Tastes

[Paleface]

I know of the tastes, salty, bitter, sweet, and sour. I have heard some Thais refer to the taste, "mun". My wife says it is like peanuts. Could someone give me a better explanation?

[thaiflyer1]

Thought i had the answer มัน.............nutty?

[Boon Mee]

As I'm really a newbie w/respect to the Thai language and must defer to Snowleopard...but, the word "mun" can have many connotations. Generally after eating something tasty it's used or, after good sex it's been known to be uttered!

[Neeranam]

I know find myself saying, "Sep Lai" as I live in Isarn.

When asked "aroi mai", usually 20 times a day!, I sometimes say."roi jung hoo", which usually gets a laugh. I am not sure why, but I think it is the Southern way of saying it.

I grade my wife's cooking on a funny scale.

Aroi jing, aroi jing jing, aroi jung, aroi mak, aroi mak mak, and sometimes a mixture, aroi jung jing, or aroi jung mak.

[snowleopard]

I know of the tastes, salty, bitter, sweet, and sour. I have heard some Thais refer to the taste, "mun". My wife says it is like peanuts. Could someone give me a better explanation?

Hi everyone,

มัน "mahn" can mean several things in Thai.

In that particular context it refers to something that is tasty,toothsome,enjoyable etc.

Like BoonMee pointed out, "mahn" could also be used to describe that particularly enjoyable activity too!

It is pronounced and spelt exactly like the third person pronoun "mahn", which is translated into English as "it".

Many plants with edible tubers are prefixed "mahn".

For example "mahn farang"=potato;and yam.

"Mahn" also means fatty food,oil,grease,lard,things that are oily,shiny,polished and similar kinds of stuff.

When vendors of peanuts call customers,they usually call out "too-ah mahn mahn"!

Often times they are Indians!

ถั่วลิสง "too-ah le-song" is the name for peanut.

Cheers.

Snowleopard.

[Thetyim]

Thanks for that SnowLeopard, I have been confused by the word mahn for a long time.

Now I understand why my thai friend said that the lastest Playstation game was fatty, and why the pork was exciting.

[bina]

all the people i know say peanut: tua din (earth bean) which is similar as the alternative inenglish: ground nut.

[snowleopard]

It is pronounced and spelt exactly like the third person pronoun "mahn", which is translated into English as "it".

I've seen them both spelled the same but I suspect the proper Thai spelling should be like this for the meaning "enjoyable;or,sa-nohk="มันส์ "mahn"! มันส์ with the "gahran" over "sor seu-a"!

When vendors of peanuts call customers,they usually call out "too-ah mahn mahn"!

Often times they are Indians!

ถั่วลิสง "too-ah le-song" is the name for peanut.

I think the original reason for calling the nuts "too-ah mahn mahn" was because they were fried in oil or because they had oil in them,i.e. "mahn"!

Later, the word came to describe the nuts because they were tasty and "ah-roy"= "mahn mahn"!

I've seen commercials on TV where they say that the nuts are so "mahn mahn" that eaters can't stop chewing them after having tried the first one!

Cheers.

Snowleopard.

[snowleopard]

all the people i know say peanut: tua din  (earth bean) which is similar as the alternative inenglish: ground nut.

Bina,

It might be a colloquial expression for the nut in your area and elsewhere ;but I would say that the proper Thai name for ground nut is ถั่วลิสง "too-ah le-song"

Cheers.

Snowleopard.

[sabaijai]

all the people i know say peanut: tua din  (earth bean) which is similar as the alternative inenglish: ground nut.

Bina,

It might be a colloquial expression for the nut in your area and elsewhere ;but I would say that the proper Thai name for ground nut is ถั่วลิสง "too-ah le-song"

Cheers.

Snowleopard.

/thua din/ is what they call 'peanuts' in Laos, Isan and northern Thailand. So Bina, you must be hanging around folks from one of these areas ...

Ratchabandit defines มัน as 'oily like coconut cream or peanuts' (my translation), in reference to food/flavour.

I've seen them both spelled the same but I suspect the proper Thai spelling should be like this for the meaning "enjoyable;or,sa-nohk="มันส์ "mahn"!  มันส์ with the "gahran" over "sor seu-a"!

I've seen it spelt both ways as well, either way it's simply a slang word for 'fun'. Not sure if it's coincidence or not, but the Lao/Isan/northern Thai word for 'fun' is มวน ... yes different word and pronunciation but they could easily be related.

But I wonder where the -ส์ comes from? It makes the word look as if it's a foreign loan word. Ratchabandit, the largest Thai-Thai dictionary in print, doesn't list มันส์ at all. However for definition 4 of มัน it lists the synonym เพสิน, meaning (my definition), 'to be happily absorbed (in something)'. So why do you suspect there should be a -ส์ at the end (other than if you've seen it spelt that way, as I have)?

