What Does "dop Salop Salai" Mean?

[Daewoo]

I my quest to pull my Thai, mostly learnt from Ajan willing to stay the night, to a more socially acceptable level, I now pose the next question.

What does "dop salop salai" mean...

I know literally it means something like "I'll slap you silly" or "I'll slap you unconscious"

When I have said it around 'polite' company I have been told in no uncertain terms that it is impolite... there must be something in the subtext I am missing...

Please explain...

Daewoo

[neverdie]

Trashy ladybar talk. Simple.

[doomster]

Carefull where you use such language as some may think you somewhat 'ting tong' and you may miss out on some 'boom sing'

[SoftWater]

You got the literal meaning correct. The connotation is akin to 'I'll punch your lights out' or 'I'll smack your head in' - not likely to fly well in polite company even as a joke.

[alyx]

I have often heard this between very close Thai friends (and they were laughing at each other): as a way of mocking the other one and I interpreted it as "Stop saying silly things as I am going to slap you in the face (or whatever the real translation is) but then again it would not be wise to use it to address anyone this way if you are not thai

I remember, some years ago, using the term "Mei me maraya" on one of my staff (after I had heard it from a Thai during a meeting referring to that particular staff)

To me it simply meant that the behaviour was inapropriate whereas "You lack an education" was felt as an insult by the person as well as to the parents and all the above generations. Trust me the guy went berserk. I, of course apologized but the did was done

[Chaam local]

I didn't know this expression, now I have to remember to forget it!

[Tod Daniels]

I concur with every poster about this phrase, it's definitely an ultra lo-so (trashy) slang and you would do well to avoid it (and most impolite slang) until you have at least a pretty good grasp of the language. By that I mean at level far beyond “2-word-tourist-thai” or “horse-speak” .

Speaking too casually to thais in marginally acceptable slang will immediately shoe-horn you into a category you may not want to be in. Also depending on your ability to extricate yourself from a bad situation coupled with audience you're speaking to, casually throwing out a term like that could lead to a less than "happy ending".

I have heard the phrase เอามะเหงกไหม much more often used amongst thais who are close friends and joking with each other. It roughly translates to "would you like me to rap you on the head with my knuckles?" I have also heard parents use it as a semi-threat to children who were running amok.

I find it interesting to note that in all the time I've sat with my thai male friends outside my house on the soi (a couple times a week for more than a year now) I have NOT EVER heard ตบสลบไสล uttered even a single time. Then again, these guys aren't kids anymore but in their mid-40's so it could be an age specific or generational slang. However around the nefarious night-life areas populated by the "rent-2-own" or "time-share" females I have heard it all too many times.

[DavidHouston]

Clearly etymologically related to "dope slap": A light "whappp" to the back of the head, done with an open palm in an upward motion. The physical equivalent of the phrase, "Whatta you, a moron?!"

http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Dope+Slap

Through Sanskrit or Pali, perhaps?

[Groongthep]

I have often heard this between very close Thai friends (and they were laughing at each other): as a way of mocking the other one and I interpreted it as "Stop saying silly things as I am going to slap you in the face (or whatever the real translation is) but then again it would not be wise to use it to address anyone this way if you are not thai

I remember, some years ago, using the term "Mei me maraya" on one of my staff (after I had heard it from a Thai during a meeting referring to that particular staff)

To me it simply meant that the behaviour was inapropriate whereas "You lack an education" was felt as an insult by the person as well as to the parents and all the above generations. Trust me the guy went berserk. I, of course apologized but the did was done

I think what you were trying to say was "mai mee marayaat" (ไม่มีมารยาท) which literally means "to have no manners" or "you have no manners". I can understand the guy feeling disrespected when you said this to him but to "go berserk" simply proved that the Thai person from whom you originally heard this was right.

[katana]

ตบสลบไสล

I don't think it's exclusively bargirl talk.

It can sometimes be used by friends/intimates (usually girls) in response to teasing by someone. It's said in a jokey, playful way. A bit like, "I'm gonna slap you!"

Edited December 16, 2009 by katana

[alyx]

I have often heard this between very close Thai friends (and they were laughing at each other): as a way of mocking the other one and I interpreted it as "Stop saying silly things as I am going to slap you in the face (or whatever the real translation is) but then again it would not be wise to use it to address anyone this way if you are not thai

I remember, some years ago, using the term "Mei me maraya" on one of my staff (after I had heard it from a Thai during a meeting referring to that particular staff)

To me it simply meant that the behaviour was inapropriate whereas "You lack an education" was felt as an insult by the person as well as to the parents and all the above generations. Trust me the guy went berserk. I, of course apologized but the did was done

I think what you were trying to say was "mai mee marayaat" (ไม่มีมารยาท) which literally means "to have no manners" or "you have no manners". I can understand the guy feeling disrespected when you said this to him but to "go berserk" simply proved that the Thai person from whom you originally heard this was right.

