AB Level 1.5: Possessions, Nicknames & Asking for Time

Possessions

• We use the preposition ของ (kwǎawng), meaning "of," to show possession with the following formula: thing + ของ (kwǎawng) + owner.

• We form possesive adjectives such as "his," "my," and "our" by ของ (kwǎawng) + pronoun.

  • ของคุณ (kwǎawng-khun)  ➤ "your."
  • นี่หมวกของผม (nîi mùuak khǎawng phǒm)  ➤ “This is my hat“

• We can use the same pattern for "our."

  • ประเทศไทยเป็นประเทศของพวกเรา (bprà-thêet-thai bpen bprà-thêet khǎawng phûuak-rao.)

  ➤ "Thailand is our country."

• With other nouns, it replaces "of" or "'s" in English.

  • หมวกของสตีฟ (mùuak khǎawng sà-thíip)  ➤ "Steve's hat"

Vocabulary & Phrases

• <<ทางนี้ (thaang níi)<<
  • ทาง (thaang)   ➤ "way,"
  • นี้ (níi) ➤ "this."
  • So the phrase together means "this way."
  • In Thai, adjectives always come after the nouns that they describe.
• <<โชคดี (chôok-dii)<<
  • โชค (chôok)  ➤ "luck,"
  • ดี (dii)  ➤ "good."
  • In Thai, we often use โชคดี (chôok-dii), meaning "Good luck!" as a casual parting phrase just like in English.
• <<แล้วคุยกัน (láaeo khui-gan)<<
  • This phrase means "talk to you later."

Why Do All Thais Seem to Have Nicknames?

• Thai people typically have two names: a given name and a family name.
• The family name is placed after the given name, similar to Western names.
• The title "khun" is used with someone's name to show respect and is used with people's first names.
• Thai names are often lengthy.
• Thai people commonly use nicknames for each other in daily life.
• Thai nicknames are typically one syllable and can be animals, nonsensical sounds, or borrowed from English words.

Asking for Time & Thai Bills

• The Thai phrase for "what time?" is กี่โมง (gìi moong).
• To ask for the time of an event, you can add กี่โมง (gìi moong) after the event name.
• To inquire about the current time, you can use the sentence "ตอนนี้กี่โมงแล้ว" (dtaawn-níi gìi moong láaeo).

Vocabulary & Phrases

• <<เข้าเมือง (khâo muueang)<<
  • This phrase means "into town."
  • เข้า (khâo)  ➤ "to enter"
  • เมือง (muueang)  ➤ "city."
• <<หนึ่งใบ (nùeng bai)<<
  • This phrase means "one slip."
  • It is made up of the number "one," หนึ่ง (nùeng), and ใบ (bai), the classifier for leaves and small slips of paper such as tickets or currency.
• <<เที่ยวต่อไป (thîiao dtàaw-bpai)<<
  • This phrase means "the next round."

Be Careful with That Thai Bill!

• The name of the Thai currency is the baht.
• One U.S. dollar is roughly equivalent to 33 baht.
• Bills come in denominations of 1,000, 500, 100, 50, and 20 baht.
• Coins come in denominations of 10, 5, and 1 baht, as well as 100 satang (which are rarely used).
• Fifty or twenty-five satang coins can still occasionally be seen.
• All paper bills have the image of the king on them, so it's important to handle money with care.
• Stepping on a bill with your foot is considered a grave insult to the monarchy.