Did you know?
Thai people refer to steamed rice as “ข้าวสวย” [kâao sǔai] (literal meaing: beautiful rice), uncooked rice as “ข้าวสาร” [kâao sǎan] and soft-boiled rice as “ข้าวต้ม” [kâao tôm].
And yes, that’s right. The meaning of ถนนข้าวสาร [tanǒne kâao sǎan] in Bangkok is “the uncooked rice street.”…
Continue reading “ข้าวสาร” [kâao sǎan]
เวลากดเงินนี่อย่ามายืนใกล้ๆได้ป่ะ
[welaa gòt ngern nîi yàa maa yeun glâi glâi dâai pà]
Can you not stay too close to me when I’m withdrawing cash from the ATM?
ไม่ได้กลัวจะรู้รหัสอะไรนะ
[mâi dâai glua ja rúu rahàt arai ná]
It’s not that I’m afraid that you would see my passcode or anything.
แต่กูอายยอดเงินคงเหลือ
[tàe guu aai yâwd ngern kong lěua]
It’s just that I feel embarrassed of my balance.…
When you want someone to stop talking, there are many ways to express that wish. One way is to say “หุบปาก [hùp pàak]” which literally means “Shut your mouth!”. You can also use “หุบปากไปเลย” [hùp pàak pai loei]” meaning “Just shut up!”. However, it’s a very rude and aggressive way to tell someone to be quiet.…
Continue reading “Shut up”One common mistake you should stop making now is to add “คุณ [khun]” in front of your own name. Yes, we, Thai people, do use our own name to refer to ourselves. But we only use the term “คุณ [khun]” in front of someone else’s name, to express respect for that person.…
Continue reading Don’t refer to yourself as “คุณ [khun] + name”
คืนใดมืดที่สุด จะเห็นดาวชัดที่สุด
[keun dai mêud tîi sùd jà hěn daao chát tîi sùd]
On the night when the sky is the darkest,
you will see the stars the clearest.
วันใดทุกข์ที่สุด จะเห็นใครรักเราที่สุด
[wan dai túk tîi sùd jà hěn krai rák rao tîi sùd]
On the day that you feel the saddest,
you will see who loves you the most.…
เห็น [hěn]: to see
ภาพ [phâap]: picture
The expression “เห็นภาพ” [hěn phâap] meaning “I see the picture!” can be used in both literal and figurative senses.
Examples
A: ดูรูปนี้แล้วเห็นภาพอะไรบ้าง
[duu phâap níi léaw hěn phâap arai bâang?]
A: What do you see in this picture?
B: หมากับแมว
[maa gàp maew]
B: I see a dog and a cat.…
Did you know?
“ของกิน” [kǎwng gin] is an informal and colloquial term for “อาหาร” [aahǎan], which means “Food.” “ของ” [kǎwng] means “thing” and “กิน” [gin] means “to eat,” so the literal meaning is “thing to eat.”
However, you cannot always replace “อาหาร” [aahǎan] with “ของกิน” [kǎwng gin], especially in compound nouns like “อาหารไทย” [aahǎan Thai] “Thai food” or “อาหารกลางวัน” [aahǎan glaangwan] “Lunch.”…
Continue reading “ของกิน” [kǎwng gin]A lot of Thai learners use the word “ถาม [tǎam]” when what they want to say is actually ขอ [kǎw]. And many of them also use ขอ [kǎw] when they’re supposed to use ขอให้ [kǎw hâi]. Are you one of those people who make this common mistake? Learn the difference and use each word correctly from now on.…
Continue reading ถาม [tǎam] VS. ขอ [kǎw]
เราเปลี่ยนนิสัยผัวไม่ได้
[rao plìan nísǎi pǔa mâi dâai]
We can’t change our husband’s behavior.
แต่เราเปลี่ยนผัวใหม่ได้
[tàe rao plìan pǔa mài dâai]
But we can have a new husband.
“ผัว [pǔa]” is a colloquial and informal term for “husband.” The word has a somewhat negative connotation and it’s usually regarded as impolite. It’s acceptable to refer one’s husband as “ผัว [pǔa]” even though it doesn’t sound polite, if you’re talking to a friend.…
Continue reading Changing a Husband
คนเราไม่ได้เกิดมาเพื่อหาความหมายของชีวิต
[kon rao mâi dâai gèrd maa pêua hǎa kwaam mǎai kǎwng chiiwít]
We were not born to find the meaning of life.
แต่เกิดมาเพื่อทำให้ชีวิตมีความหมายต่างหาก
[tàe gèrd maa pêua tam hâi chiiwít mii kwaam mǎai tàang hàak]
But we were born to add meaning to our lives.…
ประเภทของงาน
[pràphêet kǎwng ngaan]
Types of Work
– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –
ทำงานประจำ [tamngaan prajam]
: to do a full-time job/ to be a full-time worker.
ทำงานพิเศษ [tamngaan písêet]
: to do a part-time job/ to be a part-time worker.…
Classifier + นึง [neung] = หนึ่ง [nèung] + Classifier
คนนึง [kon neung] = หนึ่งคน [nèung kon] = One person
ห้องนึง [hâwng neung] = หนึ่งห้อง [nèung hâwng] = One room
บาทนึง [bàat neung] = หนึ่งบาท [nèung bàat] = One baht
จานนึง [jaan neung] = หนึ่งจาน [nèung jaan] = One dish
In spoken Thai, when the classifier comes first, the word “หนึ่ง [nèung]” will change to “นึง”[neung] (from low tone to mid tone).…
Continue reading นึง [neung] VS หนึ่ง [nèung]In Thai, we say “เท่าที่รู้ [tâo tîi rúu]” for “as far as I know” or “for what I know.” We usually put the pronoun before the verb “รู้” [rúu]. For example, “เท่าที่ผมรู้ [tâo tîi phǒm rúu]” or “เท่าที่ฉันรู้ [tâo tîi chán rúu].” Sometimes, we also say “เท่าที่รู้มา [tâo tîi rúu maa]” with the word “มา [maa]” implying the time from the past to the present (similar to the present perfect tense in English).…
Continue reading “As far as I know”
สมุด [samùt] = notebook
หนังสือ [nǎng sěu] = book
ห้องสมุด [hâwng samùt] = library
ร้านหนังสือ [ráan nǎng sěu] = bookstore…
