Hello Terry,

Thank you very much for your comment. Yes, you pronounce it's the way we commonly speak in everyday life. In daily speaking "l" sound might not pronounce in some words and "r" sound will become an "l" sound or not pronounce. Hope that's help. Please let me know if you have any future questions. I will be glad to help. We wish you will have a good progress with your Thai. Thanks again for your kind support.

Have a good day.

Parisa

Team ThaiPod101.com

Sawatdee Khrap,

I have always pronounced the word อร่อย with an L sound, not an RR sound. I see that it is spelled with ร so technically it should be pronounced with a trilled R but I'm always understood and I hear other Thais pronounce it with an L sound also. Can you comment on this?

Thank you

สวัสดีค่ะ ฝรั่งหมู่บ้านทาชมภู

ขอบคุณมากนะคะ Thank you so much for your comment and share your knowledge here. I think that is helpful for everyone here who have no experience in Thailand much. I think the writer just want to make the lesson sound fun. I am sure you can always have a private talk if the cooker were your friends, so you can say something like I think it's a little too spicy, salty, sweet or sour for me, if you please take out some chilies, salt, sugar or lime juice, it will be yummy. If it is in a restaurant, I always nicely let them know the truth if they ask how was the food. Yes, you are right that we don't have anything refer to attract the attention of a waiter, I will pass this to our team and have them change that. Please let me know if you have any questions about Thai language. I will be glad to help. We wish you have a good progress with your Thai.

Thanks again and hope you have a nice day.

Cheer,

Parisa

Team ThaiPod101.com

"Well, not really, because while you say it is delicious, your face will tell that it is not quite the truth. And that's a better way of saying "No, it is not delicious" than saying it out loud! And believe me, Thai people will understand that."

But the lesson fails to say why. So I'll chime in for the benefit of the other students.

Thais cannot 'lose face', and by telling them that their food is not delicious, you have made them lose face.

That can be a problem for you -- you have been too direct. You are expected to lie or to be indirect. A Westerner may shrug it off or even take the criticism to heart and improve their food quality. Thais on the other hand are extremely averse to direct criticism.

This is good to know if you want to keep your stay in Thailand running smoothly.

If you don't mind lying, tell the white lie. Your host will be happy!

If you do have a problem telling a lie, tell your friend and have them mention it off-hand to your host. Bad news in Thailand is handled through indirect communications. You may end up disliked, but your host does not lose face. Actually it's a little more complicated than that, but that's the basic picture.

There is nothing in this lesson that refers to "Learn how to attract the attention of a waiter". ?

Hello Edgar,

Thanks for your comment. For your question, "mǎi" means silk or written version of "mái" speaking version of yes/no question particle in Thai. Hope that help.

Have a nice day.

Parisa

Team ThaiPod101.com

Hey

What is the difference between mǎi and mái.

I see that mǎi is for yes/no questions, but can you further clarify the difference between when you use the different tones for mai.

Thanks

Hello Vince,

Thanks again for your comment. For your question, Actually "ao" is used all the time when ordering food.

Usually I would use "ao" when placing my order. But I might use "khaw" to ask the staff for something else.

Ex. "khaw menu noi" "May I have a menu?". Hope that helps.

Have a nice day.

Parisa

Team ThaiPod101.com

Explain the difference between requesting a meal using Khaaw ขอ and Ao เอว. Khaaw - being more polite, more formal. Ao - less formal, with friends, etc.??

I have used "Mai Ao" to rid myself of pesky street people who persistently try to sell me unwanted trinkets.

Hi Sydney,

Thank you for your comment. The difference between

"Delicious, อร่อย (à-ràwy)" and

"What, อะไร (à-rai)" we can pronounce the first sound "à" in the same way by using low tone to pronounce (like "a" (book) in English). "Delicious (à-ràwy)", the sound "ràwy" also use low tone to pronounce. "What?, (à-rai)" the sound "rai" use mid tone to pronounce.

I know it's hard to understand, but maybe you can check out our audio dictionary to see the difference.

https://www.thaipod101.com/thai-dictionary/

Have a nice day Sydney :grin:

Jing/ThaiPod101.com