AB Level 1.15: Relaxing and Having Free Time in Thailand
Relaxing in Thailand
Focus: ด้วย
The word ด้วย (dûuai) has two main meanings.
- First, it is an adverb that means "also," "too," or "together."
- Secondly, ด้วย (dûuai) can be a preposition meaning "with," "by," or "by means of."
When we use it as an adverb to mean "too" or "also," ด้วย (dûuai) will come at the end of the sentence, after the verb and any objects that it might have.
- คุณจะไปดูหนังเหรอ ผมอยากไปด้วย (khun jà bpai duu nǎng rǒoe. phǒm yàak bpai dûuai.)
➤ "Oh, you're going to see a movie? I want to go too."
- ด้วย (dûuai) also combines with กัน (gan) to make ด้วยกัน (dûuai-gan), which means "together." It also follows after the verb and any objects.
- พ่อกับแม่จะไปเที่ยวด้วยกัน (phâaw gàp mâae jà bpai thîiao dûuai-gan.)
➤ "Dad and Mom will go traveling together."
- พี่ชายกับผมทำงานด้วยกัน (phîi-chaai gàp phǒm tham-ngaan dûuai-gan.)
➤ "My older brother and I work together."
- The second main meaning of ด้วย (dûuai) is the preposition "by" or "with." In this use, we place ด้วย (dûuai) in front of the indirect object.
- คุณแดนซื้อกล้องใหม่ด้วยบัตรเครดิต (khun daaen súue glâwng mài dûuai bàt-khree-dìt)
➤ "Dan bought a new camera with a credit card." * คุณต้องหั่นแครอทด้วยมีด (khun dtâwng hàn khaae-ràwt dûuai mîit.)
➤ "You must slice the carrot with a knife."
Focus: บ้าง (Bâang)
We can use บ้าง (bâang) in questions to mean "some" or "any."
In a sentence, บ้าง (bâang) will follow a question word such as อะไร (à-rai), meaning "what," ใคร (khrai), meaning "who," or ที่ไหน (thîi-nǎi), meaning "where."
We use it in questions that are expected to have more than one answer.
- เดือนหน้าคุณจะไปเที่ยวที่ไหนบ้าง (duuean nâa khun jà bpai thîiao thîi-nǎi bâang.)
➤ "Where are you traveling to next month?"
- คุณแม่อยากทานอะไรบ้าง (khun-mâae yàak thaan à-rai bâang.)
➤ "What would you like to eat, Mother?"
- To ask for a full list, you can include the verb "to have," มี (mii) before the question word, and บ้าง (bâang).
- มีใครบ้างที่จะไปเที่ยวกับคุณ (mii khrai bâang thîi jà bpai thîiao gàp khun.)
➤ "Who's going to travel with you?"
- With yes or no questions, บ้าง (bâang) carries the meaning of "any."
- มีใครที่จะไปเที่ยวกับคุณบ้างไหม (mii khrai thîi jà bpai thîiao gàp khun bâang mǎi.)
➤ "Is there anybody who's going to travel with you?"
- คุณแม่อยากทานอะไรบ้างไหม (khun-mâae yàak thaan à-rai bâang mǎi.)
➤ "Is there anything you'd like to eat, Mother?"
- เดือนหน้าคุณจะไปเที่ยวที่ไหนบ้างหรือเปล่า (duuean nâa khun jà bpai thîiao thîi-nǎi bâang rǔue bplàao.)
➤ "Are you going to travel anywhere next month?"
Vocabulary & Phrases
- <<เวลาว่าง (wee-laa wâang)<<
- This phrase means "during free time."
- เวลา (wee-laa) ➤ "time,"
- ว่าง (wâang) ➤ "free" or "unoccupied."
- We often use it as a preposition at the beginning of a sentence.
- Example:
- เวลาว่างผมชอบไปชายหาด (wee-laa wâang phǒm châawp bpai chaai-hàat.)
➤ "When I have free time, I like to go to the beach."
- <<ลอง…ดู (laawng…duu)<<
- We use this pattern to say that the subject is trying something out.
- Whatever is being attempted would go in the middle of the phrase.
- Examples:
- ลองชิมแกงดูสิคะ (laawng chim gaaeng duu sì khá.)
➤ "Try tasting the curry!" * ดิฉันลองใส่หมวกดูแล้ว (dì-chǎn laawng sài mùuak duu láaeo.)
➤ "I tried on the hat already."
<<ที่ไหนดี (thîi-nǎi dii)<<
- This phrase means "where would be good."
- We can attach ดี (dii) to the end of many questions to ask someone for an opinion or a suggestion.
- Examples:
- ไปที่่ไหนดี (bpai thîi-nǎi dii.) ➤ "Where should we go?"
