AB Level 1.26: Are You in Thailand as a Tourist?

Focus: นัก

• We use นัก (nák) as a prefix, mostly before verbs, to form nouns that describe a type of person who does that action. Many of these types of compound words are occupations.
• Examples:
  • นักบิน (nák-bin) ➤ “person who flies” ; “pilot”
  • บิน (bin) means "to fly."
  • นักเขียน (nák-khǐian) ➤ "person who writes" ; “writer”
  • เขียน (khǐian) means "to write."
  • นักธุรกิจ (nák-thú-rá-gìt) ➤ "person who does business" ; "businessman."
  • ธุรกิจ (thú-rá-gìt) means "business" or "commerce."
• Here is a list of some more nouns for types of people that we can make with the prefix นัก (nák).

Vocabulary & Phrases

• <<ได้สิ (dâai sì**)**<<

  • This phrase means "Certainly!" or "Of course you can!"
  • The verb ได้ (dâai) in this phrase means "to be possible."
  • สิ (sì) is an emphatic particle.
  • We use it to turn statements into suggestions or commands.
  • Examples:
  • นั่งได้สิครับ (nâng dâai sì khráp.) ➤ "Certainly, you may sit down."
  • ได้สิครับ (dâai sì khráp.) ➤ "Yes, certainly."

• <<ทำงานเป็น… (tham-ngaan bpen)<<

  • This phrase means "work as a…"

  • ทำงาน (tham-ngaan) **is the verb "to work."

  • When followed by the verb "to be," เป็น (bpen), and then the name of some occupation, it means the subject works as that occupation.

  • Example:

  • ที่อเมริกาทำงานเป็นนักบินน่ะครับ

    • (thîi à-mee-rí-gaa tham-ngaan bpen nák-bin nâ khráp.)

    ➤ "In America, I work as a pilot."

• <<ส่วน (sùuan)<<

  • This is a noun that means "aspect," "part," or "portion."

  • However, we can also use it at the beginning of a sentence as a conjunction meaning "as for."

  • We use it when introducing a different subject than the one we used in the previous sentence.

  • Examples:

  • ส่วนดิฉันเป็นครูค่ะ (sùuan dì-chǎn bpen khruu khâ.)

    ➤ "As for me, I'm a teacher."

  • ส่วนนั่นคือต้นลิ้นจี่ (sùuan nân khuue dtôn lín-jìi.)

    ➤ "As for that, it's a lychee tree."

Working in Thailand

• Certain jobs in Thailand are considered to have higher social status than in other countries.
• Doctors and teachers are highly respected in the community.
• Despite being highly admired, teachers are not paid very well in Thailand.
• Most teachers in Thai government schools start out earning less than $300 USD per month.
• Police officers in Thailand also earn a low regular salary and have a reputation for taking bribes.
• Construction workers in Thailand earn the bare minimum allowed and are often immigrants from neighboring countries.
• Waitresses in Thailand usually receive only the minimum wage as there is not a strong tipping culture.
• Buddhist monks are the most highly respected profession in Thailand but do not earn any money and rely solely on donations for their livelihood.