Hi

 

When I ask the housekeeping lady if she can clean the room today she often replies with something that sounds like

 

 ได้ เลย

 

I think it means "Can I do it now?".

 

Is that correct? I have very little experience of Thai and could easily have misunderstood or misheard.

I now finally managed to find the expression in the dictionary. It means "OK". Sorry for this thread. It may be unnecessary.

8 hours ago, thailandsgreat said:

I now finally managed to find the expression in the dictionary. It means "OK". Sorry for this thread. It may be unnecessary.

No, it is useful. Another words are "sure" or "definitely"  - Thai2English

ได้เลย is often heard in response to a request. It corresponds to the English, "Absolutely," or, "Certainly."

I keep adding on this ... :)

I think I have heard the following and I have interpreted it as "(Can I) do it now?"

ทำ เลย ไหม

Is that correct?

Whether the maid is grammatical or not doesn't matter, I think she means what you think she means.

thailandsgreat, I have assumed in the past, wrongly it appears, that all posters are interested in the language, in your case I think that this would be correct so I will risk criticism and derision by adding more which you can choose to comment upon or ignore.

The fundemental meaning of เลย is as a verb 'to go beyond' /pass เลยซอยหน้าแล้วเลี้ยวซ้าย Go beyond the next soi then turn left.
Most instructions are followed without delay which brings a time element into the meaning.

eg. from the RID
Verb. รถเลยบ้านไปแล้ว The car has gone beyond the house. {passed} อายุเลยวัยกลางคน he is beyond middle age
Special use, before a verb showing that it will be done after.
จะไปซื้อของแล้วเลยกินข้าวนอกบ้าน eat after shopping.
เปียกแล้วเลยสระผมเสียด้วย wash after wetting
special use after the verb showing alacrity or singularity.
ออกจากนี้แล้วไปเลย promptly go
ไม่ต้องแวะเวียนที่ไหน พอนั่งโต๊ะก็กินเลย ไม่ รอใคร eat without delay,
อายุ ๗๐ ยังดูหนุ่มอยู่เลย look singularly young
​Adverb; it is best to consider เลย as meaning "at all" or whatever a T-E dictionary gives because most people won't see it the RID way.
ไม่เชื่อเลย at all)
ไม่เห็นด้วยเลย
ซื้อของจนกระเป้าหมดเลย
Finally, as a conjunction.
ทำถ้วยเขาแตกเลยต้องใข้เงินเขา
รถเมล์จอดพ้นป้ายมากเลยต้องเดินย้อนกลับมาใหม่
joining two sentences, second made necessary by the first.








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double post

6 hours ago, tgeezer said:

Whether the maid is grammatical or not doesn't matter, I think she means what you think she means.

thailandsgreat, I have assumed in the past, wrongly it appears, that all posters are interested in the language, in your case I think that this would be correct so I will risk criticism and derision by adding more which you can choose to comment upon or ignore.

The fundemental meaning of เลย is as a verb 'to go beyond' /pass เลยซอยหน้าแล้วเลี้ยวซ้าย Go beyond the next soi then turn left.

Most instructions are followed without delay which brings a time element into the meaning.

eg. from the RID

Verb. รถเลยบ้านไปแล้ว The car has gone beyond the house. {passed} อายุเลยวัยกลางคน he is beyond middle age

Special use, before a verb showing that it will be done after.

จะไปซื้อของแล้วเลยกินข้าวนอกบ้าน eat after shopping.

เปียกแล้วเลยสระผมเสียด้วย wash after wetting

special use after the verb showing alacrity or singularity.

ออกจากนี้แล้วไปเลย promptly go

ไม่ต้องแวะเวียนที่ไหน พอนั่งโต๊ะก็กินเลย ไม่ รอใคร eat without delay,

อายุ ๗๐ ยังดูหนุ่มอยู่เลย look singularly young

Adverb; it is best to consider เลย as meaning "at all" or whatever a T-E dictionary gives because most people won't see it the RID way.

ไม่เชื่อเลย at all)

ไม่เห็นด้วยเลย

ซื้อของจนกระเป้าหมดเลย

Finally, as a conjunction.

ทำถ้วยเขาแตกเลยต้องใข้เงินเขา

รถเมล์จอดพ้นป้ายมากเลยต้องเดินย้อนกลับมาใหม่

joining two sentences, second made necessary by the first.

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Thanks, I appreciate. Advice from someone that once trod the same path is often the best. The sentences are more distinct than when I try reading my friends' Facebooks.

 

Is there a typo in the sentence about the broken bowls? Should it be:

ใช้เงิน

I guess you guys and Thai people wouldn't even notice that. But I can still stumble on any little stone :)

 

Thanks for your time. I come back if I need, after thinking this over.

 

 

 

Well done it is a typo. I try to touch type and my fingers wander from the home keys occasionally, I would notice if I could see that well!


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Maybe they sometimes shorten it. I asked if I could keep my hiking boots on in the market lavatory. I think the attendant replied ไป เลย. I interpreted it as ไป ได้ เลย, Please go ahead!

Maybe they sometimes shorten it. I asked if I could keep my hiking boots on in the market lavatory. I think the attendant replied ไป เลย. I interpreted it as ไป ได้ เลย, Please go ahead!

Exactly in accordance with the RID กินเลย > ไปเลย don't delay, go.
Taking off your boots would delay you in what you need.
I thought of เข้าเลย but I feel that the answer usually takes the verb from the question.
How is wearing shoes said? การใส่รองเท้า เข้าได้ไหม is a mouthful so ใส่รองเท้า would work wouldn't it? I feel that the reply might be ได้ or ได้เลย in that case.


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How is wearing shoes said? การใส่รองเท้า เข้าได้ไหม is a mouthful so ใส่รองเท้า would work wouldn't it? I feel that the reply might be ได้ or ได้เลย in that case.


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Maybe not ได้เลย ได้ is not a 'doing' verb.


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