Deserted Posted February 13, 2012 Share Posted February 13, 2012 Greetings all, I've been trying to find 'a wild goose chase' on line in Thai without success. Would be grateful if someone could type it in thai as well as the English transliteration. tx Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
klons Posted February 13, 2012 Share Posted February 13, 2012 wild-goose chase [iDM] ไม่มีประโยชน์ในการตามล่า ติดตาม [N] การค้นหาสิ่งไม่มีตัวตน; การค้นหาสิ่งที่ไม่อาจพบได้(NECTEC Lexitron 2 EN-TH) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deserted Posted February 13, 2012 Author Share Posted February 13, 2012 Thanks once again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NewlyMintedThai Posted February 13, 2012 Share Posted February 13, 2012 Note that what has been provided is a definition -- not an equivalent saying in Thai (which I don't think exists). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deserted Posted February 13, 2012 Author Share Posted February 13, 2012 okay, I'd be surprised if that were the case. Will post anything I find that's similar. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deserted Posted February 17, 2012 Author Share Posted February 17, 2012 A friend claims that เสียแรงเปล่า will work. After some discussion he was able to use it idiomatically so that's the best I can do. It translated directly as sia -waste raeng -energy, and plao-empty, and can be used for tasks and actions. So something pointless, such as a wild goose chase, could be described with the above expression in Thai. Just thought I'd share my findings, feel free to comment if you can go one better. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NewlyMintedThai Posted February 17, 2012 Share Posted February 17, 2012 Yes, the meaning is correct. It's not a metaphor like the English expression, though. It is fairly literal, meaning to expend effort fruitlessly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rgs2001uk Posted February 18, 2012 Share Posted February 18, 2012 A friend claims that เสียแรงเปล่า will work. After some discussion he was able to use it idiomatically so that's the best I can do. It translated directly as sia -waste raeng -energy, and plao-empty, and can be used for tasks and actions. So something pointless, such as a wild goose chase, could be described with the above expression in Thai. Just thought I'd share my findings, feel free to comment if you can go one better. The best I can come up with to describe something pointless or a waste of time is, สอนจระเข้ว่ายน้ำ, son torake wai nam Teach a crocodile how to swim Or, สีซอให้ควายฟัง see sor hai kwai fang To play a violin for a buffalo, too be honest this translates more as to cast pearls before swine rather than a wasted effort. Or เอามะพร้าวห้าวไปขายสวน To take coals to Newcastle. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
klons Posted February 18, 2012 Share Posted February 18, 2012 เสียเที่ยว would be close to a wild goose chase; waste a trip for nothing http://www.thai-language.com/id/227007 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deserted Posted February 18, 2012 Author Share Posted February 18, 2012 (edited) Thanks, though I was the one who sent that in response to my findings. Edited February 18, 2012 by Deserted Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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