Learn how to ask "How do you read it?"
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| INTRODUCTION |
| Hello and welcome to Thai Survival Phrases brought to you by ThaiPod101.com. This course is designed to equip you with the language skills and knowledge to enable you to get the most out of your visit to Thailand. You will be surprised at how far a little Thai will go. |
| Now, before we jump in, remember to stop by ThaiPod101.com. There, you will find the accompanying PDF and additional info in the post. If you stop by, be sure to leave us a comment. |
Lesson focus |
|---|
| In today's lesson, we'll introduce you to a phrase that will provide you with the tools to learn from the people around you. Now, a dictionary is a great idea, but don't forget that you can use Thai language to learn in a more fun and interactive way. For today, we're going to need a word, as we're going to cover "How do you read this?" |
| In Thai, "How do you read this word?" is kham níi àan wâa à-rai. |
| kham níi àan wâa à-rai |
| And of course, you want to sound polite when asking people a question. |
| Therefore, women say kham níi àan wâa à-rai khá. |
| kham níi àan wâa à-rai khá |
| And men say kham níi àan wâa à-rai khráp. |
| kham níi àan wâa à-rai khráp |
| Let’s break it down by syllable: kham níi àan wâa à-rai khá. |
| kham níi àan wâa à-rai khráp |
| Let’s hear it one more time, kham níi àan wâa à-rai khá. |
| kham níi àan wâa à-rai khráp |
| The first word, kham means "word," followed by níi which means "this." The next word àan means "read," followed by wâa which means "speak." And the next word à-rai means "what." Khá and khráp are added to make this phrase more polite. So we have "word" "this" "read" "speak" "what" or in Thai, kham níi àan wâa à-rai. |
| Altogether, this phrase is equivalent to the English phrase "How do you read this word?" |
| You can say "How do you read that word?" by simply substituting the word níi with nán which means "that." So we have this phrase for women, ham nán àan wâa à-rai khá. |
| ham nán àan wâa à-rai khá |
| And this is for men: ham nán àan wâa à-rai khráp. |
| ham nán àan wâa à-rai khráp |
| Thai people often shorten words in daily conversation. You will hear Thai people say only rai instead of à-rai very often. You may do so, but I would recommend that you remember the full word and its meaning before you start using the shortened version, as it will help you learn the language better. |
Outro |
| Okay, to close out today's lesson, we'd like for you to practice what you just learned. I'll provide you with the English equivalent of the phrase and you are responsible of saying it aloud. You will have a few seconds before I give you the answer, so chôok-dii khâ, that means "good luck" in Thai. |
| Remember, khâ is for women and khráp is for men. |
| Ok, here we go! |
| “How do you read this word?” (for women) - kham níi àan wâa à-rai khá |
| kham níi àan wâa à-rai khá |
| kham níi àan wâa à-rai khá |
| “How do you read this word?” (for men) - kham níi àan wâa à-rai khráp |
| kham níi àan wâa à-rai khráp |
| kham níi àan wâa à-rai khráp |
| “How do you read that word?” (for women) - kham nán àan wâa à-rai khá |
| kham nán àan wâa à-rai khá |
| kham nán àan wâa à-rai khá |
| “How do you read that word?” (for men) - kham nán àan wâa à-rai khráp |
| kham nán àan wâa à-rai khráp |
| kham nán àan wâa à-rai khráp |
| All right. That’s going to do it for today. Remember to stop by ThaiPod101.com and pick up the accompanying PDF. If you stop by, be sure to leave us a comment. |
Comments
HideUntil now, what word do you think is the most difficult to pronounce in Thai?
Hello Hector,
Thank you very much for your comment and question. When "wâa" is following verb such as "pûut, àan, kiian, kít", it's mean ......that, to speak, say, aver, think + .......You can not skip the word "wâa" because it' needed to make a sentence sound more like a Thai native speak. "wâa" is act like a linking word between Verb and expression. Hope that’s help. Please let me know if you have any future questions. I will be glad to help. We wish you have a good progress with Thai language.
Have a nice day.
Parisa
Team ThaiPod101.com
Hi I am confused about the meaning of the word "waa" for a while now. In here it says it means "speak", but the main verb is "aan", which is read. So instead of saying "How do I read this?" it becomes "How do I read speak this?"
Can I drop the "waa" or is it there for some purpose? I also heard it means "that" too. Very confusing
Thank you
Hello Torben,
Thank you very much for your comment. We appreciated that. Please let us know if you need any help with Thai language. We wish you success with learning Thai.
Have a nice day.
Parisa
Team ThaiPod101.com
Many words are difficult to pronounce, but I have to learn, because someday do I live in Bangkok with my Thai friend and future wife :smile: