Word of the Day for Thursday, April 23, 2009:
ค่อนข้าง /khɔ̂n 'khâaŋ/ rather, relatively, fairly
This phrase can be used both positively and negatively, e.g. ค่อนข้างดี "rather good" vs. ค่อนข้างแย่ "rather terrible." It lightens the weight of your statement in either direction.
In some cases it's comparable to the suffix -ish, as in ค่อนข้างเปรี้ยว "sourish". However, keep in mind that in English, -ish is often used to damn with faint praise, which doesn't really match the Thai meaning of ค่อนข้าง. So in English I might say "yeah, the movie was funny-ish," which is an idiomatic way of saying it wasn't very funny at all. On the flipside, ค่อนข้างตลก would be understood as funny but not hysterical, which closer matches the sentiment of English "pretty funny" or "fairly funny."
You can use it with pretty much anything that acts like an adjective. ค่อนข้างสูง "rather tall", ค่อนข้างอ้วน "rather fat", ค่อนข้างหิว "rather hungry". Even ค่อนข้างแดง "rather red", if, say, you went to the beach and asked a friend to describe how your back after a nap on your stomach.
Showing posts with label Word of the Day. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Word of the Day. Show all posts
April 23, 2009
April 13, 2009
Word of the Day: สถานการณ์ฉุกเฉิน /sa'tʰǎa.ná'kaan chùk 'chə̌ən/
Word of the Day for Saturday, April 11, 2009:
สถานการณ์ฉุกเฉิน /sa'tʰǎa.ná'kaan chùk 'chə̌ən/ n. state of emergency (by formal declaration)
Yesterday marked a record for Thailand: the first time in Thai history that a etate of emergency was declared on two consecutive days. Through a little research, though, I learned that Thailand has been in a formal state of emergency in at least one province since 1958.
The recent culprit is the South Thailand insurgency, where the situation was downgraded in 2005 from martial law to state of emergency in 2005, and the SOE has been extended without faily every three months since then. We're up for another extension of the Southern SOE next week.
The important elements here are สถานการณ์ "situation" and ฉุกเฉิน "emergency". Alternately, ภาวะฉุกเฉิน is used with the same meaning, but is not the official term. Occasionally สภาวะฉุกเฉิน will turn up, too. Both of these literally mean "state of emergency".
Bonus vocab:
สถานการณ์ฉุกเฉิน /sa'tʰǎa.ná'kaan chùk 'chə̌ən/ n. state of emergency (by formal declaration)Yesterday marked a record for Thailand: the first time in Thai history that a etate of emergency was declared on two consecutive days. Through a little research, though, I learned that Thailand has been in a formal state of emergency in at least one province since 1958.
The recent culprit is the South Thailand insurgency, where the situation was downgraded in 2005 from martial law to state of emergency in 2005, and the SOE has been extended without faily every three months since then. We're up for another extension of the Southern SOE next week.
The important elements here are สถานการณ์ "situation" and ฉุกเฉิน "emergency". Alternately, ภาวะฉุกเฉิน is used with the same meaning, but is not the official term. Occasionally สภาวะฉุกเฉิน will turn up, too. Both of these literally mean "state of emergency".
Bonus vocab:
- เหตุฉุกเฉิน "emergency" (literally, "emergent event")
- ประตูฉุกเฉิน "emergency exit" (lit. "emergency door")
- สัญญาณฉุกเฉิน "emergency alarm"
- ห้องฉุกเฉิน "emergency room; ER"
- เบรกฉุกเฉิน "emergency brake; e-brake" (more commonly, เบรกมือ "hand brake")
- ในกรณีฉุกเฉิน "in case of emergency..."
April 7, 2009
Word of the Day: เลิกจ้าง /'lə̂ək 'jâaŋ/
Word of the Day for Tuesday, April 7, 2009:
เลิกจ้าง /'lə̂ək 'jâaŋ/ v. to lay off, dismiss (from one's employ)
This is a phrase that is becoming more and more prominent these days. If someone (or some group, as is sadly common) was laid off, you would say they ถูกเลิกจ้าง -- ถูก makes the phrase passive.
You can find numerous examples of เลิกจ้าง in an article from today's Matichon, for example. It reports that unemployed workers will begin demonstrating at Victory Monument today from 9:00am, in protest of recent mass layoffs. According to the report, 23,712 Thai factory workers have lost their jobs in the first quarter of 2009, and a further 2 million are expected to be laid off before the year is out.
The phrase เลิกจ้าง is used in contrast with ไล่ออก(จากงาน) "to fire, terminate" or ถูกไล่ออก(จากงาน) "to be fired, get fired", literally to be "chased out", which similarly to English typically means that the worker has done something to cause themselves to be fired, whether through misconduct, laziness, or otherwise. And both are different from ลาออก(จากงาน) "to quit, to resign", which means of course that the employee leaves of his own volition.
Note that without ออก, however, ลา also means to take temporary work leave: ลาป่วย "take sick leave", ลาคลอด "take maternity leave", ลาหยุด "take time off, take a leave of absence", and even ลาบวช "take ordination leave". Thai employers typically allow workers time off if they ordain to the priesthood.
เลิกจ้าง /'lə̂ək 'jâaŋ/ v. to lay off, dismiss (from one's employ)
This is a phrase that is becoming more and more prominent these days. If someone (or some group, as is sadly common) was laid off, you would say they ถูกเลิกจ้าง -- ถูก makes the phrase passive.
You can find numerous examples of เลิกจ้าง in an article from today's Matichon, for example. It reports that unemployed workers will begin demonstrating at Victory Monument today from 9:00am, in protest of recent mass layoffs. According to the report, 23,712 Thai factory workers have lost their jobs in the first quarter of 2009, and a further 2 million are expected to be laid off before the year is out.
