How to say 'Mind your business!

[NOLine]

Some of the translations I've tried just don't seem accurate.

 

I want to sound a little aggressive too. Like, Hey, mind your business! 

 

Or, Umm, does it concern you? 

 

Thanks

[tgeezer]

ไม่ใช่ธุระอะไรของคุณ
ไม่ใช่เรื่องคุณ


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[Ace of Pop]

Mi chi tulac co coon ,is what it sounds like to me when Thais rarely say it


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[Deserted]

You can say Yah suek   อย่า   เสือก ! Don't be nosey, its a strong term but not so offensive. They will get the message, I use it, it gets understood

[Pdaz]

5 minutes ago, Deserted said:

You can say Yah suek   อย่า   เสือก ! Don't be nosey, its a strong term but not so offensive. They will get the message, I use it, it gets understood

hahahah... Yes they will definitely get the message if you say this.. It is pretty offensive if said to a stranger.. Less so to friends and family members... Even just saying 'suek' (soo-arrk) quietly under your breath will have the desired effect.. Be prepared to defend yourself 

[Pdaz]

32 minutes ago, Ace of Pop said:

Mi chi tulac co coon ,is what it sounds like to me when Thais rarely say it


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You been on the sauce again ? or trying to talk with your mouth full ? 

 

"mai chai to-rah khong khun" -  ไม่ ใช่ ธุระ ของ คุณ

[impulse]

I can't count the number of times I've seen a foreigner in Asia get an unexpected result -often a very bad one- when they get the literal translation and the tones perfect, but don't bother to test the idiomatic meaning before the words come out of their mouth in a tense situation.  There's translation, then there's interpretation.  They both count.

 

I'm not going to suggest I know what meaning will be attached by a Thai to "mind your own business" or any of the permutations you'll see suggested here.

 

I will only suggest that, whichever you settle on, run it past a Thai friend before you use it for real.  You may save yourself some trouble.

[tgeezer]

impulse, what you say is interesting. I use the term Thaiกฤษ for anything which is a translation of an English thought. The Thai language has been adopting it for years and I think that a good argument could be made for any Thaiกฤษ, few Thais are going to deny it if they are educated and feel that English is something to which they aspire. The traders at the local market might not agree with it.
I suggested to my interlocutor, "none of your business, ไม่ใช่เรื่องของคุณ" and the answer I got was "ไม่ใช่ธุระอะไรของคุณ" so I posted both. I can't see the reason for อะไร, perhaps it modifies ธุระ in a way that it doesn't mean something which is your duty to do-your burdan, but the operative words are similar so the meaning is clear enough when back translated.
I like เรื่อง because it is 'yours'.
เกี่ยว to be hooked, is a good word for involvement but to get that you would have to avoid using 'business' then it wouldn't be the English expression you want.

There are different levels of language in operation, which is correct?






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[Ace of Pop]

You been on the sauce again ? or trying to talk with your mouth full ? 
 
"mai chai to-rah khong khun" -  ไม่ ใช่ ธุระ ของ คุณ

No ,but i picked up Thai in the N.E.,only to find it was Thai Lao ,had a sod it attitude ever since and copy any grunt I hear,see I get understood the smart <deleted> don't ,I hear the awful smarties showing off and it's cringe to Thais as well


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[Ace of Pop]

E.G.. My grunt of Halo ,for 5 kilograms,gets better response than sycophant teacher arnt I Good Thai


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[tgeezer]

Ace of Pop, I don't think that it is wrong to repeat what you hear, in fact I admire people with an ear for it but I can't do it. People don't cringe when I speak either, even in the market, in fact they think that I am speaking Thai. I have even tried it in provinces other than Bangkok, knowing what you are saying really works!


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[impulse]

57 minutes ago, tgeezer said:

There are different levels of language in operation, which is correct?

 

The one that doesn't get me a black eye or a fat lip, or an enemy for life.  

 

Please understand that I don't claim to know the real answer.  Just that running it by a trusted local is a good idea.

[Briggsy]

Thai conversation is markedly less direct than (British) English.

 

"Mind your own business" is a great example of this. If translated literally the effect may be greater than intended in terms of offence.

 

อย่ายุ่ง is often used meaning "Stay out of it."

ไม่ใช่เรื่องคุณ/เธอ/น้อง/มึง is more literal but more be too strong. It depends on the situation.

Be very careful with อย่าเสือก. This is very strong indeed and may greatly offend/crush the person to whom it is spoken.

ลี้ลับ or just ความลับ mean something is confidential or secret.

