Talk Nuances Of Love And Sex In Thai Language & Culture – With A Thai Woman

[kaewmala]

Staying on the ผัวๆเมียๆ track... and เจ้าของ. Even in the old days, there were some Thai women who did not want to belong to any body.

...

มีลูกกวนตัว มีผัวกวนใจ

จะอยู่เป็นสาว ให้หน้าขาวเป็นยองใย

ถึงจะแก่คาบ้าน ก็ไม่หนักกระบาลหัวใคร

Children disturb the body, husband disturbs the mind,

I will stay a pristine old maid, with my pretty face so bright it shines,

Manless to a ripe old age, it's no weight on anybody's head but mine.

cheers,

Thanks for the reference. The first line of this has been a staple in our house since the kids hit speaking age...

When it's my turn to be grumpy with all and sundry, of course I change it to มีลูกกวนตัว มีเมียกวนใจ

I thought it was just a one-liner, but now see my substitution doesn't really hold for the rest of the poem!!

I thought it was a one liner as well, until I came across it while doing research for the book. Pretty cool, isn't it?

Like this one, a lot of Thai sayings actually come from poems, works of classical literature. The most popular sources is probably สุนทรภู่ Sunthorn Phu, I think, e.g. สามวันจากนารีเป็นอื่น (I'm looking for the actual source of this and haven't found it yet.)

To me (and a great many others) Sunthorn Phu remains the best poet/writer Thailand has ever had. A genius wordsmith. Our Shakespeare. He used simple words but when strung together, they transform into an unrivaled beauty of sound and meanings. Words that touch your soul. That's why parts of so many of his works can be recited by heart by many Thais. Here are a few bits:

อันอ้อยตาลหวานลิ้นแล้วสิ้นซาก แต่ลมปากหวานหูไม่รู้หาย

แม้นเจ็บอื่นหมื่นแสนจะแคลนคลาย เจ็บจนตายนั้นเพราะเหน็บให้เจ็บใจ (เพลงยาวถวายโอวาท)

มีสลึงพึงบรรจบให้ครบบาท อย่าให้ขาดสิ่งของต้องประสงค์

จงใช้น้อยกินน้อยค่อยบรรจง อย่าจ่ายลงให้มากจะยากนาน (สุภาษิตสอนหญิง)

เหมือนเขาเปรียบเทียบความเมื่อยามรัก น้ำผักต้มขมก็ชมหวาน

เมื่อจืดจางห่างเหินเนิ่นนาน น้ำตาลว่าเปรี้ยวไม่เหลียวดู (อภัยนุราช)

[desi]

Kaewmala, I would love to know more about Sunthorn Phu.

[DavidHouston]

คุณแก้วมาลาครับ

Please help me understand the meaning of your first sentence:

อันอ้อยตาลหวานลิ้นแล้วสิ้นซาก แต่ลมปากหวานหูไม่รู้หาย

Is its metaphoric meaning:

"The sweetness of sugar is fleeting but your sweet words last forever."

Or, is the implication that "Your words are sweeter than sugar [to me]" ?

Thanks for your help.

[yoot]

สามวันจากนารีเป็นอื่น (I'm looking for the actual source of this and haven't found it yet.)

จากโคลงโลกนิติ

๏เจ็ดวันเว้นดีดซ้อม ..........ดนตรี

อักขระห้าวันหนี .................เนิ่นช้า

สามวันจากนารี ..................เป็นอื่น

วันหนึ่งเว้นล้างหน้า ............อับเศร้าศรีหมอง

[kaewmala]

คุณแก้วมาลาครับ

Please help me understand the meaning of your first sentence:

อันอ้อยตาลหวานลิ้นแล้วสิ้นซาก แต่ลมปากหวานหูไม่รู้หาย

Is its metaphoric meaning:

"The sweetness of sugar is fleeting but your sweet words last forever."

Or, is the implication that "Your words are sweeter than sugar [to me]" ?

Thanks for your help.

It's metaphorical. And I think your translation is correct and very nice.

The literal meaning of first line is: "The sweet taste of sugar melts away, but the words stay sweet to the ear forever." That is sweetness of the sugar is ephemeral, while the sweetness of words is lasting.

[DavidHouston]

สามวันจากนารีเป็นอื่น (I'm looking for the actual source of this and haven't found it yet.)