The phrase เลิกจ้าง is used in contrast with ไล่ออก(จากงาน) "to fire, terminate" or ถูกไล่ออก(จากงาน) "to be fired, get fired", literally to be "chased out", which similarly to English typically means that the worker has done something to cause themselves to be fired, whether through misconduct, laziness, or otherwise. And both are different from ลาออก(จากงาน) "to quit, to resign", which means of course that the employee leaves of his own volition.
Note that without ออก, however, ลา also means to take temporary work leave: ลาป่วย "take sick leave", ลาคลอด "take maternity leave", ลาหยุด "take time off, take a leave of absence", and even ลาบวช "take ordination leave". Thai employers typically allow workers time off if they ordain to the priesthood.
April 3, 2009
Word of the Day: ถ่วง /'thùaŋ/
Word of the Day for Friday, April 3, 2009:
ถ่วง /'thùaŋ/ v. to weigh down, to be weighted down; to cause to sink; to slow down
From today's Matichon comes this example of ถ่วง:
การเมืองถ่วงไทยฟื้นช้า
(word-by-word breakdown)
Taken literally, this means:
"Politics weigh Thailand down, (causing it to) recover slowly"
An idiomatic English headline (with a bit more context) might read:
"Political turmoil slows Thailand's economic recovery"
Bonus vocab:
ถ่วงเวลา "stall for time".
ถ่วงเรื่อง "to stall a matter, put a matter on hold".
ความโน้มถ่วง "gravity" (also แรงโน้มถ่วง "gravitational force").
ศูนย์ถ่วง "center of gravity".
ถ่วง /'thùaŋ/ v. to weigh down, to be weighted down; to cause to sink; to slow down
From today's Matichon comes this example of ถ่วง:
การเมืองถ่วงไทยฟื้นช้า
(word-by-word breakdown)
Taken literally, this means:
"Politics weigh Thailand down, (causing it to) recover slowly"
An idiomatic English headline (with a bit more context) might read:
"Political turmoil slows Thailand's economic recovery"
Bonus vocab:
ถ่วงเวลา "stall for time".
ถ่วงเรื่อง "to stall a matter, put a matter on hold".
ความโน้มถ่วง "gravity" (also แรงโน้มถ่วง "gravitational force").
ศูนย์ถ่วง "center of gravity".
March 31, 2009
Word of the Day: ประมาณ /pra'maan/
Word of the Day for Tuesday, March 31, 2009:
ประมาณ /pra'maan/ quant. approximately, about; v. to approximate, to estimate
I get asked regularly by Thais how long I've been learning Thai. The answer at the moment is ประมาณเจ็ดปี "about seven years". Place ประมาณ before the number. ประมาณห้าสิบคน "about 50 people", ประมาณสองพันบาท "approximately 2000 baht", etc.
Another form is โดยประมาณ, which comes after the number phrase, sort of as a way of hedging what you just said. It's also used to modify noun phrases that don't actually specify a number. For example, ราคาโดยประมาณ "approximate price".
ประมาณ is also used as a verb. If we swap the words in the previous example, we have ประมาณราคา "give an approximate price (for goods or services)".
Bonus vocab: ประมาณ has some phonetically similar cousins that can be easy to confuse. Their pronunciations differ only in the vowel of the second syllable [ประม*น]. They are:
ประเมิน /pra'məən/ v. to evaluate, assess, appraise. Ex: ประเมินผล "evaluate results (e.g. of an exercise); ประเมินราคา "appraise, give a valuation" (note the distinction from ประมาณราคา mentioned above); ประเมินสถานการณ์ "assess the situation".
ประมูล /pra'muun/ v. to bid (e.g. at an auction). Ex: เปิดประมูลราคา "open the bidding"; ผู้ดำเนินการประมูล "auctioneer".
ประมวล /pra'muan/ v. to compile, combine, collect; n. compilation Ex: ประมวลกฏหมาย "code of laws" (literally "law compilation"); ประมวลผล "gather the results (e.g. of an experiment)" (note the distinction from ประเมินผล mentioned above).
ประมาณ /pra'maan/ quant. approximately, about; v. to approximate, to estimate
I get asked regularly by Thais how long I've been learning Thai. The answer at the moment is ประมาณเจ็ดปี "about seven years". Place ประมาณ before the number. ประมาณห้าสิบคน "about 50 people", ประมาณสองพันบาท "approximately 2000 baht", etc.
Another form is โดยประมาณ, which comes after the number phrase, sort of as a way of hedging what you just said. It's also used to modify noun phrases that don't actually specify a number. For example, ราคาโดยประมาณ "approximate price".
ประมาณ is also used as a verb. If we swap the words in the previous example, we have ประมาณราคา "give an approximate price (for goods or services)".
Bonus vocab: ประมาณ has some phonetically similar cousins that can be easy to confuse. Their pronunciations differ only in the vowel of the second syllable [ประม*น]. They are:
ประเมิน /pra'məən/ v. to evaluate, assess, appraise. Ex: ประเมินผล "evaluate results (e.g. of an exercise); ประเมินราคา "appraise, give a valuation" (note the distinction from ประมาณราคา mentioned above); ประเมินสถานการณ์ "assess the situation".
ประมูล /pra'muun/ v. to bid (e.g. at an auction). Ex: เปิดประมูลราคา "open the bidding"; ผู้ดำเนินการประมูล "auctioneer".
ประมวล /pra'muan/ v. to compile, combine, collect; n. compilation Ex: ประมวลกฏหมาย "code of laws" (literally "law compilation"); ประมวลผล "gather the results (e.g. of an experiment)" (note the distinction from ประเมินผล mentioned above).
March 27, 2009
Word of the Day: วงดนตรี /'woŋ don'trii/
Word of the Day for Friday, March 27, 2009:
วงดนตรี /'woŋ don'trii/ n. band, music ensemble
In Thai, a band of musicians is called a "circle" วง /'woŋ/. If the context calls for it, use the full form วงดนตรี. With context, วง alone will often suffice.
