Quality Of Thai Language: How To?

[petitechevre]

My gf's sister keeps saying gin kaow everytime she talks about eating food.. food that has no rice.

This isnt right is it? it's starting to kill me because, she doesnt do anything. she's been sitting in her home watching tv and eating(+beer) from 6am to 2am for 10years so obviously the only topic she can discuss over and over is food food food or something funny that just happened then is repeated a million time over the hours.

So im here at my work station and here gin kaow kaow gin.. obviously no rice in the house today.

my gf is picking up on this and i want to know how to make her understand that its incorect(grammar wise), i dont want the kid to have a butchered thai since its already going to have a butchered french and english.

Getting the sister away wont work, if she isnt here at 6am she calls for aprox 4-5hours during the day.

[Tod Daniels]

Your totally meaningless rant shows just how much you don't know about the glorious "Land 'O Thais", the diminutive inhabitants which populate it or their language.

The phrase "กินข้าว" is colloquial (spoken by the preponderance of the population) thai and is used as an idiom for "let's eat". Contrary to your esteemed yet worthless opinion it doesn't exclusively mean 'eat rice'. Unless you've been wearing a paper bag over your head, you might have noticed that just about every meal has rice served. It's cooked in every way you can possibly cook it, and is a 'staple' for the natives here.

It's about as far from 'butchered' thai as you can get. Among friends, family, and anyone they know fairly well, it is the term spoken when saying "Let's eat". They would only use the more formal word for food "อาหาร" with a complete stranger, possibly when out in public, or when talking to someone who's position on the socio-economic ladder they are unsure of.

As much as I hate to side with the natives on any issue in this country; the person in question IS using correct speech when speaking.

I might suggest learning a little thai as your first step AFTER removing the priggish snob blinders you seem to be wearing.

Edited for pesky spelling

**MODZ - I think this is better suited for the Thai Language Forum**

Edited July 13, 2008 by tod-daniels

[teacup]

Obviously you haven’t been in Thailand that long.

Gin kaow = having a meal or let's have a meal also,.... not necessary means eating rice

It’s just an informal common phrase for “having a meal” or "let's have a meal" .

“tan kaow” is actually a more polite phrase and commonly used than “gin kaow”

I will leave others here to give you advice of how to deal w/the sister.

Edited July 13, 2008 by teacup

[dotcom]

Don't tell him how to say "Where have you been?".

Edited July 13, 2008 by dotcom

[meom]

Tod's on the mark here except for the word "priggish" which I had to look up in the dictionary.

Assuming the OP's french pompous might bring home the message

[petitechevre]

it still sounds off when someone ask what did u do and answer gin kaow when u just had a salad

Btw i had to say that the first poster, which is probably a 5'5 balding fat old male which's only success is learning thai in life to be able to get prostitutes is completely retarded

i asked if this is right or not(second line) because my thai is very basic, the only whining i had was on the fat annoying sister, bugging the hel_l out of me or my friends when shes around. nothing about the language.

Seriously people, some of us have better things to do than learn thai on a deep level in our low 20's.. lot's of posters here are normal decent people just enjoying life in los instead of trying to discuss the fine art of cheap thai beers with hookers.

Edited July 13, 2008 by petitechevre

[meom]

Seriously people, some of us have better things to do than learn thai on a deep level in our low 20's.. lot's of posters here are normal decent people just enjoying life in los instead of trying to discuss the fine art of cheap thai beers with hookers.

Which raises the question if one goes for some french kissing down below can the words " gin kao"

be used in this context

[kriswillems]

Just want to add that

กินข้าวแส้ว(หรือ)ยัง Have you already eaten?

Is used by Thai people to greet each other or to start a conversation. Normally no answer is expected.

The answer could be:

ยัง (not yet)

กินแล้ว (yes, I have)

Normally the answer is just ignored.

ฺำBefore the word สวัสดี was invented this was the standard way for Thai people to greet each other. And many people, especially friends, still greet each other this way.

So "eating rice" has many meanings in Thai.

Another typical greeting is:

ไปไหนมา where have you been

Many farang misunderstand this question and feel insulted by the curiosity of Thai people. You're not expected to give a full and honest answer to this question. It's just a way of greeting each other.

Edited July 13, 2008 by kriswillems

[wasabi]

Btw i had to say that the first poster, which is probably a 5'5 balding fat old male which's only success is learning thai in life to be able to get prostitutes is completely retarded

Hey I'm a 5'6" fat old balding male! But at least I know what gin Kaow means.

LOL.

[a2396]

It shoudl not come as a surprise that Thai, at least as it is spoken by many of the natives, is not the most precise language in the world. Often direct translations into Englsih are next to impossible. None-the-less, the language suites the culture well, in the aparent desire for inexact meanings. Don't try to educate the locals in the use of their language. It's a fruitless excercise.

[a2396]

Just want to add that

กินข้าวแส้ว(หรือ)ยัง Have you already eaten?

Is used by Thai people to greet each other or to start a conversation. Normally no answer is expected.

The answer could be:

ยัง (not yet)

กินแล้ว (yes, I have)

Normally the answer is just ignored.

ฺำBefore the word สวัสดี was invented this was the standard way for Thai people to greet each other. And many people, especially friends, still greet each other this way.

So "eating rice" has many meanings in Thai.

Another typical greeting is:

ไปไหนมา where have you been

Many farang misunderstand this question and feel insulted by the curiosity of Thai people. You're not expected to give a full and honest answer to this question. It's just a way of greeting each other.

And, don't forget: "where you go?"

