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.