Estimate/guess

[Neeranam]

What is the verb form of 'estimate'?

'bpra-man'? ประมาณ

some dictionaries say "bpra mern" ประเมินbut this seems wrong to me. Is this not more to evaluate, like a students ability, for example?

What about the difference between estimate and guess?

[aanon]

What is the verb form of 'estimate'?

'bpra-man'? ประมาณ

some dictionaries say "bpra mern" ประเมินbut this seems wrong to me. Is this not more to evaluate, like a students ability, for example?

What about the difference between estimate and guess?

hey neeranam,

ประมาณ is the verb form you need eg. ประมาณราคา (to estimate the price). alternatively, you could use บอกราคาโดยประมาณ (to give an estimated price).

กะ is another option which involves an 'informed guess' eg.กะขนาดตัว (to guess somebody's size),

while เดา is a straight out guess eg.รู้ไหมว่าวันนี้เราไปเจอใครมา ให้ลองเดาดูซิ (you know who i ran into today? have a guess!).

i agree, ประเมิน is more a decision about value or performance. so, ประเมินราคา would be to give a valuation and ประเมินผล would be to evaluate results/performance.

all the best.

[Neeranam]

Thanks Aanon. BTW your name in English means the same as mine in Thai.

[DavidHouston]

These words are among my favorite bugaboos as well. Here is a set and definitions, as well as some "sound-alike" words:

Lexitron: ประเมิน [V] estimate; assess; evaluate; appraise; approximate Syn. ประมาณ, กะ, คะเน, คาดคะเน, หยั่ง, เก็ง

Royal Institute Dictionary:

ประเมิน ก. กะประมาณค่าหรือราคาเท่าที่ควรจะเป็น เช่น ประเมินราคา.

Lexitron: ประมาณ [V] estimate; approximate; reckon; calculate; compute roughly; guess; guesstimate Syn. กะ, คะเน, คาด, คาดคะเน, เก็ง

Royal Institute Dictionary:

ประมาณ ก. กะหรือคะเนให้ใกล้เคียงจํานวนจริงหรือให้พอเหมาะพอควร

เช่น ประมาณราคาไม่ถูก

ประมาณ [ADV] about; around; approximately Syn. ราว, ราวๆ, โดยประมาณ

ประมวล [V] codify; collect; compile; combine; gather; systematize

Syn. ประมวญ, รวบรวม, รวมเล่ม, เข้าเล่ม

Seems to me that as to the verb forms, RI seems to equate the meanings and usages of ประเมิน and ประมาณ and, as you see, Lexitron treats the two words as synonyms of each other.

Then, there is ประมาณ, the adverb and the similar sounding word, save for the vowel, ประมวล meaning "to collect".

And, finally, the most confusing of all to me is "ประมวลผล [V] evaluate; assess; estimate

Syn. นับ, วัดผล, ประเมินผล, ตรวจนับ". Here, for the third time, is the notion of "estimate." I prefer to stick with "evaluate" for this term to retain sanity.

Good luck.

Edited February 9, 2008 by DavidHouston

[Neeranam]

Is guesstimate a real English word?

[DavidHouston]

Is guesstimate a real English word?

Main Entry: ¹guess·ti·mate Pronunciation Guide

Variant(s): or gues·ti·mate \gestmt\

Function: transitive verb

Inflected Form(s): -ed/-ing/-s

Etymology: blend of ¹guess and estimate, v.

slang : to form an estimate of (as future population, costs, employment) without adequate factual or statistical information

Citation format for this entry:

"guesstimate." Webster's Third New International Dictionary, Unabridged. Merriam-Webster, 2002.

[DavidHouston]

From the SEAlang Library's "Habeas Bitexts":

จากการคำนวณที่เชื่อถือได้ประมาณว่ามีคนเสียชีวิตกว่า 3,000 คนหรืออาจถึง 6,000 คนด้วยซ้ำ

Reliable estimates put the loss above 3,000, and possibly as high as 6,000.

พวกเจ้าหน้าที่ประเมินว่าจะโยกย้ายทุกคนออกไปให้พ้นอันตรายได้หมดภายในหนึ่งสัปดาห์

Authorities estimate they can get everyone to safety within a week.

[tgeezer]

What is the verb form of 'estimate'?

'bpra-man'? ประมาณ

some dictionaries say "bpra mern" ประเมินbut this seems wrong to me. Is this not more to evaluate, like a students ability, for example?

What about the difference between estimate and guess?

I don't think there is a difference between an estimate and a guess in English or Thai, it depends who is doing the guessing and the nature of Thai means it is inevitably vague. As to use, I think you know already; if a kid is checking answers he evaluates if he is saying when he will get his haircut he says about one or two days. I don't know if you are using a Thai English dictionary because it is less pedantic in Thai Thai dictionaries. After looking up a word in the one you can consult the other it is quite surprising what you find.