จากโคลงโลกนิติ

๏เจ็ดวันเว้นดีดซ้อม ..........ดนตรี

อักขระห้าวันหนี .................เนิ่นช้า

สามวันจากนารี ..................เป็นอื่น

วันหนึ่งเว้นล้างหน้า ............อับเศร้าศรีหมอง

Khun Yoot,

Please help walk us through the meaning of this poem. The poetic language is hard for me to understand. Thanks.

[anchan42]

สามวันจากนารีเป็นอื่น (I'm looking for the actual source of this and haven't found it yet.)

จากโคลงโลกนิติ

๏เจ็ดวันเว้นดีดซ้อม ..........ดนตรี

อักขระห้าวันหนี .................เนิ่นช้า

สามวันจากนารี ..................เป็นอื่น

วันหนึ่งเว้นล้างหน้า ............อับเศร้าศรีหมอง

We could have สามวันจาก นารีเป็นอื่น or สามวันจากนารี เป็นอื่น. Power of punctuation.

[kaewmala]

สามวันจากนารีเป็นอื่น (I'm looking for the actual source of this and haven't found it yet.)

จากโคลงโลกนิติ

๏เจ็ดวันเว้นดีดซ้อม ..........ดนตรี

อักขระห้าวันหนี .................เนิ่นช้า

สามวันจากนารี ..................เป็นอื่น

วันหนึ่งเว้นล้างหน้า ............อับเศร้าศรีหมอง

ขอบคุณมากค่ะ คุณยุทธ? Very speedy.

So I've found some discussions about this particular saying: สามวันจากนารี ..................เป็นอื่น.

And I'm still not clear who's the one that changes in the original poem. From the pattern of word breaks, I'd think it's the man who's gone and changed after three days, not the woman. But then why it has been used to mean the woman who's unfaithful. Or is that obvious?

Please enlighten.

[kriswillems]

I also have problems understanding some part of this poem.

Sentence 1:

เจ็ดวันเว้นดีดซ้อม ..........ดนตรี

7 days playing ... music

(I guess this means everything is going fine for 7 days)

Sentence 2:

อักขระห้าวันหนี .................เนิ่นช้า

5 days pass ... things are going slowly

or with different punctuation: อักขระห้าวันหนีเนิ่นช้า

5 days pass slowly

Sentence 3:

สามวันจากนารี ..................เป็นอื่น

3 days away from Naarii... I am different (I am unfaithful)

or with different punctuation: สามวันจาก นารีเป็นอื่น

3 days apart ... Naarii changed (she is unfaithful)

Sentence 4:

วันหนึ่งเว้นล้างหน้า ............อับเศร้าศรีหมอง

don't wash your face for 1 day ... and you look bad (sad/depressed)

I think the message of this poem is that time changes things very quickly:

- 3 days away from Naarii and she has or you've already changed (depending on the punctuation).

- Who actually changed is irrelevant. The message is that time changes things.

- Just like you already look very different when you don't wash your face for 1 day.

Now here's my question:

- What's อักขระ doing there?

Does this word represent the letters of the days, like จ. for Monday?

- Which type of Poem is this?

Edited March 9, 2010 by kriswillems

[SimonN]

What's อักขระ doing there?

Kris, I think อักขระ may be the name of a character in the poem.

[anchan42]

๏เจ็ดวันเว้นดีดซ้อม ..........ดนตรี Stop practicing music instrument for 7 days. The implied meaning is that your performance will drop after stopping practicing for 7 days.

อักขระห้าวันหนี .................เนิ่นช้า Stop reading and writing for 5 days and you mind will become slow with the letter. True, especially with the second language.

สามวันจากนารี ..................เป็นอื่น Leave a girl for 3 days and she will change.

วัน หนึ่งเว้นล้างหน้า ............อับเศร้าศรีหมอง Not washing you face for one day and you will look dull.

It is called โคลงสี่สุภาพ and the pattern is

๐ ๐ ๐ เอก โท ๐ X (๐ ๐)

๐ เอก ๐ ๐ X เอก โท

๐ ๐ เอก ๐ X ๐ เอก (๐ ๐)

๐ เอก ๐ ๐ โท เอก โท ๐ X

Tones are fixed in some certain position and the Xs have to rhyme.

More details here http://th.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E0%B9%82%E0%...%B8%B2%E0%B8%9E

Edited March 10, 2010 by anchan42

[kriswillems]

๏เจ็ดวันเว้นดีดซ้อม ..........ดนตรี Stop practicing music instrument for 7 days. The implied meaning is that your performance will drop after stopping practicing for 7 days.

