Translating newspaper English to Thai

Lung:	rawn, rawn jing jing
	ร้อน! ร้อน! จริงๆ	Hot! It’s really hot!
Paa:	thaa paeng yen si
	ทาแป้งเย็นสิ	Pat (yourself) with some prickly heat talc.
Lung:	(he does …) hoe! khoiyangchua noi
	เฮ้อ! ค่อยยังชั่วหน่อย	Ahhh! That’s a relief.
John:	(John’s stepping in …) sawatdii khrap lung sawatdii khrap paa
	สวัสดีครับลุง สวัสดีครับป้า	Hi, uncle. Hi, auntie.
Lung:	klap maa laew roe luuk khaangnawk rawn mai
	กลับมาแล้วหรือลูก ข้างนอกร้อนไหม	Hi “love”. Is it hot outside?
John:	rawn sut sut loey khrap eh… thammai lung khao pai thangtua
	ร้อนสุดๆ เลยครับ เอ… ทำไมคุณลุงขาวไปทั้งตัว	Yes. Why are you white all over, Lung?
Lung:	lung rawn loei thaa paengyen ao pai thaa baang si
	ลุงร้อน เลยทาแป้งเย็น เอาไปทาบ้างสิ	I’m so hot, so I patted (myself) with prickly heat talcum powder. Try some!
John:	khawp khun khrap lung tae hai phom pai aapnam kawn diikwaa
	ขอบคุณครับลุง แต่ให้ผมอาบน้ำก่อนดีกว่า	Thanks, Lung, but let me go and take a shower first.
Paa:	kin nam yen sia noy si luuk laew khoy pai aapnam
	กินน้ำเย็นเสียหน่อยสิลูก แล้วค่อยไปอาบน้ำ	Have some cold water before you go, “love”.
John:	khawp khun khrap paa … cheunjai jing jing
	ขอบคุณครับป้า … ชื่นใจจริงๆ	Thank you. … It’s really refreshing!

Now, it's your job to fill in the Thai terms for Sak's family:
Sak aasai yuu kap ____ lae ____. Sak mii ___ saao nueng khon and ___ chaai nueng khon. ____ lae ____ khawnkhao aasai yuu kap ____ klai klai. Suan ____ lae ____ yuu taangjangwat kap _____.

Answer keys:
Sak aasai yuu kap khaw lae mae. Sak mii phiisaao nueng khon and nawngchaai nueng khon. taa lae yaai khawngkhao aasai yuu kap naa klai klai. Suan puu lae yaa yuu taangjangwat kap aa.

This lesson was prepared by Acharn Sunee Siidao, Educational Specialist.

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| Comments to Ajaan Sunee at suneec@bangkokpost.co.th |
| © The Post Publishing Public Co., Ltd.
All rights reserved 2005
Last modified: June 6, 2005 |

Language check:

The Thai couple in today's conversation are a lung and a paa - meaning an elder uncle and an elder aunt. When they talk to John, they call him luuk, the Thai term for a child even though he's not their child, of course. In turn he calls them lung and paa.

Other family terms are:

taa (grandfather [mother's father])

yaai (grandmother [mother's mother])

laan (nephews, nieces, grandchildren)

naa (younger aunt or uncle [mother's younger brother or sister])

aa (younger uncle [father's younger brother or sister])

paa (elder aunt [mother's or father's elder sister])

lung (elder uncle [mother's or father's elder brother])

phii (elder sister or brother)

nawng (younger sister or brother)

All the terms are used by the above to refer to themselves, as well. And as you may have noticed, lung and paa don't end their sentences with khap or kha. This is part of the respect Thai hierarchy - they're the seniors.

Who is who?
This is Sak's family. There are five people in his family, Sri (his mother), Pong (his father), Sumalee (his elder sister), Sanit (his younger brother) and himself. Sak's mother's parents live nearby with their only daughter. His father's parents live in a rural town with their younger child.

Phuut Phaasaa Thai gives you useful topical and seasonal Thai words and phrases used in daily-life conversations. The column will give you some instant Thai language to help you out in common situations.

๗ mithunaayon ๒๕๔๘ ( 7 June 2005)

rawn jing jing!!

The hot season’s supposed to go away around the beginning of May with the rains cooling us down, but unfortunately we are still sweltering in temperatures of over 35 degrees in spite of the fact that it’s June now. Let’s listen to a conversation about what Thai people do to cool off in the hot season.
John, an Australian journalist, has rented a unit in a small apartment in a quiet, winding sub-soi of Bangkok for a few years. Because of his easy-going and friendly personality, he has won the hearts of a Thai senior couple, whom he calls “lung” and “paa”, who take care of the household. To them, he has become a young family member.