My municiality constructed a new bus shelter last week.

There is a large sign on the shelter where the municipality proudly explains that this is a bus shelter located at a certain soi for public bus passengers.

They use the word วิน on the sign. I have looked in three paper dictionaries and one virtual dic without finding this word. When I google it I just get some pretty boy pop singer, whose nickname is win.

I don't understand. Please help me !

วิน is a stand where you queue up for transportation, or where transportation queues up for you. In Bangkok this isn't used for city buses though (รถเมล์), where the bus stop, including the shelter, is called the ป้ายรถเมล์

วิน is most commonly used to refer to a motorcycle taxi stand (วินมอเตอร์ไซค์ -- the place where our orange-vested friends hang out while waiting for passengers), but also the place where you cue up for the commuter van (วินรถตู้), or a mini-bus (วินสองแถว, วินซูบารุ, etc. depending). Google attests a few hits for inter-province buses, too (วินรถทัวร์).

วิน is a stand where you queue up for transportation, or where transportation queues up for you. In Bangkok this isn't used for city buses though (รถเมล์), where the bus stop, including the shelter, is called the ป้ายรถเมล์

วิน is most commonly used to refer to a motorcycle taxi stand (วินมอเตอร์ไซค์ -- the place where our orange-vested friends hang out while waiting for passengers), but also the place where you cue up for the commuter van (วินรถตู้), or a mini-bus (วินสองแถว, วินซูบารุ, etc. depending). Google attests a few hits for inter-province buses, too (วินรถทัวร์).

Thank you for taking time to give a very complete answer (and I need a new dictionary, if the word is that common and there is not a word in the dic then I need a new one).

Thanks again.

The word can be found in the Royal Institute's "Dictionary of New Words" page 143:

วิน น. ๑. ลำดับการออกรถมอเคอร์ไซค์หรือรถตู้รับจ้าง เช่น วินมอเตอร์ไซค์ . . .

The word can be found in the Royal Institute's "Dictionary of New Words" page 143:

วิน น. ๑. ลำดับการออกรถมอเคอร์ไซค์หรือรถตู้รับจ้าง เช่น วินมอเตอร์ไซค์ . . .

Interesting. My wife always refers to the guys that actually ride the motorcycle taxis as วินมอเตอร์ไซค์

Oh no, don't say I have to tell her that her Thai is wrong again...

(maybe I'll just keep schtumm!)

The word can be found in the Royal Institute's "Dictionary of New Words" page 143:

วิน น. ๑. ลำดับการออกรถมอเคอร์ไซค์หรือรถตู้รับจ้าง เช่น วินมอเตอร์ไซค์ . . .

Interesting. My wife always refers to the guys that actually ride the motorcycle taxis as วินมอเตอร์ไซค์

Oh no, don't say I have to tell her that her Thai is wrong again...

(maybe I'll just keep schtumm!)

ellipses have meanings:

. . . ๒. รถมอเตอร์ไซค์รับจ้าง เช่น วันนี้ไม่ได้ขับรถมาเอง ต้องกลับวิน.

Your wife's Thai is fine. People call the driver วินมอเตอร์ไซค์, just like they regularly refer to a taxi driver as แท็กซี่.

"วันนี้แท็กซี่หลงทาง เขาก็เลยถามทางวินมอเตอร์ไซค์" The taxi (driver) lost his way, so he asked a motorcycle (driver).

Gotta love Thai!

Your wife's Thai is fine. People call the driver วินมอเตอร์ไซค์, just like they regularly refer to a taxi driver as แท็กซี่.

"วันนี้แท็กซี่หลงทาง เขาก็เลยถามทางวินมอเตอร์ไซค์" The taxi (driver) lost his way, so he asked a motorcycle (driver).

Gotta love Thai!

That's a relief. I have a hard time persuading my wife to teach me thai as it is (my incessant questions don't sit well with her eminently practical nature). If I went home and told her she speaks her own native tongue incorrectly, methinks I'd have to call a วินมอเตอร์ไซค์ or แท็กซี่ to ferry me to the hospital...

(my use of the ellipsis here being different from David's above)

Edited October 15, 200916 yr by SoftWater