Bonus vocab:
วงดุริยางค์ /'woŋ du.ri'yaaŋ/ n. orchestra.
แตรวง /trɛɛ 'woŋ/ n. brass band.
วงแตก /'woŋ 'tɛ̀ɛk/ v. (of a band) to break up; the band broke up. By extension, this also refers to other types of group breakups, like a comedy team.
Bonus bonus vocab:
วงไพ่ n. a circle of card players (see also วงเหล้า)
วงการ n. professional or vocational circle, e.g. วงการนักเขียน "writer's circles, literary circles"
ร่วมวง v. join the group, join the party
วงดนตรี /'woŋ don'trii/ n. band, music ensemble
In Thai, a band of musicians is called a "circle" วง /'woŋ/. If the context calls for it, use the full form วงดนตรี. With context, วง alone will often suffice.
Bonus vocab:
วงดุริยางค์ /'woŋ du.ri'yaaŋ/ n. orchestra.
แตรวง /trɛɛ 'woŋ/ n. brass band.
วงแตก /'woŋ 'tɛ̀ɛk/ v. (of a band) to break up; the band broke up. By extension, this also refers to other types of group breakups, like a comedy team.
Bonus bonus vocab:
วงไพ่ n. a circle of card players (see also วงเหล้า)
วงการ n. professional or vocational circle, e.g. วงการนักเขียน "writer's circles, literary circles"
ร่วมวง v. join the group, join the party
March 26, 2009
Word of the Day: อนาคต /a'naa'khót/
Word of the Day for Thursday, March 26, 2009:
อนาคต /a'naa'khót/ n. the future; adj. future, -to-be
As with อดีต "past" and ปัจจุบัน "present", in its noun form, the preposition ใน frequently leads อนาคต as ในอนาคต "in the future". You'll also frequently see แห่งอนาคต "of the future".
The slogan for ex-Bangkok governor Apirak Kosayodhin's 2008 campaign was เลือกอภิรักษ์ เลือกกรุงเทพฯแห่งอนาคต "Vote for Apirak. Vote for Bangkok of the Future." (The accompanying website, futurebangkok.net, is now defunct. Much like Apirak's political career.)
Also notice his clever use of design to emphasize the words รักกรุงเทพ ("love Bangkok") within his slogan. It's very clever.
The adjective form of อนาคต is rare, but used much like อดีต. You'll occasionally see a construction like อนาคตประธานาธิบดี "future president". The noun form is by far the most frequently used, though.
There is also an elegant form of the noun: อนาคตกาล /a'naa.khót.ta 'kaan/ (literally "future time"), the opposite of อดีตกาล /a'dìit.ta 'kaan/ "past time". It doesn't turn up too often, but it's best to know so you don't get thrown for a loop.
[Tip: Paste Thai words or phrases you aren't familiar with into thai2english.com for definitions and romanized spelling.]
อนาคต /a'naa'khót/ n. the future; adj. future, -to-be
As with อดีต "past" and ปัจจุบัน "present", in its noun form, the preposition ใน frequently leads อนาคต as ในอนาคต "in the future". You'll also frequently see แห่งอนาคต "of the future".
The slogan for ex-Bangkok governor Apirak Kosayodhin's 2008 campaign was เลือกอภิรักษ์ เลือกกรุงเทพฯแห่งอนาคต "Vote for Apirak. Vote for Bangkok of the Future." (The accompanying website, futurebangkok.net, is now defunct. Much like Apirak's political career.)
Also notice his clever use of design to emphasize the words รักกรุงเทพ ("love Bangkok") within his slogan. It's very clever.
The adjective form of อนาคต is rare, but used much like อดีต. You'll occasionally see a construction like อนาคตประธานาธิบดี "future president". The noun form is by far the most frequently used, though.
There is also an elegant form of the noun: อนาคตกาล /a'naa.khót.ta 'kaan/ (literally "future time"), the opposite of อดีตกาล /a'dìit.ta 'kaan/ "past time". It doesn't turn up too often, but it's best to know so you don't get thrown for a loop.
[Tip: Paste Thai words or phrases you aren't familiar with into thai2english.com for definitions and romanized spelling.]
March 25, 2009
Word of the Day: ปัจจุบัน /pàt.ju'ban/
Word of the Day for Wednesday, March 25, 2009:
ปัจจุบัน /pàt.ju'ban/ n. the present; adj. present, current
Following up on an earlier WOTD, อดีต /a'dìit/, we now move forward in time.
As a noun, you'll often see ปัจจุบัน paired with ใน as ในปัจจุบัน "in the present", or "nowadays", to differentiate from ในอดีต "in the past".
You may have noticed that the adjective use of อดีต is atypical for Thai, in that it acts like a prefix (as in อดีตประธานาธิบดี "ex-president"). ปัจจุบัน acts more like we would expect. It comes after the noun, and usually the classifier will be present, too, as in ประธานาธิบดี(คน)ปัจจุบัน "the current president".
Bonus vocab: ปัจจุบัน appears in a number of fixed phrases as the antonym of โบราณ instead of อดีต. In this sense it is best interpreted as "modern". In medicine, ยาแผนโบราณ "traditional medicine" (literally "ancient medicine") is contrasted with ยาแผนปัจจุบัน "modern medicine" (literally "present-day medicine"). โบราณ and ปัจจุบัน are also contrasted when paired with สมัย "era", as สมัยโบราณ "olden times" and สมัยปัจจุบัน "modern times".
Tomorrow we proceed to the future...
ปัจจุบัน /pàt.ju'ban/ n. the present; adj. present, current
Following up on an earlier WOTD, อดีต /a'dìit/, we now move forward in time.
As a noun, you'll often see ปัจจุบัน paired with ใน as ในปัจจุบัน "in the present", or "nowadays", to differentiate from ในอดีต "in the past".
