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Thai Sayings and Phrases Wanted

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Just now, bannork said:

I heard that about farangs,ฝรั่งแก่เร็วแต่ตายช้า

 

not true we are all hansum and long lived until murdered

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  • snowleopard
    snowleopard

    Hi again Random Chances. It seems to be slipping into a coma so I'll try to resuscitate this wonderful thread with a little idiomatic CPR! Here's another batch of Thai sayings! 1.ขอแรงหน่อย=ko rae

  • Tum dern (sorry can't write the thai) : Walking water jar (the big water jars you see upcountry) will get you the same effect as the pickled garlic comment!

  • meadish_sweetball
    meadish_sweetball

    My personal favourite, which is very apt for describing the concealment tactics of politicians, is: ช้างตายทั้งตัว เอาใบบัวมาปิด(ไม่มิด) chaang taai thang tua ao bai bua maa pit (mai mit) = <Eng.

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2 minutes ago, soalbundy said:

not true we are all hansum and long lived until murdered

 

 ... or at least until the house is paid off, and then it is a case of "Don't need the man...":

ไม่ต้องการผู้ชาย   (...anymore)
Just now, tifino said:

 

 ... or at least until the house is paid off, and then it is a case of "Don't need the man...":


ไม่ต้องการผู้ชาย   (...anymore)

that's universal, nobody loves you when you are old and grey

1 minute ago, soalbundy said:

that's universal, nobody loves you when you are old and grey

 

yeah, but 'love' is just an alibi... a means to an ends

Speak for yourself!


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Speak for yourself!


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หนุ่มใหญ่  means middle aged
I'm surprised you missed ล้มกลิ่ง  fall off, roll over
sent flying works imo
เสย crashed into  (perhaps with a sense of loss of control) unlike some accidents where drivers just crash into each other รถชน

I used เฉี่ยว today; my drive was hooked so I ร้องเรียกว่า ลูกใหม่ลูกใหม่ to be told อยู่แล้ว
Apparently the ball had bounced off a tree into the fairway. I tried ลูกเฮี่ยวต้นไม้หรือ and it seemed to be understood.
My caddy is used to being used as a teacher. I asked whether a motorbike could ล้มกลี่ง and he came back with ล้มกลิ้ง I suggested ไม้เอก and he said no, ไม้โท้ ! I won't forget that!
Both a person and a motorbike can ล้มกลิ้ง in his opinion.


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Here is another verb similar to the last one เงยหน้าอ้าปาก (raise head open mouth)
There are two variation given ลืมหน้าอ้าปาก ลืมตาอ้าปาก There is a definition but this example from longdo explains it too.
นโบายของรัฐบาลไม่ได้ทำให้เกษตรกรผู้ยากไร้ของเราเงยหน้าอ้าปากขึ้นมาได้
Government policy doesn’t allow us hard up farmers to open our mouths and look people in the eye.



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1 hour ago, tgeezer said:

Here is another verb similar to the last one เงยหน้าอ้าปาก (raise head open mouth)
There are two variation given ลืมหน้าอ้าปาก ลืมตาอ้าปาก There is a definition but this example from longdo explains it too.
นโบายของรัฐบาลไม่ได้ทำให้เกษตรกรผู้ยากไร้ของเราเงยหน้าอ้าปากขึ้นมาได้
Government policy doesn’t allow us hard up farmers to open our mouths and look people in the eye.



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Nice one tgeezer, 3 idioms in one as it were.

เงยหน้า can also be translated as look upwards so perhaps the sentence you translated could also be translated as: Government policy doesn't allow our farmers to hold their heads up and look people in the eye.

 I think the writer is not a farmer, if he was he might have written พวกเรา rather than ของเรา

I've often heard อ้าปาก open-mouthed, when teacher tells a kid off for sitting or standing, seemingly absent minded, with his mouth open

Then you have อ้าปากค้าง a variation, mouth agape, to my thinking ค้าง which can mean stuck or unfinished, adds a sense of the person slightly stunned, shocked, fascinated or perhaps horrified by what they see.

The crowd stood there, mouths agape at the grisly scene.

เราควรเปิดประเทศของเราให้คนต่างด้าวได้มีโอกาสเงยหน้าอ้าปากในชีวิต
We should open up our country for foreign persons to have an opportunity to improve their lives.

