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The Tattoo Thread - Western Names In Thai Script


meadish_sweetball

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ขึ้นลีย์ = Kuenley (mouth shape :D)

คุณลีย์ = Kuenley (mouth shape :o)

โอ = O

Thanks. I think the second Kuenley will be the better choice since the mouth shape is closer to the original.

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You may prefer to use ุนลีย์ instead of คุลีย์์, since คุณ is actually a word in Thai with the meaning of "you", or a title used in front of names somewhat like "Mr./Mrs./Miss" in English. If you use คุณลีย์ Thais may misinterpret it to mean that your name is ลีย์, and the คุณ is just a title, so your name is Mr. Lee... I'd go with คุนลีย์ to avoid any ambiguities. The pronunciation is exactly the same.

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ขึ้นลีย์ = Kuenley (mouth shape :D)

คุณลีย์ = Kuenley (mouth shape :o)

โอ = O

If you spelled it คุนลีย์ it would work if the pronunciation is (Koon-lee). But if the pronunciation is "Koon-lay", then you'd want something like คุนเลย์

Whatever you do, don't go with the first one suggested by Sarahsbloke because it's been unecessarily written in a way that gives the first syllable a falling tone, which would just sound funny. Plus that first syllable is already a Thai word used to say "increasingly", and that's how a native would hear it.

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Yasmin - ญาสมินทร์ ?

I know there are many ways to spell it but I like this version. Chose ญ over ย because I think it's more feminine. Been told to add ทร์ as it would look too short otherwise. I know English speakers would probably say แญส instead of ญาส but I prefer the latter. Comments?

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It never ceases to amaze me the number of foreigners who line up to ink things on their skin without letting their inability to read and/or understand the thai language get in the way. :blink:

Many of the things westerners want translated don't lend themselves to being done in a word by word or literal fashion. This leaves a GIANT gap in what you want people to understand when reading the tattoo and the actual meaning any thai would get out of reading it. Some things I've read on foreigners are just nonsense, and even asking a thai friend what it means, often times they'll say, "It's nothing, just garbage, no meaning in thai.." :huh:

To a person the thais I know, find it strange a foreigner would tattoo something on themselves in a language they can't read.

As an example; just the other day I was in the Top's Market Food Court in the basement of Robinson's at Sukhumvit Soi 19 eating lunch with some thai friends. A 30+ something y/o foreigner with his obligatory thai significant other aka his 'thai-in-tow' came in. BOTH of his forearms were covered in at least 3/4 inch high thai script, I mean TOTALLY covered. It also had each thai word separated by a space from the next, (something BTW not EVER done in the thai language). It was obviously a 'work-in-progress' as some of the words were only outlined and not inked in totally. I never was able to read it and FWIW neither were the thais I was sitting with. For all I know it coulda said something like; "If this severed arm is found please return it to the following address." :lol:

While I am reluctant to "piss on anyone's parade"; I caution the T/V forum patrons (especially the younger headstrong ones), think carefully BEFORE you ink something into your skin in a foreign language.

Ask as MANY thais as you possibly can what they think the meaning is without telling them what you really want it to mean. In other words don't 'lead' them to the answer. Thais are brainwashed from infancy into non-confrontation, and will give usually agree with you rather than tell you what you want reads like total nonsense. <_<

Also remember simple 'conceptual' things in english often times cannot be rendered in thai without a lengthy description, giving far less 'bang for your baht' as far as a good looking or widely understood tattoo.

If you're still hel_l-bent on getting a thai tattoo, go to a temple and have a monk use that bamboo stick 'n needle to get one of the traditional buddhist tattoos on your shoulder. Unfortunately the script will NOT be thai, but as you probably can't read thai anyway you won't notice. Those types of tattoos are thought much higher of by thais overall than the b/s thai worded &lt;deleted&gt; most foreigners end up with.

Again, sorry to seem negative, and in all honesty I could care less what you do to yourselves. I'm only relating what I've heard from thais concerning the often times goofball and/or nonsensical thai worded tattoos foreigners proudly wear in an effort to 'embrace their inner thai-ness'.

Good Luck. .. :)

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Yasmin - ญาสมินทร์ ?