You may have noticed that the adjective use of อดีต is atypical for Thai, in that it acts like a prefix (as in อดีตประธานาธิบดี "ex-president"). ปัจจุบัน acts more like we would expect. It comes after the noun, and usually the classifier will be present, too, as in ประธานาธิบดี(คน)ปัจจุบัน "the current president".
Bonus vocab: ปัจจุบัน appears in a number of fixed phrases as the antonym of โบราณ instead of อดีต. In this sense it is best interpreted as "modern". In medicine, ยาแผนโบราณ "traditional medicine" (literally "ancient medicine") is contrasted with ยาแผนปัจจุบัน "modern medicine" (literally "present-day medicine"). โบราณ and ปัจจุบัน are also contrasted when paired with สมัย "era", as สมัยโบราณ "olden times" and สมัยปัจจุบัน "modern times".
Tomorrow we proceed to the future...
March 24, 2009
Word of the Day: มะม่วง /ma'mûaŋ/
Word of the Day for Tuesday, March 24, 2009:
มะม่วง /ma'mûaŋ/ n. mango
I'm doing an experiment today with a word that everyone probably already knows. The idea is to learn something you don't know about a familiar word.
When buying green mangoes (มะม่วงดิบ), a basic distinction to know is between sour and not sour. Sour mangoes are simply มะม่วงเปรี้ยว /ma'mûaŋ 'prîaw/. Those that aren't sour are called มะม่วงมัน /ma'mûaŋ 'man/. These range somewhere between mildly sweet to somewhat bland, depending on variety and age.
There are dozens of species of mango, and hundreds of cultivars. Some common mango varieties you find in Thailand:
มะม่วงน้ำดอกไม้ - Sour when green, commonly eaten ripe. (Literally "flower juice mango")
มะม่วงเขียวเสวย - Commonly eaten unripe. (เขียว is "green", เสวย in this usage perhaps comes from Khmer ស្វាយ /svaay/ "mango", but probably influenced by เสวย, another Khmer word and ราชาศัพท์ for "eat").
See also มะม่วงแรด, มะม่วงอกร่อง, มะม่วงแก้ว, and many, many more.
Bonus: The cashew in Thailand is called มะม่วงหิมพานต์ "Himmaphan mango" (from Himavanta, the name of a forest in Hindu mythology), probably due to the mango-like shape of the cashew nut.
มะม่วง /ma'mûaŋ/ n. mango
I'm doing an experiment today with a word that everyone probably already knows. The idea is to learn something you don't know about a familiar word.
When buying green mangoes (มะม่วงดิบ), a basic distinction to know is between sour and not sour. Sour mangoes are simply มะม่วงเปรี้ยว /ma'mûaŋ 'prîaw/. Those that aren't sour are called มะม่วงมัน /ma'mûaŋ 'man/. These range somewhere between mildly sweet to somewhat bland, depending on variety and age.
There are dozens of species of mango, and hundreds of cultivars. Some common mango varieties you find in Thailand:
มะม่วงน้ำดอกไม้ - Sour when green, commonly eaten ripe. (Literally "flower juice mango")
มะม่วงเขียวเสวย - Commonly eaten unripe. (เขียว is "green", เสวย in this usage perhaps comes from Khmer ស្វាយ /svaay/ "mango", but probably influenced by เสวย, another Khmer word and ราชาศัพท์ for "eat").
See also มะม่วงแรด, มะม่วงอกร่อง, มะม่วงแก้ว, and many, many more.
Bonus: The cashew in Thailand is called มะม่วงหิมพานต์ "Himmaphan mango" (from Himavanta, the name of a forest in Hindu mythology), probably due to the mango-like shape of the cashew nut.
March 23, 2009
Word of the Day: ฉิบหาย /chìp 'hǎay/
Word of the Day for Monday, March 23, 2009
ฉิบหาย /chìp 'hǎay/ v. to perish, be utterly ruined, destroyed; (slang) very, extremely.
In light of the recent parliamentary debate on this word, I think it deserves to be featured. Warning up front: be careful about using this word. If its use in parliament can derail their discussion for more than half an hour, then you know it packs some punch.
The use of ฉิบหาย can be traced to the Sukhothai era. The Wat Sri Chum (วัดศรีชุม) inscription, composed around the 14th century, includes the phrase บใหฉิบบใหหาย, or in modern spelling บ่ให้ฉิบ บ่ให้หาย. ฉิบ and หาย are actually synonyms, meaning to disappear or come to ruin. They appear again in a 1361 inscription in a similar context: บ่ใหเถิงทีฉิบหาย (modern: ให้ถึงที่ฉิบที่หาย).
The meaning I've discussed above is the traditional one. The much more common use these days is as slang. It's used as an intensifier, and generally considered rude.
For example, เบื่อฉิบหาย would mean something like, "I'm really bored." But many people would take it like, "I'm bored out of my f*ing gourd." It can be used to intensify positive things, too, as in เก่งฉิบหาย "really damn clever". But like I said, use with caution.
It's relatively common in Thai movies, and of course on the web. In these contexts, it's often spelled ชิบหาย or ชิปหาย, and pronounced with a high tone on the first syllable: /chíp 'hǎay/. Sometimes you'll also see self-censorship (like the use of asterisks in English): ฉิบห..., or similar.
I believe the stigma attached to the word must be fairly recent, and perhaps caused by the rise in prominence of the slang meaning. Just as กู and มึง were once normal, everyday words, today ฉิบหาย has been stigmatized as rude.
ฉิบหาย /chìp 'hǎay/ v. to perish, be utterly ruined, destroyed; (slang) very, extremely.
In light of the recent parliamentary debate on this word, I think it deserves to be featured. Warning up front: be careful about using this word. If its use in parliament can derail their discussion for more than half an hour, then you know it packs some punch.