 

คนส่วนหนึ่งมองว่า พ.ต.ท. ทักษิณดี เก่ง ทำให้ประชาชนเงยหน้าอ้าปาก

A portion of the population believed that Colonel Thaksin was good and intelligent and improved the lives of the people.

I agree with you in interpretation, I left in open mouth because it addresses the cultural aspect of talking out of turn,

I am reading มารยาทไทย now, if a series called ชุดสืบสานวัฒนธรรมไทย so manners are uppermost in my mind.

Although I guessed เงยหน้า in context (การยืนตาอหน้าผู้ใหญ่) I was looking up, (no pun intended) เงย when I found this verb.

Does it seem odd to you that a Thai verb can be a clause?

 

P.S. Agree พวกเรา means us. Is เกษตรกรไทยพวกเรา how it is said or เราเกษตรกรไทย ?

 

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เราควรเปิดประเทศของเราให้คนต่างด้าวได้มีโอกาสเงยหน้าอ้าปากในชีวิต
We should open up our country for foreign persons to have an opportunity to improve their lives.
 
คนส่วนหนึ่งมองว่า พ.ต.ท. ทักษิณดี เก่ง ทำให้ประชาชนเงยหน้าอ้าปาก
A portion of the population believed that Colonel Thaksin was good and intelligent and improved the lives of the people.

Thanks, I think that the subject must be of low status for this verb to be applied. So the foreigners are probably from Burma or Laos.


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And bannock I forgot the other important point ค้าง
In the definition of เสย I think that it was เรือเสยตลิ่งค้าง if not there it was certainly somewhere showing a static state. อ้าปากค้าง longer than decent.


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เรือเสยตลิ่งค้าง I reckon that means the boat was beached or grounded

I apologise ค้าง isn’t in the definition of เสย, perhaps that isn’t surprising but we both see how it might well be, I am including you in this bannock!
From ค้าง > เรือค้างแห้ง .
Dictionaries are not the best means of learning a language I know but I have found the RID interesting. Often I am told that it is out of date, to me that means that people are not using it!
Take that definition ก. เหลือกหรืออ่าแล้วเอาลงหรือหุบไม่ได้ Can you see ไม่ได้ as unable? If it is it can only be temporarily.
Roll the pupils upward or open (?) then bring them down or close-can not. I think that ไม่ได้ makes the action involuntary.
What do you think?
Another point, speaking; I had a Thai read that definition just now and when I heard อ้า I was struck by how badly I had been pronouncing it. My อ้า was too short but it wasn’t mentioned until I brought it up! That lack of fluency is due to a lack of formal reading practise so perhaps now is the time to spend some money on a teacher.




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เรือค้างแห้ง could that be in dry dock?

เหลือกหรืออ่าแล้วเอาลงหรือหุบไม่ได้  jeez tgeezer this looks strange

I think อ่า has no meaning here or it connects to หรือ so it forms a question the speaker maybe asking themselves but with แล้ว maybe it's like 2nd conditional- if I rolled my eyes...?

 If I rolled my eyes I wouldn't be able to lower or close them again.

Where did you get this from?!

 

It's from the RID def. of ค้าง I thought that it was where you got อ้าปากค้าง . Since you queried it I have just looked in the hard copy and it is the same.
I have figured it out now I think. Separate meaning of ค้าง referring to facial expressions, so เหลือกหรืออ้า should read rolling (specialised word of eyes) or opening. เข่นตาค้าง rolling eyes อ้าปากค้าง mouth open (agape) ขากรรนไกร jaw open (dropped)
Confused by อ้าปากค้าง rather than ปากค้าง .
This is the problem lexicographers have, they have to do their best to explain the mess that people make of the language. I look forward to getting home and consulting my 2424 edition of the dictionary which may be different.



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Sorry I can see that it may be confusing to some. เช่น = eg. ขากรรไกร = jaw


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Could anyone please post the Thai version of these proverbs?

Capture.JPG

36 minutes ago, Becker said:

Could anyone please post the Thai version of these proverbs?

