Easy Thai For Absolute Beginners

[qwertz]

How about some basic Thai for us newbies? And before you expats and knowitalls start on with "It's all been done, here's the link", why not make it a test of your liguistic skills and give us some up to date input, preferably not in Thai script?

Edited May 11, 2007 by qwertz

[samran]

I'm not sure what you are getting at, but moved to the Thai language forum.

no link needed.

[meadish_sweetball]

How about you tell us what you want to know?

The Thai language forum is full of basic phrases and explanations of everything from the origin of words, to sentence structures, grammar and questions about specific vocabulary.

Here is a pair of words to start with:

[F]khii-[L]kiad = lazy.

kh = aspirated k

k = unaspirated k

[L]kha[R]yan = diligent

[qwertz]

Thanks Samran.

[WaiWai]

I'm not sure what you are getting at, but moved to the Thai language forum.

no link needed.

Could we not leave it in the General forum, please ? I think we'd get more input there.

O.K.

1. "Then come back to the table and say "Soo arroy na, soo iem yu na, one more beer Sing cup" Everyone gets a good laugh."

2. I hear "kap pom" a lot when someone is giving a response to another person talking. What does it mean and when can it be used ?

3. In English, we sometimes say, "not bad" in response the question, "how are you?". Is there a way to say this in Thai ?

4. How about we start a conversation in Thai ( & English) that anyone can add to.

Sawatdee ! Sabai dee mai ? (Hello. How are you ?)

[Neeranam]

3. In English, we sometimes say, "not bad" in response the question, "how are you?". Is there a way to say this in Thai ?

I say "siew siew", "cheuy cheuy".

[WaiWai]

3. In English, we sometimes say, "not bad" in response the question, "how are you?". Is there a way to say this in Thai ?

I say "siew siew", "cheuy cheuy".

Neeranam, please remember to also translate .

Thanks for contributing, though.

[torito]

WaiWai, one question...

I use a lot the thai-language website...I think that it is very well done but also I have been told that it is only formal and that it does not help much in the thai spoken in the street...can you give me an opinion on that?

[mangkorn]

I'm not sure what you are getting at, but moved to the Thai language forum.

no link needed.

Could we not leave it in the General forum, please ? I think we'd get more input there.

O.K.

1. "Then come back to the table and say "Soo arroy na, soo iem yu na, one more beer Sing cup" Everyone gets a good laugh."

2. I hear "kap pom" a lot when someone is giving a response to another person talking. What does it mean and when can it be used ?

3. In English, we sometimes say, "not bad" in response the question, "how are you?". Is there a way to say this in Thai ?

4. How about we start a conversation in Thai ( & English) that anyone can add to.

Sawatdee ! Sabai dee mai ? (Hello. How are you ?)

1. "Soo arroy na, soo iem yu na, one more beer Sing cup"

Umm... I don't get it. Can you explain that one, waiwai?

2. That would be "krap pom" (or krub pom, or whatever the transliteration is supposed to be) - although the /r/ is often dropped. It is a polite response to others, like "yes, I see, sir (or madam)." It actually combines "you" and "I", but I've read that it is a formal term for "I". As one often says "krap" as an acknowledgement while another person is speaking, saying "krap pom" is more polite. It sounds much nicer, too.

3. My guess is that you should usually just say that you are fine "sa bai dii" and then add "khun la krap (and you?)" If you're talking with friends, and you want to say "not so bad, not so good," you might try "cheuy-cheuy," just because it's kind of fun to say...

[Neeranam]

QUOTE

3. In English, we sometimes say, "not bad" in response the question, "how are you?". Is there a way to say this in Thai ?

I say "siew siew", "cheuy cheuy".

"not bad" , "so so"

[mangkorn]

3. In English, we sometimes say, "not bad" in response the question, "how are you?". Is there a way to say this in Thai ?

I say "siew siew", "cheuy cheuy".

Sorry about that, Neeranam, didn't mean to step on your post. You had already put it up while I was typing, and didn't see yours. Cheers.

[mangkorn]

WaiWai, one question...

I use a lot the thai-language website...I think that it is very well done but also I have been told that it is only formal and that it does not help much in the thai spoken in the street...can you give me an opinion on that?

Torito: which thai-language website is that? Is it thai-language.com?

If so, I am a big fan of that one. It has lots of colloquial words and idiomatic expressions, old proverbs, and many uses for each particular word.

