Learn how to tell someone your nationality using the Thai verb that means "to be"
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| INTRODUCTION |
| Pim:Hello everyone! I'm Pim, and welcome to ThaiPOD101.com. |
| Ryan:With us, you'll learn to speak Thai with fun and effective lessons. |
| Pim:We also provide you with cultural insights... |
| Ryan:...and tips you won't find in a textbook. |
| Ryan:In this lesson, you’ll learn about the verb "to be," "เป็น(bpen)." |
| Pim:"ใช่ค่ะ(châi khâ)" "That’s right!" |
| Ryan:So, "khruu" Pim, where does this conversation take place? |
| Pim:"บนเครื่องบินค่ะ(bon khrûueang-bin khâ)," which means "on the airplane." Our man, Steve, is still talking to a passenger sitting next to him, "khun" Supanee. "เอาล่ะค่ะไปฟังบทสนทนากันเลยดีกว่า(ao lâ khâ bpai fang bòt sŏn-thá-naa gan looei dii gwàa)" "Let’s listen to the conversation!" |
| DIALOGUES |
| สตีฟ:คุณเป็นคนไทยใช่ไหมครับ (khun bpen khon-thai châi-mǎi khráp) |
| สุภาณี:ใช่ค่ะ (châi khâ) |
| สตีฟ:คุณเป็นคนที่ไหนครับ (khun bpen khon thîi-nǎi khráp) |
| สุภาณี:ดิฉันเป็นคนกรุงเทพฯค่ะ แล้วคุณล่ะคะ (dì-chǎn bpen khon-grung-thêep khâ. láaeo khun lâ khá) |
| สตีฟ:ผมเป็นคนอเมริกันครับ ผมเกิดที่ซานดิเอโก้ (phǒm bpen khon à-mee-rí-gan khráp. phǒm gòoet thîi saan-dì-ee-gôo) |
| Ryan: Let’s hear the conversation one time slowly. |
| สตีฟ:คุณเป็นคนไทยใช่ไหมครับ (khun bpen khon-thai châi-mǎi khráp) |
| สุภาณี:ใช่ค่ะ (châi khâ) |
| สตีฟ:คุณเป็นคนที่ไหนครับ (khun bpen khon thîi-nǎi khráp) |
| สุภาณี:ดิฉันเป็นคนกรุงเทพฯค่ะ แล้วคุณล่ะคะ (dì-chǎn bpen khon-grung-thêep khâ. láaeo khun lâ khá) |
| สตีฟ:ผมเป็นคนอเมริกันครับ ผมเกิดที่ซานดิเอโก้ (phǒm bpen khon à-mee-rí-gan khráp. phǒm gòoet thîi saan-dì-ee-gôo) |
| Ryan: Now let’s hear it with the English translation. |
| สตีฟ:คุณเป็นคนไทยใช่ไหมครับ (khun bpen khon-thai châi-mǎi khráp) |
| Ryan:You're Thai, right? |
| สุภาณี:ใช่ค่ะ (châi khâ) |
| Ryan:That's right. |
| สตีฟ:คุณเป็นคนที่ไหนครับ (khun bpen khon thîi-nǎi khráp) |
| Ryan:Where are you from? |
| สุภาณี:ดิฉันเป็นคนกรุงเทพฯค่ะ แล้วคุณล่ะคะ (dì-chǎn bpen khon-grung-thêep khâ. láaeo khun lâ khá) |
| Ryan:I'm from Bangkok, and you? |
| สตีฟ:ผมเป็นคนอเมริกันครับ ผมเกิดที่ซานดิเอโก้ (phǒm bpen khon à-mee-rí-gan khráp. phǒm gòoet thîi saan-dì-ee-gôo) |
| Ryan:I'm American. I was born in San Diego. |
| POST CONVERSATION BANTER |
| Ryan:So, in Thailand, it’s common to ask a stranger or anyone you meet for the first time private questions like "How old are you?" or "Are you married?" or "What degree have you earned and from which institution?" right? |
| Pim:That’s right! So, don’t panic if you are asked. Anyway, if you feel really uncomfortable talking about your private life, the best way to respond to these questions is that you just smile and tell them that it’s a secret. Anyway, revealing your age can help both you and the person you are talking to determine which personal pronoun you should use. |
| Ryan:Oh, really? Like what? |
| Pim:Okay. If the person you are talking to is older than you, you would call him or her "พี่(phîi)," which means "older brother" or "older sister." On the other hand, you would refer to yourself by using the word "น้อง(náawng)," which means "younger brother" or "younger sister." |
| Ryan:That’s very interesting! |
| Pim:Actually, there are a great number of personal pronouns in the Thai language. Be patient…you will definitely be learning more in our future lessons. |
| Ryan:Okay. On to the vocabulary. |
| VOCAB LIST |
| Ryan:Let's take a look at the vocabulary for this lesson. |
| :The first word we shall see is: |
| Pim:เกิด (gòoet) [natural native speed] |
| Ryan:to be born |
| Pim:เกิด (gòoet) [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Pim:เกิด (gòoet) [natural native speed] |
| Next: |
| Pim:ที่ (thîi) [natural native speed] |
| Ryan:at, in, to, that, which, place |
