if someone asks you เป็นลูกไหม

[BananaBandit]

What does that mean?

 

The literal translation would seem to be: Are you a child? It almost sounds a bit condescending. But my interaction with the person asking this question was amiable, so I doubt there was any negative intent.

[cnx1204]

Can't answer or offer an opinion  (or even guess) since the phrase is out of context.

[Deserted]

We need pronouns and context to answer that one.

[JeffersLos]

9 hours ago, cnx1204 said:

context.

 

17 minutes ago, Deserted said:

context

She said it after she saw his penis. 

[Deserted]

he he

[BananaBandit]

21 hours ago, cnx1204 said:

Can't answer or offer an opinion  (or even guess) since the phrase is out of context.

Fair enough.  Let's see...  I was talking with a middle-aged woman selling sausages and sticky rice at an outdoor market in Isan.  After we chatted a bit about her food items, she started asking how long I had been in her province.  Soon after that came the   เป็นลูกไหม   question.

[KhaoNiaw]

If you're in the ballpark with what you heard, I'd guess she actually said มีลูกไหม - Do you have any children? 
If she was being insulting or condescending, which seems very unlikely from the context, she would have used เด็ก not ลูก

[cranki]

Tink too mutt.....she was just asking if you had any kids.....

[ColeBOzbourne]

เป็นลูกไหม sounds more like, "Is it a child?", or "Are there children?".  However, ลูก is also a classifier for round fruits, round objects, storms, etc.. Was there anything else in the context of the conversation that she might be referring to? 

[BananaBandit]

12 hours ago, KhaoNiaw said:

If you're in the ballpark with what you heard, I'd guess she actually said มีลูกไหม - Do you have any children? 

It was a distinct  เป็น  not a   มี

 

That's why her question triggered my immediate confusion and subsequent curiosity.

[BananaBandit]

12 hours ago, KhaoNiaw said:

If she was being insulting or condescending, which seems very unlikely from the context, she would have used เด็ก not ลูก

Agreed.

[BananaBandit]

11 hours ago, ColeBOzbourne said:

เป็นลูกไหม sounds more like, "Is it a child?", or "Are there children?".

That strikes me as possible, though it seems strange she would not use the more conventional  มีลูกไหม  phrasing.

[BananaBandit]

11 hours ago, ColeBOzbourne said:

However, ลูก is also a classifier for round fruits, round objects, storms, etc.. Was there anything else in the context of the conversation that she might be referring to?

I wasn't buying (nor do I think she was selling) anything that takes  ลูก  as a classifier.

 

About the only other thing I can think of is that she was perhaps asking me if I was a  ลูกครี่ง  (or maybe the  ลูก   of a   ลูกครี่ง) ?