does the romanized word "krang" mean tease? i don't know the thai writing for it (sorry).

the context in which it appeared was "krai krang khun" (who is teasing u?)

thanks

Might it be แกล้ง (MF "glaeng," or "klaeng")?

If so, I think it's usually a bit stronger than teasing - more like annoying - although perhaps not so much among friends?

EDIT: I didn't pay enough attention to your context; could it be "who's bothering you?"

Edited October 1, 200718 yr by mangkorn

I think you mean แกล้ง glaeng, which would mean to annoy irritate.

I think แซว saew would be a closer translation to tease in terms of the English use of the word.

This is only my opinion though.

แกล้ง

glâeng

pretend ; feign

tease ; irritate ; annoy

ล้อ

lór

tease ; banter ; kid ; ridicule ; joke ; make fun of

wheel ; roller ; caster

แซว

saew

tease ; kid ; make fun of

ล้อเล่น

lór lên

to tease ; to kid ; to ridicule

หยอก

yòk

tease ; kid ; jolly ; make fun of

เย้า

yáo

hilltribe in northern Tha ; Yao

tease ; pull someone's leg ; taunt ; banter ; joke ; kid ; jest ; rib

แหย่

yàe

poke ; jab ; nudge ; prod ; shove ; thrust

tease ; mock ; provoke ; goad ; pull someone's leg

หยอกล้อ

yòk lór

tease ; make fun of ; jolly ; kid

ตอแย

dtor-yae

provoke ; harass ; persecute ; trouble ; irritate ; annoy or tease ; torment ; hound

ยั่วยวน

yûa-yuan

enrage ; irritate ; infuriate ; tease ; taunt ; stir up ; provoke

tempt ; lure ; entice ; seduce ; appeal ; beguile

หยอกเย้า

yòk yáo

tease ; kid ; jolly ; make fun of

(from thai2english online dictionary)

Edited October 1, 200718 yr by taxexile

Note that some of those that taxexile has mentioned such as หยอกเย้า would not be understood by many Thai people as they are localized regional dialect.

Edited October 1, 200718 yr by Acquiesce

Very many Thai people do understand much of the other localized regional dialects. No reason to simply presume otherwise. If native English-speakers can easily recognize the differences between England's localized dialects and/or North American dialects, why wouldn't Thais be able to do the same? And if some farang who doesn't even speak Thai fluently can recognize the differences, then why should anyone presume that Thai people cannot do so?

Might it be แกล้ง (MF "glaeng," or "klaeng")?

If so, I think it's usually a bit stronger than teasing - more like annoying - although perhaps not so much among friends?

EDIT: I didn't pay enough attention to your context; could it be "who's bothering you?"

i think mangkorn is right, แกล้ง can be quite a bit stronger than 'to tease'. it can, at various times, extend to 'to harass', 'to bully', 'to ridicule', 'to play a trick on'.

all the best.

Note that some of those that taxexile has mentioned such as หยอกเย้า would not be understood by many Thai people as they are localized regional dialect.

Interesting comment you make regarding regionalisms. I found this in the RID: หยอกเย้า ก. สัพยอก, กระเซ้าเย้าแหย่, เย้าหยอก ก็ว่า.

By definition, would not the inclusion of a word in the Royal Institute Dictionary make the word part of the "official" Thai language and not a word of regional interest only? Thanks.

In many cases it is more a matter of which word is the *preferred* word used in a given situation.

Take 'suay' and 'ngaam' for example. In Kham Muang, 'ngaam' is the main word for beautiful, but in Central Thai it functions mainly as a second part of the more formal or eloquent combination 'suay-ngaam', and rarely occurs on its own in the spoken language.

As for หยอกเย้า I don't know, I'd never seen or heard it used until I read this thread.

Isn't it interesting that the word "ยั่วยวน" has two such very different meanings; maybe "anger" is the result of too much enticement and provocation:

ยั่วยวน [V] enrage; irritate; infuriate; tease; taunt; stir up; provoke

Syn. ยั่ว, กวนโทสะ

Def. ทำให้เกิดอารมณ์โมโห.

"To create anger"

Sample:เขายั่วยวนกวนโทสะผม จนผมสุดจะทน

"He infuriates me and provokes my anger to the limits of my endurance."

ยั่วยวน [V] tempt; lure; entice; seduce; appeal; beguile

Syn. ยั่ว

Def. ทำให้กำเริบด้วยความใคร่.

Sample:เธอจงใจโปรยเสน่ห์ยั่วยวนให้ชายหลงใหล

"You intentionally use your [female] wiles to entice men to fall for you." (A better translation for this "sentence to remember" would be welcome.)

The Domnern Sathienpong dictionary even says for the latter, "enticing; provocative, sexy, seductive; to arose desire, tempt, seduce."