อักขระห้าวันหนี .................เนิ่นช้า Stop reading and writing for 5 days and you mind will become slow with the letter. True, especially with the second language.

สามวันจากนารี ..................เป็นอื่น Leave a girl for 3 days and she will change.

วัน หนึ่งเว้นล้างหน้า ............อับเศร้าศรีหมอง Not washing you face for one day and you will look dull.

It is called โคลงสี่สุภาพ and the pattern is

๐ ๐ ๐ เอก โท ๐ X (๐ ๐)

๐ เอก ๐ ๐ X เอก โท

๐ ๐ เอก ๐ X ๐ เอก (๐ ๐)

๐ เอก ๐ ๐ โท เอก โท ๐ X

Tones are fixed in some certain position and the Xs have to rhyme.

More details here http://th.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E0%B9%82%E0%...%B8%B2%E0%B8%9E

Thanks a lot for the detailed explanation! Now everything makes much more sense.

[kaewmala]

Thanks anchan42 for the Thai wiki link. I've never been really into poetry but will give translation a try.

๏เจ็ดวันเว้นดีดซ้อม ..........ดนตรี

Pause practice for seven days ........ of music

อักขระห้าวันหนี .................เนิ่นช้า

Leave learning for five days makes it ......... sluggish surely

สามวันจากนารี ..................เป็นอื่น

Desert a woman just three days, the ............ heart changes

วันหนึ่งเว้นล้างหน้า ............อับเศร้าศรีหมอง

Miss face washing just one day .......... one looks sadly dull.

The moral of this poem is persistence and perseverance, that is, whatever you do, you keep at it, otherwise it goes sideways.

cheers,

[kaewmala]

Kaewmala, I would love to know more about Sunthorn Phu.

Hi, desi, definitely anyone interested in Thai language and culture should check out Sunthorn Phu. Wikipedia has a brief and incomplete section on him here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sunthorn_Phu. The bio on the Thai wikipedia is far better, here: http://th.wikipedia.org/wiki/สุ...;ู่.

He was a master poet active in the first half of the 19th century, whose works are now recognized by UNESCO. He was quite a character -- very much a Thai macho male, though an artistic one. An artist, an alcoholic, a ladies' man who had issues with authorities, he lived through 4 reigns, in and out of favor of the royal court and went in and out of jail, because of his sharp tongue (or pen rather) and sometimes his artistic integrity. A daredevil romantic he surely was.

I started reading (though not understanding much) at the age of 5 or 6, his most popular work พระอภัยมณี /Phra Aphai Manee/ which has a flute playing prince charming who consorted with several species of females, from sea ogress to mermaid to a foreign princess. He was also among the main royally appointed composers of ขุนช้างขุนแผน /Khun Chang Khun Phaen/, the most famous (central Thai) folk epic about a love triangle that spanned across a couple of generations -- the epic tales of Thai Casanova (Khun Phaen). A must read, as it really gives you a very good insight into the (central, hegemonic) Thai culture and way of thinking that remains the prevalent today, in particular the male-female perspective. And his language is just a pleasure to read.

There is one particular verse from Phra Apai Manee that is really beautiful. I'll fish it out and share it with you and others when I get a chance.

cheers,

[farangnahrak]

hmmmmm this reminds me of my favorite Thai poem (song, actually). I occasionally mix and match lines from it to make the girls melt

บอกนิดเถอะนะคนดี บอกพี่สักคำ งามขำที่บ้านของเจ้ากินข้าวกับอะไร ถึงได้น่ารัก สวยนักสวยดังนางฟ้า อยากจะฝาก รักหนักหนา รักเจ้าได้ไหม ปาก คอ คาง คิ้ว จิ้มลิ้ม พริ้มดังนางฟ้า ยามเธอชม้ายตา นึกประหม่าในใจ มีแฟนหรือยังคนดี บอกพี่สักคำ ใครเป็นคู่ควงประจำ โชคดีเหนือใคร มีแฟนหรือยังคนดี บอกพี่เอาบุญ ขอเป็นคู่ควงแม่คุณ ว่าไง ว่าไง

กินอะไรเล่าเธอถึงได้งามแสนงาม งามล้ำเกินคน กินอะไรหน้ามนถึงได้งามแสนงาม งามเลิศวิไล ยามเมื่อเธอเมียงมองพี่ก็มองจ้องตา พี่ผวาใจลอย ใจพี่ลอยลางเลือน เหมือนดังคนละเมอเผลอลืมหายใจ

That said, my brain doesn't really function when it comes to poetry, no matter the language . . .