- กินอะไรดี (gin à-rai dii.) ➤ "What should we eat?"
- เราเจอกันเมื่อไรดี (rao jooe gan mûuea-rai dii.) ➤ "When should we meet?"
<<แล้วเจอกัน (láaeo jooe gan)<<
- This phrase means "See you later."
- เจอ (jooe) ➤ "to meet,"
- กัน (gan) ➤ "together" or "one another."
- In this phrase, แล้ว (láaeo) means "then" or "next," as in "See you next time."
<<ตรงนี้ (dtrong-níi)<<
- This means "here" or "right here."
- ตรง (dtrong) ➤ "straight" or "direct," but it can also mean "where."
- So when it's combined with นี้ níi, the adjective "this," it means "right in this place" or "here."
- ที่นี่ (thîi-nîi) also means "here," but ที่นี่ (thîi-nîi) is considered slightly more formal than ตรงนี้ dtrong-níi.
- Examples:
- เปลี่ยนเสื้อตรงนี้นะคะ (bplìian sûuea dtrong-níi ná khá.)
➤ "Change your clothes here." * เปลี่ยนเสื้อที่นี่นะคะ (bplìian sûuea thîi-nîi ná khá.)
➤ "Change your clothes here."
- <<ตรงไหน (dtrong-nǎi)<<
- This is the question "Where?"
- As with ตรงนี้ (dtrong-níi), ตรง (dtrong) means "where" or "a place."
- ไหน (nǎi) is a question particle that means "Which?"
- So ตรงไหน (dtrong-nǎi) therefore means "Which place?" or "Where?"
- The meaning is identical to ที่ไหน (thîi-nǎi), but ที่ไหน (thîi-nǎi) is considered slightly more formal than ตรงไหน. Both examples below have the same meaning.
- Examples:
- ปวดตรงไหนบ้างคะ (bpùuat dtrong-nǎi bâang khá.)
➤ "Where all do you feel sore?" * ปวดที่ไหนบ้างคะ (bpùuat thîi-nǎi bâang khá.)
➤ "Where all do you feel sore?"
<<เสร็จแล้ว (sèt láaeo)<<
- This phrase means "I'm finished" or "It's ready."
- เสร็จ (sèt) ➤ "ready," "finished," or "complete."
- แล้ว (láaeo) ➤ "already."
- We add it to indicate that whatever preparation had been taking place is now done.
- We will often use เสร็จแล้ว (sèt láaeo) and omit the subject of the sentence, since the listener will already know it from the context and will be waiting to hear this phrase.
- Examples:
- เสร็จแล้วครับ (sèt láaeo khráp.) ➤ "I'm ready."
<<เบาๆหน่อย (bao-bao nàwy)<<
- This phrase means "Softly, please" or "Lightly, please."
- เบา (bao) ➤ "gentle," "light," "soft," or "quiet."
- When it is doubled as เบาๆ (bao-bao), it becomes an adverb meaning "gently," "lightly," "softly," or "quietly."
- หน่อย (nàwy) ➤ "a little."
- We use it here to turn the phrase into a polite request.
- When หน่อย (nàwy) follows an adverb, it is like saying "Could you do it a little more like this, please?"
- We can use เบาๆหน่อย (bao-bao nàwy) in several different contexts.
- It could be asking to apply less physical pressure, or it could be asking to make a sound quieter.
- Examples:
- ขอนวดเบาๆหน่อยครับ (khǎaw nûuat bao-bao nàwy khráp.)
➤ "Please massage a little more gently." * พูดเบาๆหน่อย (phûut bao-bao nàwy.)
➤ "Speak quietly, please."
The Hub of Thai Massage Training
- Wat Pho is a center for traditional Thai massage learning.
- For hundreds of years it has been a place where the knowledge of Thai traditional healing methods were preserved and taught.
- On the grounds of the temple are a number of statues of sages in yoga poses.
- There are also many old plaques with medical texts inscribed on them on display.
- In 1955, the Wat Pho Thai Traditional Medical and Massage School was opened.
- The specific massage system taught at the school is known as Wat Pho massage.
- Thai massage providers from all over Thailand will proudly display their certificate from the Wat Pho Massage School to show that they have undergone the proper training to provide the highest quality Thai massage.
- The school conducts several different courses.
- The General Thai Massage course is thirty hours, which can be completed in five days.
- It also offers a sixty-hour Advanced course and other courses for Foot Massage, Oil and Aroma Massage, and Infant and Child Massage.
- For more professional training, the school conducts twenty-six-day courses in Professional Thai Massage for Health.
- The training course is full-time, around seven hours per day, for a total of 165 hours.
