I would be grateful if any of you scholarly types could furnish me with the Thai literal translation for the adjective - 'Pathetic'.

Cheers!

Chon

Nah wait tanah

น่าเวทนา

Nah wait tanah

น่าเวทนา

Thanks !

Nah wait tanah

น่าเวทนา

น่าสงสาร - naa (F) sohng ® saan ® - is perhaps more common.

Nah wait tanah

น่าเวทนา

น่าสงสาร - naa (F) sohng ® saan ® - is perhaps more common.

I believe สมเพช.......นาสมเพช sohm paich pait or even นาสังเวช sangwait might be nearer what you'e looking for

Does the OP mean pathetic as in genuinely sorry for what he sees, ie children begging, or does he feel disgusted with the performance, as in watching England play football? If the latter น่าสมเพช may be suitable, if the former, the earlier examples may suffice.

Edited May 10, 200719 yr by bannork

I'd go with น่าสมเพช [naa-som-pheet], because it seems to be widely used in movie subtitles whenever a character uses "pathetic" in English. This could also be translated "pitiful."

It seems to me that น่าสงสาร [naa-song-saan] is used more when one emphathizes, and น่าสมเพช is more when one doesn't, but I'm sure that's not universal, and it may just be my limited interpretation.

I'd go with น่าสมเพช [naa-som-pheet], because it seems to be widely used in movie subtitles whenever a character uses "pathetic" in English. This could also be translated "pitiful."

It seems to me that น่าสงสาร [naa-song-saan] is used more when one emphathizes, and น่าสมเพช is more when one doesn't, but I'm sure that's not universal, and it may just be my limited interpretation.

Agreed, Rikker. น่าสงสาร does generally imply empathy. Could it be regarded as "pitiful," while น่าสมเพช would be "pathetic"? Is there a distinction between the two in English? Or does it depend on one's attitude when speaking?

Does the OP mean pathetic as in genuinely sorry for what he sees, ie children begging, or does he feel disgusted with the performance, as in watching England play football? If the latter น่าสมเพช may be suitable, if the former, the earlier examples may suffice.

The second instance was the one I was after. Thanks all for this comprehensive translation of both scenarios!

Agreed, Rikker. น่าสงสาร does generally imply empathy. Could it be regarded as "pitiful," while น่าสมเพช would be "pathetic"? Is there a distinction between the two in English? Or does it depend on one's attitude when speaking?

For me, both "pitiful" and "pathetic" involve a mix of pity and contempt, although it depends on the context.

Maybe "pitiable" matches น่าสงสาร better. For me it's more neutral--inspiring pity, but not so much contempt. Your mileage my vary. Or "poor," as in "the poor child" เด็à¸à¸™à¹ˆà¸²à¸ªà¸‡à¸ªà¸²à¸£.

Agreed, Rikker. น่าสงสาร does generally imply empathy. Could it be regarded as "pitiful," while น่าสมเพช would be "pathetic"? Is there a distinction between the two in English? Or does it depend on one's attitude when speaking?

For me, both "pitiful" and "pathetic" involve a mix of pity and contempt, although it depends on the context.

Maybe "pitiable" matches น่าสงสาร better. For me it's more neutral--inspiring pity, but not so much contempt. Your mileage my vary. Or "poor," as in "the poor child" เด็à¸à¸™à¹ˆà¸²à¸ªà¸‡à¸ªà¸²à¸£.

"Pitiable," that's the ticket. Thanks. "Deserving of pity." The verb สงสาร means "to pity, to feel sorry for, to empathize with," the way I hear it used.