Learn how to use the impolite prefixes อี and ไอ้ with names
Now Playing: Lesson Audio
Get a breakdown of the dialogue and translations instantly with the Premium line-by-line Audio. Sign up for your Free Lifetime Account Now and get 7 Days of Premium Access including this feature.
Get this lesson’s key vocab, their translations and pronunciations. Sign up for your Free Lifetime Account Now and get 7 Days of Premium Access including this feature.
Unlock Lesson Notes and Transcripts for every single lesson. Sign Up for a Free Lifetime Account and Get 7 Days of Premium Access.
| INTRODUCTION |
| Jing: สวัสดีค่ะ sà-wàt-dii khâ. I’m Jing, and welcome to ThaiPod101.com! |
| Ohm: Hi everyone, I’m Ohm! This is Intermediate Season 1, Lesson 9 - A Few Good Thai Men. In this lesson you’ll learn how to use the impolite prefixes อี and ไอ้ with names. |
| Jing: The conversation takes place driving on the road after paying a parking ticket. |
| Ohm: It’s between Gong and his friend Go. |
| Jing: The speakers are very close friends, so they’ll be using impolite Thai. |
| Ohm: Okay, let’s listen to the conversation. |
| DIALOGUE |
| โก้: กูชักจะหิวแล้ว พวกเรารอมานานเท่าไหร่แล้ววะเนี่ย (guu chák jà hǐu láaeo. phûuak-rao raaw maa naan thâo-rài láaeo wá nîia.) |
| ก้อง: กูว่าพวกเรารอมาซักชั่วโมงนึงได้แล้วว่ะ กูก็เริ่มหิวแล้วเหมือนกัน ไปหาไรกินกันเหอะ (guu wâa phûuak-rao raaw maa sák chûua-moong nueng dâai láaeo wâ. guu gâaw rôoem hǐu láaeo mǔuean-gan bpai hǎa rai gin gan hòe) |
| โก้: ไอ้ก้อง กูเลือกร้านนี้ (âi gâwng guu lûueak ráan níi.) |
| ก้อง: แล้วแต่มึงเลยว่ะ (láaeo dtàae mueng looei wâ.) |
| โก้: กูได้ยินมาว่าไอ้ตั้มไปจับใบดำใบแดง มึงรู้มั้ยว่ามันจับได้อะไร (guu dâai-yin maa wâa âi dtâm bpai jàp bai-dam bai-daaeng. mueng rúu mái wâa man jàp dâai à-rai.) |
| ก้อง: มันจับได้ใบดำว่ะ มันดีใจแทบตายที่ไม่ต้องไปเป็นทหาร (man jàp dâai bai-dam wâ. man dii-jai thâaep-dtaai thîi mâi dtâwng bpai bpen thá-hǎan.) |
| โก้: แล้วอีเตยจับได้ไรวะ กูล่ะลุ้นแทน (láaeo ii dtooei jàp dâai rai wá. guu lâ lún-thaaen.) |
| ก้อง: อีเตยยังไม่ได้จับเลยว่ะ แต่มันบอกกูว่ามันโคตรอยากได้ใบแดง (ii dtooei yang mâi dâi jàp looei wâ. dtàae man bàawk guu wâa man khôot yàak dâai bai-daaeng.) |
| โก้: แน่นอนอยู่แล้ว มันอยากไปเป็นทหารเพราะมันอยากอยู่ใกล้พวกผู้ชาย (nâae-naawn yùu láaeo. man yàak bpai bpen thá-hǎan phráw man yàak yùu glâi phûuak phûu-chaai.) |
| Ohm: Now let's hear it with the English translation. |
| โก้: กูชักจะหิวแล้ว พวกเรารอมานานเท่าไหร่แล้ววะเนี่ย (guu chák jà hǐu láaeo. phûuak-rao raaw maa naan thâo-rài láaeo wá nîia.) |
| Go: I’m getting hungry. How long were we waiting? |
| ก้อง: กูว่าพวกเรารอมาซักชั่วโมงนึงได้แล้วว่ะ กูก็เริ่มหิวแล้วเหมือนกัน ไปหาไรกินกันเหอะ (guu wâa phûuak-rao raaw maa sák chûua-moong nueng dâai láaeo wâ. guu gâaw rôoem hǐu láaeo mǔuean-gan bpai hǎa rai gin gan hòe) |
| Gong: I think we were waiting at least an hour. I’m getting hungry too. Let’s get something to eat. |
| โก้: ไอ้ก้อง กูเลือกร้านนี้ (âi gâwng guu lûueak ráan níi.) |
| Go: I say we eat at this place. |
| ก้อง: แล้วแต่มึงเลยว่ะ (láaeo dtàae mueng looei wâ.) |
| Gong: OK, up to you. |
| โก้: กูได้ยินมาว่าไอ้ตั้มไปจับใบดำใบแดง มึงรู้มั้ยว่ามันจับได้อะไร (guu dâai-yin maa wâa âi dtâm bpai jàp bai-dam bai-daaeng. mueng rúu mái wâa man jàp dâai à-rai.) |
| Go: I heard that Tam went to pick in the draft lottery. Do you know what he chose? |
| ก้อง: มันจับได้ใบดำว่ะ มันดีใจแทบตายที่ไม่ต้องไปเป็นทหาร (man jàp dâai bai-dam wâ. man dii-jai thâaep-dtaai thîi mâi dtâwng bpai bpen thá-hǎan.) |
| Gong: He got a black card. He’s really glad he doesn’t have to go be a soldier. |
| โก้: แล้วอีเตยจับได้ไรวะ กูล่ะลุ้นแทน (láaeo ii dtooei jàp dâai rai wá. guu lâ lún-thaaen.) |
| Go: And what did Toei pick? I’m really excited. |