I know there are many ways to spell it but I like this version. Chose ญ over ย because I think it's more feminine. Been told to add ทร์ as it would look too short otherwise. I know English speakers would probably say แญส instead of ญาส but I prefer the latter. Comments?

I couldn't find the edit post button but just in response to tod-daniels post, I'm not going to do a tattoo :) Also, people tattooing things they don't really understand has been going on for ages (chinese tattoos). And it's just as silly as when Thais transliterate their names to English which is in almost all cases horribly wrong, including silent letters and whatnot.

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Yasmin - ญาสมินทร์ ?

I know there are many ways to spell it but I like this version. Chose ญ over ย because I think it's more feminine. Been told to add ทร์ as it would look too short otherwise. I know English speakers would probably say แญส instead of ญาส but I prefer the latter. Comments?

I couldn't find the edit post button but just in response to tod-daniels post, I'm not going to do a tattoo :) Also, people tattooing things they don't really understand has been going on for ages (chinese tattoos). And it's just as silly as when Thais transliterate their names to English which is in almost all cases horribly wrong, including silent letters and whatnot.

Well, you probably already know that "ยาสมิน" or "ยัสมิน" are the much more natural choices of spelling Yasmin. To me, ญาสมินทร์ looks like some strange Persian-Arabic-Sanskrit non-sense concoction. ญ originally represented a ñ sound in Sanskrit and Pali loanwords. And the silent "ทร์" is the result of Thai abbreviating the pronunciation of Indic words. So, to me at least, ญาสมินทร์ makes it look like your name was originally "Ñāsamindra" in Sanskrit.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Hi folks. I'm not getting a tattoo done (I find after 48 years that I don't have to write it down any more to remember it [but am aware that that may change!!!! lol]), but I am now living in Thailand and am working on learning the language so I figure being able to write my name in Thai would be pretty handy.

Mike Armstrong

My Thai teacher reckons the Mike is ไมค์ but I am having difficulty understanding this as I thought that the gaa-ran symbol meant that the 'k' sound is silent, but of course when you say "mike", there is a slight, but distinct 'k' sound at the end of it.

I have had a go at doing my surname: อัรมสทรง

Any help with this would be greatly appreciated. Thank you in advance.

smile.gif

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Hi folks. I'm not getting a tattoo done (I find after 48 years that I don't have to write it down any more to remember it [but am aware that that may change!!!! lol]), but I am now living in Thailand and am working on learning the language so I figure being able to write my name in Thai would be pretty handy.

Mike Armstrong

My Thai teacher reckons the Mike is ไมค์ but I am having difficulty understanding this as I thought that the gaa-ran symbol meant that the 'k' sound is silent, but of course when you say "mike", there is a slight, but distinct 'k' sound at the end of it.

I have had a go at doing my surname: อัรมสทรง

Any help with this would be greatly appreciated. Thank you in advance.

smile.gif

อาร์มสตรอง

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Hi folks. I'm not getting a tattoo done (I find after 48 years that I don't have to write it down any more to remember it [but am aware that that may change!!!! lol]), but I am now living in Thailand and am working on learning the language so I figure being able to write my name in Thai would be pretty handy.Mike ArmstrongMy Thai teacher reckons the Mike is ไมค์ but I am having difficulty understanding this as I thought that the gaa-ran symbol meant that the 'k' sound is silent, but of course when you say "mike", there is a slight, but distinct 'k' sound at the end of it.I have had a go at doing my surname: อัรมสทรงAny help with this would be greatly appreciated. Thank you in advance.smile.gif
อาร์มสตรอง
Thank you Yogi (I'm not going to call you lazy, because you helped me ;) ) :jap:
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Hi folks. I'm not getting a tattoo done (I find after 48 years that I don't have to write it down any more to remember it [but am aware that that may change!!!! lol]), but I am now living in Thailand and am working on learning the language so I figure being able to write my name in Thai would be pretty handy.Mike ArmstrongMy Thai teacher reckons the Mike is ไมค์ but I am having difficulty understanding this as I thought that the gaa-ran symbol meant that the 'k' sound is silent, but of course when you say "mike", there is a slight, but distinct 'k' sound at the end of it.I have had a go at doing my surname: อัรมสทรงAny help with this would be greatly appreciated. Thank you in advance.smile.gif
อาร์มสตรอง
Thank you Yogi (I'm not going to call you lazy, because you helped me ;) ) :jap:

mai bpen-rai.

