learning the thai language

[parrot]

One of the nuances of Thai culture is the sniff kiss......หอมแก้ม that all proper Thais will do on their wedding day. To me, it's even less intimate than rubbing noses with your partner.....but that's probably because my brain is wired 110v.

แก้ม means 'cheek'.......and there's a term I've run across in many local news website about water control around Udon. You have your klongs to direct the water......and then you have your holding areas which the locals refer to as แก้มลิง.

I've successfully used the concept of แก้มลิง for runoff control in our yard. But after yesterday afternoon's rain storm (it rained harder than it did all rainy season!), we had a new area where water lines converged and tore through the ground. Gardener and แก้มลิง to the rescue. A few hours of digging out a basin......putting in some pea gravel and a pvc pipe (with a hundred or so drilled holes).....fill up the hole with dirt, plant grass....mission accomplished.

Now to wait and see if our แก้มลิง #2 lives up to its reputation

[mech_401]

tomorrow seems to be some kind of holiday
again วันหยุด ( day stop) chulalongkorn day?

[parrot]

I wish I had enough remaining brain cells to remember all the ways that Thais use the word ใจ.........or short phrases that express something differently than the literal translation of the words. My favorite of the week is
ปิดทองหลังพระ
You can google translate the phrase for the meaning of the expression, but it won't give the literal translation of the words. Anyone want to give it a crack?

[mech_401]

close gold behind monk nope im getting nowhere with that

[Hages]

Doing a thankless job

[parrot]

close gold behind monk nope im getting nowhere with that

ปิด to affix
ทอง gold
หลัง behind
พระ Buddha image

or as Cicero said "Whatever is done without ostentation, and without the people being witnesses of it, is, in my opinion, most praiseworthy"

Thanks to dreamstime.com for the photo

[FrazeeDK]

putting gold on the back of the Buddha.. An old Thai proverb. That's doing some good deed without attribution or expectation of recognition.. No getting big face...

ปิดทองหลังพระ (pid tong lang pra)
Translation: Putting a gold leaf on the back of the Buddha image.
Meaning: Doing something good without seeking for attention.

here's some other common Thai proverbs.. https://www.anjajonestranslation.co.uk/ ... n-english/

[parrot]

Thinking of my long-ago discovery that Rama Road in Bangkok is not pronounced Rama…..in Thai….much like Suvarnaphumi isn’t pronounced that way. So…..in the two products shown below, only one is pronounced as it is spelled in English. Anyone?

[jeebeeg]

no 1 is singha
no 2 is sing

[parrot]

no 1 is singha
no 2 is sing

All for a silly ์

[parrot]

As you're driving toward the statue circle on SriChomCheun Rd there's a small restaurant with a sign in front that I've been meaning to take a photo of.......but 3 times now, camera ready, there's been a vehicle passing in the opposite direction that blocks the sign. The first time I passed the sign, I wasn't sure I read it correctly. But sure enough, the sign says
"ตูดเป็ดทอด". You can add that to the list of things you're not likely to see in a grocery store back in your home town.

[Giggle]

fried duck's ass.

[parrot]

fried duck's ass.

So a choice between ตูดเป็ดทอด and ปากเป็ดทอด .............I think I'd have to go with the latter

[Giggle]

Not much meat on the latter.

[jeebeeg]

fried duck beak, a treat

[parrot]

My wife bought some large fish from the market and put them in one of our many large guppy tanks. A few days later, while feeding the guppies, I noticed one of the new fish floating at the surface, its mouth clearly out of the water. I told my wife one of her fish had died.......but she tapped it on the head and it went back under the water. I'd never seen a fish do such a thing.......and pronounced the fish the 'submarine fish'. My wife called it ปลาปู่.
ปลาปู่ make delicious tomyam.....but, for now, the ones my wife bought are getting a reprieve....and getting fatter....inside our guppy tank.

If you like reading Thai fairy tales.......ปลาปู่ทอง is an old-time favorite....in books and in movies.
https://www.dek-d.com/board/view/3839808/

[Shado]

We catch the ปลาปู่ (bpla bpu) in local waters fairly often. The English name is Marble Goby. Due to the Thai folk tale about the ปลาปู่ทอง (bpla pbu tong) or Golden Goby, some Thais won't eat this fish even though it is quite tasty. It is an interesting fish to catch as often you will feel or see a very slight bite and then nothing. You will think the fish is gone but when you start to reel in it will be on the hook. The coloring varies widely and once hooked it is brought in easily with hardly any resistance.

[parrot]

If you want to skip your daily crossword and take a wack at finding the error in this sign (post near our home announcing work to install a traffic light), I'll give a hint:

There's something amiss with the dates.

[parrot]

If you're trying to motivate yourself to learn to read Thai....if you can break that beginner barrier......where you can put just a few words together......words that you'll see everyday everywhere....ไก่ รถ อุดร หมู or just start out on license plates where you can practice your knowledge of the alphabet........if you can break that barrier and keep at it, you'll soon find your ability to spot more words you know........begin to read signs.........begin to understand a menu......and all that helps reinforce your reading skills.

Today, while in the AIS shop in Central......watching the girls ogle the latest iphones.......I noticed this sign which is broken into bite-size pieces. Thais use สุด a lot!

[GT93]

For those keen to roll up their sleeves and get stuck into the local lingo, here's an introduction:

http://learnthaiwithmod.com/2016/06/isa ... i-dialect/