Same Same Did not Work Today

[KMartinHandyman]

I usually have a lot of fun shopping for something in CR....especially if i don't know the thai word or they can't understand my pitiful pronunciation....most fun of all is playing charades and trying to act out what you're looking for to the amusement of a gang of employees and other thai shoppers who often gather around to try and guess what the crazy falang wants..

one of my best was at big C meat counter when i wanted to see if they have bone scraps to feed a dog....i already knew it was going to be tough with "ma" but after me doing my best barking and growling and "ruff ruff" imitations to no avail some thai lady took me by the hand and led me to the dog food section....

part of the fun of living in Chiang Rai for me...

Often I ask Siri to show me a picture of what I'm looking for then show the sales person. So far fool proof,,they either sell it or they don't and I move on to the next shop.

As one poster noted if it's important I ask my wife to come and help me but that has its challenges as she can be predisposed to say "No have Honey". Often she is right.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[MyFriend You]

Nine years in Thailand and you can't speak a lick of Thai?? Boggles the mind or you ust be a troll, You know reply's like this are forthcoming right??

[CapeThai]

Just amazed at how Expats go at each other's throats here....then some talks about how unfriendly some Thais are... Amazing !!

[MyFriend You]

Just how hard is it to learn to say Ow mai and point ?

9 years and still not a word of Thai <deleted>

I'm ure you meant "Mee mai?" Ow mai would be asking them if they wanted the empty bottles.

[1FinickyOne]

You do know that "same same" is not Thai - right? It is not even acceptable English… My guess is that you would have even less luck in the Western World…

[Morakot]

Speak louder.

Edited August 22, 2015 by Morakot

[Atkinsos]

Did the same as the OP here in France myself 2 weeks ago. Walked in the office supplies shop pointed at my empty cartridge, don't think I even bothered with same same, & was directed with a smile to the same same cartridge I wanted. Marvelous. If that had happened in my 5yrs in Thailand I'd have dropped dead with amazement

[MaeJoMTB]

I don't have a problem with the OP, his strategy has worked for him for 9 years.

What is hilarious, and the highlight of my morning is the advice he was given. Priceless.

This will work.

Kuhn me ahn nee ru mai?

I think you will find it ends

........... ru plow?

[ericthai]

OP seems to have disappeared, no wonder with all the slamming. OP I feel sorry for you, you came looking for some sympathy and only got blasted. I feel sorry for you that in all this time you have not learned any Thai. What I dont understand is how can you live in a place so long and not learn anything. How do you deal with the govt or any type of office setting. Some guys rely on their wives for all of this and then you are hoping she understands what is being said and that she translates it properly for you. Your life would change so much if you just learned some Thai. I get so upset in the USA when you go to a place like Miami and everyone speaks Spanish and you are lucky if someone speaks English, and this is the USA not a foreign country. I'm sure the Thai's feel the same way if someone is living here full time they should be able to speak some Thai or make an effort.

Thailand changes so much when you learn just some Thai. You speak a little Thai in the market to the lady selling you whatever and they start telling you how good your Thai is even if it's not that good and starts a conversation usually with others jumping in. Granted it took me a few years before I could speak a decent amount of Thai, but all the Thai's I dealt with were always happy I was trying. My first girlfriend in Thailand used to send me to the one guy on the street that sold sticky rice because he always gave me more than what he would give to her. I see so many posters on TV complaining they get ripped off all the time, I would bet most of them are just like the OP and don't speak any Thai and get upset with a Thai when they don't understand them! I cant say I never got ripped off as I'm sure I over paid here or there over the years but I know I never blatantly got ripped off as I would not have bought something if I thought I was paying too much. OP maybe this will be a turning point and get you motivated to learn some Thai, I wish you all the best!

[canuckamuck]

I don't have a problem with the OP, his strategy has worked for him for 9 years.

What is hilarious, and the highlight of my morning is the advice he was given. Priceless.

This will work.

Kuhn me ahn nee ru mai?

I think you will find it ends

........... ru plow?

I think both work, but yours is better

[melovethai]

Just how hard is it to learn to say Ow mai and point ?

9 years and still not a word of Thai <deleted>

Ohhh My!!!!!!!!!!

[gemguy]

I think both ow mai and me mai are ok ow mai is asking to get it (assuming the store has it) and me mai is asking if they do have it. I am learning thai so i may be wrong also.

Bap Nee --Mee My Cap? ( Do you have like this, yes or no??) .....would be more appropriate when asking for something your looking for or wanting to buy until they recognize what it is you are showing them and asking them about and then they will answer yes or no......usually with a simple....My Mee ( Do Not Have ) or Mee ( Have )

Or they may elaborate a little more and say: Bap Nan --- My Me ( Like that, we do not have ) OR...Bap Nan ...Mee ( Like that, we have )

If they have it: Then you would say: Kaw Doo Noi Cap ( Let me have a look, please )

If they do not have it and you ask where to buy it : Bap Nee, Suer Tee Nie Die Cap ( Like this, where can I buy it ) usually they will give you the lazy answer and say : My Sap ( No Idea ) or My Lroo Muen Ghan ( I do not know either )

Maybe you may get somewhat lucky and they will take the time to explain that they know or think they know where else you could try to buy it.

