I was wondering if there is someone out there could tell me what the correct Thai expression would be for self-sufficient, as in self-sufficient economy.

พอตัวเอง

Has anyone read anything, say a yearly speech, that used this or a similar term? There is a lot of discussion in the English news papers using this term. I often wonder how much of what I read is skewed because the translation doesn't truely represent the meaning in Thai.

เศรษฐกิจพอเพียง is the most common term for "self sufficient economy" I think.

The term used for "self-sufficiency economy' is 'sehd-a-gid paw pee-ang'

เศรษฐกิจพอเพียง

EDIT: Sorry mike, didn't see your post, but I definitely agree. You might perhaps add that the idea here in Thailand is seen as a royal concept, since His Majesty advocates it.

I think what you're looking for is เศรษฐกิจพอเพียง sèet-tà-gìt paw piang. I don't really read any of the English dailies in Thailand, so I'm not sure what they're using, but I've seen it translated as "sufficiency economy." I don't think that's quite the same thing as "self-sufficient economy."

If that is what you're looking for, เศรษฐกิจพอเพียง sèet-tà-gìt paw piang is an idea that the king likes to promote, basically encouraging the Thai people to live within their means and not spend extravagantly or build up excessive debt. All around good advice for anyone, really.

If they're translating that as self-sufficient, I don't know if that's quite the point intended. Though I seem to remember also reading that the king has spoken out on the topic of not being so reliant on imported goods, and encouraging using Thai-made products.

So, พอเพียง paw piang is "sufficient" (or เพียงพอ piang paw), but as for self-sufficient, it's พึ่ง (พา) ตนเอง pêung paa dton eeng or พึ่ง (พา) ตัวเอง pêung ( paa ) dtua eeng

The พา part is optional, and thus in parentheses.

More literally that is "self-reliant," but I'm not sure if the two ideas are different. พึ่งพาตนเอง pêung paa dton eeng is to be able to provide for oneself.

[Edited to fix encoding and add romanization /Meadish]

Oops! You got two answers in the time I was composing mine... that's what I get for being longwinded.

I'd agree with Rikker that the idea of 'Sufficiency Economy' is not intended to have exactly the same meaning as 'self-sufficiency'.

Being longwinded pays off - excellent breakdown of concepts, and Rikker is correct about the difference in meaning here, too.

I took the liberty of editing the encoding and adding "phony-etics" to it.

Thanks for adding the phony-etics. I should get in the habit of doing it, but it already takes me long enough to write a post, I usually forget or get lazy.

Thanks everyone for the replies.

The reason I ask is that I had understood that the King promoted the concept of "self-sufficiency" (though maybe that was a poor translation) and after the coup there was an article in the Post or Nation in which an ex-bank exectutive, who is now part of the interim goverment, was promoting this concept as "self-sufficiency economy", but very vaguely. He did say it was something like a "substainable economy", which I can understand. But if that is what they mean then why don't they just call it that.

Then they dropped the use of "self" and started calling it a "sufficiency economy", but still only vague referenced as to what that is. I can see how they might want to be careful how they describe their economic policy with regard to foriegn investment. But "sufficiency economy" doesn't translate into english too well for me. When is an economy "sufficient"? When it is substainable or when everyone has enough to eat or what?

Now I see competing groups (including NGOs) attempting to promote their agendas as "sufficientcy economics". I was just wondering if all this was more clear if you read Thai newspapers directly. I can read a little Thai but find newspapers beyond my ability...

Interesting.

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is a noun (sufficient economy) according to an online dictionary. Still don't really know what it means.

Today: Bangkok Post

Headline: Junta stresses need for unity

"The interim government, appointed and sponsored by the CNS, presented its policy platform to the National Legislative Assembly last Friday. The sufficiency economy is to be a pivotal principle for running the country year-long run-up to restoring democracy.

The policy platform comprises five key aspects - political, economic, social, foreign affairs, and security, all of which are to be implemented through a "sufficiency approach"."

???

???

Apparently a seminar open to the public this coming week at the intercontinental hotel in BKK. Finance Minister will be there as well as a few other senior government officials.

I believe one of the purposes of the forum will be to explain exactly this.

You might even see me sitting in the audience....if I can skive off work.

In the King's own translation of his 1999 birthday speech he says quite clearly:

"Last year, I stated self-sufficiency is not a Sufficiency Economy; it is the Stone Age Economy."

It's quite an amusing speech and discusses the terminology though not much about the concept itself, as he did that in previous years. I'm not sure if translated speeches from other years are available anywhere.