Basic Laos And Issan Phrases

[withnail]

We are all aware of how Thais sometimes try to catch you out by using laos or issan (sorry can't tell the difference between the two yet) so i was wondering if we could have a few of the stock phrases here so we know when we're learning the right language or not.

Also a couple of whitty replies to come back with when they use it would be good.

For example I teach and the kids seem to think its much funnier to ask kaojai boh. The other one I know they say a lot is seeb boh for aroy mai. I also get the feeling that ee yang is a similair question to bpen arai but i'm not sure.

Please someone correct me if I'm wrong and give me some whitty responses.

[Neeranam]

We are all aware of how Thais sometimes try to catch you out by using laos or issan (sorry can't tell the difference between the two yet) so i was wondering if we could have a few of the stock phrases here so we know when we're learning the right language or not.

Also a couple of whitty replies to come back with when they use it would be good.

For example I teach and the kids seem to think its much funnier to ask kaojai boh. The other one I know they say a lot is seeb boh for aroy mai. I also get the feeling that ee yang is a similair question to bpen arai but i'm not sure.

Please someone correct me if I'm wrong and give me some whitty responses.

One I was taught once was "dang bpoeng". They told me it was something to say to beautiful girls as a compliment. I said this in conversation to a female friend, and believe me it is no compliment!!!!! It means having a big flat nose!!!!

[bannork]

We are all aware of how Thais sometimes try to catch you out by using laos or issan (sorry can't tell the difference between the two yet) so i was wondering if we could have a few of the stock phrases here so we know when we're learning the right language or not.

Also a couple of whitty replies to come back with when they use it would be good.

For example I teach and the kids seem to think its much funnier to ask kaojai boh. The other one I know they say a lot is seeb boh for aroy mai. I also get the feeling that ee yang is a similair question to bpen arai but i'm not sure.

Please someone correct me if I'm wrong and give me some whitty responses.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

withnail, boh has the same function as mai in Thai, ie question word or negative, so when the kids say' khaojai boh, you could reply' khoy( falling tone),meaning 'I' khaojai leh(high tone), meaning 'and' jao(falling)meaning 'you, 'hoo',(falling)meaning know, like Thai 'roo', (except 'hoo' is falling tone), reuang boh-

khoy khaojai leh jao hoo reuang boh-I understand and do you?

You're right about eeyang,(rising tone on the yang), used in a multitude of ways, ie-

(Thai) tham arai- hed eeyang- what are you doing?

sometimes shortened-pbai yang,(Thai pbai nai)- where are you going? you can also say pbai sai

boh pben yang-it's nothing

jao sue yang- what is your name? (Thai- khun chue arai)

saep ilee( thai-aroy mark) ilee means very much, so we can get 'mak ilee' meaning like very much, jao mak falang boh- do you like farangs?

lazy-khii khlan... jhao khiikhlan- you are lazy

ngam lai- beautiful

stingy-khi ti

tomorrow- meu ern

Withnail, I haven't written the tones for most of these words, can you read Thai/ It would make things easier.

Yours, bannork.

Edited January 26, 2005 by bannork

[bina]

bannork, why do i have to pay 55$ for an issan dict. when u can just list the stuff here...cant read thai anyway so couldnt use issangate where they have lists

but clarify which area cause when i was in ban chiang they killed my confidence with their puan thai, in nongkai they corrected me yet again for a milllion things....

[Neeranam]

tomorrow- meu ern

I just learned "meu huu" - the day after tomorrow. Similar to the Thai, "ma reu".

I thought "meu eun" meant tomorrow.

Good post bannork.

I thought "ilee" meant sure, rather than very much.

I would say "sep lai ilee" - tasty very much sure.

This is Isarn language rather than Lao, there is a difference, but I could be wrong.

Also there is a difference around Isarn. I hear "mia bahn" for go home and sometimes "meua bahn". Maybe the "meua bahn" is Lao?

[withnail]

I'm starting to learn to read thai so by all means include it but I'm not proficient enough that it would completely sort out any pronunciation problems.

Cheers bannork, it's funny reading your post cos i recognise some of the words (my ex was from Surin).

Could you say sep lai lai for aroy mak mak? That sounds familiar in my head.

Bit worried if i say khoy khaojai it could be misinterpreted as cock understands!!!!

Let's keep this going though I'm interested.

How could you say suay mak in issan i'm sure that will be well received on Friday night

[the scouser]

Sorry, my tea's nearly ready so I don't have the time to write it out in Thai but how about:-

bo bpen yang dawk = mai bpen rai = never mind

hawn = rawn = hot

Scouse.

[francois]

hi'

my2b here ...

and farang is said :sida ... not funny at all for french

francois

[bina]

jaak luu

mia and pua as polite names 4 husband and wife

kin lai lai -- ate alot

the word 4 weasel and other animals r not all the same

the words 4 hay and fresh grass{for grazing)

some fruits like mango papaya etc --just cant remember now

hak=rak=love

kit hot=kit tung=to miss someone or thing

men bor= mai chai

groot =bu huu = angry

[Richard W]

bannork, why do i have to pay 55$ for an issan dict.  when u can just list the stuff here...cant read thai anyway so couldnt use issangate where they have lists

but clarify which area cause when i was in ban chiang they killed my confidence with their puan thai, in nongkai they corrected me yet again for a milllion things....

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

If you mean Phuan, it's reckoned to be more closely related to Central Thai than Isaan or Lao.

Richard.