| Pim:ที่ (thîi) [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Pim:ที่ (thîi) [natural native speed] |
| Next: |
| Pim:เป็น (bpen) [natural native speed] |
| Ryan:to be able to, to be, alive |
| Pim:เป็น (bpen) [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Pim:เป็น (bpen) [natural native speed] |
| Next: |
| Pim:คน (khon) [natural native speed] |
| Ryan:person |
| Pim:คน (khon) [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Pim:คน (khon) [natural native speed] |
| Next: |
| Pim:ใช่ (châi) [natural native speed] |
| Ryan:right, correct, yes |
| Pim:ใช่ (châi) [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Pim:ใช่ (châi) [natural native speed] |
| Next: |
| Pim:กรุงเทพฯ (grung-thêep) [natural native speed] |
| Ryan:Bangkok |
| Pim:กรุงเทพฯ (grung-thêep) [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Pim:กรุงเทพฯ (grung-thêep) [natural native speed] |
| Next: |
| Pim:อเมริกัน (à-mee-rí-gan) [natural native speed] |
| Ryan:American |
| Pim:อเมริกัน (à-mee-rí-gan) [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Pim:อเมริกัน (à-mee-rí-gan) [natural native speed] |
| Next: |
| Pim:แล้วคุณล่ะ (láaeo khun lâ) [natural native speed] |
| Ryan:How about you? |
| Pim:แล้วคุณล่ะ (láaeo khun lâ) [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Pim:แล้วคุณล่ะ (láaeo khun lâ) [natural native speed] |
| KEY VOCAB AND PHRASES |
| Ryan:Let's have a closer look at the usage for some of the words and phrases from this lesson. |
| Pim:The first word/phrase we’ll look at is.... |
| Ryan:Let’s take a closer look at the usage for some of the words and phrases from this lesson. And the first phrase is? |
| Pim:"แล้วคุณล่ะ(láaeo khun lâ)" |
| Ryan:"And you?" or "how about you?" This phrase is used whenever you want to ask back the same question. |
| Pim:"ใช่ค่ะ(châi khâ)" ("Right!") |
| Ryan:Can we hear this phrase again? Okay, please repeat after "khruu" Pim. "And you?" |
| Pim:"แล้วคุณล่ะ(láaeo khun lâ)" [pause] |
| Ryan:The next phrase is? |
| Pim:"ที่ไหน(thîi-năi)" |
| Ryan:"Where?" |
| Pim:"ที่ไหน(thîi-năi)" is a question word that usually comes at the end of a sentence. For example, "เขา(khăo)" is "he," and "อยู่(yùu)" is the verb "to stay" or "to be located," so "เขาอยู่ที่ไหน(khăo yùu thîi-năi)" means "where is he located?" or "Where is he staying?" or just "Where is he?" |
| Ryan:Okay, please repeat after "khruu" Pim. "Where is he?" |
| Pim:"เขาอยู่ที่ไหน(khăo yùu thîi-năi)" [pause] |
| Ryan:So I can ask the whereabouts of anyone or anything by putting the appropriate word in front of "อยู่ที่ไหน(yùu thîi-năi)." Is that correct? |
| Pim:You’re right! Let’s practice. "สนามบิน(sà-năam bin)" means "airport." How would you ask "Where is the airport?" |
| Ryan:"สนามบินอยู่ที่ไหน(sà-năam bin yùu thîi-năi)" |
| Pim:Excellent! |
| Ryan:Can we use "where?" with the future tense? I want to try to create a sentence that means "Where will he go?" Can you tell me the vocabulary words "will" and "go?" |
| Pim:Of course! "จะ(jà)" means "will" and "ไป(bpai)" is "to go." |
| Ryan:So is it "เขาจะไปที่ไหน(khăo jà bpai thîi-năi)?" |
| Pim:Very good! |
| Ryan:Okay, let’s move on to the grammar section. |
Lesson focus |
|---|
| Ryan:In this lesson, we’ll learn how to tell or ask about the nationality or hometown of anyone by using the phrase "เป็นคน(bpen khon)." |
| Pim:Just like in English, when you want to describe a subject with an object, we can link them by using the verb "to be," "เป็น(bpen)." For example, "ผม(phŏm)" is "I" and "นักธุรกิจ(nák thú-rá-gìt)" means "businessman." So "ผมเป็นนักธุรกิจ(phŏm bpen nák thú-rá-gìt)" means "I am a businessman." |
| Ryan:Can we hear this sentence one more time? Listeners, repeat after "khruu" Pim. "I am a businessman." |
| Pim:"ผมเป็นนักธุรกิจ(phŏm bpen nák thú-rá-gìt)" [pause] Okay. Ryan, please tell me how to say "she is a doctor." I will give you a hint…"doctor" is "หมอ(mǎaw)" in Thai. |
