Great idea…would certainly help me. Keep the thread going

Normally, we say brangfun. Yaa see fun is toothpaste. Brangfun is brushing teeth, as far as I know.

hot = Ron = ร้อน

very = Mac = มาก

very hot = Ron Mac Mac = ร้อน มาก

I am going to join this now.

Beginner - แปรงสีฟัน bpraeng see® fan - toothbrush

OK guys... let's get this rolling...

If this is todays word for us beginners, can someone please explain how it is pronounced?

I mean, we've got to have some consistencies in pronunciation, as transliteration into English may not sound quite the same for everyone.

For example, I thought the word for tooth was pronounced more like fun than fan?

You make an excellent point. There is always a problem when you transliterate Thai into English. The only sound solution is to learn to read and write in Thai. Once you can do that the world of Thai language is your oyster.

Tooth sounds much more like fan than fun (to me anyway). ฟัน this is made up of ฟ , which is an f sound, ั , which is a short a sound and น, which is an n sound.

I have just asked my Thai girlfriend how she would transliterate fun into written Thai. Unfortunately she tells me to write ฟ้น for the english word fun.(you will note this is exactly the same as the way they write the Thai word for tooth. That aside I still think tooth in Thai is closer to fan than fun. Some of the hardest words to read and pronounce from Thai script are their versions of English words. They simply do not hear the words the same way we do.

learning Thai is a challenge I have to admit but I love it, I like a challenge. It took me about a month to learn the Thai alphabet from a book. After 2 years of one to one lessons with a Thai teacher and living with my high school educated girlfriend I am still improving my pronunciation and listening skills. I am convinced that anyone over 40 needs to learn the written language to achieve good spoken Thai.

Once you have writing skills and a thorough knowledge of Thai script lots of resources including this thread will become useful to you.

^

It really depends where you come from. I (NE Scotland)say fan much different from someone from South England, who says it different from an American, for example.

hot = Ron = ร้อน

very = Mac = มาก

very hot = Ron Mac Mac = ร้อน มาก

Thank Daniel - I always laugh when I hear this as I had an uncle called Ron Mac.

Rain - ฝน - fon

Lots of rain - ฝนชุก - fon chook

Drizzling rain - ฝนตกปรอยๆ - fon dtok proi proi

It's raining cats and dogs - ฝนตกไม่ลืมหูลืมตา - fon dtok mai leum hoo leum dta

I like the last one.

If you happen to be teaching English to Thais, the really get into "It's raining cats and dogs"

Here's another one: ชักย่าน chak(H) yaang(f)

Learned this from my 75-year-old father-in-law as we were driving on the highway and had our progress impeded by some teenagers on bikes doing that retarded move where they ride side-by-side, with one idiot's outstretched leg touching the bike of the other.

Wife says using it in this context is the standard Southern Thai critical (derogatory) remark to use when people (almost invariably teenage boys) do this move.

the site kontaiclub.com (a southern Thai dictionary_ defines it thus: เดินตามกันมาเป็นแถว, which I think means something like 'to form a phalanx'.

Another word I never knew until I moved to the sticks was แคร่ (khrae (f)).

Here in the south they tend to pronounce the ร more like an 'r' than an 'l' .

The first pic is the one in our yard:

I asked my wife 'so what is the difference between a แคร่ and a ศาลา (sala)?

She said 'A sala looks nicer'.

Subsequent research informs me that a แค่ร refers to the seating part of the structure, not the whole structure itself.

GoogleTrans offers the following meanings:

litter
sedan
carriage
palanquin
cradle (this last one I remember now from when my daughter was an infant)

I like the last one.

If you happen to be teaching English to Thais, the really get into "It's raining cats and dogs"

Several years ago I made the comment, "Wow! It's raining cats and dogs". The wife immediately picked up on that and asked what it meant. I tried to explain but with only moderate success. Now, whenever we have a really heavy rain my wife will say, "Wow! Rain, cat cat, dog dog!" Her English is good and she could easily say it correctly but it has become a source of amusement for us.

I like the last one.

If you happen to be teaching English to Thais, the really get into "It's raining cats and dogs"

Several years ago I made the comment, "Wow! It's raining cats and dogs". The wife immediately picked up on that and asked what it meant. I tried to explain but with only moderate success. Now, whenever we have a really heavy rain my wife will say, "Wow! Rain, cat cat, dog dog!" Her English is good and she could easily say it correctly but it has become a source of amusement for us.

They also get fun out of it if you say ฝนตกหน้่กมาก...แมวก็ตกหมาก็ตก

Here's my word of the day: ฝีพาย

I came across it while translating and like it because it sounds like the beginning of Fee Fi Fo Fum

It means 'rowers' or 'boatmen'

While I can read standard Thai fairly well, one areฟ that always confounds me is words related to cars/automotive.

Today I realized that I haven't had my tires rotated in years and should do so asap.

I asked my wife, who was unclear on the concept.

(rotating and rebalancing your tires every year can increase tread life by 30%-40%)

Anyway, ะ้ำ best translation I could come up with for 'rotate the tires' is สลับร้อ

I think we should take this thread on a test drive with automotive terminology...

