Can I Have This?

[thailanguagestudent]

If I say in thai "ขออันนี้ครับ khaaw an nee khrap", will thai people understand that to mean "Can I have this?"

Is this the simplest way to say "Can I have this?"?

Also, I would be using to mean small things, like paper, pens, pencils, breath mints, etc.

For example, I am in a restaurant and they have a jar with some mints in it. I ask "can I have this?" to see if they will give me permission to take one.

Edited May 25, 2007 by thailanguagestudent

[BambinA]

Yes. Thais will understand you and i think it's the simplest

[mangkorn]

If I say in thai "???????????? khaaw an nee khrap", will thai people understand that to mean "Can I have this?"

Is this the simplest way to say "Can I have this?"?

Also, I would be using to mean small things, like paper, pens, pencils, breath mints, etc.

For example, I am in a restaurant and they have a jar with some mints in it. I ask "can I have this?" to see if they will give me permission to take one.

You should always end a request like that with "dai mai khrap" (may I?)

If you're pointing at a mint, that alone would do it.

More completely: "(phom) ao an nee (bpai) dai mai khrap"

[qualtrough]

If I say in thai "???????????? khaaw an nee khrap", will thai people understand that to mean "Can I have this?"

Is this the simplest way to say "Can I have this?"?

Also, I would be using to mean small things, like paper, pens, pencils, breath mints, etc.

For example, I am in a restaurant and they have a jar with some mints in it. I ask "can I have this?" to see if they will give me permission to take one.

You should always end a request like that with "dai mai khrap" (may I?)

If you're pointing at a mint, that alone would do it.

More completely: "(phom) ao an nee (bpai) dai mai khrap"

I disagree. I think the OP's formulation is just fine in most circumstances. Bambina, Meadish??

Edited May 25, 2007 by qualtrough

[thailanguagestudent]

You should always end a request like that with "dai mai khrap" (may I?)

More completely: "(phom) ao an nee (bpai) dai mai khrap"

ขอบคุณครับmangkorn

However, I thought "ขอ khor" meant "May/Can I have...?", so would I still need to use "ได้ไหม dai mai"?

Now if I just said "ผมเอาอนนี้ได้ไหมครับ phohm ao an nee dai mai khrap", then I would use "ได้ไหม" since I did not start the sentence with "ขอ khor".

I am learning, so I may or may not have this correct.

Edited May 25, 2007 by thailanguagestudent

[meadish_sweetball]

Yes, the original phrase works as stated.

It definitely does not hurt to add a 'dai mai khrap' at the end (I would do it, as it emphasizes you are asking for permission which is nice) but it is not strictly necessary.

I personally prefer using 'khaw' instead of 'ao' when asking for something.

The difference lies in politeness. Neither is wrong, and how polite you should be is up to you (and to some extent dictated by your age and social status, as well as how familiar you are with the person you are talking to).

In this construction, both 'ao' and 'khaw' are interchangeable for grammatical purposes.

[jackmuu]

You should always end a request like that with "dai mai khrap" (may I?)

More completely: "(phom) ao an nee (bpai) dai mai khrap"

ขอบคุณครับmangkorn

However, I thought "ขอ khor" meant "May/Can I have...?", so would I still need to use "ได้ไหม dai mai"?

Now if I just said "ผมเอาอนนี้ได้ไหมครับ phohm ao an nee dai mai khrap", then I would use "ได้ไหม" since I did not start the sentence with "ขอ khor".

I am learning, so I may or may not have this correct.

Nothing wrong with, Khor dai mai khrup?

[mangkorn]

If I say in thai "???????????? khaaw an nee khrap", will thai people understand that to mean "Can I have this?"

Is this the simplest way to say "Can I have this?"?

Also, I would be using to mean small things, like paper, pens, pencils, breath mints, etc.

For example, I am in a restaurant and they have a jar with some mints in it. I ask "can I have this?" to see if they will give me permission to take one.

You should always end a request like that with "dai mai khrap" (may I?)

If you're pointing at a mint, that alone would do it.

More completely: "(phom) ao an nee (bpai) dai mai khrap"

I disagree. I think the OP's formulation is just fine in most circumstances. Bambina, Meadish??

Of course it's fine enough, but it doesn't hurt to be polite.

Also, it's good practice for beginner farangs to get used to using question-words at the end of the phrase, because it is not natural for most of them to do so.