The use of ฉิบหาย can be traced to the Sukhothai era. The Wat Sri Chum (วัดศรีชุม) inscription, composed around the 14th century, includes the phrase บใหฉิบบใหหาย, or in modern spelling บ่ให้ฉิบ บ่ให้หาย. ฉิบ and หาย are actually synonyms, meaning to disappear or come to ruin. They appear again in a 1361 inscription in a similar context: บ่ใหเถิงทีฉิบหาย (modern: ให้ถึงที่ฉิบที่หาย).
The meaning I've discussed above is the traditional one. The much more common use these days is as slang. It's used as an intensifier, and generally considered rude.
For example, เบื่อฉิบหาย would mean something like, "I'm really bored." But many people would take it like, "I'm bored out of my f*ing gourd." It can be used to intensify positive things, too, as in เก่งฉิบหาย "really damn clever". But like I said, use with caution.
It's relatively common in Thai movies, and of course on the web. In these contexts, it's often spelled ชิบหาย or ชิปหาย, and pronounced with a high tone on the first syllable: /chíp 'hǎay/. Sometimes you'll also see self-censorship (like the use of asterisks in English): ฉิบห..., or similar.
I believe the stigma attached to the word must be fairly recent, and perhaps caused by the rise in prominence of the slang meaning. Just as กู and มึง were once normal, everyday words, today ฉิบหาย has been stigmatized as rude.
March 20, 2009
Word of the Day: อดีต /a'dìit/
Word of the Day for Friday, March 20, 2009:
อดีต /a'dìit/ n. the past; adj. past, former, ex-
Both the noun and adjective forms of this word are common. As a noun, you might see phrases like:
วันนี้ในอดีต "On this day in history..." (a feature on the Wikipedia home page), literally "today in the past"
ย้อนอดีต "go back in time" (often used figuratively to refer to times or events past)
And as an adjective:
อดีตประธานาธิบดี "ex-president, former president"
อดีตคู่สมรส "ex-spouse, ex-husband/wife"
Less common (but good to know) is the elegant form อดีตกาล /a'dìit.ta 'kaan/, literally "past time".
[For help reading or pronouncing, you can paste full phrases into thai2english.com or thai-language.com.]
อดีต /a'dìit/ n. the past; adj. past, former, ex-
Both the noun and adjective forms of this word are common. As a noun, you might see phrases like:
วันนี้ในอดีต "On this day in history..." (a feature on the Wikipedia home page), literally "today in the past"
ย้อนอดีต "go back in time" (often used figuratively to refer to times or events past)
And as an adjective:
อดีตประธานาธิบดี "ex-president, former president"
อดีตคู่สมรส "ex-spouse, ex-husband/wife"
Less common (but good to know) is the elegant form อดีตกาล /a'dìit.ta 'kaan/, literally "past time".
[For help reading or pronouncing, you can paste full phrases into thai2english.com or thai-language.com.]
March 18, 2009
Word of the Day: ไอติม /ay'tim/
Word of the Day for Wednesday, March 18, 2009:
ไอติม /ay 'tim/ n. ice cream
How about a little slang today. This Thai word is a corruption of "ice cream", of course. It's very common in colloquial speech. There's even an ice cream shop chain called บ้านไอติม /'bâan ay'tim/ ("ice cream house").
For the more proper word, there are actually two competing Thai spellings of "ice cream": ไอศครีม and ไอศกรีม. As a result, there are two competing pronunciations: [ไอสะคฺรีม] [aysa'khri:m] and [ไอสะกฺรีม] [aysa'kri:m]. It's only the difference in aspiration, but I've heard Thais argue about which is right before, so they're aware of the schism. (The official position of the Royal Institute is to use ก, which is phonetically correct, since English /k/ loses aspiration after /s/, as in "sky" or "school".)
Nerdy technical aside: I'm a little fuzzy on the exact phonological process that took us from /skr/ to /t/. My best guess would be that /s/ influences /k/ → /t/, a change in place of articulation but not manner. The /r/ is already dropped from the cluster in natural speech. Then the vowel /i:/ is shortened and the unstressed syllable /sa/ is also elided. Voila. [aysakri:m] → [aysaki:m] → [aysatim] → [aytim]. There is some evidence on the interwebs for the intermediate form ไอศติม [ไอสะติม], so I think my theory is probable.
Now I feel like getting a cone...
ไอติม /ay 'tim/ n. ice cream
How about a little slang today. This Thai word is a corruption of "ice cream", of course. It's very common in colloquial speech. There's even an ice cream shop chain called บ้านไอติม /'bâan ay'tim/ ("ice cream house").
For the more proper word, there are actually two competing Thai spellings of "ice cream": ไอศครีม and ไอศกรีม. As a result, there are two competing pronunciations: [ไอสะคฺรีม] [aysa'khri:m] and [ไอสะกฺรีม] [aysa'kri:m]. It's only the difference in aspiration, but I've heard Thais argue about which is right before, so they're aware of the schism. (The official position of the Royal Institute is to use ก, which is phonetically correct, since English /k/ loses aspiration after /s/, as in "sky" or "school".)
Nerdy technical aside: I'm a little fuzzy on the exact phonological process that took us from /skr/ to /t/. My best guess would be that /s/ influences /k/ → /t/, a change in place of articulation but not manner. The /r/ is already dropped from the cluster in natural speech. Then the vowel /i:/ is shortened and the unstressed syllable /sa/ is also elided. Voila. [aysakri:m] → [aysaki:m] → [aysatim] → [aytim]. There is some evidence on the interwebs for the intermediate form ไอศติม [ไอสะติม], so I think my theory is probable.
Now I feel like getting a cone...
March 17, 2009
Word of the Day: ประชาธิปไตย /praˈchaa thíp.paˈtay/
Word of the Day for Tuesday, March 17, 2009:
ประชาธิปไตย /praˈchaa thíp.paˈtay/ n. democracy
These days, you can't learn Thai and not know this word. The Thai public discourse is downright silly with mentions of it.