 

  ตำน้ำพริกละลายแม่น้ำ  or  ขี่ช้างจับตั๊กแตน ride an elephant to catch a grasshopper

  น้ําขึ้นให้รีบตัก when the water rises, hurry to fill up the buckets

  ปลาเน่าตัาเดียวเหม็นหมดทั้งข้อง one rotten apple spoils the whole barrel

 I don't think there are Thai idioms for the last two but you could translate them as below:

ความไม่รู้ดีกว่า ignorance is bliss

It's the early bird that catches the worm บุคคลที่เริ่มต้นก่อน หรือบุคคลที่เตรียมพร้อมมากกว่า ย่อมมีโอกาสประสบความสำเร็จมากกว่า
 

 

54 minutes ago, bannork said:

 

  ตำน้ำพริกละลายแม่น้ำ  or  ขี่ช้างจับตั๊กแตน ride an elephant to catch a grasshopper

  น้ําขึ้นให้รีบตัก when the water rises, hurry to fill up the buckets

  ปลาเน่าตัาเดียวเหม็นหมดทั้งข้อง one rotten apple spoils the whole barrel

 I don't think there are Thai idioms for the last two but you could translate them as below:

ความไม่รู้ดีกว่า ignorance is bliss

It's the early bird that catches the worm บุคคลที่เริ่มต้นก่อน หรือบุคคลที่เตรียมพร้อมมากกว่า ย่อมมีโอกาสประสบความสำเร็จมากกว่า
 

 

Thanks, you wouldn't happen to have the transliteration as well?

มาก่อนได้ก่อน ("The early bird catches the worm.") (Tempered by, "The second mouse gets the cheese.")

ตำน้ำพริกละลายแม่น้ำ  or  ขี่ช้างจับตั๊กแตน ride an elephant to catch a grasshopper

  น้ําขึ้นให้รีบตัก when the water rises, hurry to fill up the buckets

  ปลาเน่าตัาเดียวเหม็นหมดทั้งข้อง one rotten apple spoils the whole barrel

 I don't think there are Thai idioms for the last two but you could translate them as below:

ความไม่รู้ดีกว่า ignorance is bliss

It's the early bird that catches the worm บุคคลที่เริ่มต้นก่อน หรือบุคคลที่เตรียมพร้อมมากกว่า ย่อมมีโอกาสประสบความสำเร็จมากกว่า

มาก่อนได้ก่อน

On 2/1/2019 at 1:01 PM, Becker said:

Thanks, you wouldn't happen to have the transliteration as well?

The tones won't be indicated so you might not be understood but here goes-

Dum nam prik la lie mare nam          key chang jup dtak a dtaen

nam keun hi reeb duk

bla nao dtua deeow men mot tang kong

kwam my roo dee kwa

 and then David's brilliant and to the point quote- (come first get first) -  ma gone die gone

I have something for The Early bird.... " ตืนเช้าได้เงินหลาย ตืนสายได้เงินน้อย I am told it is equivalent although it seems to me to be too prosaic to be a saying.


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Haam - don't 

 

Monnng bi kang nah

 

Look in the direction you walk

 

Attebai - explain

 

Mei muangan- not the same

 

Klaigan- similar

 

Tongpai- straight ahead

 

Menn- bad smell 

 

Homm- smells good

 

 

There is a problem, I can’t reply to Rc2702 because although I ca guess phonetics I can’t write phonetics. Is post 1108 a Thai saying or phrase?


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bannock, “Ignorance is bliss.”
He doesn’t know that his wife is cheating on him, but she is a good wife in other respects!
What do you think of ไม่รู้เรื่องก็สบายใจ ?


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2 hours ago, tgeezer said:

bannock, “Ignorance is bliss.”
He doesn’t know that his wife is cheating on him, but she is a good wife in other respects!
What do you think of ไม่รู้เรื่องก็สบายใจ ?
I think ไม่รู้จะดีกว่่า maybe more common.

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I think that you may be right because I made up mine up!

I have just asked : ไม่รับรู้จะดีกว่า

Out of interest I looked it up ignorance in my Oxford River Books Eng.- Thai and it gives the explanation ;~ is bliss ไม่รู้เสียได้สบายใจดี

 

and I take it from the previous explanation of ; keep sb. in ~ of sth. ปล่อยให้ ค.น. ไม่รู้เรื่อง ส.น. that if I want to use เรือง I have to specify something.

 

Of course I realise that because the expressions are English., these are not what people are necessarily going to say.

 

For those who don’t realise it, in these definitions;

~ represents the noun

sb. somebody = ค.น. คนใดคนหนึ่ง

sth. something = ส.น. สิ่งใดสิ่งหนึ่ง

 

 

 

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ไม่รับรู้จะดีกว่า  yes, that's the exact phrase I believe

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