rainman Posted May 23, 2004 Share Posted May 23, 2004 okay, its 1:30am and i'm stuck in some of the numbers in thai. i have them all memorized but something doesn't make sense (maybe its just too late). i know 20 should be "yee sib", but where does the "yee" come from? for example, 40 is "see sib", which translated is "four ten". shouldn't 20 be "song sib" ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Basher Posted May 23, 2004 Share Posted May 23, 2004 Don't even try mate, it makes no sense. Just learn it and the use it to wind up your missus/mr when you want to. Numerical Basher Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rainman Posted May 23, 2004 Author Share Posted May 23, 2004 well, 10, 30, 40, 50, etc. all make sense...just the 20 doesn't. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SeaVisionBurma Posted May 23, 2004 Share Posted May 23, 2004 i know 20 should be "yee sib", but where does the "yee" come from? for example, 40 is "see sib", which translated is "four ten". shouldn't 20 be "song sib" ? well, 10, 30, 40, 50, etc. all make sense...just the 20 doesn't. Umm, cant believe I'm reading this. Look at numbers in English for a start. Given we say FORTY, SIXTY, SEVENTY, EIGHTY, etc then by your respective logic above why don't we say TWO-TY, THREE-TY, FIVE-TY for 20, 30, 50, etc?? Explain our logic in the names of english numbers first, before embarking on a fruitless study of why the Thais dont call 20 "SONG-SIP" bizarre Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Basher Posted May 23, 2004 Share Posted May 23, 2004 Don't even try mate, it makes no sense.Just learn it and the use it to wind up your missus/mr when you want to. Numerical Basher I reiterate Bash Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dr_Pat_Pong Posted May 23, 2004 Share Posted May 23, 2004 i know 20 should be "yee sib", but where does the "yee" come from? for example, 40 is "see sib", which translated is "four ten". shouldn't 20 be "song sib" ? well, 10, 30, 40, 50, etc. all make sense...just the 20 doesn't.Umm, cant believe I'm reading this.Look at numbers in English for a start. Given we say FORTY, SIXTY, SEVENTY, EIGHTY, etc then by your respective logic above why don't we say TWO-TY, THREE-TY, FIVE-TY for 20, 30, 50, etc?? Explain our logic in the names of english numbers first, before embarking on a fruitless study of why the Thais dont call 20 "SONG-SIP" bizarre The Thai are unlikely to modify the number system coz someone on Thaivisa doesn't agree with the logic. So lets all get on with life. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ajahnlau Posted May 24, 2004 Share Posted May 24, 2004 So confusing already. You can also say "sow baht" meaning 20baht Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dr_Pat_Pong Posted May 24, 2004 Share Posted May 24, 2004 So confusing already. You can also say "sow baht" meaning 20baht Yeesip is etched in my memory Ajahn. Additional education will addle my brain forever Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Up2U Posted May 24, 2004 Share Posted May 24, 2004 So confusing already. You can also say "sow baht" meaning 20baht Yeesip is etched in my memory Ajahn. Additional education will addle my brain forever And you can say 'yee-ha' for twenty five instead of 'yee-sip-ha' Go with the flow. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rainman Posted May 24, 2004 Author Share Posted May 24, 2004 I'm not trying to change it I was just wondering if there's something really obvious i'm missing or if there is a reason why its not "song sib". It could be that "song sib" means something really nasty, you never know... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
taxexile Posted May 24, 2004 Share Posted May 24, 2004 I was just wondering if there's something really obvious i'm missing got it in one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maerim Posted May 24, 2004 Share Posted May 24, 2004 So confusing already. You can also say "sow baht" meaning 20baht This is true but if you say it in Bkk an awful lot of people won't know what it means. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
meadish_sweetball Posted May 24, 2004 Share Posted May 24, 2004 Most people in Bangkok do know what "sao" means, because they are from the Northeast, North or Laos. Yii-sip is Central Thai, sao is Lao (the Isarn dialects are dialects of Lao, not Thai, and Northern Thai is also closer to Lao than Central Thai). There is probably a reason why 20 is irregular and the rest are not, but I don't know. I'll check it up for you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dr_Pat_Pong Posted May 24, 2004 Share Posted May 24, 2004 So confusing already. You can also say "sow baht" meaning 20baht Yeesip is etched in my memory Ajahn. Additional education will addle my brain forever And you can say 'yee-ha' for twenty five instead of 'yee-sip-ha' Go with the flow. Yip-Har Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Edward B Posted May 24, 2004 Share Posted May 24, 2004 ... where does the "yee" come from? ยี่ (yee, falling tone) is an archaic word for two. Much of the Thai language (NOT the writing) comes from Chinese. It's possible that this is where it came from. Why and when they changed it to สอง (sorng, rising tone) is a mystery to me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dr_Pat_Pong Posted May 24, 2004 Share Posted May 24, 2004 Most people in Bangkok do know what "sao" means, because they are from the Northeast, North or Laos. Yii-sip is Central Thai, sao is Lao (the Isarn dialects are dialects of Lao, not Thai, and Northern Thai is also closer to Lao than Central Thai). There is probably a reason why 20 is irregular and the rest are not, but I don't know. I'll check it up for you. You are always a mine of great information Mr Sweetball. Some of my Viking friends mess up on the English a heck of a lot. Whereas you have made a good fist of parsar Thai. Well done. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Up2U Posted May 24, 2004 Share Posted May 24, 2004 So confusing already. You can also say "sow baht" meaning 20baht Yeesip is etched in my memory Ajahn. Additional education will addle my brain forever And you can say 'yee-ha' for twenty five instead of 'yee-sip-ha' Go with the flow. Yip-Har Not if you come from Texas - always 'Yiiii Haaaaar' Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richard W Posted May 24, 2004 Share Posted May 24, 2004 Yip-Har Are you sure of the vowel length of the first syllable of 'yip haa'? I thought it was short, and got ridiculed for that at thai-language.com. