Lesson Notes

Unlock In-Depth Explanations & Exclusive Takeaways with Printable Lesson Notes

Unlock Lesson Notes and Transcripts for every single lesson. Sign Up for a Free Lifetime Account and Get 7 Days of Premium Access.

Or sign up using Facebook
Already a Member?

Lesson Transcript

Ryan: All about Thai lesson 15 - Top Five Useful Phrases from the Hosts. Hi everyone and welcome back to the All About Thai series. In this lesson, we'll go over our top five favorite phrases.
Rawinporn: Yes. We show phrases that we find useful and interesting and that I used a lot in Thai.
Ryan: That's right. So Rawinporn, what's our first phrase?
Rawinporn: sà-baai dii mǎi khá
Ryan: This phrase means "how are you?" When greeting someone, Thai's always ask whether their conversation partner is feeling good or not.
Rawinporn: If your partner doesn't look like he or she is feeling well, you can also add sǐi nâa mâi khâawy dii looei khâ, which means "his or her face doesn't look well."
Ryan: In order to answer this question, if you're feeling good, your answer is sà-baai dii khráp.
Rawinporn: If you're not feeling so good, your answer is mâi sà-baai khâ.
Ryan: Okay. What's our next phrase?
Rawinporn: oo-kee khâ.
Ryan: As you know, okay is an English word, but it's widely used in Thai. You can add khráp or khâ at the end to make it more polite when talking to an unfamiliar person or a person who is in higher position.
Rawinporn: For example, if someone asks, sà-baai dii mǎi khá,
Ryan: you can answer, oo-kee khráp.
Rawinporn: khâo-jai khâ
Ryan: meaning “understood,” or “I got it.“
Rawinporn: Next is
Ryan: (Noun) + yùu thîi-nǎi khráp
Rawinporn: (Noun) + yùu thîi-nǎi/khâ means "Where is (noun)?" It can be a place, stuff, person, or something else. Ryan, can you give us an example?
Ryan: Sure. sà-thǎa-nii-rót-fai-fáa yùu thîi-nǎi khráp
Rawinporn: sà-thǎa-nii-rót-fai-fáa means “sky train station,” therefore
Ryan: sà-thǎa-nii-rót-fai-fáa yùu thîi-nǎi khráp
Rawinporn: means "Where is the sky train station?"
Ryan: For those of you unfamiliar with the sky train, It's an elevated electric railway in Bangkok. Okay, and our last phrase for today is...
Rawinporn: khǎaw + (Noun) + dâai mǎi khá
Ryan: For example, khǎaw nǎng-sǔue dâai mǎi khráp
Rawinporn: khǎaw + (Noun) + dâai mǎi khá means “May I have (noun)?”
Ryan: Therefore, khǎaw nǎng-sǔue dâai mǎi khráp means “may I have a book?”
Rawinporn: Actually, this phrase is also very useful. You can ask for something from others or the food in the restaurant, buy some items in the shop and so forth.
Ryan: In case of buying stuff in a shop or market, you should ask for the price as well, which is aa-khaa thâo-rài khráp
Rawinporn: Yes, if you think it is too expensive, you should ask whether they can offer some discount or not, which is lót-nàawy dâai mǎi khá.
Ryan: It is very common in Thailand to ask for discounts except in the department stores.
Rawinporn: Yeah, it's often used in that way.
Ryan: So there you have it, five phrases that we really find useful that we've passed on to you.
Rawinporn: Try using them the next time you have a conversation in Thai.
Ryan: See you next time.
Rawinporn: sà-wàt-dii khâ.
Ryan: sà-wàt-dii khráp.

Comments

Hide