[meadish_sweetball]

I've never seen มัน[/size=7] "man" spelt with the "garaned" so seua before. My teacher spelled the word without the so seua and garan - but I suppose the spelling may have been introduced in order to separate the two meanings... or it could simply be a misspelling. There is plenty of words on signs being misspelt... to the extent that various spellings for the same word seem to be around.

This is particularly true for words with "kra-" combinations. I was taught the famous holy basil/ground meat dish should be "ผัดกะพราว"[/size=7] but many people tell me it should have ro reuas in the beginning as well.

Which is more correct?

Cheers,

Meadish

[Paleface]

Thanks everyone, I got more than I bargained for with that question!

I was under the impression "mun" was a separate taste altogether.

So, something salty, or sweet could also be described as mun?

Could the word be used in place of "aroi" or "saab" ?

[snowleopard]

I've seen them both spelled the same but I suspect the proper Thai spelling should be like this for the meaning "enjoyable;or,sa-nohk="มันส์ "mahn"!  มันส์ with the "gahran" over "sor seu-a"!

I've seen it spelt both ways as well, either way it's simply a slang word for 'fun'. Not sure if it's coincidence or not, but the Lao/Isan/northern Thai word for 'fun' is มวน ... yes different word and pronunciation but they could easily be related.

But I wonder where the -ส์ comes from? It makes the word look as if it's a foreign loan word. Ratchabandit, the largest Thai-Thai dictionary in print, doesn't list มันส์ at all. However for definition 4 of มัน it lists the synonym เพสิน, meaning (my definition), 'to be happily absorbed (in something)'. So why do you suspect there should be a -ส์ at the end (other than if you've seen it spelt that way, as I have)?

But I wonder where the -ส์ comes from? It makes the word look as if it's a foreign loan word.

It makes the word look as if it's a foreign loan word. Ratchabandit, the largest Thai-Thai dictionary in print, doesn't list มันส์ at all.

I've never seen มัน[/size=7] "man" spelt with the "garaned" so seua before. My teacher spelled the word without the so seua and garan

Hi there Sabaijai and Meadish,

I think I can explain the puzzling mystery of the two synonym words มัน (mahn) and มันส์ (mahn-s)!

They are synonyms!

Sabaijai,it's not a foreign word but rather a buzz word invented by Thai teenagers.Probably in Bangkok?

The meaning of มันส์ is very,very,very มัน;or สนุกมากๆ Very,very "mahn"!

It's a joke with adding the English plural S to a Thai word! "mahn-sssss"

It seems that the "sor seu-a" should be pronounced too despite the "gah-ran" saying otherwise!

I think this explanation is correct but I can't swear on it.I just heard it now from some friends!

Cheers.

Snowleopard.

[sabaijai]

They are synonyms!

Sabaijai,it's not a foreign word but rather a buzz word invented by Thai teenagers.Probably in Bangkok? 

The meaning of มันส์ is very,very,very มัน;or สนุกมากๆ  Very,very "mahn"!

It's a joke with adding the English plural S to a Thai word!  "mahn-sssss" 

It seems that the "sor seu-a" should be pronounced too despite the "gah-ran" saying otherwise!

In other words, มันส์ is an updated version of the simple มัน, which has been around a long time and is used by Thais of all ages.

If younger Thais are adding the /s/ sound at the end to make it sound more farang, that makes sense. It's like in half the pop songs in Thai these days, the singers intentionally mis-pronounce Thai to make it sound like a farang could be singing the words. But only on certain words, the most common of which seems to be /chan/ (ฉัน), which is often sung as /shan/ (no Thai spelling available!). This affectation drives older Thais -- Thais in their 30s even -- up the wall.

It's much like the situation with the word ซ่า, referring to the sound of a carbonated drink 'fizzing' as well as to the general feeling of becoming refreshed. This has been transformed into a slang word for thrilling/letting your hair down/going all out (take your pick), ซ่าส์, where once again the final -ส์ serves no purpose at all other than to create a 'foreign' feel. Or at least I think that's what's going on ...

Either way the -ส์ has to have the kaaran on it because Thai orthographic rules won't allow naw noo to be followed by saw seua alone without it, even if when the letter is pronounced.

By the way, the insertion of an /h/ into SL's transcription of มัน may mislead novice Thai learners into thinking the word has a long vowel, as in one of the common translits of อาจารย์, ajahn (also ajarn, ajaan, etc).

Edited August 15, 2004 by sabaijai

[Richard W]

Either way it has to have the ka-ron on it

Is the 'o' a typo or are you making some point?

[sabaijai]

Either way it has to have the ka-ron on it

Is the 'o' a typo or are you making some point?

