Learn some common suffixes in Thai
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.
Intro |
|---|
| Michael: What are some suffixes in Thai? |
| Nantanee: And why are they useful to know? |
| Michael: At ThaiPod101.com, we hear these questions often. Imagine the following situation: Ben Lee hears a new word that sounds familiar, but he isn't sure about the meaning. He asks his friend, |
| "What does "gà-sèet-dtrà-gaawn" mean?" |
| Ben Lee: "เกษตรกร" หมายความว่าอะไร (gà-sèet-dtrà-gaawn măai khwaam wâa à-rai) |
| Dialogue |
| Ben Lee: "เกษตรกร" หมายความว่าอะไร (gà-sèet-dtrà-gaawn măai khwaam wâa à-rai) |
| Nipaporn Niyom: หมายความว่า "เกษตรกร" (măai khwaam wâa gà-sèet-dtrà-gaawn) |
| Michael: Once more with the English translation. |
| Ben Lee: "เกษตรกร" หมายความว่าอะไร (gà-sèet-dtrà-gaawn măai khwaam wâa à-rai) |
| Michael: "What does "gà-sèet-dtrà-gaawn" mean?" |
| Nipaporn Niyom: หมายความว่า "เกษตรกร" (măai khwaam wâa gà-sèet-dtrà-gaawn) |
| Michael: "It means "farmer." |
Lesson focus |
| Michael: In Thai, words usually consist of a stem, a prefix and/or a suffix. In this lesson, we will have a closer look at the latter, which are suffixes, or |
| Nantanee: คำต่อท้าย (kham dtàaw-tháai) |
| Michael: A suffix is a part of the word that always follows the stem. Its main function is to expand a word stem into a completely new word. You may wonder exactly how it works. |
| [Recall 1] |
| Michael: Let's take a closer look at the dialogue. |
| Do you remember how Ben Lee says "What does "gà-sèet-dtrà-gaawn" mean?" |
| (pause 4 seconds) |
| Nantanee as Ben Lee: "เกษตรกร" หมายความว่าอะไร (gà-sèet-dtrà-gaawn măai khwaam wâa à-rai) |
| Michael: And do you remember how Nipaporn Niyom says "It means "farmer?" |
| (pause 4 seconds) |
| Nantanee as Nipaporn Niyom: หมายความว่า "เกษตรกร" (măai khwaam wâa gà-sèet-dtrà-gaawn) |
| Michael: The Thai word for "farmer" consists of two elements. The root word |
| Nantanee: เกษตร (gà-sèet) |
| Michael: which means "farmland," and the suffix |
| Nantanee: กร (gaawn). |
| Michael: Many Thai affixes have originated from Pali and Sanskrit, and this particular suffix is one of them. In Pali, the word means "doing" or "producing," while, in Sanskrit, it means "doer" or "maker." In that sense, the word |
| Nantanee: เกษตรกร (gà-sèet-dtrà-gaawn) |
| Michael: could mean "one who cultivates the land." Another word that carries the suffix mentioned is |
| Nantanee: วิศวกร (wít-sà-wá-gaawn) |
| Michael: which means "engineer." Here, we attach the suffix to the stem, |
| Nantanee: วิศว (wít-sà-wá) |
| Michael: which could mean "whole" or "universal." Finally, we have the word |
| Nantanee: กรรมกร (gam-má-gaawn) |
| Michael: which is derived from the root word |
| Nantanee: กรรม (gam) |
| Michael: meaning "activity." With the addition of the suffix, we get "one who works" or "laborer." It's interesting to note that the word for "activity" also functions as a suffix and is closely related to the first one we've just covered. You will find it in words like |
| Nantanee: มโนกรรม (má-noo-gam) |
| Michael: a term in Buddhism which means "activities of the mind." It also helps form the word, |
| Nantanee: มรณกรรม (maaw-rá-ná-gam) |
| Michael: which is a Thai word for the act of dying or "death." |
| [Summary] |
| Michael: In this lesson, we covered a couple of Thai suffixes that are used in common language. There aren't a lot of Thai suffixes, and, if there are any, they often don't carry any real meaning. One such suffix is |
| Nantanee: ธรรม (tham) |
| Michael: which is considered a formalizing suffix. It's often associated with religion and is found in words like |
| Nantanee: วัฒนธรรม (wát-thá-ná-tham) |
| Michael: which means "culture," and |
| Nantanee: คุณธรรม (khun-ná-tham) |
| Michael: which means "virtue." |
| Expansion |
| Michael: There is one Thai suffix that is actually a verb. It's the word |
| Nantanee: บาล (ban) |
| Michael: which means "to tend," "to protect," or "to nourish." You will find it in words like |
| Nantanee: รัฐบาล (rát-thà-baan) |
| Michael: which means "government," and |
| Nantanee: ชั้นอนุบาล (chán à-nú-baan) |
| Michael: which means "kindergarten." |
| Cultural Insight |
| Michael: Remember not to confuse Thai suffixes with Thai sentence ending particles. While suffixes, or |
| Nantanee: คำต่อท้าย (kham dtāaw-tháai), |
| Michael: change the meaning of a word, endings like the polite particle |
| Nantanee: ครับ (khráp) |
| Michael: or the question particle |
| Nantanee: ไหม (mǎi) |
| Michael: are added to change the tone of speech, either to make a statement sound more polite, to ask for confirmation, or even to express an intense emotion. |
Outro |
| Michael: Do you have any more questions? We're here to answer them! |
| Nantanee: แล้วพบกันใหม่เร็วๆ นี้ค่ะ (láaeo phóp gan mài reo-reo níi khâ) |
| Michael: See you soon! |
Comments
Hide