Hi,

Can anyone tell me how to say 'I'm just looking" or 'I look' in Thai?

Thanks

Try "Care duu you krap" Works for me

the above suggestion is spot on

How about we modify that phrase a little bit into something a thai would say; as I believe the phrase offered out is not 'spot on'.

Remember that a thai will understand you, and whether you are speaking thai correctly are horses of a different color completely. I routinely accept <deleted> engrish from thais, and understand them but by no stretch of the imagination are they speaking anything close to 'real engrish'.

The phrase offered out uses the thai word yuu (อยู่). That word is added to a verb to denote present progressive or perfect tense. Thus the phrase kaw-duu-yuu (ขอดูอยู่) translates rather poorly as "May (I) looking.

There are two phrases you want; one is; kaw-duu-gon (ขอดูก่อน) which is what every thai I know says, and translates as "May (I) look before". The other one is if you're just browsing indifferently and is; kaw-duu-cheeuy-cheeuy (ขอดูเฉย ๆ) "May (I) look” yet because it has cheeuy-cheeuy (เฉย ๆ) it carries the meaning of looking "indifferently" without any commitment to purchase. (I also put the word "I" in quotes as those sentences do not have a pronoun as it is understood in context to mean the speaker.

I included the thai spelling so you can get a thai to read it to you to get the pronunciation right.

Spelling ANY frickin' thai word in engrish is haphazard at best, given peoples' widely disparate native accents (i.e.: auzziez, kiwiz, britz, americanz, etc.) when pronouncing an engrish word.

Good luck, and remember to say it fairly forcefully, or the thai sales-clucks will shadow you as their salary is tied to commission on sales.

kaw-duu-cheeuy-cheeuy

Is much more colloquial and fits very well.

There are two phrases you want; one is; kaw-duu-gon (ขอดูก่อน) which is what every thai I know says, and translates as "May (I) look before". The other one is if you're just browsing indifferently and is; kaw-duu-cheeuy-cheeuy (ขอดูเฉย ๆ) "May (I) look" yet because it has cheeuy-cheeuy (เฉย ๆ) it carries the meaning of looking "indifferently" without any commitment to purchase. (I also put the word "I" in quotes as those sentences do not have a pronoun as it is understood in context to mean the speaker.

I agree with kaw duu gon....this one to me implies that you are interested in buying. "Can I be left alone to look around a bit before I talk to you about buying something?"

I've never used kaw with "doo cheeuy cheeuy". I use this when I'm killing time wandering around the mall before a movie starts and I don't plan on buying anything. I don't think you have to ask permission (kaw) to browse. I say it with a smile and have never gotten the impression that I was being rude by not using kaw.

The phrase offered out uses the thai word yuu (อยู่). That word is added to a verb to denote present progressive or perfect tense. Thus the phrase kaw-duu-yuu (ขอดูอยู่) translates rather poorly as "May (I) looking.

....

Spelling ANY frickin' thai word in engrish is haphazard at best, given peoples' widely disparate native accents (i.e.: auzziez, kiwiz, britz, americanz, etc.) when pronouncing an engrish word.

As you noted, it's always hard to guess what Thai word someone actually means when using the English alphabet. However, I think "sgunn65" meant แค่ดูอยู่ and not ขอดูอยู่. So it would be adding the present progressive to ดู and not ขอ. In the same vein and adding to what kikenyoy said, I'd say แค่ดูเฉยๆ instead of ขอดูเฉยๆ. I agree with both of you that ขอดูก่อน is a good option.

As you noted, it's always hard to guess what Thai word someone actually means when using the English alphabet. However, I think "sgunn65" meant แค่ดูอยู่ and not ขอดูอยู่. So it would be adding the present progressive to ดู and not ขอ. In the same vein and adding to what kikenyoy said, I'd say แค่ดูเฉยๆ instead of ขอดูเฉยๆ. I agree with both of you that ขอดูก่อน is a good option.

Alas I never thought of the construct you pointed out. ...

See the perils and pitfalls in using engrish to write thai?

It never dawned on me that they meant the word 'kaa' (แค่) as in 'only' being used as the first word.

Sorry about that I stand humbly erected.

This Thai Girl on Youtube teaching shopping phrases covers the original question first thing on the video.