Thai Sayings and Phrases Wanted

[meadish_sweetball]

That's an interesting example bannork.

One of the aspects I find intriguing about Thai is the number of value judgements newspaper articles contain - at least they appear to do so when translated into English. The Swedish and English news I read typically contain less value judgements, although tabloids can break this rule by trying to play the feelings of the reader.

Both of your recent examples illustrate this quite well.

To me, it looks like the reporter is trying to manipulate what the reader is supposed to think.

To venture a guess (and pardon me if I am wrong here), the very act of protesting or complaining seems to be seen as something undesirable and ultimately "un-Thai" thing to do, since the basis of Thainess is harmony and tolerance, and protesting disrupts the harmony.

It would be interesting to hear a Thai person's viewpoint about this.

[yoot]

สร้างความเดือดร้อนรำคาญให้กับชาวบ้านเป็นอย่างมาก เเต่ไม่มีใครกล้าตอแยด้วย

ตอแย in dictionaries it says-interfere, meddle,etc but I don't think that's the meaning here, more like ' to protest to',' to speak and complain about, to complain directly to.

Perhaps it should be considered with ไม่กล้า as in 'dare not complain to or about'.

Any thoughts Yoot etc?

ตอแย means (ก.) ยั่วให้เกิดความรำคาญ, กวน, เย้า, เย้าหยอก, รังแก. v. to trouble, to annoy, to irritate, to harass, to persecute. (From Dr.Wit Thiengburanathum's dictionary)

But from your example, it's better to translate as 'to be involved with' or 'to associate with.'

If I change the sentence to "สร้างความเดือดร้อนรำคาญให้กับชาวบ้านเป็นอย่างมาก เเต่ไม่มีใครกล้ายุ่งเกี่ยวด้วย" it might be easier to understand.

For other examples of using this word ;

เมื่อไหร่คุณจะเลิกตามตอแยฉันเสียที - When will you stop bothering me?

เธอเป็นคนขี้โมโหขนาดนั้น ใครจะกล้ามาตอแยด้วย - She is easy to get angry, who will want to associate with her.

That's an interesting example bannork.

To venture a guess (and pardon me if I am wrong here), the very act of protesting or complaining seems to be seen as something undesirable and ultimately "un-Thai" thing to do, since the basis of Thainess is harmony and tolerance, and protesting disrupts the harmony.

It would be interesting to hear a Thai person's viewpoint about this.

That is true.

I think this one could be equivalent to the English 'woo', it means to go and visit everyday to chat up, woo.

มาเทียวไล้เทียวขื่อ, the writer amusingly adds ส่งขนมจีบ

เทียวไล้เทียวขื่อ - ไล้ - come, ขื่อ- go. Both words are borrowed words from Chinese dialect. It means เวียนไปเวียนมา or เทียวไปเทียวมา. It can be used in the meaning as you mentioned but it can be used in the meaning of 'to walk back and forth.' or ' to go back and forth' too.

ขนมจีบ ( a kind of food in dim sum) is used in amusing meaning as 'woo' when people don't want to say it directly for avoiding embarrassment.

[aaaaaa]

sorry, didn't have time to read this whole thread of 11 pages and therefore had no time to check is there the thing I want to post. my wife taught me this:

keu taa duang jai

experts out there please provide translation and thai script. I am told that it is good to use for your lover !

[yoot]

sorry, didn't have time to read this whole thread of 11 pages and therefore had no time to check is there the thing I want to post. my wife taught me this:

keu taa duang jai

experts out there please provide translation and thai script. I am told that it is good to use for your lover !

It should be 'kaew dtaa duang jai' - แก้วตาดวงใจ

แก้วตา means lens, cornea, beloved.

ดวงใจ means heart, lover.

This saying is mostly used when we talked about our kids.

For example;

ลูกเป็นดั่งแก้วตาดวงใจของพ่อแม่ - kid is like cornea and heart of parents, which means kid is parents' beloved.

It can be used with lover too. But mostly it's used in novel or soap opera. Too dramatical

[greatwall]

Cut the chickens throat and let the monkeys watch

"杀鸡给猴看“？ It's like a chinese idom.