- It consists of one hundred hours of practical sessions and sixty-five hours of theory and examination.
- Visitors to Wat Pho can also stop by the school to receive a Thai massage, foot massage, or herbal massage from the instructors and students in training.
Have You Ever…?
Lesson Focus: เคย
- We can use the word เคย (khooei) to say that some action has ever happened. Just put เคย (khooei) directly in front of any verb.
- ผมเคยไปเชียงใหม่ (phǒm khooei bpai chiiang-mài.)
➤ "I have been to Chiang Mai."
- คุณแม่เคยทำสปาเก็ตตี้มาก่อน (khun-mâae khooei tham sà-bpaa-gét-dtîi maa gàawn.)
➤ "Mother has made spaghetti before."
- คุณเคยกินขนุนไหมคะ (khun khooei gin khà-nǔn mǎi khá.)
➤ "Have you ever eaten jackfruit?"
- We can easily say "never" instead of "ever" just by adding the negative particle ไม่ (mâi) in front of เคย (khooei).
- ผมไม่เคยไปเชียงใหม่ (phǒm mâi khooei bpai chiiang-mài.)
➤ "I have never been to Chiang Mai."
- คุณแม่ไม่เคยทำสปาเก็ตตี้มาก่อน (khun-mâae mâi khooei tham sà-bpaa-gét-dtîi maa gàawn.)
➤ "Mother has never made spaghetti before."
Vocabulary & Phrases
<<ครั้งหนึ่ง (khráng nùeng)<<
- This is a phrase that means "once."
- ครั้ง (khráng) ➤ "time" or "occurrence."
<<ปีที่แล้ว (bpii thîi láaeo)<<
- This phrase means "last year."
- ปี (bpii) ➤ "year."
- ที่ (thîi) ➤ "that which."
- แล้ว (láaeo) ➤ "already."
- So all together, we have "the year that was already" or "last year."
- There is one other way to say "last year," which is ปีก่อน (bpii gàawn).
- We also use both of these patterns for saying "last month" and last week" by just substituting the other time words, as in these examples.
- อาทิตย์ก่อน (aa-thít gàawn) ➤ "last week"
- เดือนที่แล้ว (duuean thîi láaeo) ➤ "last month"
<<…วันก่อน (…wan gàawn)<<
- This expression means "…days ago." It follows after a number to indicate how many days.
- สามวันก่อน (sǎam wan gàawn) ➤ "three days ago"
- Another way to say "…days ago" is to use a number followed by วันที่แล้ว (wan thîi láaeo).
- ห้าวันที่แล้ว (hâa wan thîi láaeo) ➤ "five days ago"
- Both of these formulas also work with weeks, months, and years as well. By substituting those words, we can make many time expressions, such as:
- หกอาทิตย์ที่แล้ว (hòk aa-thít thîi láaeo) ➤ "six weeks ago"
- สองเดือนก่อน (sǎawng duuean gàawn) ➤ "two months ago"
- สี่ปีที่แล้ว (sìi bpii thîi láaeo) ➤ "four years ago"
Are You Ready to Hit the Thai Pubs?
- When Thai people say they are going out to a "pub," ผับ (phàp), they usually don't mean a laid-back community tavern, but rather more of a nightclub with loud music and dancing.
- Some places will feature live music, while many others will have a DJ.
- Many Thais enjoy dancing, but clubs in Thailand often do not have a large, open dance floor.
- Instead, the club might be filled with many small tables, and groups of friends will dance together while standing around a table that holds their drinks.
- They will usually pour each other mixed drinks with whiskey or rum, and the club will have waitstaff that comes around often to see who needs more mixers or ice.
- It's not uncommon for frequent visitors of the same bar or club to have the establishment hold onto an unfinished bottle of whiskey for them until their next visit.
- Before 2001, nightlife establishments in Thailand were allowed to stay open well into the morning.
- People could party all night and make their way home as the sun was rising.
- Then the government began to experiment with enforcing various closing times.
- For a period of time, there was a move to enforce a universal midnight closing time.
- Business owners, in the tourist areas especially, were strongly opposed to the move.
- Later, different closing times for different cities and special entertainment zones within cities came into effect.
- These closing times can vary from one A.M. to three A.M. depending on location.
- There will probably be continued changes in closing times in the years ahead as bar owners push to stay open longer.
- Foreign visitors to Thailand might also be caught off guard by other alcohol-related measures.
- Alcohol sales are supposed to be banned on certain days of the year, such as the king's birthday, Buddhist holidays, and days when national elections are held.
- Additionally, alcohol is not supposed to be sold between the hours of two to five P.M., with the intention of keeping it out of the hands of teens who roam about after school.
- The enforcement of these bans is, however, less than universal.