The RID says,

ยั่วยวน ก. ทําให้อีกฝ่ายหนึ่งกำเริบรักหรือเกิดความใคร่ "To cause someone else to fall seriously in love [with him or her]; or to create desire."

Any thoughts?

hi everyone

thank you maak maak for all the replies! yes, i think แกล้ง (klaeng) is it (as mangkorn and many others suggested). but i didn't know the tone was that serious!! i was talking to my brother about being disturbed by a guy and he asked me "krai kraeng/klaeng khun"...i thought he meant tease. tried to look it up in an online dictionary but couldn't get it right...it's the "rolling r and l thingie" that caused the "mis-spelling" hahaha...

kj

EDIT : wrong encoding of thai text

Edited October 2, 200718 yr by khaojao

Isn't it interesting that the word "ยั่วยวน" has two such very different meanings; maybe "anger" is the result of too much enticement and provocation:

ยั่วยวน [V] enrage; irritate; infuriate; tease; taunt; stir up; provoke

Syn. ยั่ว, กวนโทสะ

Def. ทำให้เกิดอารมณ์โมโห.

"To create anger"

Sample:เขายั่วยวนกวนโทสะผม จนผมสุดจะทน

"He infuriates me and provokes my anger to the limits of my endurance."

ยั่วยวน [V] tempt; lure; entice; seduce; appeal; beguile

Syn. ยั่ว

Def. ทำให้กำเริบด้วยความใคร่.

Sample:เธอจงใจโปรยเสน่ห์ยั่วยวนให้ชายหลงใหล

"You intentionally use your [female] wiles to entice men to fall for you." (A better translation for this "sentence to remember" would be welcome.)

The Domnern Sathienpong dictionary even says for the latter, "enticing; provocative, sexy, seductive; to arose desire, tempt, seduce."

The RID says,

ยั่วยวน ก. ทําให้อีกฝ่ายหนึ่งกำเริบรักหรือเกิดความใคร่ "To cause someone else to fall seriously in love [with him or her]; or to create desire."

Any thoughts?

Both connotations of the word have in common that they disturb the ideal, unperturbed mind, whether by inducing anger or desire, both of which lead to suffering.

Perhaps this is too far-fetched as an explanation, but it is the first one that popped into my head.

hi everyone

thank you maak maak for all the replies! yes, i think แกล้ง (klaeng) is it (as mangkorn and many others suggested). but i didn't know the tone was that serious!! i was talking to my brother about being disturbed by a guy and he asked me "krai kraeng/klaeng khun"...i thought he meant tease. tried to look it up in an online dictionary but couldn't get it right...it's the "rolling r and l thingie" that caused the "mis-spelling" hahaha...

kj

EDIT : wrong encoding of thai text

I can see the Thai text now. Thanks, Khaojao.

Let's do the same thing with the word "หยอกเย้า" which I too have not seen.

(Lexitron) หยอกเย้า [V] tease; kid; jolly; make fun of

Syn. เย้า, หยอก, สัพยอก, เย้าแหย่, หยอกล้อ

Sample:เขาอุ้มและหยอกเย้าอยู่กับลูกได้ชั่วขณะหนึ่ง ก็ส่งคืนให้ภรรยาอุ้มอีก

"He [the husband] held his child and played with him for a while, then gave his son back to his wife to hold."

(Domnern Sathienpong) to tease, to make playful remarks, be playful (with someone)"

(RID) หยอกเย้า ก. สัพยอก, กระเซ้าเย้าแหย่

สัพยอก [V] banter; chaff; josh; kid; rag; razz; rib

กระเซ้า [V] tease; joke; play; make fun of

เย้าแหย่ [V] tease; banter; pull one's leg; goad; joke; trick; kid

This word is a bit more playful and lighthearted than "ยั่วยวน" isn't it?

Here are some definitions from คลังคำ:

เย้าแหย่ – แกล้งทำให้โกรธหรืออายเพื่อความสนุก

"to annoy in order to make someone angry or self-conscious for one's own enjoyment"

หยอกเย้า – แกล้งทำร้ายเล่นๆ ด้วยกายหรอวาจา

"to annoy in a threatening but playful manner either by acting or verbally

ยั่ว – ทำให้เกิดอารมณ์ใคร่ โกรธ หรือขบขัน

"to create emotions of desire, anger, or humor [in someone else]"

Thanks for raising the issue and for encouraging analysis; any other thoughts or distinctions? Examples would be excellent.

Very many Thai people do understand much of the other localized regional dialects. No reason to simply presume otherwise. If native English-speakers can easily recognize the differences between England's localized dialects and/or North American dialects, why wouldn't Thais be able to do the same? And if some farang who doesn't even speak Thai fluently can recognize the differences, then why should anyone presume that Thai people cannot do so?

I never presume anything. I based my comments from many thousands of hours talking, eating, drinking and playing with Thai people from all regions of the kingdom.