Do You Get a Kick out of Thai Boxing?

Focus: หรือไม่ & หรือเปล่า

• หรือ (rǔue) is the conjunction "or."

  • We can use it to ask yes or no questions by combining it with a word that means "not."

• There are two different ones we can use: ไม่ (mâi) and เปล่า (bplàao).

  • Both phrases, หรือไม่ (rǔue mâi) and หรือเปล่า (rǔue bplàao), will come at the end of a statement.

  • They turn the statement into a question, asking whether it is true "or not."

• We use หรือเปล่า (rǔue bplàao) more in everyday speech, while หรือไม่ (rǔue mâi) sounds more formal and a bit unnatural in regular conversation.

  • พรุ่งนี้คุณจะไปทำงานหรือเปล่า (phrûng-níi khun jà bpai tham-ngaan rǔue bplàao.)

    ➤ "Are you going to work tomorrow?"

  • คุณชอบกินอาหารเผ็ดหรือเปล่า (khun châawp gin aa-hǎan phèt rǔue bplàao.)

    ➤ "Do you like to eat spicy food?"

  • คำถามคือว่ากฎหมายข้อนี้ถูกหรือไม่ (kham-thǎam khuue wâa gòt-mǎai khâaw níi thùuk rǔue mâi.)

    ➤ "The question is: is this law correct or not?"

• When giving a negative answer to a question that ends with หรือเปล่า (rǔue bplàao), we usually start the answer with the word เปล่า (bplàao).

  • เปล่า พรุ่งนี้จะไม่ไปทำงาน (bplàao. phrûng-níi jà mâi bpai tham-ngaan.)

    ➤ "No, I'm not going to work tomorrow."

  • เปล่า ผมไม่ค่อยชอบอาหารเผ็ด (bplàao. phǒm mâi khâwy châawp aa-hǎan phèt.)

    ➤ "No, I don't really like spicy food."

Vocabulary & Phrases

• คิดว่า... (khít wâa...)

  • This phrase means "think that..."

  • คิด (khít) ➤ "to think."

  • ว่า (wâa) can sometimes mean "to say," but here we use it to connect the action of thinking with what was thought.

  • We use ว่า (wâa) in the same way with other verbs that create a message such as: พูด (phûut) meaning "to speak," and บอก (bàawk) meaning "to tell."

  • Examples:

    • ผมคิดว่าฝนจะตก (phǒm khít wâa fǒn jà dtòk.)

      ➤ "I think it's going to rain."

    • คุณแม่พูดว่าชอบทานข้าวผัด (khun-mâae phûut wâa châawp thaan khâao-phàt.)

      ➤ "Mother said that she likes to eat fried rice."

    • คุณครูบอกว่าดิฉันสอบตก (khun-khruu bàawk wâa dì-chǎn sàawp dtòk.)

      ➤ "My teacher told me that I failed the exam."

• น่าจะ (nâa jà)

  • We use this expression to say that the action that follows it is "probable" or "likely."

  • Examples:

    • ร้านนั้นน่าจะมีบุหรี่ (ráan nán nâa jà mii bù-rìi.)

      ➤ "That shop probably has cigarettes."

    • วันนี้คุณครูน่าจะให้การบ้าน (wan-níi khun-khruu nâa jà hâi gaan-bâan.)

      ➤ "Our teacher is likely to give us homework today."

All You Ever Wanted to Know about Muay Thai

• "Muay Thai," มวยไทย (muuai-thai), is a native Thai form of martial arts, and it is also Thailand's national sport.

  • It is a form of kickboxing that makes use of punches, elbow strikes, knee strikes, and kicks.

  • It has evolved from the ancient style of hand-to-hand combat that soldiers learned so they could fight even after losing their sword in battle.

  • Muay Thai boxers originally bound their fists in hemp rope. But in the early twentieth century, they began using boxing gloves.

• Most professional Muay Thai boxers come from poor or working class backgrounds.

  • The training is very intense, so their careers as fighters are usually not long.

• Before each fight, the participants perform a ceremonial dance called ไหว้ครูรำมวย (wâi-khruu ram-muuai), which means "boxing dance to respect the teacher."

  • They show respect to their trainer by bowing three times and then perform a slow series of moves in each of the four sides of the ring to display their technique.

  • During the dance, they wear a decorative headband and armbands.

  • The ram-muuai is accompanied by traditional music consisting of a type of clarinet, wooden drums, small hand cymbals, and a gong.

• All gambling other than the national lottery is illegal in Thailand.

  • Nonetheless, it is still commonplace.

  • Spectators of Muay Thai fights will usually place verbal bets on the fights and exchange cash for the winnings with each other in the stands between matches.

Where is Bangkok's National Museum?

Focus: แล้วหรือยัง

• We can ask whether an action "already happened or not" by using the phrase แล้วหรือยัง (láaeo rǔue yang).

  • แล้ว (láaeo) means "already."