As a political buzzword du jour, it gets used and abused. The People's Alliance for Democracy (พันธมิตรประชาชนเพื่อประชาธิปไตย, or พันธมิตร /phan.tha ˈmít/ for short) continues to play tag-team demonstrations with the National United Front of Democracy Against Dictatorship (แนวร่วมประชาธิปไตยต่อต้านเผด็จการแห่งชาติ, or นปช. /nɔɔ pɔɔ chɔɔ/ for short). Everyone is for democracy, and yet it's right at the heart of the struggle.
Thailand's Democrat Party uses a different derivation of the same word: พรรคประชาธิปัตย์ /ˈphák praˈchaa thí ˈpàt/.
You'll often see it with the word ระบอบ /raˈbɔ̀ɔp/ in front, too. ระบอบ means "system," but specifically a system of government. So ระบอบประชาธิปไตย is really just another way of saying "democracy", or more literally "the democratic system (of government)"
Bonus vocab: Other political ideologies include ทุนนิยม /tʰun ní yom/ "capitalism", เทวาธิปไตย /tʰeeˈwaa thíp.paˈtay/ "theocracy", and ธนาธิปไตย /tʰa.naa thíp.paˈtay/ "plutocracy". The Thai Wikipedia infobox about types of government even includes ยนตราธิปไตย /yon.traa thíp.paˈtay/, which I can only imagine must be "robotocracy". Sounds less than awesome, though some would say inevitable.
ประชาธิปไตย /praˈchaa thíp.paˈtay/ n. democracy
These days, you can't learn Thai and not know this word. The Thai public discourse is downright silly with mentions of it.
As a political buzzword du jour, it gets used and abused. The People's Alliance for Democracy (พันธมิตรประชาชนเพื่อประชาธิปไตย, or พันธมิตร /phan.tha ˈmít/ for short) continues to play tag-team demonstrations with the National United Front of Democracy Against Dictatorship (แนวร่วมประชาธิปไตยต่อต้านเผด็จการแห่งชาติ, or นปช. /nɔɔ pɔɔ chɔɔ/ for short). Everyone is for democracy, and yet it's right at the heart of the struggle.
Thailand's Democrat Party uses a different derivation of the same word: พรรคประชาธิปัตย์ /ˈphák praˈchaa thí ˈpàt/.
You'll often see it with the word ระบอบ /raˈbɔ̀ɔp/ in front, too. ระบอบ means "system," but specifically a system of government. So ระบอบประชาธิปไตย is really just another way of saying "democracy", or more literally "the democratic system (of government)"
Bonus vocab: Other political ideologies include ทุนนิยม /tʰun ní yom/ "capitalism", เทวาธิปไตย /tʰeeˈwaa thíp.paˈtay/ "theocracy", and ธนาธิปไตย /tʰa.naa thíp.paˈtay/ "plutocracy". The Thai Wikipedia infobox about types of government even includes ยนตราธิปไตย /yon.traa thíp.paˈtay/, which I can only imagine must be "robotocracy". Sounds less than awesome, though some would say inevitable.
March 12, 2009
Word of the Day: คุณภาพ /khun.na ˈphâap/
Word of the Day for Thursday, March 12, 2009:
คุณภาพ /khun.na ˈphâap/ n. quality; adj. quality
Officially, this word is a noun, similar to -ภาพ words like สุขภาพ /sùk.kʰa ˈpʰâap/ "health" and มิตรภาพ /mít.tra ˈpʰâap/ "friendship". Mary Haas' dictionary and the Royal Institute Dictionary only list noun senses.
It clearly has an adjective sense, though. Have a look at the slogan of Matichon (มติชน) newspaper, as seen in the title bar of their website:
หนังสือพิมพ์คุณภาพ เพื่อคุณภาพของประเทศ
/naŋ.sʉ̌ʉ ˈpʰim khun.naˈphâap ˈpʰʉ̂a khun.naˈphâap kʰɔ̌ɔŋ praˈtʰêet/
"A quality newspaper, for the quality of the country."
คุณภาพ /khun.na ˈphâap/ n. quality; adj. quality
Officially, this word is a noun, similar to -ภาพ words like สุขภาพ /sùk.kʰa ˈpʰâap/ "health" and มิตรภาพ /mít.tra ˈpʰâap/ "friendship". Mary Haas' dictionary and the Royal Institute Dictionary only list noun senses.
It clearly has an adjective sense, though. Have a look at the slogan of Matichon (มติชน) newspaper, as seen in the title bar of their website:
หนังสือพิมพ์คุณภาพ เพื่อคุณภาพของประเทศ
/naŋ.sʉ̌ʉ ˈpʰim khun.naˈphâap ˈpʰʉ̂a khun.naˈphâap kʰɔ̌ɔŋ praˈtʰêet/
"A quality newspaper, for the quality of the country."
March 11, 2009
Word of the Day: ถีบ /ˈthìip/
Word of the Day for Wednesday, March 11, 2009:
ถีบ /ˈthìip/ v. to kick, give a forceful shove with the foot.
This word can be impolite, if you use it to describe things you will do to someone's face. But it has its legitimate uses. ถีบ is often used with bicycles in the sense "pedal": ถีบจักรยาน /ˈthìip jàk.kraˈyaan/. Note that ปั่น /ˈpàn/ ("spin") is also common: ปั่นจักรยาน /ˈpàn jàk.kraˈyaan/. (Lao has a word for bicycle ລົດຖີບ /lot tʰȉip/, equivalent to Thai รถถีบ /rót ˈthìip/, since Thais sometimes use it, too.)
หนูถีบจักร /ˈnǔu ˈthìip ˈjàk/ (literally, "rodent that runs in a wheel") is an informal name for either a mouse or a hamster, depending on who you ask.