[Neeranam]

kin lai lai -- ate alot

"Gin khak gin ne" - stuffed

[meadish_sweetball]

How could you say suay mak in issan i'm sure that will be well received on Friday night

ngaam laai deh/daeh

The final particle should take the falling tone.

"ngaam" is the Lao, Northern Thai and Isaan synonym for "suay". Like many "dialect" words, it is also used in Central Thai writing for embellishment or special effect - in this case to embellish the word "suay" - "suay-ngaam" is rather common in formal or poetic texts.

Sorry, cant give you the exact tones for Isaan/Lao as they are different from the Central Thai tone pattern and I am not enough aware of the difference to be sure I pronounce it right.

Remember you are dealing with a number of differing dialects when you talk about Isaan, there is no "standard Isaan".

This means that even if you learn to approximate the pronunciation and tones of one area, you may be corrected in another because you sound slightly different from them or use an expression they are not familiar with.

[bina]

If you mean Phuan, it's reckoned to be more closely related to Central Thai than Isaan or Lao.

richard , dont tell anyone in ban chiang that; they faithfully re enact their move from laos (cant remember from where or when) every year in song and dance (besides the discovery of the archeological stuff) at school -- their festival is in february this year 18-20 (the archeology thingy) but they do a lot of folk dancing etc etc ( i spent two hours a day learning two different dances w/the third grade )

[chonabot]

At the end of a phone call , to finish the dialogue you could throw in a

" Uh Uh ken nee Duh" Meaning ( I think ) That's all for now.

[withnail]

At the end of a phone call , to finish the dialogue you could throw in a

" Uh Uh ken nee Duh" Meaning ( I think ) That's all for now.

I knew that one actually and used it without realising once that got a laugh.

[bannork]

Frankly this whole thread is doomed if we write in English because readers won't know the tones, so vital; perhaps we could persuade the Thai government to include Thai language in the visa fee, or perhaps the moderators of Thai Visa, the best website in Asia, could arrange Thai language,(writing and reading), for its loyal and faithful readers.

Issan-jak baht- how many baht?( high tone on the jak)

Withnail, don't worry about the khoi, it's like the English word,'coy',(falling tone), and anyway' khuay', (use the high tone), in Issan means buffalo, not one of our favourite organs.

yang- walk

pai,(rising tone, short)-who?

jom,(low tone)- complain, mia khoi jom- my wife complains

mair hang( falling tone on both)-a widow or single mother, useful if you want to chat up one of the countless single mums in Issan.

muan bor- is it fun?

si- will

watch-berng, khoi si berng nang meur lairn- I will watch a movie this afternoon.

bannork

[withnail]

pressumably they are the same as Thai tones and vowel lengths so we could use the same system that meadish does i.e. h - high r - rising m - mid f - falling l - low, l - long s s-short.

This means that for example rice in thai would be khao[fl].

[withnail]

unless i've just got that wrong in which case I'd look really stupid.

[Richard W]

If you mean Phuan, it's reckoned to be more closely related to Central Thai than Isaan or Lao.

richard , dont tell anyone in ban chiang that; they faithfully re enact their move from laos (cant remember from where or when) every year in song and dance (besides the discovery of the archeological stuff) at school -- their festival is in february this year 18-20 (the archeology thingy) but they do a lot of folk dancing etc etc ( i spent two hours a day learning two different dances w/the third grade )

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

There's no problem with that. If you follow my link and look up the mostly closely related languages (or dialects - I'm not aware of any armies ), you'll see that they are still spoken in Laos, even though the majority of their speakers be in Thailand or Vietnam.

[Richard W]

unless i've just got that wrong in which case I'd look really stupid.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Isaan's a bit more complicated - some dialects have seven tones and I've no idea how the phonetics line up between dialects. I've started a topic for such an issue at Writing Isaan Tones. I've not much more to contribute, unless you want me to give a dialect by dialect list of tone splits and mergers, as listed in Li, chiefly based on Marvin Brown's work.

The lengths are the same, but Standard Thai is full of unexplained changes in length, so don't be surprised if the vowel lengths don't match. Even Standard Thai also has [FS]khao. 'He who never made a mistake never achieved anything.'

Edited January 27, 2005 by Richard W

[francois]

hi'

men bor= mai chai

groot =bu huu = angry

sorry, men bor is chai mai, so mai chai is bor men

and krood =angry in Thai is khyiat in Isaan

bor hoo, which I think is your bu huu is mai roo(mai loo) don't know ...

bor is used as mai in Thai ..

bor hoo bor hen : don't know did not see ...applied to a lot of drivers

francois

Edited January 27, 2005 by francois

[bannork]

In answer to 'sabai dee mai', try- cur gow(low tone on the gow), meaning the same as usual.

friend-moo( low tone)

bannork

[bina]

jaak luu = ?

bor luu is mai luu (ruu)

correct for the men bor, men bor?

bu huu i understood to be groot so maybe i mis understood/

kriat = tense or anxious (too serious or, thinking too much) in thai (something i am accused of being too often....)

will have to wait til tomorrow to ask ; maybe i can get a list of comparisons... did it once but lost the list

[Neeranam]

Anyone know how to write meu hooo in Thai? Meaning the day after tomorrow.

[ningnong]

On 10/15/2018 at 7:34 AM, Neeranam said:

Anyone know how to write meu hooo in Thai? Meaning the day after tomorrow.

มื้ฮือ

[Neeranam]

On 10/16/2018 at 7:01 PM, ningnong said:

มื้ฮือ

 

 

 

thanks! 

[ningnong]

On 2/27/2022 at 11:09 PM, Neeranam said:

thanks! 

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