Anyway, ะ้ำ best translation I could come up with for 'rotate the tires' is สลับร้อ

My Thai is marginal at best. I understand "สลับ" but not " ร้อ". If you mean wheel should it not be "ล้อ" (laaw) and if you mean tire/tyre should it not be "ยาง" (yaang)?

Anyway, ะ้ำ best translation I could come up with for 'rotate the tires' is สลับร้อ

My Thai is marginal at best. I understand "สลับ" but not " ร้อ". If you mean wheel should it not be "ล้อ" (laaw) and if you mean tire/tyre should it not be "ยาง" (yaang)?

Correct you are on both counts. As for the "ร้อ", maybe I am developing a case of 'reverse lallation' (or should that be rarration?) having been here for so long...

Anyway, on the attached pic are some services they provide.

ตั้งศูนย์=alignment (mine cost 400 baht)

ถ่วงล้อ= balance tire (150baht per axle)

ช่วงล่าง=suspension check

As for the "ร้อ", maybe I am developing a case of 'reverse lallation' (or should that be rarration?)

I understand completely. I find myself saying things like "lain" (fohn) and "le-lax" (jai yen). It's very easy to pick up Thai pronunciation when you hear it a lot. My wife still cannot pronounce the word laundry and she speaks very good English. I've even begun saying "rawndly".

That's funny. I would definitely recommend that you listen to Jo Koy on the Adam Carolla podcast if you haven't already.

Unberievabra.

Unberievabra.

He can get away with it because he's half Pinoy.

I've not read every post on this topic so if I'm covering old ground please accept my apologies.

Not a word but a very short phrase that I'd heard hundreds of times before actually understanding what it meant. แค่นี้ละ (khae nee la), I hear this all of the time at our house. It means "that's it", "that's all" or "enough". When Thais are ready to finish a telephone conversation, rather than to say good bye or gotta go, they will say "khae nee la". The conversation is over and that's that.

Here in Isaan the phrase is usually preceded by the utterance of "uh, uh". So it normally comes out "uh, uh, khae nee la".

Been lurking here for a few days. I need to learn starting with reading and writing.

Just as a starter ..... Here's one you might find interesting. My dictionary says it has over 20 different meanings!

ชัดเจน. chát-jeen

Been lurking here for a few days. I need to learn starting with reading and writing.

Just as a starter ..... Here's one you might find interesting. My dictionary says it has over 20 different meanings!

ชัดเจน. chát-jeen

Well, Hi!

You say that your post has over 20 different meanings, but you provide Zero. Even though I know the meaning maybe some does not.

Is it possible for you to give the rest of some over 20 different meanings?

Thankate

Been lurking here for a few days. I need to learn starting with reading and writing.

Just as a starter ..... Here's one you might find interesting. My dictionary says it has over 20 different meanings!

ชัดเจน. chát-jeen

Well, Hi!

You say that your post has over 20 different meanings, but you provide Zero. Even though I know the meaning maybe some does not.

Is it possible for you to give the rest of some over 20 different meanings?

Thankate

Unfortunately my Thai App won't let me block copy. Here is a screen shot though.

ชัดเจน. chát-jeen is definitely a word you need in your Thai toolbox; useful when you want to express that you understand something clearly.

Of course, what Ian means that the Thai word has a single adjectival meaning, but that its English translation has many synonyms. English is a language rich in synonyms and colorful expression. Apparently what Ian has is a combination bi-lingual dictionary and English thesaurus. Great idea, but perhaps a bit difficult to fit on a small vocabulary card for one's language deck.

Of course, what Ian means that the Thai word has a single adjectival meaning, but that its English translation has many synonyms. English is a language rich in synonyms and colorful expression. Apparently what Ian has is a combination bi-lingual dictionary and English thesaurus. Great idea, but perhaps a bit difficult to fit on a small vocabulary card for one's language deck.

Here are a few more of the Thai variants on this theme

ชัดเจนแจ่มใส chat(h) jaehn(m) jaem (l) sai ®; also 'clearly'

ชัดยิ่งกว่าชัด: 'crystal clear'

The second sounds kind of weird to me..

Of course, what Ian means that the Thai word has a single adjectival meaning, but that its English translation has many synonyms. English is a language rich in synonyms and colorful expression. Apparently what Ian has is a combination bi-lingual dictionary and English thesaurus. Great idea, but perhaps a bit difficult to fit on a small vocabulary card for one's language deck.

Here are a few more of the Thai variants on this theme

ชัดเจนแจ่มใส chat(h) jaehn(m) jaem (l) sai ®; also 'clearly'

ชัดยิ่งกว่าชัด: 'crystal clear'

The second sounds kind of weird to me.

I think the แจ่มใส is to do with a clear sky.

I like the second one. I think I would use it if someone asked if I understood something.

There's a website called bangkok library it's navigation set up is awful but search for it and add primary student word list. It should pull up all the words pratom students needed to know by P6. You will need to be able to read Thai script.

I think it's still there haven't Check for a while.