holidaze Posted January 10, 2010 Share Posted January 10, 2010 Hi. Can someone please tell me how to say 'just looking' in Thai? Thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anothertorres Posted January 10, 2010 Share Posted January 10, 2010 phonetically: doo choie choie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thaiozy Posted January 10, 2010 Share Posted January 10, 2010 phonetically: doo choie choie Njce to know but just have to learn th pronounsiation as we know there are many (makes a fun time) so in between learning I`ll still have to do the act of puting up one hand to my eyes (just looking) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bellste Posted January 10, 2010 Share Posted January 10, 2010 phonetically: doo choie choie Njce to know but just have to learn th pronounsiation as we know there are many (makes a fun time) so in between learning I`ll still have to do the act of puting up one hand to my eyes (just looking) That has worked for me every day for five years, so don't worry. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sbk Posted January 10, 2010 Share Posted January 10, 2010 moving to the Thai language forum Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
surinelephantcity Posted January 10, 2010 Share Posted January 10, 2010 kae doo krap :-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gorber Posted January 10, 2010 Share Posted January 10, 2010 You could also say 'doo len'. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PoorSucker Posted January 10, 2010 Share Posted January 10, 2010 Is it for use in a shop or a go-go bar? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anothertorres Posted January 10, 2010 Share Posted January 10, 2010 doo choie choie is entirely flat tone (middle tone), so don't worry about tonation with this expression. and yes, can also say "doo len" but the "len" is falling tone. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
meadish_sweetball Posted January 10, 2010 Share Posted January 10, 2010 doo choie choie is entirely flat tone (middle tone) Actually it's a mid tone followed by two rising tones: ดูเฉยๆ if you said ดูเชยๆ which has all mid tones that would mean something like '(It) looks old-fashioned, behind the times'. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
up-country_sinclair Posted January 10, 2010 Share Posted January 10, 2010 I frequently use 'doo gone'. Am i wrong? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leah Posted January 10, 2010 Share Posted January 10, 2010 I frequently use 'doo gone'.Am i wrong? Up-country, you are absolutely correct, though it sounds slightly abrupt by itself so you might want to dress it up a little, e.g.: kor doo gone krub ขอดูก่อนครับ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
villagefarang Posted January 12, 2010 Share Posted January 12, 2010 You may have noticed that no one translated "just looking". You always need to ask, what would Thais say in this situation, if trying to convey the same meaning. Often they express themselves very differently from the way we would. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rikker Posted January 12, 2010 Share Posted January 12, 2010 villagefarang, go back and read the thread again a little more carefully. The #2 post answered the question, followed up by a rendering into Thai script at post #10. ดูเฉยๆ is a perfectly good idiomatic translation of the phrase. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
villagefarang Posted January 12, 2010 Share Posted January 12, 2010 villagefarang, go back and read the thread again a little more carefully. The #2 post answered the question, followed up by a rendering into Thai script at post #10. ดูเฉยๆ is a perfectly good idiomatic translation of the phrase. The point is, that if you translate "just" and "looking" literally, as farangs often do, you wouldn't get anything near what a Thai would say. I was pointing out that all the translations were indeed idiomatic and not literal. If you go back and read again a little more carefully you might pick up on that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rikker Posted January 12, 2010 Share Posted January 12, 2010 My mistake. I misread your meaning. Apologies. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ozzieovaseas Posted January 12, 2010 Share Posted January 12, 2010 A simple mai pen lai seems to work for everything like that at least thats what the thais say in that situation Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
colspeed Posted January 13, 2010 Share Posted January 13, 2010 The point is, that if you translate "just" and "looking" literally, as farangs often do, you wouldn't get anything near what a Thai would say. I was pointing out that all the translations were indeed idiomatic and not literal. Reminds me of an English friend of mine in Spain who went to a garden shop and asked for "fencing". The shopkeeper was totally confused. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boris52 Posted January 13, 2010 Share Posted January 13, 2010 the mai pen rai response with a smile is one of my most used responses in daily interaction. its an easy, polite and effective way to dismiss someone or something. however, i would have to agree that "doo cheey cheey" is the better response for the OP Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anothertorres Posted January 13, 2010 Share Posted January 13, 2010 villagefarang, go back and read the thread again a little more carefully. The #2 post answered the question, followed up by a rendering into Thai script at post #10. ดูเฉยๆ is a perfectly good idiomatic translation of the phrase. The point is, that if you translate "just" and "looking" literally, as farangs often do, you wouldn't get anything near what a Thai would say. I was pointing out that all the translations were indeed idiomatic and not literal. If you go back and read again a little more carefully you might pick up on that. i'm confused. all you asked for in your original post was how to say "just looking". did you not get the answer you were looking for? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rikker Posted January 13, 2010 Share Posted January 13, 2010 villagefarang was just making an observation about the nature of translation, apparently. That is, one does not translate literally but idiomatically. Not sure that needed to be pointed out, but I believe that was the intent of the post. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anothertorres Posted January 13, 2010 Share Posted January 13, 2010 still confused, but i'm not smart so... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sisaketmike Posted January 13, 2010 Share Posted January 13, 2010 phonetically: doo choie choie เพิ่งมีการค้นหา Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rinrada Posted January 13, 2010 Share Posted January 13, 2010 Cay Doo..as in Ka do.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hiero Posted January 13, 2010 Share Posted January 13, 2010 (edited) Depends on the situation but for example if you're browsing a rack of clothes and the assistant starts shoving stuff in your face, it's annoying but you don't want be rude so to be a little more polite: ขอดูเท่านั้น - I just want to look/(please) let me look Edited January 13, 2010 by hiero Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
klons Posted January 14, 2010 Share Posted January 14, 2010 On a related note. Before you start just looking, I think the shop girl may say ถามได้ค่ะ or ทำได้ค่ะ Can do? Can ask? It is a trivial, but just bugs me a little I can’t tell. Which one is it? or maybe it’s neither. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ratsima Posted January 14, 2010 Share Posted January 14, 2010 I think they're saying ถามได้ค่ะ - inviting you to ask a question if you've got one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rgs2001uk Posted January 14, 2010 Share Posted January 14, 2010 I think they're saying ถามได้ค่ะ - inviting you to ask a question if you've got one. Agreed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rikker Posted January 14, 2010 Share Posted January 14, 2010 Yep, ถามได้(ค่ะ/ครับ) is the Thai equivalent of "Let me know if you've got any questions." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alvin80 Posted January 16, 2010 Share Posted January 16, 2010 as mentioned earlier...the way of expressing often use diff words but carry similiar content.. this would be thai version f "how can i help you"...?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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