Quiet Please

[eggomaniac]

What are the polite and rude ways to say 'be quiet' or 'shut up' in Thai.

Is the 'culture' around requesting silence much different from the West?

Do they have varying degrees?

For examples, you are studying, reading a book, or watching a tv show.

"Will you please be quiet?"

"Can we talk about that later?"

"I need some quiet time."

OR

"shut the f up while I'm driving. you will cause an accident"

"if you say that one more time I will vomit"

"please put your fist in your mouth"

"the neighbors will call the police if you don't quiet down"

OR is there one simple phrase that will work?

OR, is it kind of impossible no matter how you phrase it?

[Rikker]

The polite way is to be specific about what you want them to do.

พูดเบาๆหน่อยได้ไหมครับ

Could you please speak more quietly?

หรี่เสียงวิทยุได้ไหมครับ

Could you please turn down (the volume on) the radio?

There is a way to say "shut up". But be warned: it will usually be construed as rude, and if you're having an argument, it could escalate the situation towards physical violence. The phrase is หุบปาก. Literally "shut your mouth", but it seems to be received more like "shut your f*ing piehole", unless you're using it in a joking manner with close friends -- not that I recommend doing so. I've made the mistake of underestimating the weight of this phrase. My wife has zero tolerance for it, for example. Lesson learned!

[eggomaniac]

The polite way is to be specific about what you want them to do.

พูดเบาๆหน่อยได้ไหมครับ

Could you please speak more quietly?

หรี่เสียงวิทยุได้ไหมครับ

Could you please turn down (the volume on) the radio?

หุบปาก. "shut your mouth",

Thanks, however I cannot pronounce with Thai cursive.

I need it in the western cursive, whatever it is called.

for examples sawasdee or kharbkoon khrap

For instance, this reminds me,,, my wife has a wonderful, modern Thai English Translator, but I can't use it, because it does not have Western lettering on the Thai side.

Do you happen to know if they make ones that a guy can use?

Back to the topic, I want to be able to say, in the smallest amoung words.

Be quiet, as in a 'let me think' or 'let me listen to the news I am watching'. or can we talk about that later?

I also want to know, to be used at my peril, I know, how to say <deleted>.

I really only want to use this one when driving, so do you want to cause an accident?

kind of BE QUIET

oh,,, one other think of our daughter. kind of be quiet

don't talk like that in front of our daughter

[tgeezer]

The word for quiet which I shout at the birds when I am about to take a shot on the course is เงียบซี่ 'gniap see' if you know how to say 'gn' from your nose. Actually it is not a verb but neither you nor the birds know that and your wife can be taught. It could be your way and wont then offend anyone, but you must master the งอ sound. It can be shouted out or said quietly when you want to be nice.

'

Edited November 22, 2009 by tgeezer

[RickBradford]

I always like the phrase "เก็บปากไว้กินข้าว" which literally means something like 'use your mouth only to eat rice', explained to me as meaning, "don't talk about things you don't understand."

Again, I'm sure this could cause serious offence if used inappropriately in the wrong situation.

[mickylonster]

I always like the phrase "เก็บปากไว้กินข้าว" which literally means something like 'use your mouth only to eat rice', explained to me as meaning, "don't talk about things you don't understand."

Again, I'm sure this could cause serious offence if used inappropriately in the wrong situation.

When talking , joking with my wife , she told me of a phrase that sounds like " yud pud " which roughly translates to shut your mouth !

[sbk]

literally, it means stop speaking. so, no, not very nice.

My brother in law used to shout at his kids, ngiap! เงียบ nua hoo! หนวกหู (the k sound is silent, at least down south it is)

Not sure how rude it is but it did seem effective

[RickBradford]

When talking , joking with my wife , she told me of a phrase that sounds like " yud pud "

หยุดพูด ? That is, literally, 'stop speaking', again, fairly brusque.

[SoftWater]

There's quite a lot of ways to do this, and as others have said, a lot depends on how much 'irritation' you want to show and the level of politeness required according to who you're talking with.

1. you're studying reading a book etc

'Will you please be quiet' as in 'can we talk about this later?'

(assuming this is girlfriend/wife and you don't want to start a fight)

tee-rak jar kui tee lang na

ที่รักจ้า คุยที่หลังนะ

[lit: darling talk later OK?]

Will you please be quiet'

(assuming this is someone younger irritating you)

ngiap ngiap noi

[lit: hush-hush]

เงียบๆ หน่อย

Can you turn the noise down?

(like a TV or CD playing too loud in a bar or cafe)

lot siang dai mai krab?

ลดเสียงได้ไหมครับ

Someone speaking too loudly near you in a public place.

puud bao bao noi dai mai krab?

