กว่าจะ

[bannork]

A student asked me yesterday the meannig of กว่าจะ She gave me 2 examples:

กว่าจะรัก เท่าวันนี้ which I gathered to mean- 'I have loved with all my heart, I've done my utmost for a long time,(but I don't know if the final result will be marriage or separation)

กว่าจะมีคนมาเข้าใจต้องใช้เวลา Whoever wants to understand me must take time

Can anyone come up with a short phrase for กว่าจะ here- thanks.

[Rikker]

Usually it can be translated with either "by the time" or simply "before."

กว่าจะนึกได้ เวลาก็หมดแล้ว "By the time I remembered it, the time was up."

But often the second half is left off, and can imply great time or effort taken to accomplish something.

กว่าจะนึกได้! uttered on its own could be idiomatically equivalent to something in English like, "I had to rack my brain" (that is, able to remember it only after great time or effort).

Sometimes I ask detailed questions about how to use a particular word or phrase in Thai, and my wife has been known to utter after such interrogations.. "เฮ้อ กว่าจะเข้าใจ!"

As for those examples, your student has quoted the chorus of a pop song.

กว่าจะรัก can mean a number of things. In that song (music video here), it means "Before we (finally) loved each other.." and is all about how it took time before the singer understood love and was in love with the person she's singing to. In other scenarios กว่าจะรัก might also mean the love at first was unrequited, or that the person wasn't attracted at first, but eventually came around.

Sorry that wasn't particularly concise!

[tgeezer]

As Rikker says it means before. The example is 'before I loved as I do today.'and the second 'it will take time before anyone understands'.

[tgeezer]

As Rikker says it means before. The example is 'before I loved as I do today.'and the second 'it will take time before anyone understands'.

I only have the RID as a reference and after reading the entry for กว่า am not sure about the first definition. กว่าจะ..ก็... started life as a conjuntion as in English 'before X ('then'- to make it compatable with Thai)Y' and in spite of no ก็ that is the way I have translated it ; in the first case you are left hanging and in the second it is complete, as was yours.

It is possible that ก็ is no longer required because of the influence of English, perhaps you should ask her what she means.

กว่าจะรักเท่าวันนี้ผมก็อยู่ดีมีสุข

edit; I see that there is a gap','? รัก เท่า so I am probably wrong.

Edited February 13, 2011 by tgeezer

[bannork]

Thanks for the very useful replies everyone.

[Joosesis]

The first lines of one of my favorite songs by Asanee Wasan (หัวใจสะออน)

กว่า จะรู้ จักจำ

ใจ ต้องชอก ช้ำอีก

กว่า จะคิด เข้าใจ

บางทีมัน ก็สายเกิน ไป