How To Say I'm Looking Forward To Something

[edwardandtubs]

How do you say 'I'm looking forward to the weekend' in Thai. I've looked in the usual dictionaries and got นึกหวัง but that includes words like hope and aspire which in English are totally different ideas. So what's the best way to say I'm looking forward to the weekend in Thai?

[rgs2001uk]

Koy Yuu to look forward to'

Koy yuu Sut Sap Daa Nee, looking forward to this weekend.

[seefaonuma]

กำลังรอให้ถึงสุดสับดาห์นี้

Kamlang lor hai thueng sud sapda nee

I am waiting for this weekend .

[rgs2001uk]

คอยอยู่สุดสัปดาห์นี้

Just realised previous post didnt have Thai writing.

[starrdog]

I believe the following would better reflect the concept of "looking forward" rather than "waiting", though forum experts, please correct me if I'm wrong:

กำลังตั้งหน้าตั้งตารอคอยสุดสัปดาห์นี้

[Murf]

รอไม่ไหว

[edwardandtubs]

I believe the following would better reflect the concept of "looking forward" rather than "waiting", though forum experts, please correct me if I'm wrong:

กำลังตั้งหน้าตั้งตารอคอยสุดสัปดาห์นี้

That's definitely the concept I'm looking for (the idea of eager anticipation), though it would be interesting to know how common it is in spoken Thai.

[tgeezer]

I believe the following would better reflect the concept of "looking forward" rather than "waiting", though forum experts, please correct me if I'm wrong:

กำลังตั้งหน้าตั้งตารอคอยสุดสัปดาห์นี้

That's definitely the concept I'm looking for (the idea of eager anticipation), though it would be interesting to know how common it is in spoken Thai.

Common I would say, ตั้งหน้ารอสุดสัปดาห์ plus variations, is generally taken to mean setting your sights on the end of the working week rather than the end of the seven days starting on Sunday as in English, probably from English. If you put รอวันเสาร์ อาทิตย์ it would mean more but the French have to put up with the "le weekend" why shouldn't Thai have the week reduced to five days?

[Trembly]

คอยอยู่สุดสัปดาห์นี้

Just realised previous post didnt have Thai writing.

That means "I'm currently / still waiting this weekend"

Edited December 4, 2012 by Trembly

[Trembly]

I believe the following would better reflect the concept of "looking forward" rather than "waiting", though forum experts, please correct me if I'm wrong:

กำลังตั้งหน้าตั้งตารอคอยสุดสัปดาห์นี้

That's definitely the concept I'm looking for (the idea of eager anticipation), though it would be interesting to know how common it is in spoken Thai.

It's the closest interpretation I can come up with myself, but it's bit of an unwieldy mouthful which would ensure that 99% of the time Thais would drop it for "I really want it to be the weekend soon!" / อย่ากไห้ถึงเสาร์อาทิตย์gเร็วๆ! (yaag hai thueng sao-athit reo reo!), which actually conveys the sense of excitement that would be lost in the saying it the longer way.

Edited December 4, 2012 by Trembly

[Trembly]

The common term for weekend is Sao-Athit. Sood sabda is hardly ever used in common everyday speech.

[Horatio Poke]

"tang taa ror khoiy" is my favoured expression, and usually well understood.

It would more literally translate as "set eyes wait for", but literal translations are pretty pointless. It's an expression that means, "look forward to".

[Trembly]

"tang taa ror khoiy" is my favoured expression, and usually well understood.

It would more literally translate as "set eyes wait for", but literal translations are pretty pointless. It's an expression that means, "look forward to".

"tang taa ror khoiy" is my favoured expression, and usually well understood.

It would more literally translate as "set eyes wait for", but literal translations are pretty pointless. It's an expression that means, "look forward to".

Nice for its brevity but somewhat quaint - though I appreciate that for some members it is enough to just communicate, nuances be damned.

[Horatio Poke]

"tang taa ror khoiy" is my favoured expression, and usually well understood.

It would more literally translate as "set eyes wait for", but literal translations are pretty pointless. It's an expression that means, "look forward to".

Nice for its brevity but somewhat quaint - though I appreciate that for some members it is enough to just communicate, nuances be damned.

"tang taa ror khoiy" is an expression in common everyday use by Thais. It is not something I made up or translated word by word from the dictionary. It is an expression that I've learned from speaking Thai with Thais.

The original poster asked for a translation of "Looking forward to..." and "tang taa ror khoiy" is exactly that. You can take it or leave it.

I find it interesting that you poo-poo those of us who've developed Thai language communication skills, because we're the folks who are out there transacting ably with Thai society and having frequent and fluent conversations with Thai people whilst folks like you are pondering over what's the most exact term for the weekend and inventing phrases that are "the closest interpretation you can come up with yourself, but a bit of an unwieldy mouthful....".

