Let's Learn One Word A Day.

[Neeranam]

Anyone can post the word of the day. How about Withnail tomorrow?

[withnail]

Okay will do

Just got to think of a good one now

Just thinking, I don't think there's any need for different levels for this. I think word of the day should be exactly that, a random word. There's nothing wrong with a begginer learning a slightly complicated word and there's nothing wrong with someone more advanced using an easy word in a slightly more complicated sentence.

Edited November 10, 2005 by withnail

[~G~]

ยังคิดถึงเธอทุกเวลา (yung kit teung ter took wae-la) = I still miss you all the time.

Trying to make sense of this sentence.

"Yung"? Isn't it used for strong negation? "Yung mai ow".

"Ter"? In what conext should this one be used?

[withnail]

Yang as in

'gin kaow ru yang' Have you eaten yet?

'yang' Not yet.

[meadish_sweetball]

ยังคิดถึงเธอทุกเวลา (yung kit teung ter took wae-la) = I still miss you all the time.

Trying to make sense of this sentence.

"Yung"? Isn't it used for strong negation? "Yung mai ow".

"Ter"? In what conext should this one be used?

ยัง is a bit of a trap.

In withnail's example, ยัง is actually short for ยังไม่ได้กินข้าว (I have not eaten yet.) and should consequently be translated as 'Not yet.'

But in Neeraram's example above, 'ยัง' does not involve a negation, and in these cases, it means 'still'. In pidjin translation: Still think reach you every time. Normal English: I still miss you all the time.

เธอ is used in songs and poetry meaning 'you'. It is directed at a loved one. Somebody who refers to you as เธอ would refer to him/herself as ฉัน . In real life, you have to be close to each other for this to be proper though.

[withnail]

Sorry for the lazy reply. I always knew that it meant not yet/still but I always took ยังไม่ได้กินข้าว to mean "still didn't eat" or "not yet" in more natural English so effectively it's the same meaning as Neeranam's example.

Am I wrong?

Edited November 10, 2005 by withnail

[withnail]

Okay today's word of the day is:

จน

jon

1. [ V ] be poor ; be impoverished ; be broke

เขาเป็นคนจนจริงๆ

kăo bpen kon jon jing-jing

He is a really poor personใ

2. [ CONJ ] until ; till ; to the point of

เมาจนไม่รู้ว่าตัวเองทำอะไรลงไป

mao jon mâi róo wâa dtua eng tam à-rai long bpai

To be so drunk you don't know what you did.

courtesy of www.thai2english.com

พูดจนลิงหลับ

pôot jon ling làp

To speak until the monkey sleeps. (To say to someone who's talking too much.)

And may I nominate meadish for tomorrow's WOTD.

[toastwars]

could I say "pom poot jon ling lap ?

i speak until the monkey speaks?

if i am talking too much.

Edited November 11, 2005 by toastwars

[~G~]

I assume this has nothing to do with the "robber" jon? or "K'moi".

[meadish_sweetball]

I assume this has nothing to do with the "robber" jon? or "K'moi".

That's right.

Two different words: จน 'jon' and โจร 'john' the latter having a long vowel sound as opposed to former, which has a short vowel sound. (here is a clear weakness in the standard transcription at Thai2English, since the word does NOT sound like the name 'John', neither in Standard American nor in any British dialects I know. You have to realize 'oh' in that system means the same thing as a long vowel.). Both words take the mid tone, though.

The systems I prefer use double vowels to indicate long vowel sounds, so the word would then be transcribed 'joon' - the 'oo' being a prolonged version of a non-diphtonged short 'o' as in British English 'log'.

The word จน that means 'poor' / 'until' has a short vowel sound, the other has a long vowel sound. This distinction between long and short vowels is as crucial as the tones in determining the meaning of a Thai word.

Since English and many other languages do not have this difference in vowel length, it is important to get it right in Thai.

Here's a sentence with both words in:

โจร ที่ ไม่ เก่ง มัก จะ เป็น คน จน

john têe mâi gèng mák jà bpen kon jon

Robber [which/who/that] no skillful like will be person poor.

Unskilful robbers are usually poor (people).

[Neeranam]

คุณสวยขึ้นเสียจนพวกเราจำไม่ได้

Koon suay® keun(f) sia® jon phuak(f) rao jam mai(f) dai(f)

You're so much more beautiful now, we didn't recognise you!

เคาเมาจนถึงกับเคินไม่ไค้

kao(h) mao jon theung(l) gab(l) duern mai(f) dai(f)

He was so drunk that he couldn't walk

จน here means "so".

I would write the "robber" as "jone" or "joan".

Edited November 11, 2005 by Neeranam

[meadish_sweetball]

Jone and Joan work beautifully with a Scottish pronunciation. Not so well with others.

[withnail]

Neeranam could you explain the use of เสีย sia and จน jon in your example. Yet another case of I know what they are but don't know why they're there.

Perhaps jown for robber lol

[withnail]

Is it เสีย as in 'really ; definitely' and จน as in 'so'?

[Neeranam]

Is it เสีย as in 'really ; definitely' and จน as in 'so'?

Yes, เสีย emphasizes the "so"

[withnail]

Cool, you really do learn something new everyday, but then I suppose that's the point.

I just realised that a problem I have when learning extended sentences like these is that I find them difficult to read because I don't know where to stress the sentence or pause. Does anyone have any advice on this?