พูดเบาๆหน่อยได้ไหมครับ

As for: "I really only want to use this one when driving, so do you want to cause an accident?

kind of BE QUIET, you could use หุบปาก as Rikker pointed out (my wife doesn't mind this one, but usually only when said in jest), but it's probably more effective to just use a single, short and fairly aggressive

ngiap! เงียบ

You can add 'bork leaw' onto the end of it if its not the first time you asked

ngiap bork leaw

เงียบ บอกแล้ว

[quiet! I told you already!]

Wishing you a peaceful evening - I'm not fond of noise myself and have made use of all of these many times!

Edited November 23, 2009 by SoftWater

[NaiGreg]

Consider the literal phrase (seen on posted signs translated as "Quiet Please!") "Don't send loud sounds."

อย่าส่งเสียงดัง

[eggomaniac]

Consider the literal phrase (seen on posted signs translated as "Quiet Please!") "Don't send loud sounds."

อย่าส่งเสียงดัง

how to pronounce? please?

[eggomaniac]

I always like the phrase "เก็บปากไว้กินข้าว" which literally means something like 'use your mouth only to eat rice', explained to me as meaning, "don't talk about things you don't understand."

Again, I'm sure this could cause serious offence if used inappropriately in the wrong situation.

how to pronounce please? "เก็บปากไว้กินข้าว"

[SimonN]

how to pronounce please? "เก็บปากไว้กินข้าว"

Please copy and paste the Thai script into a site such as Thai2English or Thai-Language for a pronunciation guide.

[eggomaniac]

how to pronounce please? "เก็บปากไว้กินข้าว"

Please copy and paste the Thai script into a site such as Thai2English or Thai-Language for a pronunciation guide.

totallyamazing website!

Do I have to make another TOpic? I hope not.

Is there a cheap electronic translator that shows the English pronounce?

My wife's modern one only shows Thai cursive so it useless to me.

[When the helpful folks in here see someone asking to say 'hello' and 'where is the bathroom', they seem to assume that Thai cursive has been mastered!?

Want to bet???

Folks like me need 'hong naam utenai', not those squiggles which I will never understand, in this life time!?

[oevna]

[When the helpful folks in here see someone asking to say 'hello' and 'where is the bathroom', they seem to assume that Thai cursive has been mastered!?

Want to bet???

Folks like me need 'hong naam utenai', not those squiggles which I will never understand, in this life time!?

In the Thai language forum (this forum), often people use Thai script when asking questions or giving answers. However, if you ask politely for answers in Roman/English script, as you have, then people are usually happy to oblige.

The Thai language forum is the only forum in which people are allowed to post in Thai on this web site, so you will probably see people who can read, write and type Thai script gravitate to this forum.

เก็บปากไว้กินข้าว

Pronunciation: gep bpaak wai gin kaao

Note that this is a bit pointed, in that it is essentially telling the other person that they don't know what they are talking about.

หุบปาก

Pronunciation: hup bpaak (the "hup" is kind of like the English word "hoop", but pronounced with a shorter vowel sound)

Very rude way to say "shut up!" I would NEVER use this!

Personally, I would say something like this:

ขอโทษครับที่รัก เงียบๆหน่อย ผมกำลังขับรถคิดทางอยู่ครับ

Pronunciation: kaw tod (sounds like "toad") krap tee rak, ngiap ngiap noi, pom (rhymes with "foam") gamlang kap rot (rhymes with "note") kit taang yuu krap

Translation: Sorry darling, please be quiet, I'm thinking about which way I am driving.

Note that this may not be 100% correct, but it would get the point across and sound reasonably polite.

Edited November 24, 2009 by oevna

[eggomaniac]

Thanks much!

kharbkoon khrap

[LivinLOS]

Surprised the language experts have not mentioned the rude 'sa wow'

Seen that used by angry people for the same effect.

[katana]

That sounds like Isan dialect.

[SoftWater]

How about

โอ้โฮ่ เสียงดังจะตาย

oh-ho! siang dang ja dtai

[lit: Oh ho. So noisy I'll die]

but probably best understood as something equivalent to 'Good lord, you're making enough noise to wake the dead!'

It's also tinged with humour, so you should get both a laugh and a bit of piece and quiet.

Edited November 24, 2009 by SoftWater

[oevna]

How about

โอ้โฮ่ เสียงดังจะตาย

oh-ho! siang dang ja dtai

[lit: Oh ho. So noisy I'll die]

but probably best understood as something equivalent to 'Good lord, you're making enough noise to wake the dead!'

It's also tinged with humour, so you should get both a laugh and a bit of piece and quiet.

I like this one. However, I've always heard oh-ho! pronounced more like this:

โอ้โห

I.e. with a rising tone on the second syllable, not a falling tone. This could just be a folk pronunciation though (like the way จ๊ะ is occasionally pronounced จ๊า), so I'm not sure.