ไม่เป็นไร does not mean, "Mind your own business," but can have a similar effect.

ไม่ต้องถาม is rather similar in that it is not a direct translation but achieves the same effect.

 

Alternatively just respond with silence.

 

[tgeezer]

reply to impulse. I understand. I did what you advised I often do ask, but then the question is in English and the result is often Thai substituted for English. Listening to even good language on the television or radio shows that the way Thai is put together doesn't always allow for simple substitution. By "which is correct" I mean at what stage are individuals in achieving the goal of marrying the two languages. Many words have been added to Thai specifically to make substitution possible, ประสบการณ์ is my favourite example, there are words like เคย ชิน คุ้น รู้จัก etc. which can say that but it would mean changing the syntax completely.


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[colinneil]

I find the middle finger works perfect.

[CaptHaddock]

The alert student of Thai will immediatley recognize "Mind your own business" as a metaphor that is unlikely to translate literally into Thai.  After all, the French equivalent is, "Occupe-toi de tes oignons."  To the French mind, preparing dinner is evidently a more fundamental activity than doing business.

 

อย่าเสือก is quite rude.  A less rude version is อย่าเผือก.

[Ace of Pop]

I learned Years ago in Ubon Rat from Workmen ,Carabow Songs ,Thai Lao ,,but mainly from CAT Earthmoving Technicians ,hence not the most diplomatic quality ,but it does annoy my Tec Excellent chums when we have a Sunday Beer and the Waitress says He speak Thai welly good .MustBoon Boon Gri Now long drive today. Stay Happy.[emoji959]?‍♀️


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[Pdaz]

5 hours ago, Ace of Pop said:

No ,but i picked up Thai in the N.E.,only to find it was Thai Lao ,had a sod it attitude ever since and copy any grunt I hear,see I get understood the smart <deleted> don't ,I hear the awful smarties showing off and it's cringe to Thais as well


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You must be the center of attention when speaking in Bangkok then.. Central Thais love Lao/Isarn speaking Farangs..Some sort of novelty factor..

[Aforek]

5 hours ago, Briggsy said:

อย่ายุ่ง is often used meaning "Stay out of it."

 

My GF says it often to me , I think it's a good equivalent  for " occupe toi de tes oignons ", as says Captain Haddock

[Pdaz]

3 hours ago, Aforek said:

My GF says it often to me , I think it's a good equivalent  for " occupe toi de tes oignons ", as says Captain Haddock

Yeah you can add "bhai si ! " and a stern expression for good measure 

[tgeezer]

from the RID.
ยุ่ง ก. เข้ามาเกี่ยวข้องพัวพันโดยไม่จำเป็น to get involved. eg. อย่าไปยุ่งเรื่องของเชา, Don't meddle in his business. อย่าไปยุ่งกับเขา
and
มีธุระมากพัวพันมาก . to be involved in doing something. eg. กำลังยุ่งย่ามากวนใจ I am busy don't trouble me.
I would say that อย่ายุ่ง comes from the first definition where I have made เรื่องของเขา into 'his business' and seems to say 'mind your own business'.


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[tgeezer]

Coincidentally what about employing ซอกแซก from 'cutting in' topic in this context?


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[Aforek]

9 hours ago, colinneil said:

I find the middle finger works perfect.

You did it already ? which reaction ? I would never do it in Thailand 

[phuketsub]

1 hour ago, Aforek said:

You did it already ? which reaction ? I would never do it in Thailand 

I sometimes see some of my students using the middle finger with each other; I think they must pick it up from Hollywood or something. I just try to explain to them that they should never use this gesture. Where I come from it's an incredibly rude gesture and it's hard for me not to have a visceral reaction even when Thais use their middle fingers to point, which is quite common,

 

But getting back to the main topic, I certainly would never use อย่าเสือก down here in South, except maybe in jest with a close friend of family member.  I think อย่ายุ่ง is more of the type of reply the poster is seeking out...

 

I am not a fan of ไม่ใช่ธุระของคุณ

[wprime]

อย่ามายุ่ง

Ya ma yoong

 

It means don't interfere but it's used in a very similar way to mind your own business.

[tgeezer]

We are back where we started, are we looking for English or Thai? Until we have the experience to know what Thais say in any particualr situation we are forced to rely on English for our deepest and most meaningful dialogue with Thais. The paradox is that what is meaningful to us is likely to be meaningless to Thais.
Briggsy's อย่ายุ่งซี่ is good enough for me because I have experienced it.


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