AB Level 1.9: Taxi Drivers and Thai Locals

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).

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• 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."

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• 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).

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• 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."

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• 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."

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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).

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• <<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.

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• <<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."

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• <<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.

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• <<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."

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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.

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• 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."

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• 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.

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• 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.

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• 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]."

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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."

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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.

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