Accident

[NguuMuu]

อุบัติเหตุ (accident) - I have heard this word pronounced a few different ways now. Can anyone explain to me how it should be pronounced and what are the rules behind that pronounciation (None of the pronounciations I've heard seem to follow any of the rules I've encountered).

Beyond that, I understand there are quite a few words in Thai for 'accident' and they all seem very related. For example, if you look on thai2english.com there is 11 different words for accident. How do I know which one to use?

[Neeranam]

I hear it usually as "ooo bat het" but correctly I think it is "ooo bat dee het"

[Edward B]

It can be pronounced either:

อุ บัด เหด or อุ บัด ติ เหด

Oo - Bat - Het, Oo - Bat - Ti - Het

I have only ever heard the second version. This is the way the newsreaders say it too.

[BambinA]

อุบัติเหตุ [อุ-บัด-ติ-เหด] "ooo bat dtee het"

from TH grammar this word เหตุ (het) pronouce as เหด not เห-ตุ (hee too)

[taxexile]

the first vowel sound is a short clipped vowel sound , oo! or u!

why has it been transcripted as -ooo , or is that just one of the vaguaries of thai to english transcription ?

phonetically i would write it as oo!battyhairte.

all syllables pronounced in low tone.

also note

bang-eun + verb , or , verb+ doy bang- eun , which translates as ...................by accident , or accidentally.

[meadish_sweetball]

To know which one to use you have to rely on the connotations given in the site. The basic, all-purpose word to use for 'an accident' with negative connotations, is อุบัติเหตุ. When you want to say 'by accident' = 'by chance', see Taxexile's post about 'bang-eun'.

As for the rest in the list at thai2english, check the other listed connotations for each entry to get an idea about which word is appropriate for which context. You might experiment with copying and pasting the different expressions and googling for them. Then paste the passage containing the expression back into thai2english, and use the translation feature to get an idea about the context. This should be useful, but takes some time of course.

No dictionary will be able to teach you correct usage, at the end of the day your feel for which word to use will follow by being exposed to Thai.

About the pronunciation, agree with Edward B about the second pronunciation (with short 'i' as the third syllable) being the most common one. If you speak British English, Taxexile's transcription of the word may be helpful.

[Neeranam]

It can be pronounced either:

อุ บัด เหด or อุ บัด ติ เหด

Oo - Bat - Het, Oo - Bat - Ti - Het

I have only ever heard the second version. This is the way the newsreaders say it too.

Not the guy on Channel 11

[richard10365]

Once while riding my mountian bike between villages, one of them small personal tractors pulled out onto the side of the road in front of me just as I had put my head down for a second.

I picked my head up just as my left peddle was slamming into the the cart on the back of the tractor. My knee hit next.

All I remember was rolling over the handle bars and hearing the Thai farmers yelling something like, "Farang Mee Loam!"

After the rice farmers picked me up off the road, I sat down, caught my breath, and peddled my way home.

"Loam" is the word I think they were using for accident.

[Mr. Farang]

Once while riding my mountian bike between villages, one of them small personal tractors pulled out onto the side of the road in front of me just as I had put my head down for a second.

I picked my head up just as my left peddle was slamming into the the cart on the back of the tractor. My knee hit next.

All I remember was rolling over the handle bars and hearing the Thai farmers yelling something like, "Farang Mee Loam!"

After the rice farmers picked me up off the road, I sat down, caught my breath, and peddled my way home.

"Loam" is the word I think they were using for accident.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I think the farmer was talking to say that you were "still alive"..... in fact, "loam" or "lom" means wind, and having "wind" can mean you are having "life"

For example, "Lom Hai Jai" ... means "breath" and "Lom (Loam) Hai Jai Awk" means 'breathing out".......

If I heard a farmer after an accident say "Farang mee loam"..... I would think, for sure, he was saying "Farang is alive" ... in his way of saying "Farang Mee Lom Hai Jai", but is is not necessary to have the entire phrase because of the context at the time.

In Thai, context is assumed. Just like, for example, someone can ask in Thai if you know something and you can reply "roo" (know) and this is perfectly good grammer. In English, this would not be correct, as you would need to say "Yes, I know" or at lease "I know".... but in Thai you can just say "Know".....

Hence, "Farang Mee Loam".... without hearing the exact tone, is their way of saying that you were alive after your accident.

(And we are happy you are alive too!!!!)

[richard10365]

It must have looked like an alful accident for them to say that. I am glad I was ok too.

[Mr. Farang]

It must have looked like an alful accident for them to say that. I am glad I was ok too.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Laughing out loud....

Well, I could be mistaken .... maybe in this case, "Farang Mee Loam".... they were equating you to a Kite, filled with Wind, flying over the Ox Cart..... Weeeee

"Farang Mee Loam". ...........

It's a bird...... it's a plane..... no, its Super Farang!

"Farang Mee Loam". ...........

[richard10365]

My wife says ล้ม (Lom) does mean to fall down.

So we looked it up in the dictionary and it said:

ล้ม - to fall, to topple, to crumble, to stumble, to fell; to die; to kill; to slaughter; to cease, to give up, to cancel; to eliminate; to overthrow, to cut down.

So I guess they were talking about the accident.

[Neeranam]

ล้ม Can't read this small writing.

[Mr. Farang]

My wife says ล้ม (Lom) does mean to fall down.

So we looked it up in the dictionary and it said:

ล้ม - to fall, to topple, to crumble, to stumble, to fell; to die; to kill; to slaughter; to cease, to give up, to cancel; to eliminate; to overthrow, to cut down.

So I guess they were talking about the accident.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Yes, that is certainly right. There is a version of "lohm" as follow:

ล้ม which means fall down, or to crash

and also "lohm" (different tone) that is:

ลม which means air, wind, storm.

Thanks for pointed out the "other lohm"..... I forgot all about that one.... with the "other tone".... laughing out loud.

What confused me was, among other things (like not knowing the tone mark or hearing the sound), the grammar. I thought ล้ม (to crash) was a verb and ลม (wind, air) was a noun, but I have not checked.

Thanks for checking with your dear sweet wife. She must be very glad you are alive too!

[Edward B]

Farang Mee Lom (ฝรั่งมีล้ม) doesn't make a whole lot of sense (grammatically). But hey, he was a tractor driver in a country village somewhere. Who knows what he said. It could've been "Farang Nee Lom" (ฝรั่งนี้ล้ม) or "this white dude fell!".

[Mr. Farang]

Farang Mee Lom (ฝรั่งมีล้ม) doesn't make a whole lot of sense (grammatically). But hey, he was a tractor driver in a country village somewhere. Who knows what he said. It could've been "Farang Nee Lom" (ฝรั่งนี้ล้ม) or "this white dude fell!".

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Then again, he could have said:

ฝรั่งมีี้ลม

(which is grammatically correct.)

Or maybe even,

ฝรั่งนิยม

... as you are a popular farang, laughing out loud :-) Maybe you looked like a movie star flying over the ox cart. Were you wearing very fashionable clothes as you flew??

Cheers and take care, krap.