A Thai Proverb

[eek]

Would like some help please.

Can anyone explain this proverb well?: พูดดีเป็นศรีแก่ปาก พูดมากปากจะเป็นสี

Thank you kindly

[bhoydy]

I'm not sure i can explain it so well but a similar saying might be - speak as you expect to be spoken to.

[wolf5370]

"say nice things and your mouth doesn't have a colour, speak too much your mouth will be coloured" - means, if you talk too much some one may 'colour your mouth' - with a right hook

[katana]

As the others have said, I think it's about choosing your words carefully.

Looking at a couple of Thai sites via Google, it was explained as meaning you should think about every word you say, not say every word you think or you might get a punch in the mouth!

Maybe something like:

To speak nicely is a virtue. Talk too much and you may get a bloody mouth.

[SoftWater]

พูดดีเป็นศรีแก่ปาก พูดมากปากจะเป็นมีสี

[eek]

^ Oh? Thanks.

Thanks to everyone too. Love this proverb. Very funny!

[tgeezer]

Isn't it just a play on the two words sounding the same สี? ศรี meaning good, auspicious, beautifu,l or something good anyway and สี meaning a grinder or polisher as in แปรงสีฟัน

I don't know how to translate it though.

[DavidHouston]

The book "พจนานุกรมไทย คำคล้องจอง" explains this proverb simply as: "พูดดีย่อมเกิดผลดี พูดไม่ดีย่อมเกิดผลเสีย"

I would say this means, "Talk nicely and good things will come; talk unkindly, and bad things will result."

On the other hand, it could refer to speech patterns:

"Speak well and you will prosper; speak poorly, and you will fail."

I suspect that the former is more correct,

[bhoydy]

Isn't it just a play on the two words sounding the same สี? ศรี meaning good, auspicious, beautifu,l or something good anyway and สี meaning a grinder or polisher as in แปรงสีฟัน

I don't know how to translate it though.

It's possible, but สี on its own can only be a noun as colour so in the context it doesn't work grammatically as a sentence. That doesn't mean to say that's not the intended meaning of it though.

[tgeezer]

Isn't it just a play on the two words sounding the same สี? ศรี meaning good, auspicious, beautifu,l or something good anyway and สี meaning a grinder or polisher as in แปรงสีฟัน

I don't know how to translate it though.

It's possible, but สี on its own can only be a noun as colour so in the context it doesn't work grammatically as a sentence. That doesn't mean to say that's not the intended meaning of it though.

Not so: สี น.เครื้องสำหรับหมุนบดข้าวเปลืิกให้แตกเป็นข้าวกล้อง machine for turn grind rice husk it is a rice box! don't know what that means but it doesn't fit what David has found at all. If it is not colour which also doesn't fit I would say it is along these lines. Speaking good things it to beautify your mouth, speaking too much; your mouth is just a grinder.

Edited July 27, 2010 by tgeezer

[tgeezer]

The book "พจนานุกรมไทย คำคล้องจอง" explains this proverb simply as: "พูดดีย่อมเกิดผลดี พูดไม่ดีย่อมเกิดผลเสีย"

I would say this means, "Talk nicely and good things will come; talk unkindly, and bad things will result."

On the other hand, it could refer to speech patterns:

"Speak well and you will prosper; speak poorly, and you will fail."

I suspect that the former is more correct,

Surely that means that it is a play on the words sounding the same since the Definition you have found is not another way of saying พูดดีเป็นศรี ฯลฯ.

[DavidHouston]

ข้าวกล้อง [N] brown rice; milled rice imperfectly cleaned; unpolished rice; half milled rice

[321niti123]

As the others have said, I think it's about choosing your words carefully.

Looking at a couple of Thai sites via Google, it was explained as meaning you should think about every word you say, not say every word you think or you might get a punch in the mouth!

Maybe something like:

To speak nicely is a virtue. Talk too much and you may get a bloody mouth.

I think this one is the closest

[tgeezer]

The book "พจนานุกรมไทย คำคล้องจอง" explains this proverb simply as: "พูดดีย่อมเกิดผลดี พูดไม่ดีย่อมเกิดผลเสีย"

I would say this means, "Talk nicely and good things will come; talk unkindly, and bad things will result."

ข้าวกล้อง [N] brown rice; milled rice imperfectly cleaned; unpolished rice; half milled rice

Thanks David, sayings are best when they are enigmatic I suppose.

If ปาก is the subject then ศรีแก่ปาก could be ความเจริญแก่ตัว = progress to the speaker; one meaning of ศรี is ความเจริญ which sets up a future tense for the whole saying although I notice that จะ is there anyway.

ปากจะเป็นสี could be ตัวจะเป็นเครื้องทำข้าวกล้อง speaker is creating an imperfect product.= future result

I can't make 'colour' fit because it is abstract noun. I don't know enough about the process of rice production so can only guess that this fits.

I am not discounting that 'punch in the mouth, bloody mouth etc. only trying to explain สี and would love to see another interpretation.