Homework: If you want to read an amusing story that uses the word ถีบ, have a crack at this thread on Pantip.com. The title: โดนช้างถีบมาค่ะ!! ("I was kicked by an elephant!!") It's a tad saucy, but fun. Extra credit if you get the "airbag" joke. :P
P.S. I'm leaving tomorrow for a conference in Kuala Lumpur for a few days. I'm going to try to schedule WotD to automatically post on each day I'm gone (as I likely won't have time to manually post while in Malaysia).
P.P.S. Thanks for all the positive feedback on Word of the Day. The best part (for me) is that it keeps me updating the blog on a regular basis.
ถีบ /ˈthìip/ v. to kick, give a forceful shove with the foot.
This word can be impolite, if you use it to describe things you will do to someone's face. But it has its legitimate uses. ถีบ is often used with bicycles in the sense "pedal": ถีบจักรยาน /ˈthìip jàk.kraˈyaan/. Note that ปั่น /ˈpàn/ ("spin") is also common: ปั่นจักรยาน /ˈpàn jàk.kraˈyaan/. (Lao has a word for bicycle ລົດຖີບ /lot tʰȉip/, equivalent to Thai รถถีบ /rót ˈthìip/, since Thais sometimes use it, too.)
หนูถีบจักร /ˈnǔu ˈthìip ˈjàk/ (literally, "rodent that runs in a wheel") is an informal name for either a mouse or a hamster, depending on who you ask.
Homework: If you want to read an amusing story that uses the word ถีบ, have a crack at this thread on Pantip.com. The title: โดนช้างถีบมาค่ะ!! ("I was kicked by an elephant!!") It's a tad saucy, but fun. Extra credit if you get the "airbag" joke. :P
P.S. I'm leaving tomorrow for a conference in Kuala Lumpur for a few days. I'm going to try to schedule WotD to automatically post on each day I'm gone (as I likely won't have time to manually post while in Malaysia).
P.P.S. Thanks for all the positive feedback on Word of the Day. The best part (for me) is that it keeps me updating the blog on a regular basis.
March 10, 2009
Word of the Day: ภัตตาคาร /phát.taaˈkhaan/
Word of the Day for Tuesday, March 10, 2009:
ภัตตาคาร /phát.taaˈkhaan/ n. restaurant.
Yep, today's word is just a fancy word for a fancy restaurant. At the very least, if you don't accept credit cards, I don't think you get to be called a ภัตตาคาร. :P
The word ภัตตาคาร is a compound from Pali, combining ภัต /phát/ "food" + อาคาร /aaˈkhaan/ "building".
Bonus vocab: Thais distinguish between a few types of eating establishments:
There are legal definitions for some of these terms as determined by the Ministry of Public Health (กระทรวงสาธารณสุข), but you'll often see restaurants self-identify as one or the other on their signs.
ภัตตาคาร /phát.taaˈkhaan/ n. restaurant.
Yep, today's word is just a fancy word for a fancy restaurant. At the very least, if you don't accept credit cards, I don't think you get to be called a ภัตตาคาร. :P
The word ภัตตาคาร is a compound from Pali, combining ภัต /phát/ "food" + อาคาร /aaˈkhaan/ "building".
Bonus vocab: Thais distinguish between a few types of eating establishments:
- สวนอาหาร /ˈsǔan aaˈhǎan/ (literally "food garden") is an outdoor restaurant.
- ห้องอาหาร /ˈhɔ̂ŋ aaˈhǎan/ (literally "food room") is a restaurant within a larger building, such as a hotel.
- ร้านอาหาร /ˈráan aaˈhǎan/ (literally "food shop") is everything else. It's the basic general term, though, so it tends to encompass everything.
- ศูนย์อาหาร /ˈsǔun aaˈhǎan/ (literally "food center") is a food court, like at Tesco Lotus or a mall, with lots of little shops for the choosing.
- แคนทีน /kʰɛnˈthiin/ (from UK English "canteen") is a cafeteria, like in a school or office building. Unless you're British, in which case it's a canteen. Formally, this would be a โรงอาหาร /rooŋ aaˈhǎan/.
There are legal definitions for some of these terms as determined by the Ministry of Public Health (กระทรวงสาธารณสุข), but you'll often see restaurants self-identify as one or the other on their signs.
March 9, 2009
Word of the Day: เสมอภาค /saˈmə̌ə ˈphâak/
Word of the Day for Monday, March 9, 2009:
เสมอภาค /saˈmə̌ə ˈphâak/ v. to be equal (in a legal sense)
Commonly used in the noun form, ความเสมอภาค /khwaam saˈmə̌ə ˈphâak/ "equality".
Examples from the web:
ความเสมอภาคในสังคมไทย "Equality in Thai society"
เศรษฐกิจอิสรภาพ เศรษฐกิจเสมอภาค "Free economy, equal economy"
โลกนี้ไม่มีความเสมอภาค "There's no equality in the world"
ความเสมอภาคหญิง-ชาย "gender equality" (literally "male-female equality")
เสมอภาค /saˈmə̌ə ˈphâak/ v. to be equal (in a legal sense)
Commonly used in the noun form, ความเสมอภาค /khwaam saˈmə̌ə ˈphâak/ "equality".
Examples from the web:
ความเสมอภาคในสังคมไทย "Equality in Thai society"
เศรษฐกิจอิสรภาพ เศรษฐกิจเสมอภาค "Free economy, equal economy"
โลกนี้ไม่มีความเสมอภาค "There's no equality in the world"
ความเสมอภาคหญิง-ชาย "gender equality" (literally "male-female equality")
March 8, 2009
Word of the Day: ระบุ /raˈbùʔ/
Word of the Day for Sunday, March 8, 2009:
ระบุ /raˈbùʔ/ v. to specify, mention specifically
This is a nice specific word (har har), so you don't have to resort to a more generic verb like บอก. A couple examples:
รายงานระบุว่า
"The report said that..."
