Hi,

 

as comment to a published child picture I found the phrase "แต่เด็กเลย" several times.   For instance: น่ารักแต่เด็กเลย  or สวยแต่เด็กเลยนะค่ะ  So it seems to be a common phrase.

 

Searching with google I found other examples:

เจ็บแต่เด็กเลยนะ

ดูกันแต่เด็กเลยน่ะ

 

How would you translate this phrase to english.

 

Thanks 

Taunusianer

น่ารักแต่เด็กเลย  or สวยแต่เด็กเลยนะค่ะ

 

We use แต่เด็ก with kids only and in a sweet way.

And sometimes with teens in a sarcastic way, meaning too early.

 

the word ค่ะ (kha) is the polite word for females adding at the end of the sentence.

 

น่ารัก (na rak) = cute, sweet

สวย (suai) = beautiful

แต่ (tae) = since

เด็ก  = a kid, young
เลย (lei) เลยนะ (lei na) = indeed, truely

 

In the Thai language, we normally omit "you" as the subject of the sentence.

 

The full sentence should be < เธอ (ter = you ) น่ารักแต่เด็กเลย 

(We use เธอ with people who are younger than us)

 

In English is " You are cute since you are young.

We talk like this when we see a sweet girl. She is cute now and we think she will be beautiful when she grows up.

You can change from น่ารัก to different adjective like ซน (sone) naughty เก่ง (keng) clever, good at something

 

ดูกันแต่เด็กเลยน่ะ

You are in the relationship since you are you.

This means I think you are too young to have a boyfriend.
 

I googled it and found videos of children, หัดอมแต่เด็กเลย หล่อแต่เด็กเลย พริ่วแด่เด็กเลย so it appears to say as a child. add นะ and perhaps it asks for agreement. The implication being that it forecasts future characteristics. If an adult กล่อแต่เด็กเลย do you think that "he has been handsome since childhood" would adequately translate it?


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Interesting replies. After also searching google, I was thinking แด่เด็กเลย meant something along the lines of "but so young" or "but only a child" and was used with descriptions normally associated with adults. But tgeezer's "since childhood" or noppanat's "too early" which I would reword as "from an earlier than normal age" seem to make the most sense.

3 hours ago, noppanat said:

We use แต่เด็ก with kids only and in a sweet way.

And sometimes with teens in a sarcastic way, meaning too early.

 

 

In English is " You are cute since you are young.

We talk like this when we see a sweet girl. She is cute now and we think she will be beautiful when she grows up.
 

 

Dear Noppanat,

 

thanks. I think thats the explanation I was looking for.

 

 

3 hours ago, tgeezer said:

If an adult กล่อแต่เด็กเลย do you think that "he has been handsome since childhood" would adequately translate it?
 

equilant saying. Thanks as well, tgeezer

ตั้ง is omitted. The word is really ตั้งแต่ which means since.  น่ารักตั้งแต่เด็กเลย  you(or I or s/he) is/are cute since you(or I or s/he) was/were a child