[Kerryd]

Lets see if I've got this right.

A farang of French origin, who admittedly knows limited Thai language, is criticising Thais for the way they speak their own language ?

L'incroyable mon dieu !

Wonder what kind of reception I'd get if I went to Paris or another French city, and started criticising the people there for the way they speak their own language ? Would I be pelted with baguettes and hunks of Brie ?

Or would the local populace be indigently outraged sufficiently that I would have to duck more lethal projectiles ?

I know !

Monsieur Little Goat (petitechevre). The next time your girlfriend (or her sister) uses that phrase, I suggest you promptly criticise them for their poor language skills and explain how they should properly speak their own language.

Please tape their reaction and post it where we can all see the results.

[Tod Daniels]

Btw i had to say that the first poster, which is probably a 5'5 balding fat old male which's only success is learning thai in life to be able to get prostitutes is completely retarded.... lot's of posters here are normal decent people just enjoying life in los instead of trying to discuss the fine art of cheap thai beers with hookers.

Quite the elegant and snappy come back there...

You must run a psychic (or is that psychotic) hotline or website to deduce SO much about me personally from my single post.

Sadly the facts bear out the error of your powers in discernment; I am NOT 5'5", nor am I fat, although you pegged me on the bald part. I don't drink, and although I live a stones throw from the infamous nite life venues, I don't frequent them or enter into dissertations with the workers of said places about cheap thai beer. So of the 5 things you mentioned about me only one (being bald) is correct. Then again using something called math, we can see that you're right 1 in 5 times or 20%. As my grandfather used to say, "Even a blind squirrel finds an acorn now and again".

Having actually learned enough of this language to be able to hold a conversation with the natives is something I have devoted many hours of study to and will continue to despite your dismissing it in favor of "better things to do whilst being in your low 20's" and alluding to the fact that you are 'normal' and 'decent'.

No one said anything about learning thai "on a deep level in our low 20's". How about just learning the basics? *****flame removed--sbk***

Lest you think I am being condescending please realize; I'm trying to talk to you on your level. Give me your hand, I'll pull you up to mine.

[AmeriThai]

Just want to add that

กินข้าวแส้ว(หรือ)ยัง Have you already eaten?

Is used by Thai people to greet each other or to start a conversation. Normally no answer is expected.

The answer could be:

ยัง (not yet)

กินแล้ว (yes, I have)

Normally the answer is just ignored.

ฺำBefore the word สวัสดี was invented this was the standard way for Thai people to greet each other. And many people, especially friends, still greet each other this way.

So "eating rice" has many meanings in Thai.

Another typical greeting is:

ไปไหนมา where have you been

Many farang misunderstand this question and feel insulted by the curiosity of Thai people. You're not expected to give a full and honest answer to this question. It's just a way of greeting each other.

And, don't forget: "where you go?"

That was somewhat in Kriswilliems post: "ไปไหนมา where have you been" (bpai nai maa), which is often used as an informal form of greeting, sort of like saying "Hey, what's going on?" when seeing someone you know. Although my wife will often ask me ไปไหน (bpai nai) as a way of saying "Where did you go?" or "Where have you been?" - an even more informal (short cut) version of "bpai nai maa".

I also agree that กินข้าว gin khao (eat rice), is also very informal, but a perfectly common way of referring to eating food whether there's any rice with it or not.

To the OP, don't try to be too critical about your gf's language quality. If Thai is her native language, then she certainly knows it much better than you do. It takes a little time for us foreigners to get the meaning of certain expressions.

The other issues about the gf is another matter.

[AmeriThai]

Btw i had to say that the first poster, which is probably a 5'5 balding fat old male which's only success is learning thai in life to be able to get prostitutes is completely retarded.... lot's of posters here are normal decent people just enjoying life in los instead of trying to discuss the fine art of cheap thai beers with hookers.

Quite the elegant and snappy come back there...

You must run a psychic (or is that psychotic) hotline or website to deduce SO much about me personally from my single post.

The OP's reply sounds a bit trollish.

[tomuk76]

Lest you think I am being condescending please realize; I'm trying to talk to you on your level. Give me your hand, I'll pull you up to mine.

Speaking down on people! There seems to be alot of that on thaivisa!

[petitechevre]

Just want to add that

กินข้าวแส้ว(หรือ)ยัง Have you already eaten?

Is used by Thai people to greet each other or to start a conversation. Normally no answer is expected.

The answer could be:

ยัง (not yet)

กินแล้ว (yes, I have)

Normally the answer is just ignored.

ฺำBefore the word สวัสดี was invented this was the standard way for Thai people to greet each other. And many people, especially friends, still greet each other this way.

So "eating rice" has many meanings in Thai.

Another typical greeting is:

ไปไหนมา where have you been

Many farang misunderstand this question and feel insulted by the curiosity of Thai people. You're not expected to give a full and honest answer to this question. It's just a way of greeting each other.

interesting, good reply.

for 'where have you been' i have only heard Pie Ny, which im perfectly used to.

and lol at the other guy talking about france, i have never been to france, have met a lot of them and hated most.

Anyways its good to see some people clearly understood the meaning of 'is this right?' as i wasnt critisizing. only ranting on the sister and trying to find more ways to annoy her while she tortures me while im trying to work by being so simple minded,overweight and a smelly smoker.

[sbk]

petitechevre, I am now going to close this thread as it has turned into a flame fest. Next time you have a question about the grammar and usage of the Thai language may I suggest you post in the Thai Language forum.

I might also suggest that when you do so you post in a less aggressive and contentious manner.