Typo, should be karan/kaa-ran/kahran/your choice ...

There was another error in my post that I've since edited.

[sabaijai]

Thanks everyone, I got more than I bargained for with that question!

I was under the impression "mun" was a separate taste altogether.

So, something salty, or sweet could also be described as mun?

Could the word be used in place of "aroi" or "saab" ?

Paleface, no /man/ can't be used instead of /arawy/ or /saep/, in fact if you refer to a dish as /man/ it's usually taken to mean it's oily, not in a positive sense.

However it can be used in a positive sense with reference to food, if it's a dish that should be oily. In that case you'd qualify it by saying /man dee/, "oily good."

The famous Hainanese 'chicken rice' dish that's so popular in Thailand, ข้าวมันไก่ /khao man kai/, is an example where มัน is clearly used in a positive sense. When you translate it directly into English as 'chicken-oily rice' or 'chicken-fat rice' it doesn't sound very appetising, does it?

So 'oily' isn't always the best translation in English, it's a bit tricky to translate directly, like many Thai words. 'Oily' in English is a bit more generic, /man/ in Thai is a certain kind of oiliness, and 'oily' in English almost always has a pejorative sense, while /man/ in Thai is more neutral. That's why I quoted Ratchabandit, using the texture of coconut milk or peanuts as an example.

And yes it's considered a separate flavour to the Thais in addition to salty, sweet, bitter, etc. Some dishes may contain elements of any or all of these, so a dish might be oily and salty at the same time of course.

Edited August 15, 2004 by sabaijai

[qualtrough]

I just opened a new topic on muns before seeing this. Muns is not a recent phenomena as I first heard it in 1981 in conjunction with Boonmee's 2nd meaning. I just recently saw it again on the cover of a Thai comic book, but the final s was not sa seu. I can't recall if it was sa so, but recall that it struck me as a peculiar spelling for muns that I had not seen before. I will have to go back to the barber shop and report back.

[Boon Mee]

Either way it has to have the ka-ron on it

Is the 'o' a typo or are you making some point?

Typo, should be karan/kaa-ran/kahran/your choice ...

There was another error in my post that I've since edited.

And my Becker Dictionary spells it "gaa-ran" ์.

Not too clear when to use it though. For example - the male name "Shawn" ชอว์น is spelled with it to make that syllable silent. But why is it over the "waw waaen" ว as opposed to the "naw nuu" น?

Guess I haven't come to that rule yet...

Cheers!

บุญมี

[the scouser]

For example - the male name "Shawn" ชอว์น is spelled with it to make that syllable silent.  But why is it over the "waw waaen" ว as opposed to the "naw nuu" น?

บุญมี

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

To my knowledge the garan doesn't silence the syllable but rather the consonant above which it's placed. Therefore, with "Shawn" the garan is correctly placed above the wor waen as its sole function is to represent the presence of a letter "w" in the name in English. The pronunciation of the wor waen is unnecessary because the preceding or ang fully conveys the required vowel sound. In fact if the person in Boon Mee's example spelt their name "Sean" or "Shaun" then no wor waen would appear in the translation. It would simply be "ชอน".

Scouse.

[Boon Mee]

For example - the male name "Shawn" ชอว์น is spelled with it to make that syllable silent.  But why is it over the "waw waaen" ว as opposed to the "naw nuu" น?

บุญมี

To my knowledge the garan doesn't silence the syllable but rather the consonant above which it's placed. Therefore, with "Shawn" the garan is correctly placed above the wor waen as its sole function is to represent the presence of a letter "w" in the name in English. The pronunciation of the wor waen is unnecessary because the preceding or ang fully conveys the required vowel sound. In fact if the person in Boon Mee's example spelt their name "Sean" or "Shaun" then no wor waen would appear in the translation. It would simply be "ชอน".

Scouse.

Thanks Scouse...my Becker gives an example of the Thai name "Paiboon" ไพบูลย์ so therefore, the yoo yak is silent.

บุญมี

[the scouser]

I've just thought of another example, my name - "Ralph" - which Thais find impossible to pronounce. It's translated as "ราล์ฟ" - Raf. Thais just can't get their tounges around the "lf" consonant cluster so pretend that the "l" is not pronounced.

Scouse.

[meadish_sweetball]

I've just thought of another example, my name - "Ralph" - which Thais find impossible to pronounce. It's translated as "ราล์ฟ" - Raf. Thais just can't get their tounges around the "lf" consonant cluster so pretend that the "l" is not pronounced.

Scouse.

Scouser, you're spot on. The garan typically silences the very consonant it is placed above, but in some cases it can silence two consonants as well.

In the spelling of Monday, "wan jan" is one example:

วันจันทร์

Cheers,

Meadish

[samran]

I've always taken it to mean it tastes 'oily' or 'fatty'