พยานหลักฐานระบุว่า
"The evidence specified/showed that..."
The negative form, ไม่ระบุ /ˈmây raˈbùʔ/ is useful to correspond to English "it doesn't say", so often uttered in reference to things that don't actually speak -- like menus, pill bottles, or furniture instructions. How many ounces does the menu say that steak is? ไม่ระบุ ... Does the bottle say this medicine is supposed to be taken with food? ไม่ระบุ ... What's the difference between an A screw and a B screw? ไม่ระบุ
Not to be overused, but another good word to know. Try fitting it into a conversation.
ระบุ /raˈbùʔ/ v. to specify, mention specifically
This is a nice specific word (har har), so you don't have to resort to a more generic verb like บอก. A couple examples:
รายงานระบุว่า
"The report said that..."
พยานหลักฐานระบุว่า
"The evidence specified/showed that..."
The negative form, ไม่ระบุ /ˈmây raˈbùʔ/ is useful to correspond to English "it doesn't say", so often uttered in reference to things that don't actually speak -- like menus, pill bottles, or furniture instructions. How many ounces does the menu say that steak is? ไม่ระบุ ... Does the bottle say this medicine is supposed to be taken with food? ไม่ระบุ ... What's the difference between an A screw and a B screw? ไม่ระบุ
Not to be overused, but another good word to know. Try fitting it into a conversation.
March 7, 2009
Word of the Day: 555 /hâa hâa hâa/
Word of the Day for Saturday, March 7, 2009:
555 /hâa hâa hâa/ LOL; onomatopoeic for the sound of laughter
I'm a smart aleck today with my "word" choice, but this is actually a useful thing to know. It's the Thai equivalent of LOL. Increase the number of digits and you go from LOL to ROFL to ROFLMAO to ROFLCOPTER.
Ubiquitous anywhere informal Thai is written. See Facebook, Hi5, Pantip, and a million more.
If you were to write it using regular Thai script, it would be ฮ่าฮ่าฮ่า.
Bonus vocab: Other ways of "spelling" laughter in Thai include อิอิ, ฮิฮิ, ฮาฮา and so forth. Note that ฮา is also an adjective meaning "funny" (ex: หนังฮาดี "the movie was pretty funny"), and a verb usually used with groups of people meaning "to laugh and have fun" (ex: ฮากันใหญ่ "everyone was laughing").
555 /hâa hâa hâa/ LOL; onomatopoeic for the sound of laughter
I'm a smart aleck today with my "word" choice, but this is actually a useful thing to know. It's the Thai equivalent of LOL. Increase the number of digits and you go from LOL to ROFL to ROFLMAO to ROFLCOPTER.
Ubiquitous anywhere informal Thai is written. See Facebook, Hi5, Pantip, and a million more.
If you were to write it using regular Thai script, it would be ฮ่าฮ่าฮ่า.
Bonus vocab: Other ways of "spelling" laughter in Thai include อิอิ, ฮิฮิ, ฮาฮา and so forth. Note that ฮา is also an adjective meaning "funny" (ex: หนังฮาดี "the movie was pretty funny"), and a verb usually used with groups of people meaning "to laugh and have fun" (ex: ฮากันใหญ่ "everyone was laughing").
March 6, 2009
Word of the Day: แห่งชาติ /hɛ̀ŋ châat/
Word of the Day for Friday, March 6, 2009:
แห่งชาติ /hɛ̀ŋ ˈchâat/ adj. national
Literally "of the nation". This is one of those constructions that isn't hard to understand, but you have to run across it to know the right word. Be sure to note that แห่ง /hɛ̀ŋ/ is pronounced with a short vowel.
Examples:
หอสมุดแห่งชาติ /hɔ̌ɔ saˈmùt hɛ̀ŋ ˈchâat/ National Library
อุทยานแห่งชาติ /ˈùttháˈyaan hɛ̀ŋ ˈchâat/ National Park
It's mostly found in the names of organizations and such, perhaps better literally translated as "The Nation's X". You wouldn't use แห่งชาติ to say something like, "X is of national importance." In that case you could still use ชาติ, perhaps X มีความสำคัญต่อชาติ or X มีความสำคัญต่อประเทศชาติ.
Also note that ชาติ also occasionally means "national" on its own, as in เพลงชาติ /phleeŋ ˈchâat/ "national anthem".
Bonus vocab: Phrases with ชาติ are very common. Those with the particular sense of "national" include นานาชาติ /naaˈnaa ˈchâat/ "international" (literally "many nations"), and ชาตินิยม /ˈchâat niˈyom/ "nationalist" (literally "favors the nation").
แห่งชาติ /hɛ̀ŋ ˈchâat/ adj. national
Literally "of the nation". This is one of those constructions that isn't hard to understand, but you have to run across it to know the right word. Be sure to note that แห่ง /hɛ̀ŋ/ is pronounced with a short vowel.
Examples:
หอสมุดแห่งชาติ /hɔ̌ɔ saˈmùt hɛ̀ŋ ˈchâat/ National Library
อุทยานแห่งชาติ /ˈùttháˈyaan hɛ̀ŋ ˈchâat/ National Park
It's mostly found in the names of organizations and such, perhaps better literally translated as "The Nation's X". You wouldn't use แห่งชาติ to say something like, "X is of national importance." In that case you could still use ชาติ, perhaps X มีความสำคัญต่อชาติ or X มีความสำคัญต่อประเทศชาติ.
Also note that ชาติ also occasionally means "national" on its own, as in เพลงชาติ /phleeŋ ˈchâat/ "national anthem".
Bonus vocab: Phrases with ชาติ are very common. Those with the particular sense of "national" include นานาชาติ /naaˈnaa ˈchâat/ "international" (literally "many nations"), and ชาตินิยม /ˈchâat niˈyom/ "nationalist" (literally "favors the nation").
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