After that...you are usually wasting your time trying to ask them any further as often enough they do not really care because if they do not recognize what it is you are asking about, 9 times out of 10, they do not want to get involved in helping you ( you the foreigner who can not speak Thai ..lol ) to find what you are looking for and better to simply say: I don't know about THAT ( My Lroo )

How do I know this: From 25 plus years of searching for specific components or parts and pieces needed to make something or replace something and having to deal with supply shop workers and or the owners of the supply companies supplying a hundred different types of material supplies who turn seemingly clueless when and if a foreigner shows up asking about a product, with sample in hand and asking if they have this item or some other item while they commonly say: Thailand does not have THAT ( Mueng Thai, My Mee, Bap Nan)

Because they do not recognize it then Thailand does not have it.....is their common answer.

It is not easy....but speaking the language always makes it much easier...most of the time.

Cheers

[zaZa9]

I think both ow mai and me mai are ok ow mai is asking to get it (assuming the store has it) and me mai is asking if they do have it. I am learning thai so i may be wrong also.

You are wrong. Ow mai is asking if they want it. I am sure they didnt want any empty printer cartridges

Its so typically TV boring to read replies like this because you come on so assertive while , its you who havent thought things through , so its YOU thats wrong !

If the "mai" was said long and low it means "new"

Thus "Ow mai ( low tone )" means "Take new" ( holding out the cartridge )

But the standard , 'on the street' question would usually be , "Mee mai ( rising tone ) ? " meaning , "Have no?"

I add the question mark because this 'mai?' is said in a questioning tone just like English speakers ask a question

Its quite amazing that so many self proclaimed 'experts' on here think that there is only one way to say anything in Thai , when they know theres many ways to say anything in their own language

The Op could have presented his cartridge and said -

" Khun kai mai?" ( You sell no?)

"Khun kai nee mai?" ( You sell this , no?)

"Yaak sue nee " ( Like to buy this )

"Tongkarn nee kup " ( Need this kup)

"Tongkarn muen karn " ( Need same )

etc etc

Think about your answer ( or at least look it up ) before you come on bleeting , "No thats wrong !"

[Songhua]

Ah, the drunken conversations at 2am in the Sergeants Mess about something nobody present actually knew anything about where everyone talked at the top of their voice, everyone was right and everyone else was wrong. This thread is one of those nights.

[SoiBiker]

I guess arguing about the precise meaning of vague transliterations passes some time, but it seems a little pointless.

[sceadugenga]

Take the wife.

[toybits]

Just how hard is it to learn to say Ow mai and point ?

9 years and still not a word of Thai <deleted>

That could be understood as "Do you want this?"...

[toybits]

Nine years in Thailand and all you can show for it is "same same"? That is a bit pathetic really.

[HLover]

As long as the Buffalo can navigate the ATM

[aboctok]

It isn't difficult to Google "Black Printer Cartridge" in Thai.

No. But is inadvisable to expect Google translate to provide anything other than entertaining nonsense.

Nothing but nonsense? For those who have learned enough of the other language to exercise some insight, Google Translate is extremely useful, and often quite accurate, at various levels of phrasing. Yes, you need to be familiar with Thai phonetics—sorry, but that requires tackling the script—and yes, you must pay attention as you use it, like using a twin tub washer, but so what? Do you want clean clothes? Of course, for those who insist that software do the thinking for them, translation apps probably do produce only nonsense...

[SoiBiker]

It isn't difficult to Google "Black Printer Cartridge" in Thai.

No. But is inadvisable to expect Google translate to provide anything other than entertaining nonsense.

Nothing but nonsense? For those who have learned enough of the other language to exercise some insight, Google Translate is extremely useful, and often quite accurate, at various levels of phrasing. Yes, you need to be familiar with Thai phonetics—sorry, but that requires tackling the script—and yes, you must pay attention as you use it, like using a twin tub washer, but so what? Do you want clean clothes? Of course, for those who insist that software do the thinking for them, translation apps probably do produce only nonsense...

You're presuming I'm not familiar with Thai phonetics, or unable to read Thai script?

Nice attempt at one upmanship. But wrong on both counts.

[aboctok]

It isn't difficult to Google "Black Printer Cartridge" in Thai.

No. But is inadvisable to expect Google translate to provide anything other than entertaining nonsense.

Nothing but nonsense? For those who have learned enough of the other language to exercise some insight, Google Translate is extremely useful, and often quite accurate, at various levels of phrasing. Yes, you need to be familiar with Thai phonetics—sorry, but that requires tackling the script—and yes, you must pay attention as you use it, like using a twin tub washer, but so what? Do you want clean clothes? Of course, for those who insist that software do the thinking for them, translation apps probably do produce only nonsense...