[yoot]

Cut the chickens throat and let the monkeys watch

"杀鸡给猴看“？ It's like a chinese idom.

เชือดไก่ให้ลิงดู - "Cut the chickens throat and let the monkeys watch" or "kill a chicken in front of a monkey" , has exactly the same meaning as that Chinese idiom ( 杀鸡给猴看 )----- make an example out of someone (by punishing them) to frighten others.

[Boon Mee]

I love to use this one when the missus is attempting to explain...:

Don't paint yourself into a corner: ทำให้ตัวเองจนตรอก "tum hai dto-a eyng jon dtrok"

[Tod Daniels]

กำขี้ดีกว่ากำตด

"gahm khee dee-gwaa gahm dtoht"

This is translated on many sites as "A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush".

I feel the actual Thai translation is far more colorful;

A handful of sh*t (is) better than a handful of gaseous anal discharge.

When perusing Thai Proverbs, it is far better to cut and paste the thai wording into a website which gives definitions rather than take the "first world analogy" of the translation.

Some of them are really quite humorous.

[Boon Mee]

Not exactly an idiom or proverb but a saying I find myself using all too frequently...

ผมไม่เข้าใจเท่าไหร่ pŏm mâi kâo jai tâo-rài

[solid]

sorry, didn't have time to read this whole thread of 11 pages and therefore had no time to check is there the thing I want to post. my wife taught me this:

keu taa duang jai

experts out there please provide translation and thai script. I am told that it is good to use for your lover !

I believe that it's the same as "the apple of my eye."

[bannork]

สร้างความเดือดร้อนรำคาญให้กับชาวบ้านเป็นอย่างมาก เเต่ไม่มีใครกล้าตอแยด้วย

ตอแย in dictionaries it says-interfere, meddle,etc but I don't think that's the meaning here, more like ' to protest to',' to speak and complain about, to complain directly to.

Perhaps it should be considered with ไม่กล้า as in 'dare not complain to or about'.

Any thoughts Yoot etc?

ตอแย means (ก.) ยั่วให้เกิดความรำคาญ, กวน, เย้า, เย้าหยอก, รังแก. v. to trouble, to annoy, to irritate, to harass, to persecute. (From Dr.Wit Thiengburanathum's dictionary)

But from your example, it's better to translate as 'to be involved with' or 'to associate with.'

If I change the sentence to "สร้างความเดือดร้อนรำคาญให้กับชาวบ้านเป็นอย่างมาก เเต่ไม่มีใครกล้ายุ่งเกี่ยวด้วย" it might be easier to understand.

For other examples of using this word ;

เมื่อไหร่คุณจะเลิกตามตอแยฉันเสียที - When will you stop bothering me?

เธอเป็นคนขี้โมโหขนาดนั้น ใครจะกล้ามาตอแยด้วย - She is easy to get angry, who will want to associate with her.

That's an interesting example bannork.

To venture a guess (and pardon me if I am wrong here), the very act of protesting or complaining seems to be seen as something undesirable and ultimately "un-Thai" thing to do, since the basis of Thainess is harmony and tolerance, and protesting disrupts the harmony.

It would be interesting to hear a Thai person's viewpoint about this.

That is true.

I think this one could be equivalent to the English 'woo', it means to go and visit everyday to chat up, woo.

มาเทียวไล้เทียวขื่อ, the writer amusingly adds ส่งขนมจีบ

เทียวไล้เทียวขื่อ - ไล้ - come, ขื่อ- go. Both words are borrowed words from Chinese dialect. It means เวียนไปเวียนมา or เทียวไปเทียวมา. It can be used in the meaning as you mentioned but it can be used in the meaning of 'to walk back and forth.' or ' to go back and forth' too.

ขนมจีบ ( a kind of food in dim sum) is used in amusing meaning as 'woo' when people don't want to say it directly for avoiding embarrassment.

Sorry it took so long to reply but I just want to say thank you to Yoot for your illuminating explanations. It's interesting how quite a few idioms come from China.

