Thai conversations with transliterations

Mike:	pāi dùem bīa kān mǎi Chāi	ไปดื่มเบียร์กันไหม ชัย	Would you like to drink some beer with me, Chai?
Chai:	kô dī pāi thî nǎi dī	ก็ดี ไปที่ไหนดี	Sounds good! Where’s a good place?
Mike:	Sǔan Lūm Night Bazaar dī mǎi klâi klâi	สวนลุม ไนท์บาร์ซาร์ดีไหม ใกล้ๆ	How about Suan Lum Night Barzaar? It’s pretty close.
Chai:	kô dī mǔeankān pāi kān lōei mǎi	ก็ดีเหมือนกัน ไปกันเลยไหม	Sounds nice, too. Shall we go now?
Mike:	kô dâi	ก็ได้	Okay. …
Chai:	ngán kô pāi kān lōei wānní ākát dī ná	งั้นก็ไปกันเลย วันนี้อากาศ ดีนะ	Then let’s go. The weather’s nice today.
Mike:	nâng dâi nān nòi	นั่งได้นานหน่อย	We can stay longer.
Chai:	sàng àrai mā klâem bīa dī Mái	สั่งอะไรมาแกล้มเบียร์ดี ไมค์	What shall we order to go with our beers, Mike?
Mike:	àrai kô dâi Chāi khūn sàng lōei	อะไรก็ได้ ชัย คุณสั่งเลย	Whatever, Chai. You decide.
Chai:	ngán phǒm sàng métmámûang yām sǎm kròp láeo kô mǔ dàet dīo khūn chà sàng àrāi phôem mǎi	งั้นผมสั่งเม็ดมะม่วง ยำสาม กรอบแล้วก็หมูแดดเดียว คุณจะสั่งอะไรเพิ่มไหม	We’re having cashews, spicy crisp salad, and fried pork strips. Would you like anything else?
Mike:	mâi là sǎm yàng kô phō láeo	ไม่ล่ะ สามอย่างก็พอแล้ว	No, three things are just fine.
Chai:	… ūem … bīa yēn yēn kàpklâem àròi àròi kàp bānyākàt sàbāi sàbāi …	… อือม์ … เบียร์เย็นๆ กับแกล้มอร่อยๆ กับ อากาศ สบายๆ ….	… Umm … chilled beer, good food and pleasant weather… .
Mike:	sàwǎn kô yù bōn dīn nî-ēng	สวรรค์ก็อยู่บนดินนี่เอง	Heaven is here on earth.
Chai:	châi láeo	ใช่แล้ว	Certainly!

Language watch:

Let’s look at two of the most common particles from the above conversation:

First, the word kô appears very often in conversation. When it appears in sentences like, ngán kô pāi kān lōei, the meaning is similar to subsequently, then, or in that case. Often kô appears with other words to form transitional phrases to carry on conversations. Some of the combinations can be translated into English as follows:

kô dâi ก็ได้        All right.

kô dī    ก็ดี         Ok, Fine, Sounds good!

àrai kô dâi         อะไรก็ได้   whatever

The other word is kān, as in pāi dùem bīa kān mǎi and ngán kô pāi kān lōei, functions as an adverb meaning together or with one another. We can substitute pāi with any verb, e.g., pāi kīn khànǒm kān dī kwà, chōe kān hòk mōng ná.

Language check:

How would you respond, in Thai, to the following lines?

1.      pāi kīn sômtām kān mǎi (Would you like to have papaya salad with me?) And you’d like to go, you say: …………………

2.      kīn sômtām kàp àrāi dī (What shall we order to go with the papaya salad?) You’ve no idea and you don’t mind, you say: …………………

Answer keys:

1. kô dī , kô dâi / ก็ดี, ก็ได้           2. arai kô dai / อะไรก็ได้

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

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Welcome back to a new adaptation of Phût Phāsǎ Thāi after our transitional Songkran break. As per the valued suggestions of our readers, the transliterations now follow the Royal Institute's system (http://www.royin.go.th/th/profile/index.php), which includes tone markers. In terms of content, the column will continue to provide you with everyday language on specific topics.

๒๓ makarakhom ๒๕๕๐ ( 23 Janary 2007)

Phût phāsǎ Thai

Sounds good! OK!; Fine! / kô dī
When it comes to natural conversation in Thai, small particles make a big difference in spicing up the language

With pleasant weather, good friends, great food and cold beer, beer gardens are always bustling. - Boonnarong Bhudhipanya

As a Thai who grew up in Thailand and spent some time in different English-speaking countries, I am confident that my English is easy for my listeners to understand, but I nevertheless worry that my conversational English sometimes doesn't sound "natural". I often feel that something is missing.
Similarly, many of my foreign friends share the same feeling and ask me how to improve their Thai so as to make their speech appear more natural.
This week's lesson offers one solution to the problem. By sprinkling particles among your sentences and by using other short phrases during the course of your Thai conversation, you will sound more like we Thais when we speak informally among one another.