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richard W Posted May 24, 2004 Share Posted May 24, 2004 ... where does the "yee" come from? ยี่ (yee, falling tone) is an archaic word for two. Much of the Thai language (NOT the writing) comes from Chinese. It's possible that this is where it came from. Why and when they changed it to สอง (sorng, rising tone) is a mystery to me. However, if you look at Numbers in Sino-Tibetan Languages, you'll find that "yii-sip-et" (can't hack Thai entry in my lunch hour) for '21' matches some of the Chinese froms quite well. The best match for Thai seems to be a blend of Middle Chinese and Hakka. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richard W Posted May 24, 2004 Share Posted May 24, 2004 There is probably a reason why 20 is irregular and the rest are not, but I don't know. I'll check it up for you. '20' being irregular makes as little sense as ' three score years and ten' = '70 years'. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richard W Posted May 24, 2004 Share Posted May 24, 2004 Umm, cant believe I'm reading this.Look at numbers in English for a start. Given we say FORTY, SIXTY, SEVENTY, EIGHTY, etc then by your respective logic above why don't we say TWO-TY, THREE-TY, FIVE-TY for 20, 30, 50, etc?? Explain our logic in the names of english numbers first, before embarking on a fruitless study of why the Thais dont call 20 "SONG-SIP" bizarre Funny, I had the same reaction to these comments. The questions about English were, of course, answered long ago. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MadFrankie Posted May 25, 2004 Share Posted May 25, 2004 i know 20 should be "yee sib", but where does the "yee" come from? for example, 40 is "see sib", which translated is "four ten". shouldn't 20 be "song sib" ? well, 10, 30, 40, 50, etc. all make sense...just the 20 doesn't.Umm, cant believe I'm reading this.Look at numbers in English for a start. Given we say FORTY, SIXTY, SEVENTY, EIGHTY, etc then by your respective logic above why don't we say TWO-TY, THREE-TY, FIVE-TY for 20, 30, 50, etc?? Explain our logic in the names of english numbers first, before embarking on a fruitless study of why the Thais dont call 20 "SONG-SIP" bizarre The Thai are unlikely to modify the number system coz someone on Thaivisa doesn't agree with the logic. So lets all get on with life. lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RDN Posted May 25, 2004 Share Posted May 25, 2004 What is this thread doing in "Farang Pub" Come on George, give us a Thai Language forum! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
samran Posted May 25, 2004 Share Posted May 25, 2004 ... where does the "yee" come from? ยี่ (yee, falling tone) is an archaic word for two. Much of the Thai language (NOT the writing) comes from Chinese. It's possible that this is where it came from. Why and when they changed it to สอง (sorng, rising tone) is a mystery to me. probably cantonese. I have noticed that most of the counting system from 1 to 100 is quite similar in both languages. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MadFrankie Posted May 25, 2004 Share Posted May 25, 2004 What is this thread doing in "Farang Pub" Come on George, give us a Thai Language forum! thats about the most sensible thing thats been posted on here since christmas Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
meadish_sweetball Posted May 26, 2004 Share Posted May 26, 2004 probably cantonese. I have noticed that most of the counting system from 1 to 100 is quite similar in both languages. They are very similar. Some ethnolinguists maintain that Guangdong was likely dominated by a Tai-speaking group before falling under the influence of the Han Chinese - this would explain some phonetic similarities in Thai and Cantonese. Sorry, I have no source to back up that statement as I cannot remember where I read it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rainman Posted May 26, 2004 Author Share Posted May 26, 2004 i know 20 should be "yee sib", but where does the "yee" come from? for example, 40 is "see sib", which translated is "four ten". shouldn't 20 be "song sib" ? well, 10, 30, 40, 50, etc. all make sense...just the 20 doesn't.Umm, cant believe I'm reading this.Look at numbers in English for a start. Given we say FORTY, SIXTY, SEVENTY, EIGHTY, etc then by your respective logic above why don't we say TWO-TY, THREE-TY, FIVE-TY for 20, 30, 50, etc?? Explain our logic in the names of english numbers first, before embarking on a fruitless study of why the Thais dont call 20 "SONG-SIP" bizarre you cant blame me, my native language isn't english i have no problems with yee sib it was just 2am and i was wondering if there was something i was missing or if its really just the 20 that's different. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
meadish_sweetball Posted May 26, 2004 Share Posted May 26, 2004 you cant blame me, my native language isn't english i have no problems with yee sib it was just 2am and i was wondering if there was something i was missing or if its really just the 20 that's different. Just twenty. Also "ten thousand" and "hundred thousand" are separate words, once you get up to those numbers. In other words, you can't say "one hundred and fifty-four thousand" in Thai, you need to say "one hundredthousand, five tenthousands, four onethousands". 154,325 neung sae:n ha: meu:n si: phan sa:m raw:y yi: sib ha: low rising falling mid low mid rising high falling low falling Colons indicate long vowel sound. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boon Mee Posted May 26, 2004 Share Posted May 26, 2004 As Basher noted, don't try to figure it out. My AUA teacher long ago made a point to tell us don't ask "why" something when learning Thai. It just slows down the process. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andy...mp Posted May 26, 2004 Share Posted May 26, 2004 ?jjj Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now