As part of my speech I want to say 'lovely wife' (......wan nee pom mee panrayaa naa rak) and mean lovely in the general sense of the word, looks, character, personality etc. My dictionary says lovely = naa rak, however I thought that just meant cute.

Should I use naa rak for lovely? Is there a batter adjective to use?

And for future reference does naa rak only apply to people? Can it cover animals, objects and situations?

Thanks.

As part of my speech I want to say 'lovely wife' (......wan nee pom mee panrayaa naa rak) and mean lovely in the general sense of the word, looks, character, personality etc.  My dictionary says lovely = naa rak, however I thought that just meant cute.

Should I use naa rak for lovely?  Is there a batter adjective to use?

And for future reference does naa rak only apply to people?  Can it cover animals, objects and situations?

Thanks.

Just a thought since i got married not that long ago (month and a half). I think it would sound better to say my beautiful wife. I'll have a look for my speech and let you know what i said.(if i can find it) Keep it short and too the point. Since you are getting married all you will be doing is thanking your inlaws/guests/ and your wife. Trust me. Mine went down well. Save the longer speech for the farang. That is if they will be a few there. All the best for your up and coming day.

I agree with Jockstar, beautiful - suey, would be better.

Na rak I here more for those little dogs and babies/kids, and occasionally me!!.

I'm of the impression that na rak is more to describe "cute". Like Neeranam said, souy means "beautiful". It may well be that the bride is beautiful, but what about tee rak? Or would that be too casual to use for a wedding speech?

ืื"Na Rak" is a little more complex in reality than just "cute". It can be used in many situations, and I have recently heard it used to describe a person (male) who volunteered in his spare time to help the elderly. It can me "cute" for children, pets etc, but it also can mean "kind" "helpful" and the like and can be used to describe the good deeds of another.

For the purposes of your weeding speech, I would use beautiful and good-heart. Having a "good heart" (Jai dee) is something very important.

Bob

งาม ngahm may be more appropriate considering the occasion and the attire she will be wearing. Also means beautiful but with somewhat more breadth to it. However it is a h!ll of a lot easier to say souy then to say ngahm. Also I believe nah rahk would not suit the occasion.

ืื"Na Rak" is a little more complex in reality than just "cute".  It can be used in many situations, and I have recently heard it used to describe a person (male) who volunteered in his spare time to help the elderly.  It can me "cute" for children, pets etc, but it also can mean "kind" "helpful" and the like and can be used to describe the good deeds of another.

a agree with u for the meaning of NARAK , its not only mean CUTE .. but mean , good person . good manner,kind, nice (even that person has ugly face...they can be narak)

Unless you're confident of your tones, I would not use the word "suay" on its own. Using the wrong tone with this word can mean "unlucky" or "unfortunate". To be safe, and to add some more stylish language to your speech, you may wish to use the word sŭay ngaam (สวยงาม - beautiful) instead. Then, even if your tone for the suay part is wrong, you'll be saved by the ngaam.

Unless you're confident of your tones, I would not use the word "suay" on its own.  Using the wrong tone with this word can mean "unlucky" or "unfortunate".  To be safe, and to add some more stylish language to your speech, you may wish to use the word  sŭay ngaam (สวยงาม - beautiful) instead.  Then, even if your tone for the suay part is wrong, you'll be saved by the ngaam.

That is what I was going to say but when I asked my wife she said you can use "suay" or you can use "ngahm" but not together. Little confused because I always that you could use "suay ngahm". Perhaps she misunderstood me. Perhaps using together emphasizes the term.

You are absoluetly correct. It is a matter of emphasis. Two words, suay and ngaam, are used together as one word - suay ngaam - making the word more elegant and adding empashis to the original meaning - ie beautiful.

Good advice, thanks all.

I had originally written my spech with 'suay', then thought perhaps it was a little shallow just to refer to my wife as beautiful (though I think she is).

Perhaps then I'll say 'wan nee pom mee kwarm sanuk procwaa pom mee panrayaa suay le jai dee'.

Does that sound about right?

I'm quite confident of the tones.

Good advice, thanks all.

I had originally written my spech with 'suay', then thought perhaps it was a little shallow just to refer to my wife as beautiful (though I think she is).

Perhaps then I'll say 'wan nee pom mee kwarm sanuk procwaa pom mee panrayaa suay le jai dee'.

Does that sound about right? 

I'm quite confident of the tones.

You should use 'kwarm suk' - 'kwarm sanuk' is what you will have later on that night.

EDIT: Sorry Tywais, I messed up your post by accidentally clicking and editing it instead of writing one of my own. If you had more info than the above pls let me know and I will edit it back. /Meadish

The sentence is ok, but I think it would sound more natural if you replaced 'mee' with 'dai' (get), and added a 'tee' (relative pronoun, 'who is') after panrayaa, and also a 'tang'(short vowel, high tone)

You dont need to say 'pom' more than once.

wan nee pom mee khwaam suk praw' waa dai panrayaa tee tang suay le jai dee.