You're presuming I'm not familiar with Thai phonetics, or unable to read Thai script?

Nice attempt at one upmanship. But wrong on both counts.

You mean one-upmanship. It's one word. Really? So my point about the translator was contrived, so as to go, err, "one-up" on you. Meaning that it was complete BS, and Google Translate simply is how you say it is—never producing anything other than entertaining nonsense. Actually, I think that although my claim regarding the translator is totally contrary to yours, it's actually quite modest. I claim that the app can be very good, because in my personal experience it has been. But no, it's not possible that you are mistaken, so I must be. No one may contradict your pithy pronouncements. This kind of inflexibility often arises when people flourish seemingly incontrovertible words like inadvisable. So I am necessarily lying through my teeth, and like you, have only ever received a stream of nonsense from the translator app. Lol, okay then.

Regarding proficiency with Thai script, I tend to doubt that any normal person would claim such an obscure skill if it were not true; ie, it would seem to be a rather pointless falsehood. So I don't have any problem accepting that you can use Thai script. But that leads to an strange result, since I maintain the position I stated previously: a person able to use Thai script should be able to obtain useful results from the translator app. But you have asserted that you don't expect anything like that. So it must be the case that somehow, despite your Thai language skills, you have received garbage from the app so often that you now expect nothing else. Strange. Maybe it's not the language skills, but the thinking skills that you should work on? As I mentioned, Google Translate is not fully automatic, in a logical sense. You have to work with it. I'd advise you not to get discouraged. Persevere, and as your ability to synthesize phrases develops, you will undoubtedly find that the app increasingly delivers useful results.

Edited August 25, 2015 by aboctok

[SoiBiker]

Feel better now?

[aboctok]

Feel better now?

Don't tell me reading's an issue too. o_O

*sigh*

[Paul888]

Meanwhile the poor OP still probably hasn't managed to purchase his printer cartridge.

OP, if you haven't yet found what you are looking for and can't make it into Central where there are a few places that you should be able to find most printer cartridges, try looking online at http://www.invadeit.co.th/ or http://www.lazada.co.th/ (change language at top of page).

Edited August 27, 2015 by Paul888

[islandguy]

There is not a one to one relationship between saying the correct question in Thai and and having a sales clerk understand you. Just ask a Thai person, like your wife (if you have a Thai wife). Thai people are used to it, so rarely get frustrated in an evident manner.

[boomerangutang]

When in doubt..... take the wife.

Not sure about the wife, but several times when I've been on a first date with a classy Thai dame, we wind up going to an upscale restaurant (upscale for me is when dishes cost over Bt.45 each). She's in her element, so she'll happily hush me up and take over the chore of of ordering food. I don't know at that time whether she's ordering two items or 15, because Thais love to blab for minutes about the simplest topics. We wait, we smile, we share some small talk. Then the dishes arrive. Yup, it was 15, all different and set in between us, taking up the whole table. I pick a bowl and motion for her to pick one. She smiles sweetly and indicates that she's not hungry, but instead ordered all those dishes just for me. She figures, if I"m in Thailand, I must love Thai food, and therefore want to try it all. I don't love Thai food but I don't say it straight out because she would likely get offended. So I dutifully chomp through as much as I can fit, which is about 1/6th of the mass on the table. She still doesn't eat, but can smile endlessly. All the remaining food is thrown away. I pay the bill which amounts to about 12 times what I ordinarily pay for french fries and fried eggs when I go out to eat alone. Then I may get lucky that night, or maybe not. That's another chapter.

[boomerangutang]

Take the wife.

Whenever I hear that, I picture one wife, the same woman, for every married guy.

How about 'take your wife' ? Or, if you're speaking to a Muslim or a wife-stealer, you could suggest, "Take a wife."

[boomerangutang]

I was just in Tachilek Burma with a friend. I wanted two fried eggs with rice (they didn't have fries or bread). We were trying to convey that message to 3 charming waitresses. We drew pictures, we made clucking sounds, used some fancy smart phone speech-recognition/translation software - the whole bit. We wound up getting two dishes (we wanted one), each with rice and one scrambled egg. There were good natured chuckles all around, so it wound up being fun.

[boomerangutang]

On a side note, did you know it's illegal for a farang to take a job in Thailand setting type for publications. That's right. Lead type, the type (pun intended) where you place the letters backwards in tight little corridors before inking and pressing on paper. Actually, there's a large collection of Thai font lead type in downtown C.Rai for anyone to see. It's in a little shop just across the street from the corner music shop near the old bus station - on the left just inside the door. I don't know why they keep the stuff there, but it's kinda cool to take a glance at. It might even have a collector's value, if you can strike a deal to buy it. Perhaps that was a newspaper printer decades ago.