But, you can forget about the transliteration they use there. It will only lead you to mispronounce most of the words. And they admit that they don't put much effort into that part of it.

[WaiWai]

1. "Soo arroy na, soo iem yu na, one more beer Sing cup"

Umm... I don't get it. Can you explain that one, waiwai?

No idea - it's a quote from another person's post.

WaiWai, one question...

I use a lot the thai-language website...I think that it is very well done but also I have been told that it is only formal and that it does not help much in the thai spoken in the street...can you give me an opinion on that?

No idea ! Sorry !

[torito]

WaiWai, one question...

I use a lot the thai-language website...I think that it is very well done but also I have been told that it is only formal and that it does not help much in the thai spoken in the street...can you give me an opinion on that?

Torito: which thai-language website is that? Is it thai-language.com?

If so, I am a big fan of that one. It has lots of colloquial words and idiomatic expressions, old proverbs, and many uses for each particular word.

But, you can forget about the transliteration they use there. It will only lead you to mispronounce most of the words. And they admit that they don't put much effort into that part of it.

The same..thanks..I tried a couple of times and it dit not work but as you said, the idiomatic expressions and usage are great...cheers

[mangkorn]

How about you tell us what you want to know?

The Thai language forum is full of basic phrases and explanations of everything from the origin of words, to sentence structures, grammar and questions about specific vocabulary.

Here is a pair of words to start with:

[F]khii-[L]kiad = lazy.

kh = aspirated k

k = unaspirated k

[L]kha[R]yan = diligent

Good one, Hubgoblin.

[iamguava]

1. "Soo arroy na, soo iem yu na, one more beer Sing cup"

Umm... I don't get it. Can you explain that one, waiwai?

My guess would be that this sentence is supposed to be a mix of English and Thai words, I know the OP said no Thai script so please forgive me .....

Sooo อร่อยนะ , sooooo อิ่มยู่นะ , one more เบียร์สิงห์ครับ

Soooo arroy na, sooooo im yoo na, one more beer sing krap

Soooo delicious, soooo full, one more Singha beer please!

[aanon]

Question above:

Q. In English, we sometimes say, "not bad" in response the question, "how are you?". Is there a way to say this in Thai ?

A. ไม่เลว (mai leh-o) literally means not bad and can be used in this situation.

all the best.

[mangkorn]

Question above:

Q. In English, we sometimes say, "not bad" in response the question, "how are you?". Is there a way to say this in Thai ?

A. ไม่เลว (mai leh-o) literally means not bad and can be used in this situation.

all the best.

Might it be better to say "mai kawy leh-o" (not so bad)? Or would the "kawy" be unnecessary?

[mangkorn]

1. "Soo arroy na, soo iem yu na, one more beer Sing cup"

Umm... I don't get it. Can you explain that one, waiwai?

My guess would be that this sentence is supposed to be a mix of English and Thai words, I know the OP said no Thai script so please forgive me .....

Sooo อร่อยนะ , sooooo อิ่มยู่นะ , one more เบียร์สิงห์ครับ

Soooo arroy na, sooooo im yoo na, one more beer sing krap

Soooo delicious, soooo full, one more Singha beer please!

Okay, I get it, I think... Sure sounds stupid, though...

BTW, what is up with Sing-HA beer? There is no such word, and yet millions of farangs run around saying it - and some Thais even say it to farangs, albeit saying Sing to each other. As far as bad transliterations, that is a champion. While the silent /h/ as written in Thai is meant to represent a silent Sanskrit character, the name Singh is very common, at least among Sikh males, some of whom are internationally famous - lions among men... But there is no /a/ vowel represented in Thai, nor in Sanskrit, as there is no reason to put one there. So, where did that errant and erroneous /a/ come from, and why?

[meadish_sweetball]

I've always thought it is the same thing as the 'r' and 'i' in Suvarnabhumi, i.e. the original Indic (Sanskrit?) word ends in an 'a' sound (I could be wrong though).

I've just accepted it as 'one of those things'. At least it is not as far fetched as the banks who have one name in Thai and one in English - thanakhaan phaanit (Siam Commercial Bank) etc.

I think it was a good move by Kasikornbank/Kbank to change from Thai Farmer's Bank for this reason.

[Richard W]

I've always thought it is the same thing as the 'r' and 'i' in Suvarnabhumi, i.e. the original Indic (Sanskrit?) word ends in an 'a' sound (I could be wrong though).