[farangnahrak]

A thai girl was telling me how she tried (and failed) to pick up a foreign guy by asking him 'why is the sky pink'. Also something about a ฟ้าเหลือง which had me confused . . . what is a ฟ้าเหลือง, anyway? Another said only Thais can understand ฟ้าเหลือง, so I took it as a challenge

help?

[kaewmala]

A thai girl was telling me how she tried (and failed) to pick up a foreign guy by asking him 'why is the sky pink'. Also something about a ฟ้าเหลือง which had me confused . . . what is a ฟ้าเหลือง, anyway? Another said only Thais can understand ฟ้าเหลือง, so I took it as a challenge

help?

I hope the girl was trying to pick the guy up with just the "pink sky" line, and not also with the "yellow sky" line.

I'm not sure if "why the sky is pink" has any other meaning, but generally a "pink sky" for Thai girls would simply mean being in a romantic mood or being in love (love causes you to see everything in a rosy color). Pretty innocuous.

Now, about the "yellow sky", I shudder at the thought of a girl using the ฟ้าเหลือง expression to pick up a man, Thai or foreign . The sky is never really yellow, I guess, but at twilight it probably comes as close as it gets to yellow. I am not entirely sure about this but I think this expression has a very strong sexual, a bit vulgar, connotation. It's an expression used when someone has had a sexual marathon, perhaps overnight, and only emerges from it the next evening, just to see the sky in turning yellow. Or, alternatively, at whatever time of day, a sexual marathon would have drained the person so sufficiently of all his/her energy that anything will look yellow.

[farangnahrak]

interesting, lol . . . somehow i feel the next conversation with my girl will go something like this . . .

ทำไมฟ้าเหลืองจังเลย?

ใครสอนคำเนี้ย?!?!

สาวไทยคนหนึ่งที่เจอในเวบสอนให้

<here is where I โดนแฟนตี>

[bina]

To put things in perspective, the word for husband in Thai สามี (which has its root in Sanskrit 'swamin') means not only husband, but "master," "owner," "lord". But then again, most Thai women, I suspect don't think of its meaning when using it to call their husbands (many of them don't know it - just think it only means 'husband'). I myself use the term สามี when referring to my husband in Thai because the alternative (a more authentic Thai word) ผัว is considered impolite (while เมีย is much less so - much to discuss there).

ok, a bit OT but relavant for thsoe that are interested in expanding their minds a bit....

'husbands' are not just owners in thai: in hebrew, husband is actually (ba'al) that is: owner. (people are 'owners' of dogs, livestock, stores, employees) .

women were 'bought' by bride price (sin sot here we come), traded for camels, horses or whatever. in the 1950's with communism/marxism moving from russia et al with the immigrants coming to israel, the feminist movement refused to use the term 'ba'al' so poeple started using the word 'man' as in ' my man' (ish), or 'male partner'. also, there was a movement against formal marriage because in the marriage ceremony there is the sin sod (although there is also a contract for protecting the woman's interestes in the future, an amount to be paid if divorced) signed by the men from both sides of the family.

men howver, use 'my woman' as a standard expression no matter what, and mostly dont use the formal version for wife at all. the formal word for wife comes from the roots of the word: faithful/beleivable (one of the blessings given during a wedding)... so a wife is actually 'the faithful one', 'the one that gives me (the man) her faith"...... ... i had to look that up in a real dictionary couldnt find in either language on the net... probably phrased the question incorrectly...

i know many women even now that refuse to use the 'husband/owner' term (ba'al) even now. personally, i dont care, and because i am married to a thai the assumption is that he is my worker/possible 'thing on the side', i refer to him as 'ba'al' to give him more status i.e. we are married legally and sprititually, he isnt just my 'male partner' i.e. potentially temporary; this is in a country that does not look favorably at all on mixed marriages especially those that are visibily mixed (thai vx. anglo face....)... unfortunately, the word 'wife' -raya-(perhaps wifey is more correct) is a girls name, albeit one for old ladies, i still hear it and cringe-- why would anyone name their kid 'faithful wife'?...

interesting how we choose words to convey much more then just the basic meaning....maybe that is why i have less problems than many seem to have with thai cultures-- the languages and backgrounds reflect similarities (agricultural people, hiearchachal, tribal.... ) as reflected in the language.

bina

israel

[tombkk]

This term is used equally by men and women. I heard this argument between two women in a market.

