Word For 'immature'?

[Wizzard of Oz]

I'm looking for a word that kind of means 'immature', but not in a negative way. Like not having grown up yet. Maybe meaning that you are more like a teenager still.

Say, for example, that you spend a lot of time with people who are like 20-ish, and don't act like an 'adult'. Face it - being an adult is no fun. You have responsibilities, want to go to sleep on time, and eventually you are just no fun (for most people anyway).

Obviously 'real grown ups' will see this is a negative becuase they think people should be more like them and 'grow up' and 'be responsible', blah blah blah.

Anyway, I think you get what I'm saying.

How might you describe this personality trait in thai?

[stateman]

I'm looking for a word that kind of means 'immature', but not in a negative way. Like not having grown up yet. Maybe meaning that you are more like a teenager still.

Say, for example, that you spend a lot of time with people who are like 20-ish, and don't act like an 'adult'. Face it - being an adult is no fun. You have responsibilities, want to go to sleep on time, and eventually you are just no fun (for most people anyway).

Obviously 'real grown ups' will see this is a negative becuase they think people should be more like them and 'grow up' and 'be responsible', blah blah blah.

Anyway, I think you get what I'm saying.

How might you describe this personality trait in thai?

Not so clear about your example. Anyway I'll take a stab here.

ทำตัวเป็นเด็ก (tum tua pen deg) , ทำตัวเหมือนเด็ก (tum tua muen deg) = act like a child.

ทำตัวไม่เป็นผู้ใหญ่ (tum tua mai pen pu yai) = act unlike an adult

Others may comment on this topic and my suggeston..

[meadish_sweetball]

If I've understood you correctly WoO, you want to describe somebody who does not want to take any responsibilities while still enjoying the freedoms that come with adulthood.

Not sure what expression would be apt except for the rather condemning ไม่รับผิดชอบ mai rab phid chawb (irresponsible).

Perhaps you could say ยังไม่พร้อมที่จะเป็นผู้ใหย่ yang mai phrawm thii ja pen phuu yai (not yet ready to become an adult)...?

[Samuian]

อ่อน - "oh-n" = green, inexperienced, immature, not ripe

or

ไก่ อ่อน - "gai oh-n"

or

ขาดความชำนาญ - "khat kwam tjam naan"

[Joel Barlow]

Rai diang-sa means to be childish, naive. Innocent and virginal are the same, borisut.

hope you're being straight in what you put out on this one...

[DirkGently]

I am sure the word is 'Thaimen'.

[longway]

I'm looking for a word that kind of means 'immature', but not in a negative way. Like not having grown up yet. Maybe meaning that you are more like a teenager still.

Say, for example, that you spend a lot of time with people who are like 20-ish, and don't act like an 'adult'. Face it - being an adult is no fun. You have responsibilities, want to go to sleep on time, and eventually you are just no fun (for most people anyway).

Obviously 'real grown ups' will see this is a negative becuase they think people should be more like them and 'grow up' and 'be responsible', blah blah blah.

Anyway, I think you get what I'm saying.

How might you describe this personality trait in thai?

sounds to me like you are looking for the thai expression equivalent to 'young at heart'.

apart from directly translating this into thai, i wouldnt know how to say it.

here are my attempts:

jai ayuu noi

jai (meuan) baao\saao

Edited December 13, 2007 by longway

[tgeezer]

I'm looking for a word that kind of means 'immature', but not in a negative way. Like not having grown up yet. Maybe meaning that you are more like a teenager still.

Say, for example, that you spend a lot of time with people who are like 20-ish, and don't act like an 'adult'. Face it - being an adult is no fun. You have responsibilities, want to go to sleep on time, and eventually you are just no fun (for most people anyway).

Obviously 'real grown ups' will see this is a negative becuase they think people should be more like them and 'grow up' and 'be responsible', blah blah blah.

Anyway, I think you get what I'm saying.

How might you describe this personality trait in thai?