Correct (thanks for the clarification) but really I was only translating my thoughts from English to Thai : which is mild when you say to someone that he/she is lacking manners .

Nevertheless it is not part of my vocabulary anymore

[Thongkorn]

It means fighting or hitting. Thais think its not good to say to a lady , many ladys say it in fun.

Edited December 16, 2009 by Thongkorn

[Daewoo]

Trashy ladybar talk. Simple.

You can talk about trashy talk - I know you from SSR - Well, that is where I learnt it... but often the Thai's love it when you throw in a little 'slang' or phrase that Thai's would expect you to know... like when asked 'oh you speak that' I like to respond with 'mai dai, phom phut dai nguu nguu plaa plaa', which is something little kids say... and the Thai's always get a good laugh... they just don't expect a farrang to know it...

You got the literal meaning correct. The connotation is akin to 'I'll punch your lights out' or 'I'll smack your head in' - not likely to fly well in polite company even as a joke.

[Daewoo]

I have often heard this between very close Thai friends (and they were laughing at each other): as a way of mocking the other one and I interpreted it as "Stop saying silly things as I am going to slap you in the face (or whatever the real translation is) but then again it would not be wise to use it to address anyone this way if you are not thai

Maybe from a male it is taken more litterally, than from a woman who, from whom it isn't seen as an actual threat...

I concur with every poster about this phrase, it's definitely an ultra lo-so (trashy) slang and you would do well to avoid it (and most impolite slang) until you have at least a pretty good grasp of the language. By that I mean at level far beyond "2-word-tourist-thai" or "horse-speak" .

Speaking too casually to thais in marginally acceptable slang will immediately shoe-horn you into a category you may not want to be in. Also depending on your ability to extricate yourself from a bad situation coupled with audience you're speaking to, casually throwing out a term like that could lead to a less than "happy ending".

I can read and write Thai, but I have a very limitted vocab, because I don't get the opportunity to practice and improve... I basically speak Thai 2 weeks a year... so much of my vocab is from casual talk, and I am trying to figure out what is casual and acceptable, and what is trash talk and unacceptable...

ตบสลบไสล

I don't think it's exclusively bargirl talk.

It can sometimes be used by friends/intimates (usually girls) in response to teasing by someone. It's said in a jokey, playful way. A bit like, "I'm gonna slap you!"

This is the context I use it in, of course in a bar it is again just thought of as something that it is funny a farrang should know... then again, perhaps the girls think it is funny that a guy would say something normally only women would say, like ending a sentence with Kaa (which I sometimes do for a laugh as well )

I think this might be the problem gender inequality... ...

Thanks everyone for your replies, looks like it is something I had better remove from my vocab... but what should I replace it with??? If a girl makes a joke at my expense, or makes an insult in fun, how should I respond to pretend I have been hurt??? in more polite company???

Cheers,

Daewoo

[Chaam local]

Thanks everyone for your replies, looks like it is something I had better remove from my vocab... but what should I replace it with??? If a girl makes a joke at my expense, or makes an insult in fun, how should I respond to pretend I have been hurt??? in more polite company???

If you can master the tone and the intonation needed in this specific context, a single word, เดี๋ยว (diaao, deeo, whatever you transcribe it), can do the trick. Make sure you also smile.

[SoftWater]

 

If you can master the tone and the intonation needed in this specific context, a single word, เดี๋ยว (diaao, deeo, whatever you transcribe it), can do the trick. Make sure you also smile.

Could you explain? What, in this context, does  เดี๋ยว imply?

[Chaam local]

I'm not sure of the exact equivalent in English, but it's the same 'diaao' as in 'just a moment', so it could be translated as 'hang on', 'just you wait and see'... like a kind of pending threat.

Edited December 17, 2009 by Onlychaam

[withnail]

I don't really see how saying เดี๋ยว alone has the same effect, though if you said เดี๋ยวจะตบ dieaw ja dtob (or said dieaw ja with an obvious going to slap you gesture) it's very similar (a little too similar probably).

I think an ironic khop khun na is better if someone says something negative about you and you want to show that it hurt, but you appreciate it was funny.

Edited December 17, 2009 by withnail

[Chaam local]

Well that's the thing about เดี๋ยว, you don't need to be explicit and formulate words like ตบ, which will have the same negative effect as OP is trying to avoid.

A mother can say เดี๋ยว ๆ in a threatening tone to a child who is answering back, for instance. Granted, she can also say เดี๋ยวตบตายเลย if she's really angry!