One often hears farangs struggling to get their point across for that simple reason, and then they sometimes get frustrated and even quite rude about it all.

Cheers.

[meadish_sweetball]

Also, it's good practice for beginner farangs to get used to using question-words at the end of the phrase, because it is not natural for most of them to do so.

That's a very good point. I often hear farangs wanting to ask something in Thai, but instead of doing so, they make a statement, and instead of adding the appropriate question word, they modulate their voice to change from statement to question, as they would do in their native language.

This is contrary to what one wants to achieve, because it changes the meaning of the Thai words.

[withnail]

I agree, one of my pet hates is foreigners saying kao jai with an upward inflection so as to make it (in their minds) a question.

Regarding the use of 'ao' and 'khaw' a fairly respectable female friend of mine said that she uses khaw more often as she's a woman and that the other word has other ruder connotations.

[mangkorn]

Also, it's good practice for beginner farangs to get used to using question-words at the end of the phrase, because it is not natural for most of them to do so.

That's a very good point. I often hear farangs wanting to ask something in Thai, but instead of doing so, they make a statement, and instead of adding the appropriate question word, they modulate their voice to change from statement to question, as they would do in their native language.

This is contrary to what one wants to achieve, because it changes the meaning of the Thai words.

Too right. It happens a million times a day. And as was discussed on another thread, many Thai people don't expect the farang to speak in Thai, and thus are hearing "a different frequency," as meadish put it so well at the time. Add to that, a faulty sentence construction and/or abominable pronunciation, and you've got a situation that can often only be remedied with the question word, which many Thai people will recognize even if they didn't understand what the hel_l the farang was trying to say, and be more amenable to trying to suss it out. Otherwse, what may often happen is that the Thai clerk just walks away, or ignores the farang, or looks around in panicky desperation for someone else in the shop to come to his/her rescue, while the co-workers have scurried off to hide in the back...

An easy remedy to this, as I do often find myself in places where most Thais don't expect farangs to be able to speak Thai, I offer some quick pleasantries, and perhaps even a bit of "poot-len," to establish right off that they need not be afraid that their English is insufficient to deal with this farang. You can feel a palpable terror emitting from some clerks when you walk into a shop, and the only way to put them at ease (in my experience) is to immediately show some melody and rythym of speech that is recognizable - and the more light-hearted the better. It puts everybody at ease; the transaction can be completed in Thai language; and everybody may even have a pleasant time of it, whereas they they would not have had otherwise.

It is quite common for me to hear explosive sighs of relief, and even sudden uncontrollable bursts of laughter, when I begin by saying something that is not yet related to the transaction in mind. That may be followed by shy admission that the clerk was afraid that I couldn't speak Thai. People seem to lose some face in that situation, or at least experience real discomfort. Don't know about the rest of you out there, but that is what I observe, and very frequently.

Cheers.

[jackmuu]

I never have any problems in my area, the only place where I had snags was a restaurant on one of my 2 visits to that <deleted> hole Khao San Rd.

I know quite a few Thais' who ask the question Khow Jai? And raise the tone at the end like westerners do, it has become common in Thailand in recent years.

[mangkorn]

I never have any problems in my area, the only place where I had snags was a restaurant on one of my 2 visits to that <deleted> hole Khao San Rd.

I know quite a few Thais' who ask the question Khow Jai? And raise the tone at the end like westerners do, it has become common in Thailand in recent years.

Do you mean that they say "khow jai" with an inflection, but without adding "mai" at the end?

If so, that is interesting. I hadn't noticed, but it could well be true.

It may also be that the mid-tone "jai" sounds inflected or high-toned, but it really isn't. I used to have difficulties hearing mid-toned words that sounded high-toned to me, which is possibly because the Thai mid-tone is not quite the same as one is accustomed to hearing in Western languages? Anyone else?

[OxfordWill]

I never have any problems in my area, the only place where I had snags was a restaurant on one of my 2 visits to that <deleted> hole Khao San Rd.

I know quite a few Thais' who ask the question Khow Jai? And raise the tone at the end like westerners do, it has become common in Thailand in recent years.

Yea I've noticed this too, but only with the dek-nog types, otherwise you would expect at least a '..bao?' or something.

[withnail]

You're right some do do it but probably only those who have been around foreigners and are imitating them. It's never going to happen in a real conversation, is it?

[meadish_sweetball]

I've never heard it, but it's natural that hybrid languages and expressions appear in contact areas.