Also, my wife agrees that ไมค์ is correct. But like you, I can't figure out why.

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  • 3 weeks later...

i wanna get a tattoo to remember my nan

can anyone translate

DOLLY 13-12-1999 in thai

thks

annnick

Hi Annnick,

it can be written ดอลลี่ 13 ธค 2542 with december in shortform or ดอลลี่ ๑๓ ธันวาคม ๒๕๔๒ or 1999 looks in thai like this ๑๙๙๙ like three little elefants in a row........

:jap:

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  • 2 weeks later...

Hi, first time poster, don't hate on my post count too hard - I come in peace.

I'm looking at inking this: 'Muay Thai' (I believe huh.gif ) down my shin vertically. Muay_logo.jpg.

I've been training since I was 15 in Australia, Melbourne and it's something that I've wanted for quite a while. I initially wanted to get it down during my first trip to Thai Land now I'm not so sure - everyone seems to think I'll get HEP C or something. blink.gif

In any event I wanted to know how I'd post it down my shin... My would it be like

Letter from left to right

1st

2nd

3rd

4th etc.?

Also, while on the topic I wanted to go to the tattoo festival in 'Wha Bang Phra' but was lead to believe they wont tattoo whites, I could catch something, they don't take requests + I couldn't explain what I wanted in any case.

I think the needle is really cool.

Thanks again,

Jesse Ryan

Edited by JROX
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Muay_logo.jpg.

This is how it'd go written vertically.

As to the health issues, I couldn't comment other than, given the numbers of foreigners who tattoo stuff on their skin here in Thailand, IF contagious diseases were very rampant, someone woulda 'exposed' it already.

FWIW: at most tattoo festivals, they'll tattoo anyone who pony's up the money, no matter the color of your skin.

The one you mention "Wha Bang Phra", I believe you really mean the one held at "Wat Bang Phra" located a coupla hours outside Bangkok. I highly doubt they'd be any different than most,

Google:“Wat Bang Phra, Thailand” in quotes just like I typed it, there're plenty of foreigners who've written good blogs and articles about the tattoo festival held there.

Edited by tod-daniels
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Muay_logo.jpg.

This is how it'd go written vertically.

As to the health issues, I couldn't comment other than, given the numbers of foreigners who tattoo stuff on their skin here in Thailand, IF contagious diseases were very rampant, someone woulda 'exposed' it already.

FWIW: at most tattoo festivals, they'll tattoo anyone who pony's up the money, no matter the color of your skin.

The one you mention "Wha Bang Phra", I believe you really mean the one held at "Wat Bang Phra" located a coupla hours outside Bangkok. I highly doubt they'd be any different than most,

Google:“Wat Bang Phra, Thailand” in quotes just like I typed it, there're plenty of foreigners who've written good blogs and articles about the tattoo festival held there.

Thanks so much man, really appreciate the help.

Hehe - thanks for the Spelling correction - though I had it right.

Sounds awesome...

As for actual images, will they do what I want... I wanted the 'Traditional' (>_>) Tiger they draw on the chest. Suppose to represent strength and protection etc.

Thanks again

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hey everybody, im trying to find out 2 words in thai writing. one is my last name - ivany , i tried typing it in translators but it would not translate to thai writing, it just stayed as "ivany"

another word im looking for in thai is "pride" , i typed it in and got many different spellins such as:

  • ความภาคภูมิใจ
  • ความภูมิใจ
  • ความหยิ่ง
  • ความภาคภูมิ
  • ความยโส
  • ทิฐิมานะ

can anybody tell me which one is the correct one for the word pride, and if ivany can be written in thai? thanks!

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  • 4 months later...

The -็ symbol is a vowel shortener--it works on the "อ" to give it a shorter version of the "aw" it normally makes. Practically, it probably won't make much difference to your ear, but you can get a Thai to read the two versions to you and pick whichever you think sounds best--if you can hear the difference at all.

Note however, that the -็ is usually included in transcriptions of English words with a short o vowel into Thai: Examples include lock, blog, shock, knock, and top.

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  • 3 weeks later...

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