[In the Rai!]

Here is a phrase that I find using with the wife as we both tend to rush into things..

เรืองนี้คุณควรคิดให้รอบคอบก่อนตัดสินใจ ruang ni koon kowan kit hai robkob gon dud sin jai.

ITR

[bannork]

This one was in the paper yesterday, referring to the problems the government were having with the violence.

ฤาษีเลี้ยงลิง the hermit or sage looks after monkeys. The kind well meaning teacher cannot control his unruly students.

[In the Rai!]

This one was in the paper yesterday, referring to the problems the government were having with the violence.

ฤาษีเลี้ยงลิง the hermit or sage looks after monkeys. The kind well meaning teacher cannot control his unruly students.

Bannork, I think that applies to me at work...

Here is one I stumbled accross. ดูช้างให้ดูหาง ดูนางให้ดูแม่ duu chaang hai duu haang duu naang hai duu maae

"Like mother, like daughter."

Correct me if I am wrong but isnt the English equivelant "like father, like son." or do we have the mother daughter one aswell?

cheers ITR

[bannork]

This one was in the paper yesterday, referring to the problems the government were having with the violence.

ฤาษีเลี้ยงลิง the hermit or sage looks after monkeys. The kind well meaning teacher cannot control his unruly students.

Bannork, I think that applies to me at work...

Here is one I stumbled accross. ดูช้างให้ดูหาง ดูนางให้ดูแม่ duu chaang hai duu haang duu naang hai duu maae

"Like mother, like daughter."

Correct me if I am wrong but isnt the English equivelant "like father, like son." or do we have the mother daughter one aswell?

cheers ITR

I thought the Thai proverb was more literal as in that's how your beautiful girlfriend is going to look and be in 25 years( ie possibly a lot more wear and tear than now ), whilst the English one is stressing the two, father and son, have the same characteristics. Incidentally is the English one both positive and negative? I forget.

Remember 'a chip off the old block'?The Thai idiom about the seed not falling far from the tree would fit that well.

I heard an interesting one today(เขามี) ร้อยเล่มเกวียน he has a hundred carts\wagons, meaning he's a man of many ruses, tricks, magic acts, so needs a hundred carts to transport them all.

The person who said this to me was referring to a well known male currently in the news but another friend said you can only use this to refer to females.

Hopefully Yoot can sort it out.

Regarding classroom discipline ITR, why don't you bring a chicken to school and slit its throat in front of the monkeys? It might improve their behaviour!

Edited January 10, 2007 by bannork

[In the Rai!]

Regarding classroom discipline ITR, why don't you bring a chicken to school and slit its throat in front of the monkeys? It might improve their behaviour!

Yeh I could imagine that would go down well.

Maybe I should load a hermit up on steroids to kick the monkeys <deleted>.

[yoot]

This one was in the paper yesterday, referring to the problems the government were having with the violence.

ฤาษีเลี้ยงลิง the hermit or sage looks after monkeys. The kind well meaning teacher cannot control his unruly students.

Bannork, I think that applies to me at work...

Here is one I stumbled accross. ดูช้างให้ดูหาง ดูนางให้ดูแม่ duu chaang hai duu haang duu naang hai duu maae

"Like mother, like daughter."

Correct me if I am wrong but isnt the English equivelant "like father, like son." or do we have the mother daughter one aswell?

cheers ITR

I thought the Thai proverb was more literal as in that's how your beautiful girlfriend is going to look and be in 25 years( ie possibly a lot more wear and tear than now ), whilst the English one is stressing the two, father and son, have the same characteristics. Incidentally is the English one both positive and negative? I forget.

Remember 'a chip off the old block'?The Thai idiom about the seed not falling far from the tree would fit that well.

I heard an interesting one today(เขามี) ร้อยเล่มเกวียน he has a hundred carts\wagons, meaning he's a man of many ruses, tricks, magic acts, so needs a hundred carts to transport them all.

The person who said this to me was referring to a well known male currently in the news but another friend said you can only use this to refer to females.

Hopefully Yoot can sort it out.