Exactly what I was going to say myself, meadish!

Except I was going to suggest "... panrayaa tee narak mak mak!" = wife who is very narak! "Narak in this case can ean not only "cute", but overall just "wonderful"!

You are absoluetly correct. It is a matter of emphasis. Two words, suay and ngaam, are used together as one word - suay ngaam - making the word more elegant and adding empashis to the original meaning - ie beautiful.

I thought "suay ngam" could mean kinda sexy - but could be wrong. Would this be appropriate for a wedding speech?

You are absoluetly correct. It is a matter of emphasis. Two words, suay and ngaam, are used together as one word - suay ngaam - making the word more elegant and adding empashis to the original meaning - ie beautiful.

I thought "suay ngam" could mean kinda sexy - but could be wrong. Would this be appropriate for a wedding speech?

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I think "suay gnam" is a fancier way of saying "beautiful", but not often used to describe a person's physical beauty. I'd say it's used more for abstract concepts, actions, and objects. For example, "pen parp tee suay gnam mak" = It was a beautiful sight.

Agree with Siamesekitty on "suay ngam." Not usually heard it used with human (or animal) beauty, at least not spoken language, and has nothing to do with sexiness.

I still think the word "Na rak" should also included. "Suay" means mostly her physical beauty. "Jai dee" means generous or having a "good heart." "Narak" implies that she is lovely or cute in both appearance and manner.

So the sentence could be

Wannee/pom mee/kwam sook maak (or maak maak)/(pause)/tee/mee/panraya/tee/suay/(pause)/narak/(pause)/laew yung jai dee duay (and also generous)

The three adjectives can switch places as you like -- the last one being the added quality (bonus).

Or

Wannee/pom mee/kwam sook maak (or maak maak)/(pause)/tee/dai tang ngarn kub (be married to)/panraya/tee/suay/(pause)/narak/(pause)/laew yung/jai dee duay

"Dai panraya" (imo) has a double meaning or a folksy feeling since "dai" can also be interpret in a sexual way -- as in "dai sia."

Also, don't forget the thank the parents -- a lot (for raising such a good person), and the guests, especially any special guests the parents might have.

Agree with Siamesekitty on "suay ngam." Not usually heard it used with human (or animal) beauty, at least not spoken language, and has nothing to do with sexiness.

I still think the word "Na rak" should also included. "Suay" means mostly her physical beauty. "Jai dee" means generous or having a "good heart." "Narak" implies that she is lovely or cute in both appearance and manner.

So the sentence could be

Wannee/pom mee/kwam sook maak (or maak maak)/(pause)/tee/mee/panraya/tee/suay/(pause)/narak/(pause)/laew yung jai dee duay (and also generous)

The three adjectives can switch places as you like -- the last one being the added quality (bonus).

Or

Wannee/pom mee/kwam sook maak (or maak maak)/(pause)/tee/dai tang ngarn kub (be married to)/panraya/tee/suay/(pause)/narak/(pause)/laew yung/jai dee duay

"Dai panraya" (imo) has a double meaning or a folksy feeling since "dai" can also be interpret in a sexual way -- as in "dai sia."

Also, don't forget the thank the parents -- a lot (for raising such a good person), and the guests, especially any special guests the parents might have.

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suay ngam is regularly used in formal situations to describe beauty contestants, objects, outfits people and so on. No implication of sexiness, it is more like comparing sanuk to sanuk sanarn; it is a kum serm to add more meaning and character to the sentence. So, no real problem there.

I probably as a man would not use mahk mahk as it sounds a bit like a teenager and also is hard to say clearly.

I also like the getting married bit, as it is clearer to say than saying wife, which my guess is parayah is going to come out wrong, based on your original transliteration.

ACtually, since it is the wedding, you could also use the phrase Jao Sao.

So....(assume name is Sansanee, insert as appropriate, if you want you can use the phrase jao sao instead of her name, in which case you do not need the khun)

Wan nee pom mee kwarm suk mahk

Tee dai dteng ngarn gup Khun Sansanee

Kao bpen kon suay ngarm (pause, and smile, look at her and appreciate)

Lae jai dee krap

Pom kor korp prakhun Khun Por Khun Mair Khun Sansanee

Tee liang doo look tee nah ruk krab

korp prakhun tuk tuk tun tee hai giat mah ruam ngarn nai wun nee krub

And then you can sing the song

mee meea laew gor ao 555555

or

pop meea mah duay ler

5555555555555555555555555555555555555

after a while, you can sing to your wife....

lerk laew dtor gun

and then also sing...

lerk laew ka... noo lerk gup kao laew ka..... :-)

and then your best man can sing....

ork huk mah ruk gup pom

to your wife....

Actually, better to tell her this is what you are going to do if she is mean/kee ngud ngid or anything; she should enjoy it. Don't actually do it.