stevehaigh Posted August 7, 2006 Share Posted August 7, 2006 we all know mai mee a-rai means "nothing" but suppose you want to say "don't have what?" in reponse to a statement like "i don't have ?????". does mai mee a-rai also work for "don't have what?" or should i use something else? steve Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
guardian Posted August 7, 2006 Share Posted August 7, 2006 (edited) i think it would be "khun mai mee a-rai na?" Edited August 7, 2006 by guardian Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BambinA Posted August 7, 2006 Share Posted August 7, 2006 depends on the context ,methinks it could be "i don't have any problem" "nothing" "no problem" "nevermind" BUT ... for girls "mai mee arai" means " oh yeahh ..you have a problem now..you do something bloody wrong " Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rikker Posted August 7, 2006 Share Posted August 7, 2006 Yeah, guardian's got it right there. You'd use the particle นะ at the end. (คุณ)ไม่มีอะไรนะ = What was it that you don't have? or also อะไรนะที่คุณบอกว่าไม่มี = What was it that you said you didn't have? Give it a try, but you may have to rephrase it a few times before you get the right reply. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
meadish_sweetball Posted August 7, 2006 Share Posted August 7, 2006 For those of you who don't read Thai: (คุณ)ไม่มีอะไรนะ = What was it that you don't have? (khun) mai mii a-rai na? or also อะไรนะที่คุณบอกว่าไม่มี = What was it that you said you didn't have? a-rai na thii khun bawk waa mai mii? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stevehaigh Posted August 8, 2006 Author Share Posted August 8, 2006 For those of you who don't read Thai:(คุณ)ไม่มีอะไรนะ = What was it that you don't have? (khun) mai mii a-rai na? or also อะไรนะที่คุณบอกว่าไม่มี = What was it that you said you didn't have? a-rai na thii khun bawk waa mai mii? ok, thanks all, got it. just stick a "na" on the end to make it sound more like a question. i was just thinking about other question words that sometime arn't. like my wife often uses thao-rai to make something smaller, like "mai paing thao-rai" is "not very expensive". have you alloticed that? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
In the Rai! Posted August 8, 2006 Share Posted August 8, 2006 For those of you who don't read Thai: (คุณ)ไม่มีอะไรนะ = What was it that you don't have? (khun) mai mii a-rai na? or also อะไรนะที่คุณบอกว่าไม่มี = What was it that you said you didn't have? a-rai na thii khun bawk waa mai mii? You can also say for the meaning dont have anything.. mai mi suk yang ไม่มีสักอย่าง or mai mi suk arn ไม่มีสักอัน You can use this as I dont have any yang = thing (anything) You can also change the ending to any countable noun example mai mi suk baht (I dont have any money) or mai mi suk con (there are no people) hope this helps.. clown town Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
meadish_sweetball Posted August 8, 2006 Share Posted August 8, 2006 For those of you who don't read Thai: (คุณ)ไม่มีอะไรนะ = What was it that you don't have? (khun) mai mii a-rai na? or also อะไรนะที่คุณบอกว่าไม่มี = What was it that you said you didn't have? a-rai na thii khun bawk waa mai mii? ok, thanks all, got it. just stick a "na" on the end to make it sound more like a question. i was just thinking about other question words that sometime arn't. like my wife often uses thao-rai to make something smaller, like "mai paing thao-rai" is "not very expensive". have you alloticed that? Yep, in those contexts 'thaorai' takes on a slightly different meaning. You can achieve the same effect with mâi khôi phaeng ไม่ค่อยแพง mai phaeng nák ไม่แพงนัก ...and you can also use a complete construction with 'khôi + verb + thâorài': wan níi rúusèuk mâi khôi sabaai thâorài วันนี้รู้สึกไม่ค่อยสบายเท่าไหร่ = I don't feel so well today. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hellohello Posted August 8, 2006 Share Posted August 8, 2006 thanks bambinA Im a girl- now i can use this properly!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AmeriThai Posted August 9, 2006 Share Posted August 9, 2006 For those of you who don't read Thai: (คุณ)ไม่มีอะไรนะ = What was it that you don't have? (khun) mai mii a-rai na? or also อะไรนะที่คุณบอกว่าไม่มี = What was it that you said you didn't have? a-rai na thii khun bawk waa mai mii? ok, thanks all, got it. just stick a "na" on the end to make it sound more like a question. i was just thinking about other question words that sometime arn't. like my wife often uses thao-rai to make something smaller, like "mai paing thao-rai" is "not very expensive". have you alloticed that? If I'm not mistaken, "na" isn't used as a question word anthough it can be used with a question. It's generally used to make a phrase sound "softer" or more polite. In other words, "na" makes a question or a statement sound less harsh or demanding. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
