Interesting Thai Literary Or Flowery Language

[MTLae]

Sawatdee Everyone!!

Here's my new post about Thai Literary. As in my Thai language class,advance level. We have learnt about the meaning of Thai Literary and the origin of each phrase. It's very interesting for people in the forum.

1. Thai literary that originate from Nature

For example

น้ำ-นิ่ง-ไหล-ลึก (naam-ning-lai-leuk) meaning To imply that people who are quiet and don't try to attract attention are often more interesting than people who do try to get attention.

น้ำ-นิ่ง (naam-ning) = Still water

It's the same meaning = "Still water run deep"

ชัก-แม่น้ำ-ทั้ง-ห้า (chak-mae-naam-tang-haa) meaning be deliberately ambiguous or unclear in order to mislead or withhold information

แม่น้ำ (mae-naam) = river

It's the same meaning = To beat around the bush

2. Thai literary that originate from Animal

For example

ล้วง-คอ-งูเห่า (luang-kor-ngoohao) meaning To take or stealing things from the powerful/ authority people.

งูเห่า (ngoo-hao) mean cobra

It's the same meaning = "To put one's head in the lion's mouth"

ขี่-ช้าง-จับ-ตั้กแตน (kee-chaang-jap-dtak-dtaen) meaning To put the huge investment but get a little bit profit back.

ช้าง (chaang) mean elephant ตั้กแตน (dtak-dtaen) mean grasshopper

It's the same meaning = "Burn your house to frighten away the mice"

3. Thai literary that originate from Human's organ

For example

ตา-ต่อ-ตา ฟัน-ต่อ-ฟัน (dtaa-dtor-dtaa fan-dtor-fan) = The notion that for every wrong done there should be a compensating measure of justice.

ตา (dtaa) = eye ฟัน (fan) =tooth

It's the same meaning = "An eye for an eye, A tooth for a tooth"

ปาก-หวาน-ก้น-เปรี้ยว (bpaak-waan-gon-bprieow) = Acting or talking nicely to people but not sincere /Talk bad and gossip behide other's people back.

ปาก (bpaak) = mouth ก้น (gon) = ass/ bottom

It's the same meaning " He has honey in the mouth and a razor at the girdle"

Here's for today, Next time I will come out with more interesting Thai Literary.

I hope it will be useful for you guy and gain your ability in Thai language.

Nice Day

Kroo Ae

[DavidHouston]

ชัก-แม่น้ำ-ทั้ง-ห้า (chak-mae-naam-tang-haa) meaning be deliberately ambiguous or unclear in order to mislead or withhold information

แม่น้ำ (mae-naam) = river

It's the same meaning = To beat around the bush

Thank you, Khru Ae for this informative post. Please help us understand how the phrase above results in the meaning, "To beat around the bush" or to be unclear. There must be an interesting story here. Thanks again.

[kriswillems]

Thanks Khun Kruu.

I have a questions about this expression:

น้ำ-นิ่ง-ไหล-ลึก (naam-ning-lai-leuk) meaning To imply that people who are quiet and don't try to attract attention are often more interesting than people who do try to get attention.

Can it also be used the other way? Meaning: somebody act as a good and quiet person but is in reality, when nobody can see it, really bad.

Edited December 4, 2008 by kriswillems

[yeows]

Sawatdee Kroo Ae

A friend mentioned that ชัก-แม่น้ำ-ทั้ง-ห้า means to give many reasons for justifying our actions and said it came from a Buddhist literature.

Does น้ำ-นิ่ง-ไหล-ลึก have a negative connotation?

Thank you.

Edited December 14, 2008 by yeows

[MTLae]

Sawatdee Everyone !!!

From all of your question

Start with first one

ชักแม่น้ำทั้งห้า (chak-mae-naam-tang-haa) ความหมายในภาษาไทย หมายถึง การหาเหตุผลมาอ้างเพื่อให้เกิดความเชื่อถือ เพื่อให้หลุดพ้นจากความผิด (come out with the reasons which are unclear, ambiguous, misleading to make people believe and be free from guilty or getting something without saying directly.

For example: The defendant tried so hard to give all the reasons to the judge (which sometime not true, unclear, ambiguous) not to become guilty or ending up in the prison.

Before know the origin of this idiom, I would like to tell you, it's related to the story Gautama Buddha as Vessantara (Religion story about previous life of Buddha) which is long and have many episodes.

Here're the charactors in the story that relate to "chak-mae-naam-tang-haa"

ชูชก = Choo-chok (A beggar, saving money from that then become the rich person, not good looking guy, greedy and die in the end because eating too much)

พระเวสสันดร = Pra-wet-san-don (previous life of Buddha alway give everything to others) having 2 kids.

The story is There are the main 5 river in India that nourish the whole country, people woreship and respect these river a lot.

which are kong-kaa (คงคา) ya-moo-na (ยมุนา) a-ji-ra-wa-dee (อจิรวดี) so-ra-poo (สรภู) and ma-hi (มหิ)

Choo-chok, he wants Pra-wet-san-don's children...instead of asking directly, he compare how huge and how useful of these 5 river to Pra-wet-san-don's kindhearted as he always give whatever he has to others.

So this is the source of idiom "chak-mae-naam-tang-haa" as Choo-chok keep talking how important and useful of the rivers which is not related to the point to ask for the kids at all.

May be this story is complicate and for people who don't know the story before will find out difficult to understand. So if some of you would like to understand more, Feel free to ask me anytime

Nice Day,

Kroo Ae

[MTLae]

Dear Kriswillems, Yeows and evryone

For your question น้ำ-นิ่ง-ไหล-ลึก (nam-ning-lai-leuk) can be people who are quiet and don’t try to attract any attention but deep inside has a bad idea or plan

It can use for both positive and negative intention.

Nice Day

Kroo Ae.

[MTLae]

Dear Kriswillems, Yeows and evryone

For your question น้ำ-นิ่ง-ไหล-ลึก (nam-ning-lai-leuk) can be people who are quiet and don’t try to attract any attention but deep inside has a bad idea or plan

It can use for both positive and negative intention.

Nice Day

Kroo Ae.