มึงมายุ่งกับผัวกูทำไม ไม่รู้รึไงมันมีเจ้าของแล้ว ของของกูใครอย่ามายุ่ง

It drew quite a big crowd.

No surprise. This was a cat-fight of people who use มึง and กู in public, not to mention lose their temper in public. Always a nice spectacle. However, concluding from that that the average Thai persion would use เจ้าของ in reference to his/her lover, is a bit questionable, to say the least.

I was curious about what a Thai woman is feeling when she refers to her husband or partner as her เจ้าของ. I have heard it in both Thai songs and in daily conversation.

Obviously from a Western perspective it would not be understood or accepted, I was just wondering what a Thai lady was feeling emotionally when making such a statement. Is there a sense that she is the property of her husband or more that the husband is her lifelong protector, guardian?

JJ.

"The owner of my heart" is an example where you would hear something like that in a Western context. Very romantic if used correctly!

However, I wager that the two fishwives yelling at each other in the market in the first example above, did consider their husbands as their property, not in a loving but in a possessive sense.

Just my feeling, and proper usage of words (such as personal pronouns) or expressions in Thailand depend a lot on feeling and on the situation.

[SoftWater]

This term is used equally by men and women. I heard this argument between two women in a market.

มึงมายุ่งกับผัวกูทำไม ไม่รู้รึไงมันมีเจ้าของแล้ว ของของกูใครอย่ามายุ่ง

It drew quite a big crowd.

No surprise. This was a cat-fight of people who use มึง and กู in public, not to mention lose their temper in public. Always a nice spectacle. However, concluding from that that the average Thai persion would use เจ้าของ in reference to his/her lover, is a bit questionable, to say the least.

I'd hazard a guess anchan42's assertion that it's used equally by men and women might rather have been based on a native speaker's familiarity with their own language...

Edited March 21, 2010 by SoftWater

[tombkk]

This term is used equally by men and women. I heard this argument between two women in a market.

มึงมายุ่งกับผัวกูทำไม ไม่รู้รึไงมันมีเจ้าของแล้ว ของของกูใครอย่ามายุ่ง

It drew quite a big crowd.

No surprise. This was a cat-fight of people who use มึง and กู in public, not to mention lose their temper in public. Always a nice spectacle. However, concluding from that that the average Thai persion would use เจ้าของ in reference to his/her lover, is a bit questionable, to say the least.

I'd hazard a guess anchan42's assertion that it's used equally by men and women might rather have been based on a native speaker's familiarity with their own language...

I wasn't doubting that. I merely added that เจ้าของ was used in a context in which มึง and กู were used in public, drawing a crowd. This example is not a good example that เจ้าของ is a good (or even acceptable) word to use when referring to the relationship with your significant other, regardless of whether this term is used by a man or a woman.

If the term is acceptable in another social situation, I am sure anchan42 or yourself will advise us accordingly.

[anchan42]

This term is used equally by men and women. I heard this argument between two women in a market.

มึงมายุ่งกับผัวกูทำไม ไม่รู้รึไงมันมีเจ้าของแล้ว ของของกูใครอย่ามายุ่ง

It drew quite a big crowd.

No surprise. This was a cat-fight of people who use มึง and กู in public, not to mention lose their temper in public. Always a nice spectacle. However, concluding from that that the average Thai persion would use เจ้าของ in reference to his/her lover, is a bit questionable, to say the least.

I'd hazard a guess anchan42's assertion that it's used equally by men and women might rather have been based on a native speaker's familiarity with their own language...

I wasn't doubting that. I merely added that เจ้าของ was used in a context in which มึง and กู were used in public, drawing a crowd. This example is not a good example that เจ้าของ is a good (or even acceptable) word to use when referring to the relationship with your significant other, regardless of whether this term is used by a man or a woman.

If the term is acceptable in another social situation, I am sure anchan42 or yourself will advise us accordingly.

เจ้าของ in itself is not rude and using it in this sense is not impolite or politically incorrect in anyway but a bit informal. If some one say เขามีเจ้าของแล้ว native speaker would have a hard time telling whether it is man refer to woman or vise versa. No doubt about it, there is inequality between sexes in Thailand but this word is not the evidence of that.

