'Mitr' and 'di chan'.

[clearmirror]

Clarification needed, I've seen romanised 'mitr' used here and there in Thailand, what does it mean. Never heard a Thai speaker say it. Likewise 'di chan' is all over beginners phrase books as an alternative to pom(me), never heard it uttered on Thai soil. Clarification appreciated. 

[jackdd]

mitr (มิตร) = something like friend

di chan (ดิฉัน) = formal form of chan (ฉัน)

I did ever see them written somewhere, but i think i never heard anybody use them when speaking

Edited August 8, 2019 by jackdd

[DavidHouston]

"Mitr" means "friend". The roman transcription of the Thai spelling indicates that the word is derived from Sanskrit. The Sanskrit dictionary shows the roman transcription for the word for "friend" as "mitra".

In all but the most formal uses, "dichan" has been shortened to "chan". It is not a direct alternative to "phom" because "chan" is generally used by females whereas "phom" is generally used by males.

[uhuh]

I haven't heard "dichan" very often,  but it is not unusual. 

It was used

- by an educated "good girl" (but not HiSo and not highly educated, still a simple person) 

- towards a man who was a stranger,  older than she and of considerably higher social status 

 

You can also hear it on TV

[sunnyboy2018]

Doesn't  'Chan' feature a lot in Google tranlate app.

[otherstuff1957]

Thai's rarely use pronouns, especially when referring to themselves. 

[Oxx]

4 hours ago, sunnyboy2018 said:

Doesn't  'Chan' feature a lot in Google tranlate app.

 

Yes, but that's because Google Translate doesn't understand gender, so uses a gender-neutral pronoun.

[Oxx]

12 hours ago, clearmirror said:

Never heard a Thai speaker say it.

 

Then you've not been paying attention.  The Sam Mitr faction of the Palang Pracharath Party has featured heavily in the news in recent months.

 

Sam Mitr is also the name of a well known automotive manufacturer.

 

And in every supermarket you'll find Mitr Phol brand sugar.

 

 

[bheard]

 
Then you've not been paying attention.  The Sam Mitr faction of the Palang Pracharath Party has featured heavily in the news in recent months.
 
Sam Mitr is also the name of a well known automotive manufacturer.
 
And in every supermarket you'll find Mitr Phol brand sugar.
 
 

And right up through Isan you'll travel on ถนน​ มิตรภาพ​ Mittraphap Road - friendship road.

Sent from my SM-T385 using Thailand Forum - Thaivisa mobile app

[DavidHouston]

How about the following: 

"พรรคของเราสร้างมิตรทางการเมืองมาตลอด" [Our political party has always built political friendships.]  

"การนั่งรถบัสไปด้วยกัน มันสร้างมิตรภาพให้เด็กในทีม" [Going together by bus builds friendships among the kids in the team.]

"เราผูกมิตรกับหน้าห้องอธิบดีไว้ วันหลังมาติดต่องานจะได้สะดวก." [We made friends with the guy who sits in from of the Director’s door; in the future we can get our business done more conveniently.]  

[Damrongsak]

Saw this on a blog:

 

Actually "chan" ฉัน is gender neutral. However, the usage of it is a bit more complicated. It would have been used only when there is some intimacy between the users. Such as between friends, relatives or husband wife. It's perfectly OK for either male of female to use "chan".

In formal settings however, male should use ผม phom and female ดิฉัน dichan. A female cannot ever use phom nor can a male ever use dichan.

 

--------------------------------------

see:  http://womenlearnthai.com/index.php/thai-time-using-pronouns-like-a-pro-part-3-to-he-she-or-not-to-he-she-that-is-the-question/

 

http://womenlearnthai.com/index.php/thai-time-using-pronouns-like-a-pro-part-2-what-should-i-call-you/

 

http://womenlearnthai.com/index.php/thai-time-using-pronouns-like-a-pro-part-1-how-to-say-i-in-thai

[sunnyboy2018]

3 hours ago, Damrongsak said:

Saw this on a blog:

 

Actually "chan" ฉัน is gender neutral. However, the usage of it is a bit more complicated. It would have been used only when there is some intimacy between the users. Such as between friends, relatives or husband wife. It's perfectly OK for either male of female to use "chan".

In formal settings however, male should use ผม phom and female ดิฉัน dichan. A female cannot ever use phom nor can a male ever use dichan.