By the way Neeranam a minor detail I know but you spelled เค้า wrong.

Edited November 11, 2005 by withnail

[Neeranam]

I just realised that a problem I have when learning extended sentences like these is that I find them difficult to read because I don't know where to stress the sentence or pause. Does anyone have any advice on this?

Listen to native Thai speakers.

By the way Neeranam a minor detail I know but you spelled เค้า wrong. tongue.gif

WEll done! you spotted the deliberaqte mistake

Actually you can spell it, or pronounce it two ways, I think.

[withnail]

Ooh I know that one เขา is the correct written form which is pronounced with a rising tone however colloquially it is pronounced with a high tone and therefore can be written เค้า.

My guess though is that this is more of a slang spelling used say in comic books or on the internet and that in writing it should really be written เขา however you choose to say it.

Incidentally in the Becker series of Thai books it is generally written เขา yet transliterated with a high tone.

[meadish_sweetball]

For today, how about learning how to say and write 'public holiday', and a closer look at the component parts of the most common expression, which is:

วันหยุดราชการ

วัน หยุด ราชการ

wan yòot râat-chá-gaan

day stop [government/royal/public] service

public/government holiday

"Day when the public services stop (have holiday)"

The most common way of expressing 'being on holiday', 'being off' / 'not working' is with the word 'หยุด' yòod (short vowel, low tone).

If somebody sees you are at home on what would normally be a working day, chances are they will ask you

' วันนี้หยุดหรือ ค่ะ ครับ '

wan née yòod ler khâ / khráp

day this stop [question particle] [polite particle]

Are (you) off today?

A more formal word for 'public holiday' is the following:

วันนักขัตฤกษ วัน นักขัตฤกษ

wan nák-kàt-rík

festival ; public holiday ; seasonal festival ; a festivity ; an annual holiday

Thank you to thai2english.com for translations and Thai spelling.

[Neeranam]

เกิด / เกิดชึ้น gèrt kêun to happen,to be born, occur, take place

เมืองไทยไม่ค่อยเกิดแผ่นดินไหว

meuang Thai mai(f) koi(f) gèrt pàen din wăi

There aren't many earthquakes(happening) in Thailand.

แถวนี้มีฆาตกรรมเกิดขึ้นบ่อย

tăew née mee kâat-ta-gam gèrt kêun boi

Around here there are a lot of murders.

[~G~]

วันหยุดราชการ

วัน หยุด ราชการ

wan yòot  râat-chá-gaan

day stop [government/royal/public] service

public/government holiday

"Day when the public services stop (have holiday)"

Could you further explain ราชการ?

Edited November 13, 2005 by ~G~

[Neeranam]

Arai ja gèrt gaw hai mun gèrt - Whatever happens is meant to happen.

How did I forget one of my favourite sayings?

[samran]

ÇѹËÂØ´ÃÒª¡ÒÃ

Çѹ ËÂØ´ ÃÒª¡ÒÃ

wan yòot  râat-chá-gaan

day stop [government/royal/public] service

public/government holiday

"Day when the public services stop (have holiday)"

Could you further explain ÃÒª¡ÒÃ?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

civil service; public service; government service; bureaucracy

A good discussion on the word here.

A favourite of mine (seeing I used to work for them):

ÃкºÃÒª¡Òà = typical term used to describe government system with the implied meaning that it is slow and bureaucratic. If you said to someone à»é¹ÃкºÃÒª¡ÒÃ, you would be saying that establishment you were describing not only used a government system, but that it was also slow and bureaucratic.

[samran]

Continuing on yesterdays theme: the word for government:

ÃѯºÒÅ Rat-ta-baan

[samran]

Continuing on yesterdays theme: the word for government:

ÃÑ°ºÒÅ Rat-ta-baan

[Neeranam]

ลืม leum forget

อย่าลืม yàa leum Don't forget

ไม่ลืมหูลืมตา mâi leum hŏo leum dtaa(don't open your eyes or ears) heavily (Like the rain)

[cobra]

Excellent idea,

I'd try to keep it on the simple side, more practical that way,

words / phrases we can use everyday.

[Neeranam]

I forgot - "kee leum" meaning a forgetful person! Which I most certainly am. How about one from Withnail tomorrow?

[meadish_sweetball]

I forgot - "kee leum" meaning a forgetful person! Which I most certainly am. How about one from Withnail tomorrow?

Sorry to nitpick, but ขี้ลืม 'kêe leum' just means 'forgetful', 'forgetful person' is 'คนขี้ลืม' kon kêe leum .

Bringing up ขี้ /kêe/ is a great idea though. In this context, it is a prefix used with negative character traits, so from it we get words such as

ขี้เมา kêe mao (being/behaving like an alcoholic)

ขี้เหนีอว kêe neeao+ (stingy, tight-fisted)

ขี้อย่ากรู้ kêe yàak rúu (nosy, curious, prying)

ขี้เกียด kêe gèeat (lazy)

[Neeranam]

ขี้เล่น - kêe lên playful

ขี้หนาว - kêe năaonot liking the cold

Nitpicking is จู้จี้จุกจิก - jôo-jêe jòok jìk -

ขี้บ่น - complaining/fussy

Reminds me of จู้จี้ - to be fussy, which I love the sound of.

ขี้โมโห kêe moh-hŏh - resentful/angry

not to be mistaken with

ขี้โม้ kêe móh - boastful