Regarding classroom discipline ITR, why don't you bring a chicken to school and slit its throat in front of the monkeys? It might improve their behaviour!

ดูช้างให้ดูหาง ดูนางให้ดูแม่ sometimes it’s added with ถ้าจะดูให้แน่ต้องดูถึงยาย. For this saying it’s from considering the quality of an elephant. There is an old story about it, I don’t know for sure whether it’s true or not. The story said if an elephant deliver an albino elephant , other elephants would protect that albino elephant with mud but the tail is not covered, so, we can check roughly by looking at its tail. But for girls if you want to know their qualities, it’s better consider from her mom’s qualities and how they were brought up and it would be even better if you consider from her grandma too. That’s why this saying is used.

ร้อยเล่มเกวียน – เล่ม is a classifier for cart (เกวียน), but when the word เล่มเกวียน is used, it means plentiful the same as ร้อยเล่มเกวียน which sounds like even more than plentiful.

มารยาหญิงร้อยเล่มเกวียน is the old saying for this phrase.

มารยาหญิง means pretence, trickery or deception of women.

So, มารยาหญิงร้อยเล่มเกวียน means women have plentiful of trickeries which used for controlling the guys in the way they want. Sometimes we joke that the guys are like that buffaloes(foolish) who have to yoke those carts.

But nowadays, it seems not only women are tricky, men are also. So, this saying can be applied to use with men too.

[In the Rai!]

I heard this used for the first time today.

I like it alot

ปล่อยไก่ bloy gai

I am guessing the ปล่อย part of it comes from ปลดปล่อย to be free (released)

and ไก่ as we know is chicken.

I asked what the meaning was and I was told it's when เเสดงความโง่ออกมา

so Its like "an act of stupity or madness"

I think the English saying is "an act of stupidty" but I am not 100% what the English equivilent is.

Maybe a Thai or someone who knows could explain how ปล่อยไก่ can be used when someone เเสดงความโง่ออกมา

cheers ITR

[In the Rai!]

Here is an Idiom that I heard today...

เลือดข้นกว่าน้ำ

Blood is thicker than water.

It has a nice literal translation as well.

ITR

[In the Rai!]

After talking to the misses last night about some of her family issues. I was trying to say "too many indians and not enough chiefs" or "too may cooks spoil the broth"

and she just didn't get it when I tried to give it a literal translation. But after explaining it to her she came back with

มากหมอมากความ mark mor mark kwarm ( so too many doctors, too much imformation)

would be the Thai equivelant to it.

I asked her much this is used and she said not alot, but than I guess even in English or idioms arent used all that frequently either.

Does any use this often or hear it often?

ITR

Edited January 25, 2007 by In the Rai!

[loong]

After talking to the misses last night about some of her family issues. I was trying to say "too many indians and not enough chiefs" or "too may cooks spoil the broth"

and she just didn't get it when I tried to give it a literal translation. But after explaining it to her she came back with

Shouldn't that be "too many chiefs and not enough indians"? ie too many people in charge and not enough people to actually do anything?

[In the Rai!]

After talking to the misses last night about some of her family issues. I was trying to say "too many indians and not enough chiefs" or "too may cooks spoil the broth"

and she just didn't get it when I tried to give it a literal translation. But after explaining it to her she came back with

Shouldn't that be "too many chiefs and not enough indians"? ie too many people in charge and not enough people to actually do anything?

Hey thanks for the correction Loong, I had them the wrong way around.

See its not just Thai I make mistakes in, I struggle with English as well.

[luckyfarang]

Nam(h) kheun(f) hai(f) reep(f) dtak(l) - - Make hay while the sun shines

Nam(h) kheun(f) hai(f) reep(f) dtak(l) - - Get while the getting is good**

Nam(h) ning(f) lai® leuk(h) - - Still water runs deep (watch out for the quiet ones**)

Mai(f) mee nam(h) yaa - - To carry no weight, doesn’t have the right stuff**

Maa® huang® gang(f) - - Like a dog with a bone**

Yeun(f) moo® yeun(f) maeo - - Make a fair exchange**, make a swap, quid pro quo

Phit(l) tawng lang® phra(h) - - Anonymous act of charity

Ruam(f) tawng(h) diao gan - - Born of the same mother

Poot(f) tet(h) naa(f) dtaa choei® - - Lie through your teeth**

Go-hok(l) naa(f) dtaa choei® - - Lie through your teeth**

Both of these can also mean: to lie with a straight face*, lie to my face**

Ao ma(h)-praao(h) hao(f) maa khai® suan® - - Like bringing sand to the beach**,

Like bringing coals to Newcastle

Anyone got a better translation of these common expressions, always glad for the input.