If someone say เราเป็นของกันและกัน "we are each other owner","we are owned by each other" It basically means they have become husband and wife. The connotation for this phase is that it is by having sex and not by formal ceremony.

Edited March 23, 2010 by anchan42

[SoftWater]

I'd like to ask about this term, both its spelling, meaning and use.

เร่าใจ or เร้าใจ

Sorry for the formulaic layout, but its probably clearer if I enumerate my questions, which are several:

i. Is this the same expression with variant spellings, or two different expressions? Lexitron and C.G. Moore ('Heart Talk') has it as เร้าใจ, but I'm sure the way I heard it was pronunced เร่าใจ - maybe my ear for tones is out of tune...

ii. Both Moore and the person (native speaker) I heard use it explained with reference to how, say, the boys might feel when they see a sexy bikini-clad girl. However, I'm not sure from either explanation or the example whether this is synonymous with ตื่นเต้น or does it connote something different? If so, what?

iii. I'm not sure of the grammar of this phrase in use. Can anyone offer me a sample sentence or two? Lexitron has a couple, but they don't help much. Moore doesn't give any examples in use (a bit of a problem with his book throughout).

Thanks in advance!

Edited March 25, 2010 by SoftWater

[Tod Daniels]

Far from ever professing to be a thai language pundit (and you probably pursued the routes I did as well ) but . .. ..

The term เร้าใจ certainly turned up a LOT more scantily clad images of both sexes than เร่าใจ did when using Google Thailand and thai language as a search function. It was also coupled with the word เซ็กส์ a lot.

It's even used in an ad for a D-Max as in "Isuzu D-Max รุ่นใหม่ X-Series สปอร์ตเร้าใจ.

FWIW: Glenn Slayden's site lists it as a compound word and gives it;

[is] dramatic; sensational; stimulating; exciting; exhilarating; provocative; rousing; stirring

with these 'related' words; กระตุ้น, ตื่นเต้น, นั่งไม่ติด, เอ็กไซ้ต์

and this example น่าเร้าใจ.

[kaewmala]

I'd like to ask about this term, both its spelling, meaning and use.

เร่าใจ or เร้าใจ

Sorry for the formulaic layout, but its probably clearer if I enumerate my questions, which are several:

i. Is this the same expression with variant spellings, or two different expressions? Lexitron and C.G. Moore ('Heart Talk') has it as เร้าใจ, but I'm sure the way I heard it was pronunced เร่าใจ - maybe my ear for tones is out of tune...

ii. Both Moore and the person (native speaker) I heard use it explained with reference to how, say, the boys might feel when they see a sexy bikini-clad girl. However, I'm not sure from either explanation or the example whether this is synonymous with ตื่นเต้น or does it connote something different? If so, what?

iii. I'm not sure of the grammar of this phrase in use. Can anyone offer me a sample sentence or two? Lexitron has a couple, but they don't help much. Moore doesn't give any examples in use (a bit of a problem with his book throughout).

Thanks in advance!

The grammatically correct form would be เร้าใจ / ráw jai/; it's used both as an adjective and an adverb.

1) หนังเรื่องนี้เร้าใจมาก พล๊อตดี เดินเรื่องตื่นเต้นดีจริงๆ

This film is very dramatic (or gripping), good plot; the story line is so exciting.

2) โอ้โห อุแม่เจ้า เธอนุ่งน้อยห่มน้อยน่าเร้าใจ จนชายหนุ่มต้องน้ำลายไหล

Wow! Her being scantily dressed is riveting and has the young men salivate. (In this case the young men also feel เร้าใจ <both the lady's state of scanty dress, and the men's feeling are เร้าใจ = both adjective - i.e. the woman's dress is 'arousing', and the men's feeling 'aroused', described by the same word in Thai.)

3) มวยไทยคู่นี้ฝีมือสูสีมาก ชั้นเชิงดีทั้งคู่้ รับรุกหมัดกันได้ทันท่วงที ขามวยก็เชียร์เต็มที่ โห่เชียร์อย่างเร้าใจ

These Muay Thai boxers are really well matched, both having good skills and strategies. They are both swift on both the defense and offense. The enthusiasts are also rooting [for their favorite], shouting and cheering enthusiastically.

[SoftWater]

Thanks tod and Kaewmala - obviously I just got the spelling wrong, and there's only เร้าใจ

I think I've got the usage also clear in my head (tho' it may not be clear when it comes out of my mouth...

Cheers folks