| ก้อง: อีเตยยังไม่ได้จับเลยว่ะ แต่มันบอกกูว่ามันโคตรอยากได้ใบแดง (ii dtooei yang mâi dâi jàp looei wâ. dtàae man bàawk guu wâa man khôot yàak dâai bai-daaeng.) |
| Gong: Toei didn’t pick yet. But he told me that he really wants to pick a red card. |
| โก้: แน่นอนอยู่แล้ว มันอยากไปเป็นทหารเพราะมันอยากอยู่ใกล้พวกผู้ชาย (nâae-naawn yùu láaeo. man yàak bpai bpen thá-hǎan phráw man yàak yùu glâi phûuak phûu-chaai.) |
| Go: Of course. He wants to be a soldier so he can be surrounded by men. |
| POST CONVERSATION BANTER |
| Ohm: Hey Khru Jing, what are these black and red cards they are talking about in the conversation? |
| Jing: Oh, it’s the system used for the military draft lottery in Thailand. |
| Ohm: How does it work? |
| Jing: When Thai men are 21 years old, they have to go pick a card out of a bag. If they get a red card, then they have to serve in the military for two years. |
| Ohm: And if they get a black card then they’re exempt from service? |
| Jing: That’s right. |
| Ohm: Wow. I can see how it would be a nervous time when it comes your turn to pick. |
| Jing: Yes, it could be stressful. But I think most Thais would be proud to serve their country. |
| Ohm: That’s good. Now let’s take a look at the vocabulary. |
| VOCAB LIST |
| Ohm: The first word we shall see is... |
| Pim: พวกผู้ชาย phûuak-phûu-chaai [natural native speed] |
| Ohm: men |
| Pim: พวกผู้ชาย phûuak-phûu-chaai [slowly - broken down by syllable] พวกผู้ชาย phûuak-phûu-chaai [natural native speed] |
| Ohm: Next |
| Pim: โคตร khôot [natural native speed] |
| Ohm: very (impolite form) |
| Pim: โคตร khôot [slowly - broken down by syllable] โคตร khôot [natural native speed] |
| Ohm: Next |
| Pim: ลุ้นแทน lún-thaaen [natural native speed] |
| Ohm: feel excited on someone's behalf |
| Pim: ลุ้นแทน lún-thaaen [slowly - broken down by syllable] ลุ้นแทน lún-thaaen [natural native speed] |
| Ohm: Next |
| Pim: ทหาร thá-hǎan [natural native speed] |
| Ohm: soldier |
| Pim: ทหาร thá-hǎan [slowly - broken down by syllable] ทหาร thá-hǎan [natural native speed] |
| Ohm: Next |
| Pim: แทบตาย thâaep-dtaai [natural native speed] |
| Ohm: very, extremely |
| Pim: แทบตาย thâaep-dtaai [slowly - broken down by syllable] แทบตาย thâaep-dtaai [natural native speed] |
| Ohm: Next |
| Pim: ไอ้ âi [natural native speed] |
| Ohm: impolite prefix to male names |
| Pim: ไอ้ âi [slowly - broken down by syllable] ไอ้ âi [natural native speed] |
| Ohm: Next |
| Pim: อี ii [natural native speed] |
| Ohm: impolite prefix to female names |
| Pim: อี ii [slowly - broken down by syllable] อี ii [natural native speed] |
| Ohm: Next |
| Pim: พวกเรา pûuak-rao [natural native speed] |
| Ohm: we |
| Pim: พวกเรา pûuak-rao [slowly - broken down by syllable] พวกเรา pûuak-rao [natural native speed] |
| Ohm: Next |
| Pim: เลือก lûueak [natural native speed] |
| Ohm: to choose |
| Pim: เลือก lûueak [slowly - broken down by syllable] เลือก lûueak [natural native speed] |
| Ohm: And last... |
| Pim: มัน man [natural native speed] |
| Ohm: it |
| Pim: มัน man [slowly - broken down by syllable] มัน man [natural native speed] |
| KEY VOCAB AND PHRASES |
| Ohm: Let's have a closer look at the usage for some of the words and phrases from this lesson. |
| Jing: The first phrase we’ll look at is.... |
| Jing: ไปหาไรกินกันเหอะ ‘bpai hǎa rai gin gan hòe’ |
| Ohm: This is a very casual way to say “Let’s go find something to eat.” |
| Jing: That’s right. ไปหา ‘bpai hǎa’ are two verbs “to go” and “to look for”. |
| Ohm: And then ไร ‘rai’ is just an abbreviated form of อะไร ‘à-rai’, isn’t that right? |
| Jing: Yes. And in this sentence, ไร ‘rai’ means “something”. Then, กินกัน ‘gin gan’ means “to eat together”. And the final word, เหอะ ‘hòe’, makes the statement a command or suggestion. |
