Learn how to say many common phrases to introduce yourself
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| INTRODUCTION |
| Ryan: Basic Bootcamp Lesson 1 – Introducing yourself and greeting people in Thai. Welcome to Basic Boot Camp. This five-part series will help you ease your way into Thai. |
| Rawinporn: Boot camp sounds a bit scary. |
| Ryan: Yes, but don’t worry. We’ll have fun going over all the basics that will really help you understand Thai in a quick and easy way. Hey, Rawinporn, what we will be learning in this lesson? |
| Rawinporn: In this lesson you will learn how to say “Hello.” in Thai and how to introduce yourself. |
| Ryan: We’ll be listening to a conversation between two people meeting for the first time. This is a conversation that you will have many, many times. |
| Rawinporn: Definitely. It is very important. Let’s listen to the conversation. |
| DIALOGUE |
| wít-thá-yaa: sà-wàt-dii khráp. phǒm chûue wít-thá-yaa khráp. yin-dii thîi dâai rúu-jàk khráp. |
| sì-rì-phaawn: dì-chǎn chûue sì-rì-phaawn khâ. yin-dii thîi dâai rúu-jàk khâ. |
| POST CONVERSATION BANTER |
| Ryan: So, Rawinporn, what do people in Thailand do when they first meet? Is there any sort of custom? |
| Rawinporn: Thai people do [wâi] when they first meet each other. |
| Ryan: Why? What do you mean by [wâi]? |
| Rawinporn: [wâi] is a Thai greeting and you do [wâi] to show respect by pressing your palms together near your chest and bowing. |
| Ryan: How about shaking hands? |
| Rawinporn: Thai people don’t really shake hands. They somewhat relatively accept that handshake from you. Basically, you do [wâi] when meeting other people you are not family with or people who are higher than you in the status. |
| Ryan: How about in a business situation? |
| Rawinporn: Well, in a business situation, they might shake hands if they are dealing with people from Western countries, but you know what? It would be really nice of you if you do [wâi] instead of shaking hands. |
| Ryan: Really? |
| Rawinporn: Yes. Even Ronald McDonald’s statues in front of McDonald’s are also standing with a [wâi] posture. |
| Ryan: That’s awesome. Now, let’s take a closure look into these phrases for learning Thai. Ok, what is the word for “Hello.”? |
| Rawinporn: “Hello.” is [sà-wàt-dii]. For female we can add [khâ] at the end of the phrase to be more polite. So, it becomes [sà-wàt-dii khâ]? |
| Ryan: How about me? |
| Rawinporn: For males, you can always say [sà-wàt-dii] or add [khráp] at the end of the phrase to be more polite, as well. |
| Ryan: [sà-wàt-dii khráp], is that correct? |
| Rawinporn: Exactly. [khráp] and [khâ] can be used in both normal situations and business situations. |
| Ryan: Oh, ok. Let’s look at the next phrase. After saying “Hello.”, he said? |
| Rawinporn: [phǒm chûue wít-thá-yaa khráp]. It means “My name is [wít-thá-yaa].” |
| Ryan: And then, he said? |
| Rawinporn: [yin dii thîi dâai rúu jàk khráp] which means “Nice to meet you.” |
| Ryan: And then, Miss [sì-rì-phaawn] gave her name, too. |
| Rawinporn: She said [dì-chăn chûue sì-rì-phaawn khâ]. “My name is [sì-rì-phaawn]. Nice to meet you.” |
| Ryan: Well, why did Mister [wít-thá-yaa] say [phǒm] while Miss [sì-rì-phaawn] said [dì-chăn]? |
| Rawinporn: [phǒm] means “I” or “me”, which can be used only by males, while [dì-chăn] or [chăn] is for females. |
| Ryan: So, can I use [dì-chăn]? |
| Rawinporn: No, no, no, no, no. Other people might think that you’re a lady boy. |
| Ryan: Oh, really? |
| Rawinporn: Yes. Normally, lady-boys use both female phrases and their own slang. Anyway, Thai lady-boys are very pretty. You might not be able to differentiate between lady-boys and females if you don’t speak. |
| Ryan: Ok, I’ll look out for that. |
| Rawinporn: Lastly, instead of using Mister, Misses or Miss, Thai people add the prefix [khun] to other people’s names. But, please, be careful. We don’t use [khun] with our own names. |
| Ryan: So, [khun] is for both males and females, isn’t it? |
| Rawinporn: Exactly. [khun] Ryan. |
| Ryan: All right, [khun] Rawinporn. Now, let’s look into the grammar section. |
Lesson focus |
|---|
| Rawinporn: In this lesson’s grammar you learn how to say your name in Thai. In the dialogue, [khun wít-thá-yaa] said. |
| Ryan: [phǒm chûue wít-thá-yaa khráp] |
| Rawinporn: “My name is [wít-thá-yaa].” Let’s break down this phrase. The first word is [phǒm], it means “I”. After [phǒm], is [chûue], which is the word that means “to name”. Then, he put his name at the end of the sentence. |
| Ryan: Basically, the structure of Thai simple sentences is pretty much the same as with English which is Subject + Verb and then, Object. Now, let’s say it again. [phǒm chûue wít-thá-yaa khráp]. “My name is [wít-thá-yaa].” |
| Rawinporn: In my case, my name is [rá-win-phaawn]. So, [dì-chăn chûue rá-win-phaawn khâ]. |
| Ryan: [phǒm chûue] Ryan [ khráp]. Now, please note that from the dialogue [wít-thá-yaa] and [rá-win-phaawn] are first names. |
| Rawinporn: Yes. Thai people normally call each other by their first name or even by their nicknames because Thai names are comparatively long. |
| Ryan: How about in business situations? |
| Rawinporn: Well, it depends on people’s preference. Some of my clients introduce themselves by their nicknames. |
| Ryan: Ok, got it. |
| Rawinporn: But, it is important to add the prefix [khun] when addressing other people you are not family with or who are higher than you in status, as I’ve mentioned earlier. |
| Ryan: Since it’s the first Boot Camp Lesson, why don’t we introduce ourselves using this lesson’s vocabulary and grammar? |
| Rawinporn: Good idea, Ryan. Well, [sà-wàt-dii khâ dì-chăn chûue rá-win-phaawn khâ yin dii thîi dâai rúu jàk khâ]. “Hello. My name is [rá-win-phaawn]. Nice to meet you.” |
| Ryan: [phǒm chûue rai-an khráp yin dii thîi dâai rúu jàk khráp]. “My name is Ryan. Nice to meet you.”. So, how was your first basic Thai Boot Camp Lesson? Hope we didn’t work you too hard. Join us next time as we learn more of the basics. |
Outro |
| Rawinporn: That’s it for this lesson. So, if you have a question or some feedback, please leave us a comment. |
| Ryan: It’s very easy to do. Just stop by Thaipod101.com |
| Rawinporn: Click on comments. |
| Ryan: Enter your comment and name. |
| Rawinporn: And that’s it. |
| Ryan: No excuses. We are looking forward to hearing from you. |
| Rawinporn: [sà-wàt-dii khâ] |
| Ryan: Goodbye |
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