AB Level 1.2: Work, Time and Weather in Thailand

Occupation

  • We place the two words …ได้ไหม (…dâai mǎi) at the end of a sentence to change it into a question such as "Can you …?" or "Are you able to …?" or "Is it possible to …?"

    • คุณพูดภาษาไทยได้ไหม (khun phûut phaa-sǎa-thai dâai mǎi.)

    ➤ "Can you speak Thai?"

Time Telling

  • In Thailand, we use the twenty-four hour clock at airports and in areas of the government.

  • In this system, the formula is number of hours + นาฬิกา (naa-lí-gaa), meaning "o'clock," + number of minutes + นาที (naa-thiii), meaning "minute."

  • Examples:

    • ห้านาฬิกาสามสิบนาที (hâa naa-lí-gaa sǎam-sìp naa-thii)

    ➤ "five-thirty."

    • สิบสามนาฬิกาสิบหกนาที (sìp-sǎam naa-lí-gaa sìp-hòk naa-thii)

    ➤ “thirteen-sixteen“

    • ยี่สิบเอ็ดนาฬิกาสี่สิบเจ็ดนาที (yîi-sìp-èt naa-lí-gaa sìi-sìp-jèt naa-thii)

    ➤ "twenty-one forty-seven"

Weather

  • The verb "to have" is มี (mii).

    • We use this verb just like its English counterpart, with the object coming after the verb.

  • Like all verbs in Thai, it does not need to change form to agree with the subject.

  • The pattern is subject + มี (mii) + object.

    • คุณมีเวลา (khun mii wee-laa) ➤ "you have time."

  • We place the word ไม่ (mâi) before adjectives and verbs to negate them.

    • ไม่มี (mâi mii)  ➤ "don't have."
    • ผมไม่มีเวลา (phǒm mâi mii wee-laa)  ➤ "I don't have time."

  • ไม่ (mâi) works in the same way with any other verb.

    • ผมจะไม่ไป (phǒm jà mâi bpai) ➤ "I won't go,"

  • ไม่ (mâi) always comes directly in front of the verb or adjective that it negates.

    • ไม่ร้อน (mâi ráawn) ➤ "not hot"

Key Phrases

  • <<ทำงาน (<<<<tham-ngaan<<<<)<<

    • The verb "to do" is ทำ (tham), and the noun for "work" is งาน (ngaan).
    • So together, ทำงาน (tham-ngaan) means "to do work" or "occupation."
    • Just like the English word "work," it could act as either a verb or a noun in the sentence.

  • <<นิดหน่อย (<<<<nít-nàwy<<<<)<<

    • This is an adverb that means "a little bit."
    • It would come right after a verb or adjective in a sentence.
    • Examples:
    • เดินนิดหน่อย (dooen nít-nàwy) ➤ "walk a little bit"
    • ร้อนนิดหน่อย (ráawn nít-nàwy) ➤ "a little hot"

  • <<ขณะนี้ (<<<<khà-nà-níi<<<<)<<

    • This phrase means "at this time."
    • We form it combining ขณะ (khà-nà), meaning "moment," and นี้ (níi), meaning "this."
    • It will usually come at the beginning of a sentence.

  • <<มาก (<<<<mâak<<<<)<<

    • This is an adverb that means "very."
    • Examples:
    • ร้อนมาก (ráawn mâak) ➤  "very hot,"
    • ชอบมาก (châawp mâak) ➤  "like very much."

  • <<ถึง (<<<<thǔeng<<<<)<<

    • This is the verb that means "to arrive."
    • It comes right before the place or thing you are arriving at in the sentence.

  • <<แย่แล้ว (<<<<yâae láaeo<<<<)<<

    • แย่ (yâae)  ➤ "bad" or "terrible."
    • แล้ว (láaeo) ➤  "already"
    • In this phrase adds the sense of something that has already come into being.
    • We can translate the whole phrase as "Oh, how awful!" or "That's terrible!"

  • <<ใช่ (<<<<châi<<<<)<<

    • We use this word to show agreement.
    • We can translate it as "yes," "that's right," or "that's correct."

  • <<อุณหภูมิ (<<<<Temperatures)<<

    • We can state the temperature with the following formula:
    • number + องศา (ong-sǎa), meaning "degrees," + เซลเซียส (seo-sîiat), meaning "Celsius."

Names of Languages

  • We usually form the names of languages by ภาษา (phaa-sǎa) ("language") + the name of the country or nationality.

    • ภาษาไทย (phaa-sǎa-thai)  ➤ "Thai language."
    • Sometimes, the language name is different from the name of the country or nationality, as in ภาษาฮินดี (phaa-sǎa-hin-dii), which means "Hindi."
    • The word "language" is a noun, and the name of the language is an adjective.
    • Adjectives always come after nouns in Thai.

  • There are many dialects of Thai spoken in Thailand and neighboring countries.

    • Actually, Thai and Lao are so similar that we could call them dialects of the same language.
    • There are four main dialects spoken in Thailand that correspond to the four main regions of the country: the center, north, northeast, and south.
    • The Central Thai dialect is the standard form taught in all government schools.
    • This is the dialect that we are using.
    • ภาษากลาง (phaa-sǎa-glaang) ➤  "central language."

Telling Time the Thai Way

  • In Thailand, there is also a local timekeeping system that divides the day into five sections.
  • These are from one to five o'clock in the morning, six to eleven o'clock in the morning, one to three o'clock in the afternoon, four to six o'clock in the evening, and seven to eleven o'clock in the evening.
  • There are extra terms for noon and midnight.
  • The Thai system might be somewhat perplexing at first for individuals who are just used to splitting the day into A.M. and P.M.

Sunbathing Alone in Thailand

  • Thailand is a tropical nation where temperatures may occasionally approach 40 degrees Celsius.
  • Despite the hot weather, Thais usually dress modestly and do not expose as much flesh as many Westerners do in the summer.
  • When doing anything somewhat serious, such as visiting a government office or a Buddhist temple, Thais normally wear long pants or a long skirt.
  • Thais will also often wear long-sleeved shirts or jackets outdoors to shield their skin from the sun.
  • You won't see many Thais sunning on the beach either.
  • To stay cool, they'll all sit in the shade beneath beach umbrellas.