[CSS]

You're right some do do it but probably only those who have been around foreigners and are imitating them. It's never going to happen in a real conversation, is it?

I've never heard it. But I'm not around English speaking Thai's very often. I'll have to agree with withnail and say that it only occurs when Thai's imitate foreigners intentionally and not in normal speach. I hear it said (without a tone change) and a short "na" tagged onto the end though.

Edited May 25, 2007 by CSS

[BambinA]

If I say in thai "???????????? khaaw an nee khrap", will thai people understand that to mean "Can I have this?"

Is this the simplest way to say "Can I have this?"?

Also, I would be using to mean small things, like paper, pens, pencils, breath mints, etc.

For example, I am in a restaurant and they have a jar with some mints in it. I ask "can I have this?" to see if they will give me permission to take one.

You should always end a request like that with "dai mai khrap" (may I?)

If you're pointing at a mint, that alone would do it.

More completely: "(phom) ao an nee (bpai) dai mai khrap"

I disagree. I think the OP's formulation is just fine in most circumstances. Bambina, Meadish??

Nothing wrong with mangkorn's post but it's not the simpliest one.

Honestly , i speak like the OP often " ao an nee ka" (not krab coz im a girl)

Being a Thai ,It's polite and make sense.

"(phom) ao an nee (bpai) dai mai khrap">> This one is lovely but it's not the simpliest .

In my opinion , you farang guys had better speak as short as you can . From your accent , the more you talk, the more thai get confused

By the way ,I don't mean to discredit anyone.

ps . "(phom) ao an nee (bpai) dai mai khrap">> if you say as "bpai" , the meaning can be changed as you want to get something for free

better says "(phom/di chun) ao an nee dai mai khrap"

Edited May 25, 2007 by BambinA

[thailanguagestudent]

ขอบคุณมากครับทุกคน khaawp khoon maak khrap thook khohn Thank you very much everyone.

I decided to go with "ขออันนี้ได้มั้ยครับ khaaw an nee dai mai khrap" to mean "Can I have this?".

Unless someone thinks this is not a good choice, I will go ahead and use this sentence.

Edited May 26, 2007 by thailanguagestudent

[mangkorn]

?????????????????? khaawp khoon maak khrap thook khohn Thank you very much everyone.

I decided to go with "??????????????????? khaaw an nee dai mai khrap" to mean "Can I have this?".

Unless someone thinks this is not a good choice, I will go ahead and use this sentence.

Sounds like you've hit on a winner there, thailanguage stud...

[mangkorn]

If I say in thai "???????????? khaaw an nee khrap", will thai people understand that to mean "Can I have this?"

Is this the simplest way to say "Can I have this?"?

Also, I would be using to mean small things, like paper, pens, pencils, breath mints, etc.

For example, I am in a restaurant and they have a jar with some mints in it. I ask "can I have this?" to see if they will give me permission to take one.

You should always end a request like that with "dai mai khrap" (may I?)

If you're pointing at a mint, that alone would do it.

More completely: "(phom) ao an nee (bpai) dai mai khrap"

I disagree. I think the OP's formulation is just fine in most circumstances. Bambina, Meadish??

Nothing wrong with mangkorn's post but it's not the simpliest one.

Honestly , i speak like the OP often " ao an nee ka" (not krab coz im a girl)

Being a Thai ,It's polite and make sense.

"(phom) ao an nee (bpai) dai mai khrap">> This one is lovely but it's not the simpliest .

In my opinion , you farang guys had better speak as short as you can . From your accent , the more you talk, the more thai get confused

By the way ,I don't mean to discredit anyone.

ps . "(phom) ao an nee (bpai) dai mai khrap">> if you say as "bpai" , the meaning can be changed as you want to get something for free

better says "(phom/di chun) ao an nee dai mai khrap"

Thanks, BambinA, as always. Please explain the "ao...bpai" meaning? I have some difficulties with that construction. And I hear people say "ao bpai leuy" - does that only refer to the past tense, as in "he took it away," or can it also mean "yes, go ahead and take it?" Or is that completely wrong?

Also, as a Thai person you may appreciate the humor in this one: I was in Lao talking with a woman, and we got around to history and the fact that part of what is now Thailand used to belong to Lao kingdoms, long ago. So I asked if the Thais just stole the land? To which my new Lao friend said: "Gaw, mai dai ka-moy, dtae ao bpai leuy..."

Cheers.