Word of the Day for Tuesday, March 3, 2009:
พก /ˈpʰók/ v. to carry on one's person.
A handy verb for cell phones and the like. If you forgot your phone, you might say ลืมพก(มือถือ)มา /lʉʉm pʰók (mʉʉ tʰʉ̌ʉ) maa/.
Or if you want to remind a friend not to forget to keep their cell phone on them because of some important call, try อย่าลืมพกมือถือนะ /yàa lʉʉm pʰók mʉʉ tʰʉ̌ʉ ná/
This is less likely to come up in daily life, but it's also used with weapons, e.g. พกปืน /pʰók pʉʉn/ "carry a gun (on your person)". (In fact, a pistol or handgun is called ปืนพก /pʉʉn pʰók/.)
Bonus vocab: The alliterative double พกพา /pʰók pʰaa/ means the same thing, but it's also used as an adjective meaning "portable" or "pocket" as in พจนานุกรมฉบับพกพา ("pocket dictionary").
I can't think of many times when I've heard this, but you read it fairly often. Signs reminding you to have your license and insurance card on you use it.
ReplyDeleteI prefer this longer explanation of the word over the 140 character posting on Twitter. Don't have to be daily, but even at first look simple words often have a lot to tell about. Maybe these posting will help me to better memorize the vocabulary, as I always ลืมคำ...
ReplyDeleteAnd let us not forget the ลูกทุ่ง classic which features this term, "พกเมียมาด้วย":
ReplyDeletehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SwmOC-KdABE
What about a pig in a poke? My wife says she's never heard anyone say ซื้อหมูในพก but she says she understands it to mean อวดตัวว่าฉลาด And she says ใส่หมูในพก is equivalent to ช้างตายทั้งตัว เอาใบบัวมาปิด
ReplyDeleteShe just added that "don't buy a pig in a poke" is equivalent to มีตาหามีแวว
ReplyDeleteสมุดพก literally "notebook carry" has at least two senses
ReplyDelete1) notepad
2) school report (teacher will give this to children, and children needs to show it their parents)
if you say it only 'สมุดพก' without any additional context, it's more likely to be understood as the second sense.
notebook computer is also called คอมพิวเตอร์สมุดพก (computer notepad)
i remember this word as part of some thai tongue-twister about the soldier who carried his gun and plastered his wall. i've forgotten the thai for it, but i definitely remember the พกปืน part. have you heard this one?
ReplyDeleteI think this is the one you're talking about. It has ถือปืน, not พกปืน, but it's entirely possible there are different versions:
ReplyDeleteทหารถือปืนแบกปูนไปโบกตึก
"A soldier carrying a gun took a bag of cement to spread on a building."
A soldier's gun will typically be a rifle, though, so not the type you พก, hence ถือ.
yeah, that's exactly it.
ReplyDeletei kinda wish it was พกปืน though; it sounds even more twister-y that way.