 

--------------------------------------

see:  http://womenlearnthai.com/index.php/thai-time-using-pronouns-like-a-pro-part-3-to-he-she-or-not-to-he-she-that-is-the-question/

 

http://womenlearnthai.com/index.php/thai-time-using-pronouns-like-a-pro-part-2-what-should-i-call-you/

 

http://womenlearnthai.com/index.php/thai-time-using-pronouns-like-a-pro-part-1-how-to-say-i-in-thai

Very informative 

[uhuh]

Just now, Damrongsak said:

Saw this on a blog:

 

Actually "chan" ฉัน is gender neutral. However, the usage of it is a bit more complicated. It would have been used only when there is some intimacy between the users. Such as between friends, relatives or husband wife.

Not true for the social classes that many farangs in Thailand interact with. 

Your average Isan farmer's daughter will not use chan when speaking to her Thai bf, she might rather use gu.

[Damrongsak]

9 minutes ago, sunnyboy2018 said:

Very informative 

40+ years ago, a fellow Peace Corps buddy lived in BKK.  He was thin, lanky Texan with a nice grin.  He could flag a cab and get a 5 Baht lower price than some local Thais, just by his personality.  He'd sweet talk them and bargain, used the word "Chan" and was just charming.  Of course back then, not too many farangs spoke Thai or took the time to deal with a lowly cab driver.  I think the cabbies did it for their own amusement.

 

He was also pretty good with the bar girls at Patpong.  In fact, he was hired as an extra for a couple days for the movie "Deer Hunter".  He appeared on screen for maybe 10 seconds, dressed as a G.I. in front of a bar, chatting up the girls.  The movie company rented a street at Patpong and put up signs in Vietnamese.  No kidding. He said the Thai extras who were hired to simulate the storming of the embassy gates in Saigon went nuts.  Get paid to be in a movie and party.  Happy times.

 

 

[Damrongsak]

23 minutes ago, uhuh said:

Not true for the social classes that many farangs in Thailand interact with. 

Your average Isan farmer's daughter will not use chan when speaking to her Thai bf, she might rather use gu.

I think that meant that males would only use "chan" in those situations.  I get you on the Isaan stuff.  My wife is a small-town Loei girl. Well spoken except when the family gets together.  Then it's all Lao talk. 

[uhuh]

Gu is standard Thai,  like chan or dichan.

Gu is another register, i.e. much less formal. 

[Joe Mcseismic]

3 minutes ago, uhuh said:

Gu is standard Thai,  like chan or dichan.

Gu is another register, i.e. much less formal. 

According to the Fundamentals of the Thai Language, the word Gu (or Goo) is very impolite and should never be used.

[uhuh]

Just now, Joe Mcseismic said:

According to the Fundamentals of the Thai Language, the word Gu (or Goo) is very impolite and should never be used.

<deleted> is very impolite and should never be used.

And how often is it really used?

[Joe Mcseismic]

1 minute ago, uhuh said:

<deleted> is very impolite and should never be used.

And how often is it really used?

What has how often it's used got to do with it? The point is, it can get you seriously hurt if you use it with the wrong person, yet, you claim it is "standard Thai".

[timendres]

16 minutes ago, Joe Mcseismic said:

What has how often it's used got to do with it? The point is, it can get you seriously hurt if you use it with the wrong person, yet, you claim it is "standard Thai".

It is standard Thai among Thais who know each other - say two friends, or two family members, or coworkers who have known each other for some time. I hear the word every day in the office. But a farang should use this word with the utmost caution. So your warning is quite legitimate. It is not likely to get you seriously hurt (except in certain situations), but it could easily damage your reputation.

[Joe Mcseismic]

Just now, timendres said:

It is standard Thai among Thais who know each other - say two friends, or two family members, or coworkers who have known each other for some time. I hear the word every day in the office. But a farang should use this word with the utmost caution. So your warning is quite legitimate. It is not likely to get you seriously hurt (except in certain situations), but it could easily damage your reputation.

Best you don't use it at all.......... Just like saying Mun, for the word You.

[timendres]

1 minute ago, Joe Mcseismic said:

Best you don't use it at all.......... Just like saying Mun, for the word You.

Have used both a few times, in a context that added to a humorous situation, but with a very close Thai friend. Would never use either word, with these meanings, with someone I was not intimately familiar with. I am fortunate that, with the way in which I learned Thai, the words Pom, Chan, and Khun are what come to my mind.

[uhuh]

I have never used gu or meung, and wouldn't do it for the above reasons.

It is still standard Thai,  though,  as explained by timendres.

 

I did get into trouble for using pom and khun in situations where it was not appropriate at all. Pom and khun express distance, and can be insulting if used with a close friend or family member. They are NOT just "polite".

This is similar to European languages that have 2 sets of personal pronouns, one formal and one informal. 

 

I avoid pronouns in Thai. Many Thais avoid them, too.

Use names,  use I and you, use pi.

[Damrongsak]

A bit more on personal pronouns:

 

https://www.thai2english.com/learn/personal-pronouns-in-thai