guardian Posted August 9, 2006 Share Posted August 9, 2006 If I'm not mistaken, "na" isn't used as a question word anthough it can be used with a question. It's generally used to make a phrase sound "softer" or more polite. In other words, "na" makes a question or a statement sound less harsh or demanding. You are correct. It is the tone in which you say the "na" which will indicate whether you are just ending a sentence more politely or asking a question. Guardian Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steveromagnino Posted August 10, 2006 Share Posted August 10, 2006 If I'm not mistaken, "na" isn't used as a question word anthough it can be used with a question. It's generally used to make a phrase sound "softer" or more polite. In other words, "na" makes a question or a statement sound less harsh or demanding. You are correct. It is the tone in which you say the "na" which will indicate whether you are just ending a sentence more politely or asking a question. Guardian I am not as much a fan of mai mee arai na as mai mee arai ler krub/ka/ja? or mai mee arai chai mai? I am trying to think of when I would use this.... If it was a physical item, e.g. I wanted a washer (ee-bae) but I didn't know the word for sure, and whether they knew what it was so we discuss first... 'Pom yahk dai ee-bae tee chai gup ai-board windsurf' 'gor.....' -'mai mee ee-bae ler krub?' or -'mai mee ler krub?' or -'mai kai ler krub?' Can't quite see how to use the mai mee arai ler /chai mai type phrase.... If it was emotional, then probably doesn't need the Khun.... 'mai bpen arai chai mai?' if about a secret.... 'mai mee arai nai gor pae chai mai krub?' Chai mai = confirmation one way or the other. I think we might need slightly more context; but as Bambi says, if a woman says 'mai mee arai' then sighs.....WATCH OUT! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
In the Rai! Posted August 10, 2006 Share Posted August 10, 2006 (edited) If it was a physical item, e.g. I wanted a washer (ee-bae) but I didn't know the word for sure, and whether they knew what it was so we discuss first... 'Pom yahk dai ee-bae tee chai gup ai-board windsurf' 'gor.....' -'mai mee ee-bae ler krub?' or -'mai mee ler krub?' or -'mai kai ler krub?' Can't quite see how to use the mai mee arai ler /chai mai type phrase.... To make it as simple as I can. Customer asks "C" and person in store "S" "C" Pom yahk dai ee-bae tee chai gup ai-board windsurf' 'gor.....' "S" 'mai mee ee-bae ler krub?' or "S" mai mee ler krub?' or "S" mai kai ler krub?' The person in the store would not use it because they would know if they had it or not. It would be you that would use it. "C" mai mee ee-bae chai mai (basically just asking for agreance) you could use it yourself if you walked around the store before asking anything and you cant find what you want. You can assume that they dont have what your after. In your example.... "C" mai mee ee-bae tee chai gup board windsurd chai mai krub? = you dont have a washer for a windsurfing board do you? you can use it with any verb as well Mai yark gin sak yang chai mai? you dont want to eat anything do you? Hope this helps! Edited August 10, 2006 by In the Rai! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steveromagnino Posted August 10, 2006 Share Posted August 10, 2006 'Pom yahk dai ee-bae tee chai gup ai-board windsurf' 'gor.....' -'mai mee ee-bae ler krub?' or -'mai mee ler krub?' or -'mai kai ler krub?' sorry for confusion.... shop keeper says...'gor'...i.e. hmmmmm and I say everything else... :-) However, my point was I cannot see saying the above line mai mee arai ler krub? in this scenario or most others....thanks for the ideas for speaking though; good grammar :-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
meadish_sweetball Posted August 10, 2006 Share Posted August 10, 2006 The scenario that springs to mind: Customer: 'mii goretex mai khrap' Customer - Do you have GoreTex? Shopkeeper: 'mai mii naalikaa Rolex khrap' Shopkeeper - We don't have Rolex watches. Customer: 'mai mii arai na khrap' Customer - You don't have what, sorry? Shopkeeper: 'naalikaa Rolex khrap. rao mai mii naalikaa yii haw Rolex khraphom' Shopkeeper - Rolex watches. We do not have watches of the make Rolex. Customer: 'ooh. songsai rao khaojai phit kan laeo khrap. phom mai dai maai theung naalikaa. phom yaak dai rawng thaao thii tham jaak goretex khrap. Goretex nii bpen wadthu chanit neung thii kan fon dai dii.' Customer - Oh, I think we misunderstand each other. I didn't mean watches. I'd like shoes made from GoreTex. GoreTex is a type of rainproof material. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
In the Rai! Posted August 11, 2006 Share Posted August 11, 2006 You can also say mai mee arai tee pom chop (You dont have anything that I like) mai mee arai tee pom yark dai (You dont have anything that I want to get) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steveromagnino Posted August 11, 2006 Share Posted August 11, 2006 You can also say mai mee arai tee pom chop (You dont have anything that I like) mai mee arai tee pom yark dai (You dont have anything that I want to get) Jai glah mahk. If I said things like this, I would probably get a smack upside the head Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
In the Rai! Posted August 11, 2006 Share Posted August 11, 2006 You can also say mai mee arai tee pom chop (You dont have anything that I like) mai mee arai tee pom yark dai (You dont have anything that I want to get) Jai glah mahk. If I said things like this, I would probably get a smack upside the head Granted there is certainly a time and a place to say this and with your Fan, wife or gik is certainly not one of them. I was thinking more likely if you were choosing curtains or tiles or something and nothing appealed. It is always a good laugh though when you say with a smile mai mee arai tee pom aow don ni... but run or duck! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steveromagnino Posted August 11, 2006 Share Posted August 11, 2006 Granted there is certainly a time and a place to say this and with your Fan, wife or gik is certainly not one of them. I was thinking more likely if you were choosing curtains or tiles or something and nothing appealed. It is always a good laugh though when you say with a smile mai mee arai tee pom aow don ni... but run or duck! Yep, if I said that to my mum she would NOT be happy at all! I am not often in the market for curtains, all the hotels I go to have them already 55555555555555 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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