Some Gaffes Are Worse Than Others

[NaiGreg]

After losing a borrowed pen (from the attendant at the local golf course) I apologized to her, sincerely but not profusely.

"Kor thot khrap ... pak-gaa khawng-khun lon-haai laow ... Pom haa rawp-rawp tae mai jer khrap" ... [sorry, your pen was dropped-n-lost. I looked around but didn't find it]

It was a cheapo pen and she started to say mai-pen-rai but then I had to go and say something ridiculous (inadvertantly)

"krang-nah pom ja ou daam mai" [next time i'll get another one] ... her smile vanished into a perplexed look ... Was I expecting her to furnish me with free pens everytime I visited?

What i meant to say was "krang-nah pom ja ou daam maa hai" [next time I'll bring a (replacement) pen (for you)]

Normally, my Thai speaking gaffes only make me look inexperienced or, at worst, foolish. But this one made me look like an arrogant b*sta*d ... oh well ... I don't think she arrived at that conclusion, it is just that I am mad at myself for being careless.

Just wanted to share the point of how a small change in phrasing can can change everything.

btw .. I WILL bring her a pen on my next visit, and hopefully she'll get a laugh out of it.

-NG

[Barabbas]

What i meant to say was "krang-nah pom ja ou daam maa hai" [next time I'll bring a (replacement) pen (for you)]

Well, this is not the worst mishap you could've made. Anyway, I believe the lady overreacted, it's quite clear (at least to me), that it's not likely for a farang person to go to a golf course to get his kicks by losing staff's pens.

May I suggest adding ใหม่ to your phrase, so it will sound like ครั้งหน้า ผมจะเอาด้ามใหม่มาให้ or ด้ามใหม่มาแทน<ด้ามเก่า> so it's completely clear - in my experience it leaves no room for misunderstanding.

Edited April 24, 2009 by Barabbas

[T_Dog]

I was asking a neighbor last year if his father was healthy since I had met the man earlier in the month. I said " Pa Kuhn Sabai dee mai? " but with my lousy pronunciation, what came out was " Is your mouth healthy?" My fiance laughed all the way home!

[Barabbas]

I just remembered this little story, which my wife told me choking with laughter a while ago. She was working in the same office with a girl, whose American husband was a pilot for some airline. He spoke some Thai, so all the communication was in that language. He had just come back from Russia, and it was winter time. Naturally everyone was asking how was the weather.

I can't quote him directly, in respect to any Thai readers here, but his innocent reply of "Very heavy snow" was totally destroyed by his inability to pronounce long and short vowels correctly, in addition to some "tonal disorder". As You probably know, Thai word for snow is หิมะ, this poor chap made the first อิ become อี and made the second syllable long and rising. Try figure out yourself, what it means.

Everyone fell silent and then they nearly had a case of multiple heart attacks from laughter.

Needless to say, he was very embarrassed and apologised. Still for my poor tastes it's still a priceless joke, which I use now and again (only with my best half, apparently).

[Jay_Jay]

Now THAT'S Cold!

[NaiGreg]

What i meant to say was "krang-nah pom ja ou daam maa hai" [next time I'll bring a (replacement) pen (for you)]

Well, this is not the worst mishap you could've made. Anyway, I believe the lady overreacted, it's quite clear (at least to me), that it's not likely for a farang person to go to a golf course to get his kicks by losing staff's pens.

May I suggest adding ใหม่ to your phrase, so it will sound like ครั้งหน้า ผมจะเอาด้ามใหม่มาให้ or ด้ามใหม่มาแทน<ด้ามเก่า> so it's completely clear - in my experience it leaves no room for misunderstanding.

Thank you for that suggestion. And it makes more sense grammatically, too ... using a classifier indicates usage of a modifier. So a double-whammy for my Phuut-phit!

But I don't think she overracted, really, she was simply confounded by my utterance!

[mangkorn]

Now THAT'S Cold!

Or, it was a rather eventful trip...

[Jay_Jay]

Now THAT'S Cold!

Or, it was a rather eventful trip...

Poor horse

[mangkorn]

Now THAT'S Cold!

Or, it was a rather eventful trip...

Poor horse

Considering that he completely botched the first syllable, he probably also botched the second - as มา

Not sure which of the two possible scenarios would get him into the most trouble, however...

[Barabbas]

it was a dog, actually :0

[Rikker]

it was a dog, actually :0

That's hilariously awful! Aaaaawkward...

[Jay_Jay]

it was a dog, actually :0

That's hilariously awful! Aaaaawkward...

Is there a vet in the house!??

[Barabbas]

OK, I just remembered one of mines:

I used to order ไข่เจี๊ยว instead of ไข่เจี่ยว couple of times while having dinner. The waiting persons were genuinely amused as well.