Can Any Thai Taxi Drivers Speak English?

Focus: Asking Whether You "Can" Do Something

• The verb ได้ (dâai), meaning "can" or "to be able to," follows other verbs or phrases to state that something is possible.

  • If it follows the verb พูด (phûut), meaning "to speak," ;

  • It means "can speak," as in พูดได้ (phûut dâai).

• When there is an object connected to the verb, ได้ (dâai) comes after the object;

  • As in พูดภาษาไทยได้ (phûut phaa-sǎa-thai dâai), meaning "can speak Thai."

• We can add the question word ไหม (mǎi) to the end to make it a yes or no question.

  • พูดภาษาไทยได้ไหม (phûut phaa-sǎa-thai dâai mǎi) ➤ "Can you speak Thai?"

  • To answer "Yes, I can," just repeat the verb along with ได้ (dâai)

    • As in พูดได้ (phûut dâai).

  • To answer "No, I can't," add "not" before ได้ (dâai);

    • As in พูดไม่ได้ (phûut mâi dâai).

• To add emphasis, you can attach the word เลย (looei) to the end of your response.

  • พูดไม่ได้เลย (phûut mâi dâai looei) ➤ "I can't speak it at all."

• Finally, to make a positive answer sound more modest, you can attach the phrase "a little bit" to the end of your answer.

  • พูดได้นิดหน่อย (phûut dâai nít-nàawy) ➤ "I can speak it a little bit."

Vocabulary & Phrases

• ไปที่ไหน (bpai thîi-nǎi)

  • This is the question "Where to?" or "Where are you going?"

  • In casual speech, we often shorten it to ไปไหน (bpai nǎi).

• ไปที่... (bpai thîi...)

  • Literally, this phrase means "Go to (location)."

  • We do not need the subject, which can be understood from the context.

  • It could mean "I'm going to...," "We're going to...," or "Let's go to...,"

  • It could be the command "You go to..." depending on the context.

• ไม่เชิง (mâi-chooeng)

  • เชิง (chooeng)  ➤ "manner" or "technique."

  • When we add the negative particle to it, the whole phrase means something like

    • "not exactly in that way,"

    • "not quite like that," or

    • "that's not really the case."

• แค่นิดหน่อย (khâae nít-nàawy)

  • This phrase means "just a little."

  • แค่ (khâae) ➤ "just" or "only."

  • นิดหน่อย (nít-nàawy) ➤ "a little bit."

  • We should place it after the verb in the sentence.

• เลย (looei)

  • It adds a matter-of-fact emphasis to verbs and adjectives.

  • In positive statements, it can mean "of course," "so," "to such an extent," or "obviously."

  • In negative statements, it means "not at all" or "not in the least."

You Have Many Options for Avoiding Bangkok Traffic!

• The taxis in Bangkok can be a good way to get around the city.

  • Most of the cabs are fairly new, clean, and-most importantly-air conditioned!

  • The only downside to using a taxi is if you get stuck in a traffic jam.

• The citizens of Thailand employ a number of other modes of hired transportation that you might be unfamiliar with.

  • The most famous of these is probably the ตุ๊กๆ (dtúk-dtúk). It's a small, three-wheeled motorized rickshaw.

  • For short rides, they can be cheaper than regular taxis, but you usually have to haggle to agree on a fare.

• In some areas, you will also find motorcycle taxis.

  • These are even cheaper than a dtúk-dtúk.

  • They are also useful during rush hour because the motorcycles can squeeze between cars and sneak their way up to the front of the queue at traffic lights.

• There is another form of semi-mass transit commonly found in smaller cities called a sǎawng-thǎaeo, which means "two rows."

  • It is basically a pickup truck with two parallel bench seats installed in the back.

  • They tend to run on set routes like a bus and are very cheap.

  • In some places, it is possible to hire a whole sǎawng-thǎaeo for yourself or your group, with some haggling on the price necessary.

How to Get Insider Thai Info from the Locals?

Lesson Focus: Asking Someone to Do Something for You

• We use the verb ให้ (hâi), meaning "to give," as a helping verb to show the direction of action or to indicate that someone is doing an action for somebody.

• In the sentence order, it comes after the verb and the direct object and before the indirect object. So the basic word order would be:

  • Subject + verb + direct object + ให้ (hâi) + indirect object

    • ผมเขียนชื่อให้คุณ (phǒm khǐian chûue hâi khun)

      ➤ "I write the name for you."

    • สตีฟซื้อตั๋วให้ดิฉัน (sà-dtíip súue dtǔa hâi dì-chǎn)

      ➤ "Steve bought a ticket for me."

• When using ให้ (hâi) in a direct request, we can leave out the subject and the indirect object because the listener will automatically understand "you" and "me" from the context.

• You can use either ขอ (khǎaw), meaning "to ask for," or ช่วย (chûuai), meaning "to help," at the beginning of the sentence to indicate that you are requesting something.

• And you can put หน่อย (nàawy), meaning "little," at the end of the sentence to make the request more humble.

  • ขอเขียนชื่อร้านอาหารให้หน่อย (khǎaw khǐian chûue ráan-aa-hǎan hâi nàawy)

    ➤ "Please write the name of the restaurant [for me]."

  • ช่วยซื้อน้ำส้มให้หน่อย (chûuai súue nám-sôm hâi nàawy)

    ➤ "Please buy orange juice [for me]."

Vocabulary & Phrases

• รอสักครู่ (raaw sàk-khrûu)

  • This is a complete phrase that means "Please wait a moment."

  • รอ (raaw) is the verb "to wait."

  • สัก (sàk) is an adverb that means "just" or "at least,"

  • ครู่ (khrûu) means "a moment."

  • So, all together, the phrase literally means "Wait just a moment."

• ...ให้หน่อย (...hâi nàawy)

  • This is an expression we add to the end of a sentence to form a request.

  • ให้ (hâi) means "to give."

    • When we use it in a request, it is like saying "Please give me the favor of doing (action) for me."

  • หน่อย (nàawy) means "a little."

    • We use it to make the request sound more humble and less demanding.

    • It is kind of like saying "I've got a small favor to ask of you" or "Can I get a little help."

A Caution and a Tip for Thai Taxicab Riding

• All the taxicabs in Thailand say "Taxi Meter" on top of them.

• But despite this, you might occasionally encounter a taxi driver who is reluctant to turn on the meter.

• If you ever meet this kind of driver who tries to quote a fare instead of using the meter, just get out and find another cab.

• Unfortunately, a small minority of taxi drivers try to take advantage of foreigners in this manner.

• But don't worry, there are so many taxis in Bangkok that you should not have to wait long to meet an honest taxi driver.

• When the meter is running properly, taxi fares in Thailand are quite reasonable.

• You should be able to get just about anywhere in Bangkok for less than two hundred baht, or about five U.S. dollars.

• There is no need to tip taxi drivers. They do not expect to get tips.

• But it is common to round up the amount of the fare if it is an irregular amount to avoid using small coins.

• For example, if the meter reads forty-eight baht, you would probably just hand the driver a fifty-baht bill and tell him to keep the change.