Welcome to the latest edition of Language Corner, the easy to understand guide to speaking functional Thai, brought to you by Insight English Cha-Am and Onlychaam.com.
In this edition, we are going to learn about countries. Thai people have their own names for countries and therefore may not understand if you say where you come from in your native tongue. Below is a list of countries which are useful to know in Thai.
England = Ang-grit
France = Fa-rang-seet
Germany = Yur-ra-man
Portugal = Bpo-dtu-gate
China = Jeen
Japan = Yee-bpun
Korea = Gao-lee
Cambodia = Gam-poo-chaa (official)/ Ka-main (unofficial)
Myanmar = Pa-maa
Where are you from?
Parichat: Kun maa-jaak bpra-teet a-rai ka? (Where are you from?)
David: Pom maa-jaak bpra-teet Ang-grit krap. (I’m from England.)
Parichat: Kun maa-jaak muang a-rai ka? (Whereabouts?)
David: Pom maa-jaak muang London krap. (I’m from London.)
Kun la krap? (And you?)
Parichat: Chan maa-jaak jang-wat Grung-teep ka. (I’m from Bangkok.)
Vocabulary:
Maa = Come
Jaak = From
Bpra-teet = Country
A-rai = What
Muang = City
Jang-wat = Province
Note: Many people know Bangkok as a city, but actually it’s a province – that’s why we call it ‘jang-wat Grung-teep’ (Bangkok province) not ‘muang Grung-teep’. Another example would be ‘muang Hua Hin’ (Hua Hin city) in ‘jang-wat Prachuap Kirikan’ (Prachuab Kirikan province).
Language Corner is brought to you by Insight English Language School.
Cha-am is cold and rainy today! Not cold like a Scandinavian winter, obviously, but people wear jackets and sweaters and the Thais are “freezing”.
What about an Irish remedy to get warmer? Today is Saint Patrick’s day! The place to celebrate in Cha-am is of course Crawfords, Cha-am one and only Irish pub. For those who don’t know, Crawfords is in the same street as Aroy restaurant. From the beach, head to soi bus station and go to the end of the soi (which is not the easiest part, I can never do it in one go) then turn left and you will see the Irish bar and restaurant on the right side of the road.
This big sign hung onto the tourist police booth of Cha-am beach warns everyone (or everyone who can read Thai, at least) that wearing a helmet will now be compulsory when driving a motorcycle. Yes, like me you probably think it was already compulsory! But Thai law is a very flexible matter. Some laws are enforced, some others are not, some are enforced in a province or in a town but not in another… some are particularly enforced at the end of the month, or when coffee gets more expensive… well, you get the picture.
So now, the compulsory law really becomes compulsory, that’s it, that is really it. D Day 100%, says the sign.
The first edition of Crab Festival at Cha-am will be held on February 12 to 20, at the viewpoint (junction of Narathip road and beach road). You can expect the same kind of festivities as during the Kin Hoy etc. Festival, with plenty of food stalls and also concerts every night with guest stars like I zax, Syam, Wit hyper, Suda Srilamduan, Sunaree Radseema, Asia, and on the 15th my favorite one, Lung Kai !
Welcome to the latest edition of Language Corner, the easy to understand guide to speaking functional Thai, brought to you by Insight English Cha-Am and Onlychaam.com.
In the last two editions, we learnt about numbers going up to 1,000. In today’s edition we take a look at numbers that can be used when negotiating the price of something.
Here are the numbers in Thai:
10 = sip
11 = sip et
100 = nung roi
101 = nung roi nung
1,000 = nung pan
1,001 = nung pan nung
10,000 = nung muun
100,000 = nung saan
1,000,000 = nung laan
Prices are very important in our everyday lives – especially in a country where many things can be bought for a lot less if you are any good at haggling. The following dialogue shows a conversation between, the seller (kon-kaai) and the buyer (kon-suu) at a phone shop.
Kon-kaai: Doo muu-tuu roon nai dee ka? (What mobile model are you looking for?)
Kon-suu: Nokia N900 raa-kaa tao-rai? (How much is the Nokia N900?)
Kon-kaai: Gaao pan jet roi hok sip baht ka. (9,760 Baht.)
Kon-suu: Lot noi dai mai? (Can you give me a discount?)
Kon-kaai: Gaao pan haa roi baht la gun ka. (Ok, 9,500 Baht.)
Kon-suu: Kop-kun krap. (Thank you.)
Vocabulary:
Doo = Look
(Too-ra-sap) muu-tuu = Mobile (phone)
Roon = Model
Nai = Which
Raa-kaa = Price
Tao-rai = How much
Lot = Reduce
Noi = A little bit
Dai mai = Can you/he/she…
Language Corner is brought to you by Insight English Language School.
It’s been almost three years now that onlychaam has been online, and we still have a lot to do to improve the site and make it even more useful to all people who chose Cha-am as a holiday destination or as a place to live. Let’s hope we will find the time in 2011 to implement a few of our projects, like translating the site in other languages or publishing interviews of expats.
You will have noticed that I chose a bottle of cider to illustrate this message. This cider is produced in Cha-am by the Full Moon Winery, and it’s a first in Thailand. They only sell wholesale for the moment, mostly to Pattaya and Phuket, but we will keep you informed as soon as the bottles are on the shelves somewhere in Cha-am. I checked for you and it tastes good!
Happy New year once again, and let us know about your good resolutions for 2011… :-)
Here are a few pictures taken today at Hua Hin Vintage Car Parade. I was in a rush and didn’t stay long, I just stopped by on my way back to Cha-am. I hadn’t even brought my camera with me, so I had to use my wife’s phone (yes, the expensive one, well at least it takes pretty good pictures).
Our local Immigration office has moved since November 29. It is now located on Khunkhlong road, on the other side of the railway. To get there from Cha-am, go to Hua Hin and make a U-turn somewhere between Hua Hin Hospital (on your right) and Index Living Mall (on your left). Then turn left in soi 10 (there is a sign that says “Immigration 500 m”, actually it is a bit farther). Go straight until you cross the railway (be very careful at this crossing) then turn left and drive along the canal for 600 or 700 m. The Immigration office will be on your left, next to 3 Girls Restaurant.
40 vintage cars will take part in the 8th edition of the Hua Hin Vintage Car Parade, from December 17th to 19th. Friday evening the cars will be at Market Village, and Saturday afternoon at the Sofitel. Please click here to download the program of the week-end.
If the girls of soi Bus Station know you by your name and you know most of the regular punters and every bar manager, then maybe it’s time for a change. Of course Pattaya springs to mind, and it’s now possible to go there by boat! A ferry link has just been opened from Hua Hin to Pattaya (and back, no hope to get stuck there). The trip on board of a high speed catamaran takes 3 hours and 15 minutes, the cost is 2,950 baht for a round trip. More info here.
While in Pattaya, please make sure you don’t rent a jetski, as there are tourists getting scammed everyday and the police are on the scammers’ side.
Back to Hua Hin, I have been told that Hua Hin Immigration office had moved again, not far from where they were but on the other side of the railway. Can anyone please confirm and give us the exact location?
Maybe it’s just another rumour, but it seems that it’s now possible again to obtain re-entry permits at Suvarnabhumi airport. There used to be an office issuing these permits at the airport, but they closed it and you had to get it at your local Immigration office. For those who don’t know, you need a re-entry permit when you have a single entry visa and you need to travel abroad during the period of validity of your visa. Anyway, let’s hope it will become official news.
Welcome to the latest edition of Language Corner, the easy to understand guide to speaking functional Thai, brought to you by Insight English Cha-Am and Onlychaam.com.
