P i c k u p T h a i

In Thai, we use the structure “ยิ่ง….(ก็)ยิ่ง..” [yîng.. (gâw) yîng..] for the English expression “the more.., the more..”. For example, ยิ่งเร็วยิ่งดี [yîng rew yîng dii] “The faster, the better”. “ยิ่งรู้จักก็ยิ่งชอบ” [yîng rúujàk gâw yîng châwp] “The more I know him, the more I like him”. “ยิ่งเขาอยากรู้ ฉันยิ่งไม่อยากบอก” [yîng káo yàak rúu chán yîng mâi yàak bàwk] “The more he wants to know, the more I don’t want to tell”.…

For “I’ve heard..”, in Thai, we say “ได้ยิน(มา)ว่า” [dâi yin (maa) wâa]. For example, “ผมได้ยินมาว่าแถวนี้มีร้านขนมปังอร่อย” [pǒm dâai yin maa wâa tǎew níi mii ráan kanǒmpang aròi] “I’ve heard that there’s a good bakery shop around here”. “ฉันได้ยินมาว่าเธอจะย้ายไปทำงานที่ฝรั่งเศส จริงรึเปล่า” [chán dâi yin maa wâa ter jà yáai pai tam ngaan tîi fáràngsèet jing réu plào] “I heard that you got a job transfer to France, is that true?”.…

For the structure of “A looks like B”, in Thai, we say “A ดูเหมือน [duu meǔan] B” e.g. เขาดูเหมือนมหาเศรษฐี [káo duu meǔan ma-hǎa-sèet-tǐi] “He looks like a millionaire”. For “X looks adj.”, we say “X ดูเหมือน [duu meǔan] adj.”, for example, “ภาษาไทยดูเหมือนยาก แต่จริงๆแล้วไม่ยาก” [paasǎa Thai duu meǔan yâak tàe jing jing léaw mâi yâak] “Thai looks difficult but in reality, it is not”.…

When you want someone to give you some examples of what he is talking about, in English you would go “like what?” or “for example?”, in Thai, we would say “อย่างเช่น [yàng chên] + question word + (บ้าง [bâang]) or you can simply say only “อย่างเช่น” [yàng chên] “like..?”, which sounds more informal.…

For “even so”, we say “ถึง(จะ)อย่างนั้น” [těung (jà) yàng nán]. And you can add “ก็ตาม” [gâw taam], which is formal, or “ก็เถอะ” [gâw tèr], which is informal, after that. EX: “ถึง(จะ)อย่างนั้น(ก็ตาม) ดิฉันก็ยังเห็นว่าเราไม่ควรอนุมัติโครงการนี้” [těung (jà) yàng nán (gâw taam), dichán gâw yang hěn wâa rao mâi kuan ànúmát krong-gaan níi] “Even so, I still think we shouldn’t approve this project”.…

After you’ve just learned that something you had suspected turned out to be true, you can respond by saying “รู้(อยู่)แล้วว่าต้อง . .” [rúu (yùu) léaw wâa tông..] or, with a lower degree of certainty, “ว่าแล้วเชียวว่าต้อง . .” [wâa léaw chiao wâa tông..]. For examples, “ผมรู้แล้วว่าคุณต้องทำได้” [phŏm rúu léaw wâa khun tông tam dâai], “I knew you must be able to do this!…

When you want to say you’re not in the mood to do something, you could say “ไม่ได้อยู่ในอารมณ์ที่จะ” [mâi dâai yùu nai aarom tîi jà], followed by the action you’re not in the mood to do, for example, “ฉันไม่ได้อยู่ในอารมณ์ที่จะคุยกับใคร” [chán mâi dâai yùu nai aarom tîi jà kui gáp khrai] I’m not in the mood to talk to anyone.…

There are various Thai expressions that are equivalent to the English expression ” . . in vain” or ” . . for nothing”. It depends on the usage and the context. One expression is “เปล่าประโยชน์” [plào prá yòde], for example, อย่าใช้เวลาโดยเปล่าประโยชน์ [yàa chái welaa dooi plào prá yòde] “Don’t waste your time in vain”.…

The first time, in Thai, is “ครั้งแรก” [kráng râek]. When you want to say you do something for the first time, in Thai we use the expression “…(เป็น)ครั้งแรก” […(pen) kráng râek]. For example, “ฉันเพิ่งมาที่นี่เป็นครั้งแรก” [chán peûng maa tîi nîi pen kráng râek.] “I just came here for the first time”. You can also say something like “นี่เป็นครั้งแรกที่ฉันมาที่นี่” [nîi pen kráng râek tîi chán maa tîi nîi.]…

To say “I can’t wait to do something.”, in Thai, we use the expression “แทบจะรอ..ไม่ไหว” [tâb jà ror .. mâi wăi] and you might also add “แล้ว” (léaw) or “อยู่แล้ว” (yùu léaw) at the end to emphasize the impatience e.g. I can’t wait to see you ผมแทบจะรอพบคุณไม่ไหวอยู่แล้ว [phŏm tâb jà ror phóp khun mâi wăi yùu léaw] but if you want to say something like “I can’t wait until tomorrow” or some other time-related nouns like Sunday or next week, then you would need to say “แทบจะรอให้ถึง..ไม่ไหว”…

When you want to explain that something is not like how somebody thinks or correct somebody’s misunderstanding, in English you would say “it’s not that….” In Thai, to express the same idea, we use the expression “ไม่ใช่ว่า” [mâi châi wâa] e.g. ไม่ใช่ว่าฉันไม่อยากทำ ฉันแค่ยังไม่พร้อม [mâi châi wâa chán mâi yàak tam, chán kâe yang mâi próm] “It’s not that I don’t want to do it, I’m just not ready for it yet”.…

When you want to say that’s why something is the way it is or that’s why something happened, in Thai you use the expression “ถึงได้” [teŭng dâi]. For example, “รู้อยู่แล้วว่าเธอต้องเสียใจเราถึงได้ไม่อยากบอก” [rúu yùu léaw wâa ter tông siă jai, rao teŭng dâi mâi yàak bòrk.] “I knew you would get sad, that’s why I didn’t want to tell you”.…

For “to depend on something (n.) or someone (pron.)”, we say “ขึ้นอยู่กับ” [keûn yùu kàp] in Thai. For example, “ทุกอย่างขึ้นอยู่กับการตัดสินใจของเธอ” [túk yàang keûn yùu kàp kaan tàt sĭn jai kŏng ter] Everything depends on your decision. When it’s not just a noun or a pronoun, we use “ขึ้นอยู่กับว่า” [keûn yùu kàp wâa] e.g.…

When you want to express that you don’t care about something, you can say “ฉันไม่สน” [chán mâi sŏn] or “ฉันไม่แคร์” [chán mâi kae] which means “I don’t care”. You can also say “ช่างมัน” [chàng man] or “ช่างหัวมัน” [chàng hŭa man] which mean “whatever”, “let it be”. Literal meaning: ignore it, leave it.…