• When it comes after a verb, it puts the action in the past tense with the sense that the action already took place.

  • หรือ (rǔue) is the conjunction "or."

• It makes a conditional argument between whatever comes before it and after it in the sentence.

  • ยัง (yang) means "yet" or "still," but in a question the meaning is closer to "still not yet."

• Examples:

  • คุณทานข้าวแล้วหรือยังคะ (khun thaan khâao láaeo rǔue yang khá.)

    ➤ "Have you eaten yet?"

  • คุณแม่ไปตลาดแล้วหรือยังครับ (khun-mâae bpai dtà-làat láaeo rǔue yang khráp.)

    ➤ "Did mother go to the market already?"

  • ปีนี้หิมะตกแล้วหรือยัง (bpii níi hì-má dtòk láaeo rǔue yang.)

    ➤ "Has it snowed yet this year?"

• When giving a positive answer to a แล้วหรือยัง (láaeo rǔue yang) question, we usually repeat the verb along with แล้ว (láaeo). This confirms that the action happened already.

  • ทานแล้วครับ (thaan láaeo khráp.) ➤ "I ate already."

  • เขาไปแล้ว (khǎo bpai láaeo.) ➤ "She went already."

• When giving a negative answer to a แล้วหรือยัง (láaeo rǔue yang) question, you begin with ยัง (yang) "still."

• We then follow it with the negative statement ไม่ได้ (mâi dâi) "didn't do" and the verb. This informs the listener that the action still has not yet happened.

  • ยังเขาไม่ได้ไป (yang khǎo mâi dâi bpai.) ➤ "No, she didn't go yet."

  • ยังไม่ได้ทาน (yang mâi dâi thaan.) ➤ "No, I still haven't eaten."

Vocabulary & Phrases

• แค่...เท่านั้น (khâae...thâo-nán)

  • Both parts of this expression can mean "only" or "just" when we use either alone.

  • It is, however, more natural to use both of them surrounding the object to say the same thing.

    • ผมมีเสื้อแค่หกตัวเท่านั้น (phǒm mii sûuea khâae hòk dtuua thâo-nán.)

      ➤ "I only have six shirts."

• อยู่ใกล้ๆกับ (yùu glâi-glâi gàp)

  • This expression means "located nearby..."

  • อยู่ (yùu) ➤ "to be located."

  • ใกล้ๆ (glâi-glâi) ➤ "nearby" or "close to."

  • กับ (gàp) ➤ "with" or "together."

  • Here, we use it to connect the preposition "located near" with the reference point.

  • Example:

    • บ้านของเราอยู่ใกล้ๆกับธนาคาร (bâan khǎawng rao yùu glâi-glâi gàp thá-naa-khaan.)

      ➤ "Our house is near the bank."

• มีอะไร (mii à-rai)

  • มี (mii) ➤ "to have,"

  • อะไร (à-rai) ➤ "What?," will often mean "What do you have?" when we use them together.

  • However, มี (mii) can sometimes take on the duty of the verb "to be" when we use it to say "to have in existence."

  • Examples:

    • มีอะไรที่คุณอยากกินไหมครับ (mii à-rai thîi khun yàak gin mǎi khráp.)

      ➤ "Is there anything you want to eat?"

    • แถวนี้มีอะไรบ้าง (thǎaeo níi mii à-rai bâang.)

      ➤ "What is there all in this area?"

Ceremonies You'll See at Sanam Luang

• Sanam Luang, สนามหลวง (sà-nǎam lǔuang) is a large open field in Bangkok that is used for public gatherings and certain royal functions.

  • สนาม (sà-nǎam) ➤ field,"

  • หลวง (lǔuang) ➤ "great" or "royal."

  • Sanam Luang is located next to the Grand Palace, right in the heart of old Bangkok. It has an area of about thirty acres.

• The most important ceremonies to be conducted at Sanam Luang are royal cremations.

  • These involve constructing a very elaborate, towering temporary crematorium that represents Mt. Meru, the peak at the center of the world in Buddhist cosmology.

  • Because of this, the original name for Sanam Luang was ทุ่งพระเมรุ (thûng-phrá-meen), which means "field of holy Meru."

  • In the old days, the Phra Meru built for the cremation of kings would be huge.

  • When King Mongkut (Rama IV) died in 1868, the Phra Meru used for his cremation reached sixty meters in height.

  • His successor, King Chulalongkorn (Rama V), ordered that subsequent funeral structures be scaled down.

• Another important ceremony to take place at Sanam Luang is the annual Royal Ploughing Ceremony.

  • It is a tradition that began in ancient India to mark the beginning of the rice-growing season.

  • A pair of sacred oxen plough a section of earth while Brahmin priests sow rice seeds.

  • Afterward, the oxen are presented with a set of dishes containing several different types of food such as rice, beans, and grass.

  • A prediction is made on the quality of the next harvest based on which foods the oxen choose to eat.