[bannork]

รักง่ายหน่ายเร็ว love easily but quickly bored, I'm just wondering what adjective we can use in English for this.

Fickle as in voters are fickle, easily changing their minds, flighty in the American sense of not sticking at something, changing interests every 2 months. Any other ideas?

[tgeezer]

รักง่ายหน่ายเร็ว love easily but quickly bored, I'm just wondering what adjective we can use in English for this.

Fickle as in voters are fickle, easily changing their minds, flighty in the American sense of not sticking at something, changing interests every 2 months. Any other ideas?

ควายแก่อยากกินหญ่าออ่น "Old bulls like to eat young grass" used for getting a younger wife I believe.

[aanon]

รักง่ายหน่ายเร็ว love easily but quickly bored, I'm just wondering what adjective we can use in English for this.

Fickle as in voters are fickle, easily changing their minds, flighty in the American sense of not sticking at something, changing interests every 2 months. Any other ideas?

ควายแก่อยากกินหญ่าออ่น "Old bulls like to eat young grass" used for getting a younger wife I believe.

hey tgeezer,

the version i've heard is โคแก่กินหญ้าอ่อน. at first i was going to say it's similar to 'cradle-snatcher' but i think it can only be used for quite an old guy with a younger wife, as you said.

all the best.

[tgeezer]

รักง่ายหน่ายเร็ว love easily but quickly bored, I'm just wondering what adjective we can use in English for this.

Fickle as in voters are fickle, easily changing their minds, flighty in the American sense of not sticking at something, changing interests every 2 months. Any other ideas?

ควายแก่อยากกินหญ่าออ่น "Old bulls like to eat young grass" used for getting a younger wife I believe.

hey tgeezer,

the version i've heard is โคแก่กินหญ้าอ่อน. at first i was going to say it's similar to 'cradle-snatcher' but i think it can only be used for quite an old guy with a younger wife, as you said.

all the best.

And you appear to be correct, I always thought of a โค as being feminine so looked it up and

after น. วัว it has your quote with "ชอบกิน" and explains it as ชายสูงอายุชอบมีเมียเค็กสาวรุ่น I hope I can remember it. Does วัว mean cow and bull? does ควาย mean cow or bull? my version resonates with me but I will try to be correct.

[bannork]

A couple of phrases from the paper recently- มีอันจะกิน to be well-off, comfortably- off.

น้อยเนื้อต่ำใจในชีวิต to feel disappointed in life, to feel one has failed.

[mangkorn]

A couple of phrases from the paper recently- มีอันจะà¸à¸´à¸™ to be well-off, comfortably- off.

น้อยเนื้อต่ำใจในชีวิต to feel disappointed in life, to feel one has failed.

มีอันจะà¸à¸´à¸™

That's a great one, good catch bannork.

I'd guess it could be something akin to: "he sure doesn't have to worry about where his next meal is coming from."

That made me think of another one, quite the opposite, used by some women to refer to a physically desirable guy who has little money: เท่à¹à¸•à¹ˆà¹„ม่มีจะà¹à¸”à¸

It is considered to be very impolite, but personally I find it to be funny as hel_l, and quite true enough for some of us.

Edited April 9, 2007 by mangkorn

[bannork]

I'm wondering if Yoot or someone could help with these-

ธรรมาภิบาล- could this translate as cronyism, helping your friends get business?

โรงเตี๊ยม- a Chinese teashop?

ความหน่อมเเน้ม- girlish sweet and tender, no sense of toughness?