Chinese Animal Years

[mitsubishi]

Just wondering how you say:

'Born in the Year of the (Dragon, Dog etc)?"

I know pii means year, and dragon is munkhorn but when I say pii munkhorn I don't think it's the right way as the Thais often don't understand it.

Thoughts and help appreciated.

[Peppy]

The Chinese Year of the Dragon is known in Thai as ปีมะโรง / bpii ma-rohng, or colloquially as ปีงูใหญ่ / bpii nguu yai (The Year of the Big Snake).

Here's a breakdown of what the Thais call ปีนักษัตร / bpii nak-sat (The Chinese Zodiac):

1. Rat: ปีชวด / bpii chuat Colloquially ปีหนู / bpii nuu (The Year of the Mouse)

2. Ox: ปีฉลู / bpii cha-luu Colloquially ปีวัว / bpii wua (The Year of the Cow)

3. Tiger: ปีขาล / bpii khahn Colloquially ปีเสือ / bpii seua (The Year of the Tiger)

4. Rabbit ปีเถาะ / bpii toeh Colloquially ปีกระต่าย / bpii gra-dtaai (The Year of the Rabbit)

5. Dragon: ปีมะโรง / bpii ma-rohng Colloquially ปีงูใหญ่ / bpii nguu yai (The Year of the Big Snake)

6. Snake: ปีมะเส็ง / bpii ma-seng Colloquially ปีงูเล็ก / bpii nguu lek (The Year of the Small Snake)

7. Horse: ปีมะเมีย / bpii ma-mia Colloquially ปีม้า / bpii mah (The Year of the Horse)

8. Goat: ปีมะแม / bpii ma-mae Colloquially ปีแพะ / bpii paeh (The Year of the Goat)

9. Monkey: ปีวอก / bpii wawk Colloquially ปีลิง / bpii ling (The Year of the Monkey)

10. Rooster: ปีระกา / bpii ra-gah Colloquially ปีไก่ / bpii gai (The Year of the Chicken)

11. Dog: ปีจอ / bpii jaw Colloquially ปีสุนัข / bpii su-nak or ปีหมา / bpii mah (The Year of the Dog)

12. Pig: ปีกุน / bpii goon Colloquially ปีสุกร / bpii su-gorn or ปีหมู / bpii muu (The Year of the Pig)

The official names for the years in Thai are apparently of Hokkien Chinese origin, and are completely different from the Mandarin names. Most Thais are familiar with the official names, but often use the colloquial versions since the official ones have no meaning in Thai other than as the names of the years while the colloquial names reference the animals directly using the Thai word (presumably a translation of the Chinese).

I know my rendering of the Thai in the above list into Roman characters leaves a lot to be desired, not least for lacking any indication as to the tone of each syllable, but hey, if you're serious about saying the words the right way, you've got to learn how to read Thai. And for those that are still working at that, I've made the font a little bigger than usual to make it easier. The transcriptions should just be considered a general guide to help you in your reading of the native script; they don't reflect the actual pronunciation very well at all in most cases.

[JimsKnight]

Nice one, I didn't know that.

Edited July 5, 2010 by JimsKnight