[bhoydy]

Good points from everyone. I like the idea of your mouth being a grinder and if สี can be interpreted like that, then why not เสียดสี?

Any thoughts?

If only there hadn't been a power cut at school today i would have asked around but i couldn't remember the phrase with all the heat.

Edited July 28, 2010 by bhoydy

[tgeezer]

Good points from everyone. I like the idea of your mouth being a grinder and if สี can be interpreted like that, then why not เสียดสี?

Any thoughts?

If only there hadn't been a power cut at school today i would have asked around but i couldn't remember the phrase with all the heat.

Thanks for your interest. Who knows what associations are made in a native speaker's mind. เสียด To pierce สี grind makes เสียดสี with an obvious definition ถูกัน but also are verbs on speech; ว่าปรียบเปรย, ว่ากระทบกระทั่ง etc. abrade, collide, but generally designed to be difficult to ignore and to create a bad atmosphere. I don't think สี is colour in this word.

[bhoydy]

Good points from everyone. I like the idea of your mouth being a grinder and if สี can be interpreted like that, then why not เสียดสี?

Any thoughts?

If only there hadn't been a power cut at school today i would have asked around but i couldn't remember the phrase with all the heat.

Thanks for your interest. Who knows what associations are made in a native speaker's mind. เสียด To pierce สี grind makes เสียดสี with an obvious definition ถูกัน but also are verbs on speech; ว่าปรียบเปรย, ว่ากระทบกระทั่ง etc. abrade, collide, but generally designed to be difficult to ignore and to create a bad atmosphere. I don't think สี is colour in this word.

This word เสียดสี i came across accidentally today while reading on google about the OP. I looked at it on Lexitron to no avail, however on thai-language it gave the meaning of being sarcastic, satirical or mocking. In addition the RID had a couple of interesting definitions, the first like you mentioned ถูกัน, but also the second had ties to this topic, again relating to sarcasm.

เสียดสี ก. ถูกัน เช่น กิ่งไม้เสียดสีกันจนเกิดไฟไหม้ป่า. ว. อาการ

ที่ว่ากระทบกระเทียบเหน็บแนมด้วยความอิจฉาเป็นต้น

เช่น เธอไม่ชอบเขา จึงพูดเสียดสีเขาเสมอ ๆ.

Edited July 28, 2010 by bhoydy

[tgeezer]

This word เสียดสี i came across accidentally today while reading on google about the OP. I looked at it on Lexitron to no avail, however on thai-language it gave the meaning of being sarcastic, satirical or mocking. In addition the RID had a couple of interesting definitions, the first like you mentioned ถูกัน, but also the second had ties to this topic, again relating to sarcasm.

เสียดสี ก. ถูกัน เช่น กิ่งไม้เสียดสีกันจนเกิดไฟไหม้ป่า. ว. อาการ

ที่ว่ากระทบกระเทียบเหน็บแนมด้วยความอิจฉาเป็นต้น

เช่น เธอไม่ชอบเขา จึงพูดเสียดสีเขาเสมอ ๆ.

I am using a student's dictionary, is the RID safe to use again? I gave up when there was some suspicion that it was passing on virus or something. My dictionary gives the sarcasm definitions as verbs but we don't worry about those classifications.

[bhoydy]

This word เสียดสี i came across accidentally today while reading on google about the OP. I looked at it on Lexitron to no avail, however on thai-language it gave the meaning of being sarcastic, satirical or mocking. In addition the RID had a couple of interesting definitions, the first like you mentioned ถูกัน, but also the second had ties to this topic, again relating to sarcasm.

เสียดสี ก. ถูกัน เช่น กิ่งไม้เสียดสีกันจนเกิดไฟไหม้ป่า. ว. อาการ

ที่ว่ากระทบกระเทียบเหน็บแนมด้วยความอิจฉาเป็นต้น

เช่น เธอไม่ชอบเขา จึงพูดเสียดสีเขาเสมอ ๆ.

I am using a student's dictionary, is the RID safe to use again? I gave up when there was some suspicion that it was passing on virus or something. My dictionary gives the sarcasm definitions as verbs but we don't worry about those classifications.

I used to get the warnings when trying to visit the RID website but it seems to be ok now, it's my first experience with a thai-thai dictionary so it's quite interesting. Thai-language gives เสียดสี as a modifier or phrase and gives it as formal. The RID online gives it as a verb, adjective or adverb. I initially thought this would work as an adjective, however on further reading i find that to use เป็น or คือ to modify a noun is incorrect in Thai, unlike English. The only way it would work is as a phrase which is given by thai-language.

[tgeezer]

I used to get the warnings when trying to visit the RID website but it seems to be ok now, it's my first experience with a thai-thai dictionary so it's quite interesting. Thai-language gives เสียดสี as a modifier or phrase and gives it as formal. The RID online gives it as a verb, adjective or adverb. I initially thought this would work as an adjective, however on further reading i find that to use เป็น or คือ to modify a noun is incorrect in Thai, unlike English. The only way it would work is as a phrase which is given by thai-language.