| Ohm: Can we hear the whole phrase once more? |
| Jing: ไปหาไรกินกันเหอะ ‘bpai hǎa rai gin gan hòe’ |
| Ohm: OK, now what’s the second phrase? |
| Jing: แล้วแต่มึง ‘láaeo dtàae mueng’ |
| Ohm: This is kind of a rude way to say “It’s up to you.” |
| Jing: That’s true. แล้วแต่ ‘láaeo dtàae’ put before any noun or pronoun means “it’s up to...” or “it depends upon...”. |
| Ohm: Which sounds fine. But the next word is what makes this phrase sound rude. |
| Jing: Right. มึง ‘mueng’ is a rude form of the pronoun “you”. If you say it to a stranger it’s very offensive. |
| Ohm: But it’s kind of acceptable to use among close friends. |
| Jing: Yeah, but it really has to be your very close friend. |
| Ohm: OK, then what’s the last phrase? |
| Jing: ไปจับใบดำใบแดง ‘bpai jàp bai-dam bai-daaeng’ |
| Ohm: This is the expression referring to the Thai military draft lottery that we just talked about. |
| Jing: ใบดำ ‘bai-dam’ means “black card”, and ใบแดง ‘bai-daaeng’ means “red card”. While จับ ‘jàp’ is the verb “to grab”. |
| Ohm: So the entire saying means “to go pick a black or red card”. Alright, now let’s move on to the grammar. |
| GRAMMAR POINT |
| Ohm: The focus of this lesson is using the impolite prefixes อี ‘ii’ and ไอ้ ‘âi’ with names. |
| Jing: These two words can go before someone’s name, a little bit like “Mr” or “Ms”. But there’s a big difference. They make you sound more rude instead of sounding more polite. |
| Ohm: There’s really no equivalent in English, is there? |
| Jing: I don’t think so. This is an example of culture and language being closely connected. |
| Ohm: Now, even though they are considered rude, อี ‘ii’ and ไอ้ ‘âi’ are used all the time among close friends. |
| Jing: Yes, but you have to be careful. Don’t use these words with a stranger or someone older than yourself. It would come across as very insulting. |
| Ohm: OK, now that we’ve got that covered, how do we actually use them? |
| Jing: อี ‘ii’ is used before female names, and ไอ้ ‘âi’ is used before male names. One example from the conversation was when Go said... |
| กูได้ยินมาว่าไอ้ตั้มไปจับใบดำใบแดง |
| guu dâi-yin maa wâa âi-dtâm bpai jàp bai-dam bai-daaeng. |
| Ohm: “I heard that Tam went to pick a black or red card.” |
| Jing: In this case, Go is speaking to Gong about a male friend of theirs who is the same age. |
| Ohm: So he can get away with using the prefix ไอ้ ‘âi’ without it having a malicious tone. Did we have an example using อี ‘ii’? |
| Jing: Yes. There was this sentence...แล้วอีเตยจับได้ไรวะ ‘láaeo ii-dtooei jàp dâai rai wá’. |
| Ohm: “And what did Toei pick?” Now in this case, their friend Toei is technically male, but they use the female prefix อี ii with his name because Toei is either gay or a ladyboy. |
| Jing: Yeah, that’s kind of the Thai way of thinking. He is considered a “she”. |
| Ohm: Is there any other use for อี ‘ii’ and ไอ้ ‘âi’? |
| Jing: Well don’t tell anyone I told you this, but อี ‘ii’ and ไอ้ ‘âi’ can also be used as a prefix before many different words to form insulting titles. |
| Ohm: Can you give an example? |
| Jing: Umm, let’s see... ควาย ‘khwaai’ means “water buffalo”. And it’s considered a really stupid animal in Thailand. So if you call someone ไอ้ควาย ‘âi-khwaai’, it’s like calling them a “stupid idiot”. |
| Ohm: Oh, I see. And someone would get pretty upset if you called them that, right? |
| Jing: Yeah, it’s actually quite offensive. So it’s better if you don’t use it yourself. But if you ever hear ไอ้ควาย ‘âi-khwaai’ in a movie, now you’ll know what it means! |
| Ohm: Well, thanks for that little insight. |
Outro |
|---|
| Ohm: Ok listeners, that's it for this lesson. Make sure you check the lesson notes, and we’ll see you next time! |
| Jing: แล้วเจอกันใหม่ láaeo jooe gan mài |
Comments
Hide