| Ryan:"เขาเป็นหมอ(khăo bpen mǎaw)" |
| Pim:That’s right! |
| Ryan:Now, you may have noticed that we used the same word "เขา(khăo)" for both "he" and "she." You’ll find that pronouns in Thai are less limited than in English. There are other words that mean "she," but for now let’s keep it simple and use "เขา(khăo)" for both genders. |
| Pim:Next, we will learn how to say one’s nationality. We just put the name of country behind the word "คน(khon)," which literally means "person." For example, "อิตาลี(i-dtaa-lîi)" is "Italy." How would you say "Italian" then? |
| Ryan:It should be "คนอิตาลี(khon i-dtaa-lîi)," right? |
| Pim:Good! You can see that expressing nationality in Thai is very easy, as long as you know the name of countries in Thai. |
| Ryan:"Khruu" Pim, don’t tell me all countries in the world have specific names in Thai and I need to memorize them all? Oh no… |
| Pim:Ha ha ha…no no. For almost all the countries, we use their English names, but we pronounce them in Thai style. For example, "Canada" is "แคนาดา(khaae-naa-daa)," and "Spain" is "สเปน(sà-bpeen)." So the nationalities of these countries should be? |
| Ryan:"คนแคนาดา(khon khaae-naa-daa)" is "Canadian" and "คนสเปน(khon sà-bpeen)" is "Spanish." |
| Pim:Good job! Now let’s see some of the exceptions. For example, we say "ญี่ปุ่น(yîi-bpùn)" for "Japan," "จีน(jiin)" for "China," "ฝรั่งเศส(fà-ràng-sèet)" for "France," and so on. Ryan, can you tell me how to say the nationalities of these countries? |
| Ryan:"คนญี่ปุ่น(khon yîi-bpùn)" is "Japanese," "คนจีน(khon jiin)" is "Chinese," and "คนฝรั่งเศส(khon fà-ràng-sèet)" is "French." |
| Pim:That’s great! Now let’s combine the nationality with verb "to be." "ดิฉันเป็นคนไทยค่ะ(dì-chăn bpen khon thai khâ)" means "I am Thai." Come on, Ryan. Tell me your nationality! |
| Ryan:"ผมเป็นคนอเมริกันครับ(phŏm bpen khon a-mee-rí-gan khráp)" means "I am American." You can use either "คนอเมริกัน(khon a-mee-rí-gan)" or "คนอเมริกา(khon a-mee-rí-gaa)." "Khruu" Pim, can you tell me how to ask other people their nationalities? |
| Pim:Okay. It’s quite easy. We just combine our phrase here, "เป็นคน(bpen khon)," with the question word "ที่ไหน(thîi-năi)," meaning "where." So you can say "คุณเป็นคนที่ไหน(khun bpen khon thîi-năi)" to ask "where are you from?" |
| Ryan:Okay, "khruu" Pim. "คุณเป็นคนที่ไหนครับ(khun bpen khon thîi-năi khráp)" means "where are you from?" |
| Pim:In this case, I realize that you already know my nationality, so I can also take your question as "where is your hometown?" "ดิฉันเป็นคนกรุงเทพค่ะ(dì-chăn bpen khon grung-thêeyp khâ)" means "I’m from Bangkok." Okay, listeners, please repeat after me. "Where are you from?" "คุณเป็นคนที่ไหน(khun bpen khon thîi-năi)" [pause] |
| Ryan:Now, let’s review. Pretend that you are English. "England" is "อังกฤษ." Please tell us your nationality. [pause] "Khruu" Pim, the answer is? |
| Pim:"ผมเป็นคนอังกฤษครับ(phŏm bpen khon ang-grìt khráp)" or "ดิฉันเป็นคนอังกฤษค่ะ(dì-chăn bpen khon ang-grìt khâ)." |
| Ryan:That’s all for today’s lesson. |
| Pim:"มีคำถามอะไรไหมคะ(mii kham-thăam a-rai mái khá)" |
| Ryan:"Do you have any questions?" |
| Pim:If you do, please ask us in the comment section. "แล้วพบกันใหม่ค่ะ(láaeo phóp gan mài khâ)" |
| Ryan:"See you next time!" |
| Wrap-up |
| Ryan:That just about does it for today. |
| Ryan:Before we go, we want to tell you about a way to improve your pronunciation drastically. |
| Pim:The voice-recording tool! |
| Ryan:Yes, the voice-recording too... |
| Pim:Record your voice with a click of a button, |
| Ryan:...and then play it back just as easily. |
| Pim:Record and listen. Then... |
| Ryan:Compare it to the native speakers... |
| Pim:...and adjust your pronunciation! |
| Ryan:This will help you improve your pronunciation fast! |
Outro |
| Ryan:Bye. |
| Pim:สวัสดีค่ะ(sà-wàt-dii khâ) |
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