[tgeezer]

"tang taa ror khoiy" is my favoured expression, and usually well understood.

It would more literally translate as "set eyes wait for", but literal translations are pretty pointless. It's an expression that means, "look forward to".

Nice for its brevity but somewhat quaint - though I appreciate that for some members it is enough to just communicate, nuances be damned.

"tang taa ror khoiy" is an expression in common everyday use by Thais. It is not something I made up or translated word by word from the dictionary. It is an expression that I've learned from speaking Thai with Thais.

The original poster asked for a translation of "Looking forward to..." and "tang taa ror khoiy" is exactly that. You can take it or leave it.

I find it interesting that you poo-poo those of us who've developed Thai language communication skills, because we're the folks who are out there transacting ably with Thai society and having frequent and fluent conversations with Thai people whilst folks like you are pondering over what's the most exact term for the weekend and inventing phrases that are "the closest interpretation you can come up with yourself, but a bit of an unwieldy mouthful....".

it's a good point. Perhaps the way the question is put is the problem. 'How would you say this in Thai' is probably better. That would get responses which are always correct and start a discussion on the merits of each.

[Trembly]

<p>

"tang taa ror khoiy" is my favoured expression, and usually well understood.

It would more literally translate as "set eyes wait for", but literal translations are pretty pointless. It's an expression that means, "look forward to".

Nice for its brevity but somewhat quaint - though I appreciate that for some members it is enough to just communicate, nuances be damned.

"tang taa ror khoiy" is an expression in common everyday use by Thais. It is not something I made up or translated word by word from the dictionary. It is an expression that I've learned from speaking Thai with Thais.

The original poster asked for a translation of "Looking forward to..." and "tang taa ror khoiy" is exactly that. You can take it or leave it.

I find it interesting that you poo-poo those of us who've developed Thai language communication skills, because we're the folks who are out there transacting ably with Thai society and having frequent and fluent conversations with Thai people whilst folks like you are pondering over what's the most exact term for the weekend and inventing phrases that are "the closest interpretation you can come up with yourself, but a bit of an unwieldy mouthful....".

Sorry that you've taken it so personally.

As someone who has spoken Thai since learning to speak at all (my first Thai words preceded my first English words by quite some years) and has worked as a professional interpreter and translator for law firms I constantly find myself pondering and re-pondering the best way to convey the intended meaning in its proper context when translating, which to me must include exactly the right tone, which I'm sure you know is sometimes affected by the choice of words.

Edited December 6, 2012 by Trembly

[Briggsy]

นับวันทุกวันว่าจะได้.........

Clipped from authentic native speaker writing rather than from my muddled mind or a dictionary.

[tgeezer]

นับวันทุกวันว่าจะได้.........

Clipped from authentic native speaker writing rather than from my muddled mind or a dictionary.

This is what I meant by my last post, does the fact that someone says 'I am counting the days to... disqualify the use of 'I am looking forward to... ? of course not.

Does I am counting the days to... mean I am looking forward to...? If you want to learn the meanings of words then, No, but if you just want to express yourself then, Yes.

[Horatio Poke]

นับวันทุกวันว่าจะได้.........

Clipped from authentic native speaker writing rather than from my muddled mind or a dictionary.

This is what I meant by my last post, does the fact that someone says 'I am counting the days to... disqualify the use of 'I am looking forward to... ? of course not.

Does I am counting the days to... mean I am looking forward to...? If you want to learn the meanings of words then, No, but if you just want to express yourself then, Yes.

I couldn't agree more. There are of course a variety of ways of saying the same thing, and they are largely determined by the way that the language is used by native speakers. They do not fall into categories of right or wrong, and mostly all are of pretty much equal merit.

It's my opinion that it is absolutely essential that one does one's best to imitate the word usage and expressions used by native speakers. Word usage, grammar, and whether it sounds banal to one or not, or any other similar considerations are a complete waste of effort. If you want to speak Thai with Thais you have to speak it as best you can as close to the way that they speak it, and understand it in the way that it is commonly used. It's not ours to change, although creative improvisation can add quality to any exchange.

[Briggsy]

I totally agree with the last 2 posters.

Using expressions in English as a base to construct Thai and Thai sentences is like trying to peel an apple using a spanner. You will have some very limited success but mostly it will be a mangled mess. You need to reflect native speaker usage as closely and as well as you can by noticing how native speaking Thais express themselves.

Otherwise you would get ผมกำลังดูข้างหน้าอยู่สู่เสาร์อาทิตย์ a mangled mess

Edited December 7, 2012 by Briggsy