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Boss:

Kaew  khaw kradaatplao sak sawngsaam bai na

 

คุณแก้ว ขอกระดาษเปล่า
สักสองสามใบนะ

Kaew, can I have a few pieces of blank paper?

Kaew:

dai kha  huanaa  ja rap kaafae sak thuay  mai kha

 

ได้ค่ะ หัวหน้า จะรับ
กาแฟสักถ้วยไหมคะ

Sure, Boss. Can I bring you a cup of coffee?

Boss:

diimuueankan  khawpjai ja  khaw som bai nueng duay na

 

ดีเหมือนกัน ขอบใจจ้ะ
ขอส้มใบหนึ่งด้วยนะ

Might as well, thanks. Can I have an orange, too?

Kaew:

dai kha  huanaa … kaafae maa laew kha

 

ได้ค่ะ หัวหน้า …
กาแฟมาแล้วค่ะ

Certainly, Boss. Here’s your coffee.

Boss:

khawpjai ja … thuaykaafae bai nii suay jang na Kaew  kaafae kaw aroy duay

 

ขอบใจจ้ะ… ถ้วยกาแฟใบนี้
สวยจังนะแก้ว
กาแฟก็อร่อยด้วย

Thanks. This coffee cup is very nice. The coffee is also nice.

Kaew:

khawpkhun kha … som maa laew kha  huanaa

 

ขอบคุณค่ะ …
ส้มมาแล้วค่ะ หัวหน้า

Thank you. Here’s the orange, Boss.

Boss:

ja  jaan sai som bai nii kaw suaydii  aw  Kaew chuay yip eykkasaan kaanprachum bon toh hai duay na

 

จ้ะ จานใส่ส้มใบนี้ก็สวยดี
อ้อ แก้วช่วยหยิบเอกสาร
การประชุมบนโต๊ะให้ด้วยนะ

Thanks. This saucer is also nice. And Kaew, can you bring me the paper for the meeting on the table?

Kaew:

toh tua nai kha  huanaa

 

โต๊ะตัวไหนคะหัวหน้า

Which table, Boss?

Boss:

tua lek tai naataang

 

ตัวเล็กใต้หน้าต่าง

The small one under the window.

Kaew:

maimii na kha  huanaa  miitae krapao sawng bai

 

ไม่มีนะคะ หัวหน้า
มีแต่กระเป๋าสองใบ

I don’t see it, Boss. I can see only two bags.

Boss:

aw  thaayaangnan khong yuu nai krapao bai siidam na

 

อ้อ ถ้าอย่างนั้นคงอยู่ใน
กระเป๋าใบสีดำน่ะ

Ah, then it may be in the black one.

Kaew:

joe laew kha  huanaa prachum kiimoong kha

 

เจอแล้วค่ะ
หัวหน้าประชุมกี่โมงคะ

I found it. What time is the meeting, Boss?

Boss:

iik haa naathii  Kaew chuay yip suut hai duay na

 

อีกห้านาที
แก้วช่วยหยิบสูทให้ด้วยนะ

In five minutes. Can you bring me a suit jacket, too?

Kaew:

tua nai dii kha  huanaa

 

ตัวไหนดีคะ หัวหน้า

Which one do you want, Boss?

Boss:

khaw tua siidam diikwaa….

 

ขอตัวสีดำดีกว่า …

The black one, please.

  • 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 13, 2005     |

    • Language check:

    Thais use bai  as classifier for:

    leaves, fruits, eggs, plates and bowls, cups and glasses, sheets, pages, cards, tickets, cooking utensils, propellers

    As for tua  , we use it with:

    animals, tables, chairs, stools, clothing items, cigars and cigarettes, letters, figures, nails, a number in mathematics performers

    Classifier check:

    Fill in with the correct classifiers

  • 1. toh _____ nii mii kao-ii sii _____
    (T2. tawng suue mamuang kii _____ dii
    (How many mangos shall we get?)
  • 3. maa _____ nii khawng khrai na
    (Whose dog is this?)
  • 4. khaw thuaykaafae sii _____
    (Can I have four coffee cups?)
  • 5. khun mii baenk yuusip haa _____ mai
    (Have you got five 20-baht banknotes?)
  • 6. phaasaa angkrit mii sara haa _____
    (There are five vowels in English.)
  • 7. maekhaa khaw suue thurian _____ nueng
    (Excuse me, can I have one durian?)

    •  

     

    Answer keys: 1. tua, tua 2. bai 3.tua 4. bai 5. bai 6. tua 7. bai

    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.

    ๑๔ mithunaayon ๒๕๔๘  ( 14 June 2005)     

    bai kap tua

    For foreigners, one difficult feature of the Thai language is classifiers. The use of classifiers results in a kind of "reversed" word order when compared with English. For example, "a cup of coffee" becomes, in Thai, "coffee one cup", or "a piece of paper" becomes "paper one piece". In these cases, "cup" [thuay] and "piece" [bai] function as classifiers. When it comes to "an orange" or "a jacket", you have to reverse the word order to "orange one ???" and "jacket one ???" and then you need to think about the classifier. Today we're looking at two of the most common classifiers in an office scenario.