[SoftWater]

How about

โอ้โฮ่ เสียงดังจะตาย

oh-ho! siang dang ja dtai

[lit: Oh ho. So noisy I'll die]

but probably best understood as something equivalent to 'Good lord, you're making enough noise to wake the dead!'

It's also tinged with humour, so you should get both a laugh and a bit of piece and quiet.

I like this one. However, I've always heard oh-ho! pronounced more like this:

โอ้โห

I.e. with a rising tone on the second syllable, not a falling tone. This could just be a folk pronunciation though (like the way จ๊ะ is occasionally pronounced จ๊า), so I'm not sure.

Yes, I think you're right! Sorry for the misspelling.

Thinking about it there is also a version of it which is best captured by โอ้โห่ - my brother-in-law often says this when he sees a pretty girl in the street or on the telly (to which his wife, if sitting next to him, will clip him round the ear!).

Edited November 25, 2009 by SoftWater

[Rikker]

btw, โอ้โห, like โธ่, is an interjection with several spellings. Also like โธ่, the tones are not always spelled as pronounced. You might see it โอ้โฮ, โอ้โห, โอ่โห, โอโห, โอโห่, โอ้โห่, โอ้โฮ, โอ่โฮ, โอโฮ, among other possibilities.

I usually hear a rising tone on the second syllable when it's actually said, though. But I know it varies.

Moral of the story: interjections are less bound by tone rules.

[sbk]

How about

โอ้โฮ่ เสียงดังจะตาย

oh-ho! siang dang ja dtai

[lit: Oh ho. So noisy I'll die]

but probably best understood as something equivalent to 'Good lord, you're making enough noise to wake the dead!'

It's also tinged with humour, so you should get both a laugh and a bit of piece and quiet.

I've never heard this before but I like it. Added to list of words to use when the tv is on too loud

[DavidHouston]

btw, โอ้โห, like โธ่, is an interjection with several spellings. Also like โธ่, the tones are not always spelled as pronounced. You might see it โอ้โฮ, โอ้โห, โอ่โห, โอโห, โอโห่, โอ้โห่, โอ้โฮ, โอ่โฮ, โอโฮ, among other possibilities.

I usually hear a rising tone on the second syllable when it's actually said, though. But I know it varies.

Moral of the story: interjections are less bound by tone rules.

Or, rather, spelling is not reflective of actual speech.

[SoftWater]

Or, rather, spelling is not reflective of actual speech.

Not always, but often it is or can be made so. Hence my word choice here:

"Thinking about it there is also a version of it which is best captured by โอ้โห่"

Edited November 26, 2009 by SoftWater

[Lost in LOS]

Surprised the language experts have not mentioned the rude 'sa wow'

Seen that used by angry people for the same effect.

sounds more like sow wow to me. Issan slang. tell it to a thai friend with a smile and its funny. tell it to a thai that your not friendly with or with a serious tone and they will get the point but watch your back..............

[Rikker]

btw, โอ้โห, like โธ่, is an interjection with several spellings. Also like โธ่, the tones are not always spelled as pronounced. Moral of the story: interjections are less bound by tone rules.

Or, rather, spelling is not reflective of actual speech.

It's a two-way road. Development of spoken language is affected by the writing, and development of written language is affected by speech. (Compare spelling pronunciation, e.g. tsk tsk, with pronunciation spelling, e.g. gonna.)

[Harcourt]

ขอโทษครับที่รัก เงียบๆหน่อย ผมกำลังขับรถคิดทางอยู่ครับ

Pronunciation: kaw tod (sounds like "toad") krap tee rak, ngiap ngiap noi, pom (rhymes with "foam") gamlang kap rot (rhymes with "note") kit taang yuu krap

Translation: Sorry darling, please be quiet, I'm thinking about which way I am driving.

Note that this may not be 100% correct, but it would get the point across and sound reasonably polite.

Would you use "krap" when simply talking to your wife? I was under the impression that it was more formal than everyday conversation with someone very close and familiar.

[oevna]

Surprised the language experts have not mentioned the rude 'sa wow'

Seen that used by angry people for the same effect.

sounds more like sow wow to me. Issan slang. tell it to a thai friend with a smile and its funny. tell it to a thai that your not friendly with or with a serious tone and they will get the point but watch your back..............

I haven't heard this one, but my Isaan dialect is not very good. However, it looks like you might be referring this:

เซาเว้า - "sao wao" - literally: stop talking.

[alyx]

Hey Oevna

From what I understand หุบปาก means Hup Pack, doesn't it? This is what my dentist tells the kid she wants him to close his mouth

Is it the same pronouciation ? although, in this case, I am sure it is meant to be nice

Thanks

Alyx