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How to say "another day"


thailandsgreat

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Hi,

Beginner's help requested, please.

The typical dialogue with a tuk-tuk driver:

- Taxi, boss?

- Thanks, not today.

- When will you go with me?

- Another day maybe, thanks.

How do you express "another day (maybe)" (not today) in Thai?

I know the word อื่น and I have found the following expression in a dictionary:

วัน อื่น มั้ง

(The particle มั้ง should express uncertainty.)

I have tried saying วัน อื่น, but it doesn't work. The tuk-tuk drivers don't get it. I haven't really worked on the pronounciation of these words yet, but my guess is that this is not an expression they expect to hear. As a beginner I want to use really common expressions that have better chances of being understood.

I guess I could say

ไม่ วันนี้

But is there closer and commonly used expression for "another day"?

Thanks

Edited by thailandsgreat
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this part kind of goes without saying, and the first post touched on it, but it's helpful to say what is conventional in the language one is trying to speak instead of what translates most directly from what one wants to say in the original language.

since I'm also not fluent in Thai I'm not sure what variation of "maybe another time" would make sense, or if any would.

if Thais would almost always express a version of "no thanks" instead of that then it wouldn't help to work on clearer pronunciation or more direct translation of what they would use in another circumstance, when they would really mean "maybe another time."

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Just say "later" ทีหลัง tii-​lǎng. Don't forget to add "krap" or "ka" at the end: ทีหลังครับ or ทีหลังครับ

Edited by Seligne2
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Thanks for your replies. I will try วัน หลัง next time. It contains common words and I have a good feeling it will work :)

I can just tell where the original example comes from:

อากาศ มันไม่เป็นใจเลย ก็คงต้องเข้าค่ายวันอื่นมั้ง

"The weather just doesn’t want to cooperate. I guess we’ll have to go camping another day."

If you search the following dictionary for "another day" it will come up.

http://www.thai-language.com/dict

But I haven't been able to make the tuk-tuk drivers understand วัน อื่น in that context.

Edited by thailandsgreat
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A friend of mine helped me for something; to thank him, I offered to buy him some drink ; he answered วันหลัง ; I have heard several times this expression, that I translate by ; " not today, an other day ( with the idea " in the future " ) , very important, หลัง must be said with rising tone and means "back, behind, later, roof "

there are other " lang " which have totaly diffferent meanings so pronouciation is very important

Edited by Aforek
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you could also say คราวหน้า kraao naa where kraao is mid tone and naa is falling, it means Next Time here that a lot and use it to

Thanks. That's a good suggestion, of course. But maybe there's a small practical problem. Some of those guys are aspiring lawyers and the next time we meet he may say I have agreed to go with him ;)

Maybe better to add a maybe? The word I learnt is baang tii.

So maybe one can say this?

kraao(M)naa(F) baang(M)tii(M)

"Maybe next time"

(M for mid tone etc)

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I wonder if there is a difference between วันหลัง and วันอื่น in practical usage. Here are some examples of the latter:

1. มันมีนิสัยเหมือนกันหมด ไม่อาฆาตมาดร้ายใคร กระทบกระทั่งกันบ้าง ทะเลาะกันบ้าง ประเดี๋ยวก็คืนดีกัน ลืมง่าย ไม่นำพาเอาอารมณ์เหล่านั้นติดไปถึงวันอื่น [from a news magazine]

2. ฉันเสนอให้เลื่อนนัดเป็นวันอื่น แต่อาบูบาร์กไม่ยอม [from a news magazine short story]

3. โดยพระองค์ได้ทรงทำให้ฝูงปลาขึ้นมาว่ายอยู่บนผิวน้ำในวันเสาร์ แต่ในวันอื่นๆ อีก 6 วัน ฝูงปลากลับไม่ปรากฏให้เห็นเลย [from a homily]

Any thoughts on the difference in usage?

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I wonder if there is a difference between วันหลัง and วันอื่น in practical usage. Here are some examples of the latter:

1. มันมีนิสัยเหมือนกันหมด ไม่อาฆาตมาดร้ายใคร กระทบกระทั่งกันบ้าง ทะเลาะกันบ้าง ประเดี๋ยวก็คืนดีกัน ลืมง่าย ไม่นำพาเอาอารมณ์เหล่านั้นติดไปถึงวันอื่น [from a news magazine]

2. ฉันเสนอให้เลื่อนนัดเป็นวันอื่น แต่อาบูบาร์กไม่ยอม [from a news magazine short story]

3. โดยพระองค์ได้ทรงทำให้ฝูงปลาขึ้นมาว่ายอยู่บนผิวน้ำในวันเสาร์ แต่ในวันอื่นๆ อีก 6 วัน ฝูงปลากลับไม่ปรากฏให้เห็นเลย [from a homily]

Any thoughts on the difference in usage?

This is way beyond my rudimentary Thai, but I can ask:

1. หลัง has a meaning "after". Is it possible that วันหลัง should *not* be used in f.ex "On Saturdays I'm off, on other days I work." The other days in this example are not clearly *after* Saturday. Therefore วันอื่น should be used?

2. Could วันหลัง be spoken language and วันอื่น have more formal, written usage?

Edited by thailandsgreat
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Day is a noun but not like other nouns house people in that they don't have place except in a calendar or chart. I think in that case you could say วันอื่น because the day can be seen to be นอกออกไป ต่างออกไป from the slot under discussion. If you can see it in English a Thai can be made to see it, but bookwork might not be the forte of a samlo driver. คนอื่น บ้านอื่น work I think, because they have position.

วันหน้า วันหลัง a day ahead or after today. วันผ่านไป is another non specific day past I think.

I am at the stage of making things up using the dictionary and rephrasing when I fail. I am usually understood in the end.

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David has posted plenty of examples of วันอื่น and later I read เรื่องอื่น so I think that if you want to say something other than the thing in question say อื่น

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Since it's interesting to consider language use at a slightly deeper level as discussed here, the idea hasn't come up that what a taxi driver and an office worker would say to mean "maybe another time" may not be the same.

Sometimes there are parallel terms for different concepts, as in the case of having different words used to represent "to eat," but even beyond that ordinary use of language would vary. This ties back to the distinction between literal and figurative translation, but instead of related to that difference in concept use between languages instead relating to differences within the same language.

Since the different classes don't live in isolation you could use different levels of formal or informal language with different people and they would still understand it, but this really could complicate things, especially along with the additional problem of imperfect pronunciation.

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  • 3 weeks later...

I am Thai coffee1.gif you guys are thinking too much they are all ok to me

wan lang another day

ti lang next time

krao na later

krao lang next time

wan uen another day is ok

เอาไว้ วันอื่น วันนี้ไม่ว่าง ตอนนี้ไม่ว่าง ช่วงนี้ไม่ว่าง
เอาไว้ วันหลัง วันนี้ไม่ว่าง ตอนนี้ไม่ว่าง ช่วงนี้ไม่ว่าง
เอาไว้ ทีหลัง วันนี้ไม่ว่าง ตอนนี้ไม่ว่าง ช่วงนี้ไม่ว่าง
เอาไว้ คราวหน้า วันนี้ไม่ว่าง ตอนนี้ไม่ว่าง ช่วงนี้ไม่ว่าง
เอาไว้ คราวหลัง วันนี้ไม่ว่าง ตอนนี้ไม่ว่าง ช่วงนี้ไม่ว่าง

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