 2017, 1:55 pm

It seems more and more of the Thai language requires less and less vocabulary knowledge....at least for most expats. The topic of this Sunday's Thai Rath cartoon is an example:
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Re: learning the thai language

Post by vidmaster » January 23, 2017, 6:02 pm

The font styles don't help either

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Re: learning the thai language

Post by parrot » January 23, 2017, 6:23 pm

No doubt about it, script is difficult to decypher. When I decided to try and tackle reading script, I stuck with a single cartoonist in Thai Rath newspaper. It took some doing, but eventually I figured out the guy's style.....and that has helped me read other styles as well. Sometimes it can still be a battle......but it's sort of like a crossword puzzle for me.

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Re: learning the thai language

Post by parrot » February 25, 2017, 3:00 pm

Sometimes it doesn't help being able to read the English part of a Thai sign......although I didn't snap a photo of the sign, I saw a small shop sign this morning that said:
(in English) Pines Copy Writings

I suppose the shop might produce term papers or book reports for the lazy student or do speeches for a first lady.

But the Thai says: Pines ถ่ายเอกสาร

On the other hand, maybe Rajabhat University should have posted the sign below in Thai only.....rather than confuse the English reader.
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Re: learning the thai language

Post by parrot » March 3, 2017, 3:53 pm

International stop, yield, warning signs are pretty easy to read.......but signs like the one in the photo aren't. The sign warns motorists that 7 people have already lost their lives on the road ahead (curves).
ระวัง...! warning
ตายแล้ว died already
7 ศพ 7 dead people
ถนนข้างหน้า on the road ahead
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Re: learning the thai language

Post by parrot » March 17, 2017, 3:14 pm

When I'm at banks, stores, checkouts, I often try to read the person's name.....and thank them, using their name, when I'm finished. Sometimes the names aren't familiar......or I don't have enough time to decypher an unfamiliar name.
Today, while in Bangkok Bank, my teller's name struck me as unusual.......so I snapped a photo.......to which I was politely admonished for taking a photo inside a bank. Who'd'a'known?!
Anyway, anyone want to take a stab at this person's name?
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Re: learning the thai language

Post by d p meijer » March 17, 2017, 6:19 pm

samarad

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Re: learning the thai language

Post by parrot » March 17, 2017, 6:58 pm

The การันต์ gar ran over the final consonant in his name is a give-away (for me). It's a signal that the word may (big MAY) not be a Thai word at all, but more likely an English word.
So take Samarad..............and think "English" word


Smart

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Re: learning the thai language

Post by parrot » March 17, 2017, 6:58 pm

Of course, Thais would say sa-mart

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Re: learning the thai language

Post by parrot » April 20, 2017, 3:08 pm

gboard is a google feature (android) that gives your smartphone keyboard a boost. Extremely accurate glide typing.....or, press the mike key on the keyboard and your spoken message will be typed automatically.......with a high degree of accuracy. Here's the better part: add Thai language to your keyboard and you can do the same things with Thai. You can use it to test your pronunciation. I've tried, on a number of occasions to purposely mispronounce a Thai word (close, but no cigar, as my Thai teacher would say) and the program won't recognize the word. But if you get the pronunciation reasonably close, it will.

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