You're right about them. There's also the silent final 'u', though I don't call seeing that in transliteration, e.g. *Bandhu Dibya for Phanthip.

The related Pali word for lion is sīha.

Edited May 12, 2007 by Richard W

[mangkorn]

I've always thought it is the same thing as the 'r' and 'i' in Suvarnabhumi, i.e. the original Indic (Sanskrit?) word ends in an 'a' sound (I could be wrong though).

I've just accepted it as 'one of those things'. At least it is not as far fetched as the banks who have one name in Thai and one in English - thanakhaan phaanit (Siam Commercial Bank) etc.

I think it was a good move by Kasikornbank/Kbank to change from Thai Farmer's Bank for this reason.

Nothng is more far-fetched than writing "Singha" in Roman letters for a word that is pronounced "sing" in Thai.

That very clearly and obviously causes mispronunciation. Just look around, and listen...

It's not "one of those things." It is plainly wrong, and utterly foolish.

The entire point of communication is - dare I say it? - communication.

[meadish_sweetball]

Say slowly, 'One Singha please' at any restaurant in Thailand that sells the stuff. If you fail to get what you ordered somewhere, I owe you a baht.

And if you succeed, I guess you will have to conclude that the purpose of communication was fulfilled.

[mangkorn]

Say slowly, 'One Singha please' at any restaurant in Thailand that sells the stuff. If you fail to get what you ordered somewhere, I owe you a baht.

And if you succeed, I guess you will have to conclude that the purpose of communication was fulfilled.

Touche, meadish. Good one: I owe you a baht. (Although, now that I think of it, down here in my neighbourhood, I may well get some blank stares if I ask someone for "Sing-HAA." But no matter, I'll concede; will you take a check?)

Anway, that's still pronouncing it wrong. And why do so, when the alternative (i.e.: correct way) is so astonishingly simple? Doesn't it make good sense to try to speak native words properly, when you go to countries that are foreign to you? Especially if one chooses to actually live in one, get married, etc.?

Otherwise, if you can just mispronounce the words willy-nilly, and get by, then what's the point of ever trying to learn how to say anything correctly?

Why not just say "sa-WAS-dii"?

That would still get you by, surely.

I mean, if you really want to speak like that.

Myself, I prefer not to appear any more foolish than I already am...

So, where should I send that check?

Cheers.

[mangkorn]

Say slowly, 'One Singha please' at any restaurant in Thailand that sells the stuff. If you fail to get what you ordered somewhere, I owe you a baht.

And if you succeed, I guess you will have to conclude that the purpose of communication was fulfilled.

In Vietnamese, if I recall correctly, mispronouncing one simple word could be interpreted as you calling somebody's mother a dog.

In Thai, you might be heard as calling a Buddhist nun "piss."

That alone seems like a good reason to get some basic words right.

[meadish_sweetball]

My point was, in the case of sing[R]/Singha, it is possible to use the transliterated name when speaking English and still make oneself understood. In fact, you could even make the case that the established name of the beverage - in English - is nothing else but 'Singha'.

When you speak about Stockholm in Spanish, what do you call it? And London? My bet is Estocolmo and Londres.

Would you scold a Spanish newspaper for writing about the country of Suecia, instead of Sverige (as we natives refer to our oblong country) or for referring to our king as Carlos XVI Gustavo even though his given name is Carl XVI Gustaf? I doubt it.

Along the same lines, in Sweden we talk about "Galicien" and "Kanarieöarna" when discussing the Spanish province of Galicia, and "las islas canarìas" in Swedish - and Firenze, Italy, we call 'Florens' in Swedish... Torino is 'Turin', 'Ao Tea Roa' is Nya Zeeland, etc.

They are just conventions. Sure, it is not as convenient as it could be, but hey - Que somos humanos, todos.

When it comes to the airport though, I do think it is an inconvenience, because the difference there is more likely to cause a communication breakdown between foreigners who need to get there and Thai taxi drivers, whereas it won't matter all that much if you have to get up off your chair and grab your own beer out of the fridge when your waiter does not understand 'Singha'.

As for the rest of your post - I only use English on online forums and when I meet other foreigners who do not speak Thai or Swedish... and occasionally, though rarely, with Thais when I do not have time to answer 20 questions.

I definitely agree that people who choose to live in another country should make an effort learning to speak the language, that is partially why I spent a few years learning it myself before moving here. But I cannot change other people who do not make the same choices as me, only tell them my opinion.