In the group of Thais you refer to you start in with something like; สนุกนะ โตแล้วแต่ยังเป็นเยวาขนอยู่ if they seem to get it, you can follow up with ผมก็เหมือนกัน Sanuk na, (means what I am going to say is positive) grown up already but still a teenager. Me to (especially if you are well over the age) I know this would work with one of my golfing partners he is over seventy! the others I wouldn't say it to and maybe in their twenties they might not like it either. If they have been to school they will try to work it out. You can only try.

Edited December 13, 2007 by tgeezer

[longway]

I'm looking for a word that kind of means 'immature', but not in a negative way. Like not having grown up yet. Maybe meaning that you are more like a teenager still.

Say, for example, that you spend a lot of time with people who are like 20-ish, and don't act like an 'adult'. Face it - being an adult is no fun. You have responsibilities, want to go to sleep on time, and eventually you are just no fun (for most people anyway).

Obviously 'real grown ups' will see this is a negative becuase they think people should be more like them and 'grow up' and 'be responsible', blah blah blah.

Anyway, I think you get what I'm saying.

How might you describe this personality trait in thai?

sounds to me like you are looking for the thai expression equivalent to 'young at heart'.

apart from directly translating this into thai, i wouldnt know how to say it.

here are my attempts:

jai ayuu noi

jai (meuan) baao\saao

rather than keep answering ur posts with my crappy translations i asked some thais for translation of 'young at heart'.

got the following:

hua jai dek

jai yung dek

[Wizzard of Oz]

Yeah, young at heart would be closer to what I am looking for. Not sure if you can use it for someone who is 30 that has an attitude of a 20 year old tho cuz some consider 30 young.

Someone suggested 'ni-sai mai bpen puu yai' (ni-sai = นิสัย) which might be correct. Not sure what the connotations of that might be tho.

'Feeling/acting like a 20 year old can mean a good thing in that they haven't become old and cynical about life and lost the desire to be something great (if occasionally semi-unrealistic) but can also be negative in that they haven't accepted that they should just get a job and work and settle down for the rest of their life and be like everyone else. I'm looking for something that can be either positive or negative in a similar way and meaning to that. Hope I explained it a little better?

On a completely separate note - how do you say:

- hard work

- (he) works hard

One of them is ngaan nak[F]. That is as far as I got =P

Edited December 14, 2007 by Wizzard of Oz

[meadish_sweetball]

The first one is งานหนัก ngaan nak. The second is ทำงานหนัก tham ngaan nak.

[Wanida]

You can use

young mai penn puu yai por ยังไม่เป็นผู้ใหญ่พอ or an idiom

young mai penn lo penn pie ยังไม่เป็นโล้เป็นพาย

hard work is ngaan nak

work hard is tam ngaan nak

[PST]

Yaang Mai Som Bun,or similar sounding phrase i belive is the equivelent to immature.

PST.

[DavidHouston]

WOO, I know that this is not what you are looking for, but for the sake of completeness in several responses, I thought I would post the following; sorry for "topic-creep":

From Lexitron:

วุฒิภาวะ [N] maturity

Def. ความเป็นผู้ใหญ่. Being an adult

Sample:เรานำเสนอความจริงในหลายๆ ด้าน ให้กับผู้อ่านที่มีวุฒิภาวะและมากด้วยวิจารณญาณ

"We recommend truth in many aspects for the mature and imaginative reader."

(Yes, this salacious-sounding sentence is from staid Nectec.)

Here is another example of the word from a rant on the Internet:

"มันแสดงถึง ความไม่มีวุฒิภาวะ และการขาดความเอาใจใส่ต่อผู้อื่นในสังคม ของคนไทย"

[man sà-daeng tĕung kwaam mâi mee wóo-tí paa-wá láe gaan kàat kwaam ao jai sài dtòr pôo èun nai săng-kom kŏng kon tai]

"This just goes to show the lack of maturity and the lack of concern for others in society (on the part of some) Thai people."

Here you go, "ความไม่มีวุฒิภาวะ" [kwaam mâi mee wóo-tí paa-wá] is the term for "lack of maturity."

Edited December 20, 2007 by DavidHouston