Thanks, I will try it again.

What this proverb needs now is a Thai input, I should like to know what พูดดี and พูดมาก mean when compared as in this proverb. I have heard พูดมากๆ used as a criticism and been encouraged to พูดดีๆสิ่ Language is inadequate for most people; the more you say the more damage you can do.

I have been thinking about 'least said, soonest mended' for some time and this morning wondered how it would be said in Thai. My feeling for 'Least said....' is the less said about a bad situation the sooner the relationship can be restored.

[DavidHouston]

Here are a few uses in context of the word "":

กฎหมายทวงถามหนี้ที่เป็นธรรมกำหนดให้บริษัททวงหนี้ต้องขึ้นทะเบียน ห้ามติดตามทวงหนี้โดยข่มขู่ . . .ห้ามใช้วาจาหรือภาษาที่เป็นการดูหมิ่น ถากถาง เสียดสีทำให้เกิดความเสียหายต่อผู้บริโภค

"A fair debt collections law would require that collections companies must be registered; it would prohibit the companies from threatening or intimidating the debtor; . . . it would prevent [the collectors] from using insulting language and [from using] ridicule or sarcasm which would cause damage or harm to the consumer."

รถไฟวิ่งไปในความเร็วไม่สม่ำเสมอเวลานึกจะเร็วก็เร่งเสียจนเสียงล้อเสียดสีกับรางเหล็กดังปานฟ้าถล่มทลาย

"The train plunged forward at uneven speeds; when you wanted it to speed up, it accelerated and the wheels of the train spun and squealed against the steel rails with a loud screech [which sounded] like the sky was falling. "

กิ่งไม้เสียดสีกันจนเกิดไฟไหม้ป่า

"The branches scraped up against each other [with such force] so as to cause a forest fire." or

"The forest fire was caused by branches rubbing up against each other."

Edited July 29, 2010 by DavidHouston

[bannork]

I used to get the warnings when trying to visit the RID website but it seems to be ok now, it's my first experience with a thai-thai dictionary so it's quite interesting. Thai-language gives เสียดสี as a modifier or phrase and gives it as formal. The RID online gives it as a verb, adjective or adverb. I initially thought this would work as an adjective, however on further reading i find that to use เป็น or คือ to modify a noun is incorrect in Thai, unlike English. The only way it would work is as a phrase which is given by thai-language.

Thanks, I will try it again.

What this proverb needs now is a Thai input, I should like to know what พูดดี and พูดมาก mean when compared as in this proverb. I have heard พูดมากๆ used as a criticism and been encouraged to พูดดีๆสิ่ Language is inadequate for most people; the more you say the more damage you can do.

I have been thinking about 'least said, soonest mended' for some time and this morning wondered how it would be said in Thai. My feeling for 'Least said....' is the less said about a bad situation the sooner the relationship can be restored.

A Thai friend said to me the meaning is as said earlier, 'Speak well and you will earn honour, speak too much, babble on and badmouth people, and you'll get a bloody mouth'.

I think พูดดีๆ can mean speak well as in speak properly,show respect to the person you're speaking to in the words you use, don't call your sister มัน for example, whilst พูดมาก often means outspoken in the bad sense, saying things unnecessarily that will hurt the person being referred to and ultimately the speaker, badmouthing someone or gossiping too much.

[bhoydy]

I used to get the warnings when trying to visit the RID website but it seems to be ok now, it's my first experience with a thai-thai dictionary so it's quite interesting. Thai-language gives เสียดสี as a modifier or phrase and gives it as formal. The RID online gives it as a verb, adjective or adverb. I initially thought this would work as an adjective, however on further reading i find that to use เป็น or คือ to modify a noun is incorrect in Thai, unlike English. The only way it would work is as a phrase which is given by thai-language.

Thanks, I will try it again.

What this proverb needs now is a Thai input, I should like to know what พูดดี and พูดมาก mean when compared as in this proverb. I have heard พูดมากๆ used as a criticism and been encouraged to พูดดีๆสิ่ Language is inadequate for most people; the more you say the more damage you can do.

I have been thinking about 'least said, soonest mended' for some time and this morning wondered how it would be said in Thai. My feeling for 'Least said....' is the less said about a bad situation the sooner the relationship can be restored.

A Thai friend said to me the meaning is as said earlier, 'Speak well and you will earn honour, speak too much, babble on and badmouth people, and you'll get a bloody mouth'.

I think พูดดีๆ can mean speak well as in speak properly,show respect to the person you're speaking to in the words you use, don't call your sister มัน for example, whilst พูดมาก often means outspoken in the bad sense, saying things unnecessarily that will hurt the person being referred to and ultimately the speaker, badmouthing someone or gossiping too much.

Yeah, i got the same from a teacher at school today, a bloody mouth as earlier mentioned. On the subject of พูดดีๆ i usually say พูดดีๆก็ได้(ครับ) when my students are speaking bad in class.

Edited July 29, 2010 by bhoydy