[mangkorn]

My point was, in the case of sing[R]/Singha, it is possible to use the transliterated name when speaking English and still make oneself understood. In fact, you could even make the case that the established name of the beverage - in English - is nothing else but 'Singha'.

When you speak about Stockholm in Spanish, what do you call it? And London? My bet is Estocolmo and Londres.

Would you scold a Spanish newspaper for writing about the country of Suecia, instead of Sverige (as we natives refer to our oblong country) or for referring to our king as Carlos XVI Gustavo even though his given name is Carl XVI Gustaf? I doubt it.

Along the same lines, in Sweden we talk about "Galicien" and "Kanarieöarna" when discussing the Spanish province of Galicia, and "las islas canarìas" in Swedish - and Firenze, Italy, we call 'Florens' in Swedish... Torino is 'Turin', 'Ao Tea Roa' is Nya Zeeland, etc.

They are just conventions. Sure, it is not as convenient as it could be, but hey - Que somos humanos, todos.

When it comes to the airport though, I do think it is an inconvenience, because the difference there is more likely to cause a communication breakdown between foreigners who need to get there and Thai taxi drivers, whereas it won't matter all that much if you have to get up off your chair and grab your own beer out of the fridge when your waiter does not understand 'Singha'.

As for the rest of your post - I only use English on online forums and when I meet other foreigners who do not speak Thai or Swedish... and occasionally, though rarely, with Thais when I do not have time to answer 20 questions.

I definitely agree that people who choose to live in another country should make an effort learning to speak the language, that is partially why I spent a few years learning it myself before moving here. But I cannot change other people who do not make the same choices as me, only tell them my opinion.

Agreed, absolutely. I would only clarify that, when I'm in a Spanish-speaking country, I will say Suecia, and the all local newspapers are correct in writing it that way, because that is how the name is translated, LOCALLY.

But, if I were ever to go to your homeland, the very first thing I would learn is how to say is Sverige, and say it correctly - before I even got off the airplane. And I would certainly expect that every other latino (and everyone else, from anywhere else) do likewise. It's the very least one can do.

That, to me, is the difference. And it is a pretty major difference.

If any latinos in your country (and I know there are a fair number) say Suecia when talking to you, then you should scorn them, and mercilessly so, the way I see it. Refusal to learn the language of the country you have chosen to adopt you is simply inexcusable, and extremely disrespectful. And the same goes for tourists: they don't have to learn the language, but a few words? C'mon...

(From the outside, one might call my home country a shitty banana republic - hmm, that's not very far from the truth of the matter, in fact... But, if you ever found yourself there, it would be a good idea to find a different way to refer to it. Seriously. I know my people...)

As they say, when in Sverige, do as the Sveriganos... My apologies for that one, I just couldn't resist. I actually prefer the Thai saying: "When you go to the land of the slanty-eyed people, you must squint your eyes accordingly."

And the second thing that I would learn how to say correctly in Sverige, or in any country, would be "beer," including the proper names of the beers that I wish to consume.

Few things take higher priority, surely.

Cheers, y a tu salud...

p.s. Over on our side of the ocean, you know, where the Spaniards pillaged and raped, you don't even want to know what we call those from Galicia...

[aanon]

Question above:

Q. In English, we sometimes say, "not bad" in response the question, "how are you?". Is there a way to say this in Thai ?

A. ไม่เลว (mai leh-o) literally means not bad and can be used in this situation.

all the best.

Might it be better to say "mai kawy leh-o" (not so bad)? Or would the "kawy" be unnecessary?

hi mangkorn,

no, adding 'kawy' wouldn't be appropriate here. it would be used if we were saying "mai kawy chalat" (not all that smart) or "mai kawy dee" (not so good) to soften what would otherwise be "not smart" and "not good". in other words we need to soften what is a negative message.

but, since we are saying "not + something bad" it's already a positive message and doesn't need to be softened.

all the best.

[mangkorn]

>> but, since we are saying "not + something bad" it's already a positive message and doesn't need to be softened.<<

Got it, aanon, thanks. (I might still use "kawy" in that case, if only to avoid the possibility of being mis-heard as saying "not fast.")

BTW: was wondering why the OP who popularly demanded this thread hasn't participated, not even to ask questions. I thought that was the idea.

Cheers.

[Kaojai]

BTW, what is up with Sing-HA beer?

Same, same as Taksin "Shinawat-RA"

It's a letter-by-letter transliteration ignoring the fact that some ending letters are silent.