I Would Rather

[ChAoS87]

Guys, please help me with this. How do i express ' I would rather the one suffering is me' , 'I would rather we didn't gotten to know each other'Thanks alot!

[Tod Daniels]

Unless I'm mistaken, in thai the colloquial phrase is better ดีกว่า dee^M gwaa^L is used when youre comparing two things, two choices, etc with one being a better thing to do or what you'd 'rather' do.

Here's the link to thai-visa-dot com's definition and example sentences;

better-rather

I have also heard thais use the words instead of แทนที่ thaaen^M thee^F used with ดีกว่า as it adds a more comparative meaning. Heres that link;

Instead of

As for the second part of your question;

You have to realize in thai there are MANY different types of suffering; mental anguish, physical suffering, just plain hardship, suffering as a good buddhist is supposed to, etc.

The real word for 'suffer' is ทรมาน thaaw^M ra^H maan^M, but even a brief perusal of thai-language-dot com yields MANY different words depending on the way a person suffers. The word ทุกข์ thook^H seems to be a high use word as it comes up first under 'suffer'.

Go here Thai Language Dot Com Dictionary and type in the word suffer. See for yourself.

It would seem in thai, the "type" of suffering you're intending to do is critical when selecting the correct word to carry the nearly all encompassing english meaning of 'suffer'. Especially so a thai would catch the meaning in the context you're speaking about.

As far as the sentences you're wanting. I'll leave that for you or other more illustrious posters than myself to figure out.

Good luck, (Personally; I try to suffer as little as possible and I'd rather make others suffer first, but that's just me ).

Oh one more thing. If you use Thai-Language Dot Com's dictionary, make sure you go to the "site setting page". Click the tabs which say "Enable Racy Content", and the one which says "Enable Gay/Lesbian Content". By doing that you get much more contemporary word usage and far more common slang than leaving those boxes un-checked.

Edited December 7, 2010 by tod-daniels

[a51mas]

I would rather the one suffering is me = ฉันยอมที่จะเป็นผู้รับทุกข์เอง

I would rather we didn't gotten to know each other = จะเป็นผลดีกับทุกฝ่ายถ้าเราไม่รู้จักกัน

[ChAoS87]

Unless I'm mistaken, in thai the colloquial phrase is ‘better’ ดีกว่า dee^M gwaa^L is used when you’re comparing two things, two choices, etc with one being a ‘better’ thing to do or what you'd 'rather' do.

Here's the link to thai-visa-dot com's definition and example sentences;

better-rather

I have also heard thais use the words ‘instead of’ แทนที่ thaaen^M thee^F used with ดีกว่า as it adds a more comparative meaning. Here’s that link;

Instead of

As for the second part of your question;

You have to realize in thai there are MANY different types of suffering; mental anguish, physical suffering, just plain hardship, suffering as a good buddhist is supposed to, etc.

The real word for 'suffer' is ทรมาน thaaw^M ra^H maan^M, but even a brief perusal of thai-language-dot com yields MANY different words depending on the way a person suffers. The word ทุกข์ thook^H seems to be a high use word as it comes up first under 'suffer'.

Go here Thai Language Dot Com Dictionary and type in the word ‘suffer’. See for yourself.

It would seem in thai, the "type" of suffering you're intending to do is critical when selecting the correct word to carry the nearly all encompassing english meaning of 'suffer'. Especially so a thai would catch the meaning in the context you're speaking about.

As far as the sentences you're wanting. I'll leave that for you or other more illustrious posters than myself to figure out.

Good luck, (Personally; I try to suffer as little as possible and I'd rather make others suffer first, but that's just me ).

Oh one more thing. If you use Thai-Language Dot Com's dictionary, make sure you go to the "site setting page". Click the tabs which say "Enable Racy Content", and the one which says "Enable Gay/Lesbian Content". By doing that you get much more contemporary word usage and far more common slang than leaving those boxes un-checked.

wow, i didnt know there was this site-setting page despite using the site for so long. thanks for your help guys!

[Tod Daniels]

<SNIP>

I would rather we didn't gotten to know each other = จะเป็นผลดีกับทุกฝ่ายถ้าเราไม่รู้จักกัน

I think that sentence construct while possibly accurate is quite clunky and artificial.

I'd go with something far simpler like: คิดว่าเราไม่เคยรู้จักกันดีกว่า

It is my experience when trying to say something in thai, the simpler you can convey the meaning the easier it is for thais to understand what you’re on about. You start making a phrase or concept too descriptive and you can go off the proverbial script quite quickly.

Foreigners (especially engrish native speaking ones) tend to suffer the most from ‘mother language interference’ when tryin’ to speak thai. This can and does make the understandability of what you’re saying go WAY down to your average run-‘o-the-mill-thai out on the soi

In other words, when in doubt, I've always found it better to follow the old acronym K.I.S.S. (NOT the name of the famous rock band, you goofball ) but the phrase; “Keep It Simple Stupid!”

[Peppy]

<SNIP>

I would rather we didn't gotten to know each other = จะเป็นผลดีกับทุกฝ่ายถ้าเราไม่รู้จักกัน

I think that sentence construct while possibly accurate is quite clunky and artificial.

I'd go with something far simpler like: คิดว่าเราไม่เคยรู้จักกันดีกว่า

A51mas's offering doesn't seem clunky or artificial to me--it seems like a natural way of expressing the sentiment "It would be better for all involved if we didn't get to know each other."

I'm afraid Todd's says, at least to me, "I think it's better that we have never known each other". เคย in my experience is used only for past events and experiences, not for hypothetical present or future ones.

[a51mas]

<SNIP>

I would rather we didn't gotten to know each other = จะเป็นผลดีกับทุกฝ่ายถ้าเราไม่รู้จักกัน

I think that sentence construct while possibly accurate is quite clunky and artificial.

I'd go with something far simpler like: คิดว่าเราไม่เคยรู้จักกันดีกว่า

A51mas's offering doesn't seem clunky or artificial to me--it seems like a natural way of expressing the sentiment "It would be better for all involved if we didn't get to know each other."

I'm afraid Todd's says, at least to me, "I think it's better that we have never known each other". เคย in my experience is used only for past events and experiences, not for hypothetical present or future ones.

Thank you Peppy for the encouragement