Edited December 17, 2009 by Onlychaam

[withnail]

I understand it but you're still essentially implying the hitting so I don't feel that it's that different from what the OP is trying to avoid.

[Chaam local]

It's just implying some kind of threat, like 'I have something in store for you too' or 'I can hurt you too if I want to', but it would refer to what the girl did in OP's example (like she hurt him by making a joke at his expense, so he can do the same, just she waits and sees). It doesn't imply hitting, though it doesn't totally exclude the possibility either...

[withnail]

It's certainly better than ตบสลบไสล but to me it has very similar connotations. I guess it depends how polite the company is and maybe I'm just being a snob

[Daewoo]

dieaw by itself means something like 'only' or 'limited' doesn't it???

How long will you stay? Two weeks dieaw...

Do you speek Thai? A little bit dieaw...

So I guess it could be understood to mean "I'll get you a limited bit", but I don't really understand that one...

I do like just saying thank you... I am only talking about insults made in jest... like when the girls tell me I can't drink because I am an old man (36)... "Oh, thank you very much"

Daewoo

[meadish_sweetball]

Different tone, so different word. The one you have heard is เดียว the one Onlychaam mentions is เดี๋ยว

diaow with a rising tone as Onlychaam was mentioning means 'in a moment', 'wait a moment', 'hang on' etc.

[Daewoo]

Different tone, so different word. The one you have heard is เดียว the one Onlychaam mentions is เดี๋ยว

diaow with a rising tone as Onlychaam was mentioning means 'in a moment', 'wait a moment', 'hang on' etc.

Khop khum maak khrup...

[JUDAS]

The only time I have ever heard the expression mentioned by the OP has been by a bar girl. Not a term I would ever use on someone in conversation, even jokingly.

[DavidHouston]

The Matichon Dictionary of Thai has the following entry:

"เดี๋ยวปั๊ด ว. [โวหาร] เป็นคำพูดในเชิงขู่ว่าจะเห็นผลอย่างใดอย่างหนึ่ง, เดี๋ยวพ่อด ก็ว่า"

' . . . . [spoken] is a phrase spoken as a threat, that is, [if you persist in this behavior] some result will follow."

Note the alternative phrase "เดี๋ยวพ่อด" and its unusual spelling.

[SoftWater]

This was worth looking up, thanks, i'd never come across this use of it - "for fear of"

[ADV] otherwise; for fear of S.ประเดี๋ยวก่อน

Ex. เด็กๆ ต้องใส่เสื้อกันหนาวเพราะเดี๋ยวจะไม่สบาย

(NECTEC Lexitron 2 TH-EN)

[my translation]

The children must wear a coat or they'll get sick ('out of fear of sickness')

Had I not come across this 'for fear of' sense of the word, I would have translated the example as

'The children must wear a coat or soon they'll get sick.'

Quite a different connotation, though same behavioural result. Oh the joys of meaning...

Edited December 18, 2009 by SoftWater

[DavidHouston]

Khun Softwater,

I think that these are two different, although perhaps related, meanings. One is the use of the word "เดี๋ยว" as an interjection in place of or as a prelude to an overt threat. The second is a consequential indicator: "เด็กๆ ต้องใส่เสื้อกันหนาวเพราะเดี๋ยวจะไม่สบาย", stated in a bit of a different manner, "Children should wear a warm jacket, for if they don't, they may catch their death of cold." [American idiom]

Perhaps I am making too fine of a distinction - a distinction without a difference.

[bhoydy]

I have often heard this between very close Thai friends (and they were laughing at each other): as a way of mocking the other one and I interpreted it as "Stop saying silly things as I am going to slap you in the face (or whatever the real translation is) but then again it would not be wise to use it to address anyone this way if you are not thai

I remember, some years ago, using the term "Mei me maraya" on one of my staff (after I had heard it from a Thai during a meeting referring to that particular staff)

To me it simply meant that the behaviour was inapropriate whereas "You lack an education" was felt as an insult by the person as well as to the parents and all the above generations. Trust me the guy went berserk. I, of course apologized but the did was done

I think what you were trying to say was "mai mee marayaat" (ไม่มีมารยาท) which literally means "to have no manners" or "you have no manners". I can understand the guy feeling disrespected when you said this to him but to "go berserk" simply proved that the Thai person from whom you originally heard this was right.

Correct (thanks for the clarification) but really I was only translating my thoughts from English to Thai : which is mild when you say to someone that he/she is lacking manners .

Nevertheless it is not part of my vocabulary anymore

I quite often tell some of my students ไม่มีมารยาท for the very reason that they don't have any manners. Another way to say it would be เสียมารยาท (sia marayaat) which is to say someone is being bad-mannered or impolite.