Learn about some common mistake made by native Thai speakers
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| Michael: What are exclamation and interjection words? |
| Arnon: And are they commonly used in Thai? |
| Michael: At ThaiPod101.com, we hear these questions often. Imagine the following situation: Ben Lee is hungry. He asks his friend, Nipaporn Niyom: |
| "Do you want some fried rice?" |
| เอาข้าวผัดไหม (ao khâao-phàt mǎi) |
| Dialogue |
| Ben Lee: เอาข้าวผัดไหม (ao khâao-phàt mǎi) |
| Nipaporn Niyom: อืม ก็ได้ (uuem gâaw dâi) |
| Michael: Once more with the English translation. |
| Ben Lee: เอาข้าวผัดไหม (ao khâao-phàt mǎi) |
| Michael: "Do you want some fried rice?" |
| Nipaporn Niyom: อืม ก็ได้ (uuem gâaw dâi) |
| Michael: "Yeah, sure." |
Lesson focus |
|---|
| Michael: In this lesson, we will be looking at interjections in Thai. The Thai word for "interjection" is: |
| Arnon: คำอุทาน (kham ù-thaan) |
| Michael: But what exactly are interjections? Interjections are words that are put between other words to express a feeling or a spontaneous reaction. They can also stand on their own and are traditional parts of speech in their own right, in the same way that nouns, verbs, and other words are. In a way, interjections could even be seen as the emojis of language! |
| Michael: The word "Yuck!" in English is a good example of an interjection. You can combine it with other words, as in, "Yuck, this slice of pizza is spoiled!" It can stand on its own too, as in when someone sees something they don't like and simply says, "Yuck!" or |
| Arnon: แหยะ (yàe) |
| Michael: Just like in most languages, Thai interjections are used to express certain emotions, such as pain, disgust, fear, shock, and awe. There are also interjections that are associated with noise, food, and annoying situations. Speaking of food, a very common Thai interjection associated with food is |
| Arnon: อร่อย (à-ràauy) |
| Michael: This is the Thai expression for "Yummy!" or "Delicious!" If you find the food very delicious, you can use the interjection, |
| Arnon: โอ้โห (ôo hŏo) |
| Michael: This is a Thai interjection that expresses amazement, such as when you say, |
| Arnon: โอ้โห อร่อยจัง (ôo hŏo à-ràauy jang) |
| Michael: or "Oh my god! This is very delicious." This same interjection can also be used in a negative way, such as when you say, |
| Arnon: โอ้โห, ทำอะไรลงไป (ôo hŏo, tham à-rai long bpai) |
| Michael: or "Oh my god! What have you done!" Another common Thai interjection is |
| Arnon: อ้าว (âao) |
| Michael: This is the equivalent of the English expression "Whoa" and is used as an expression of surprise, such as when someone calls you in the middle of the night when you least expect it |
| Arnon: อ้าว ใครโทรมาในเวลานี้ (âao khrai thoo maa nai wee-laa níi) |
| Michael: "Whoa! Who's calling at this time?" And, finally, there's the interjection, |
| Arnon: อ๋อ (ǎaw) |
| Michael: which expresses realization. This one is equivalent to the English expression "Ah!" or "Oh, okay!" It's what you say when you finally understand something that someone is trying to explain to you. |
| Arnon: อ๋อ นั่นคือวิธีการทำงาน (ǎaw nân khuue wí-thii gaan tham ngaan) |
| Michael: "Oh, okay So that's how it works." |
| [Recall 1] |
| Michael: Now, let's take a closer look at the dialogue. |
| Do you remember how Ben Lee says "Do you want some fried rice?" |
| (pause 4 seconds) |
| Arnon as Ben Lee: เอาข้าวผัดไหม (ao khâao-phàt mǎi) |
| [Recall 2] |
| Michael: And do you remember how Nipaporn Niyom says "Yeah, sure?" |
| (pause 4 seconds) |
| Arnon as Nipaporn Niyom: อืม ก็ได้ (uuem gâaw dâi) |
| Michael: Here, Nipaporn responds to Ben with the interjection, |
| Arnon: อืม (uuem) |
| Michael: This interjection is similar to the English filler "umm," but with a slightly different meaning. Moreover, it's quite unique in a way that it's not said in a very expressive manner such as when you're surprised or amazed. It's more like an expression that shows you're in agreement with another person. In this case, the interjection is used to give an affirmative answer. |
| [Summary] |
| Michael: In this lesson, we talked about common Thai interjections, and we learned that they are used to express certain emotions, such as pain, disgust, fear, shock, and awe. Most of the ones we've learned have their equivalents in English, and, just like English interjections, Thai interjections can usually stand on their own. |
| Expansion/Contrast |
| Michael: So far, we've covered some of the most common interjections in Thai. Most interjections come as a single word, but they can be in the form of phrases too. In Thai, there are also phrases that are often used as interjections. For instance, there's the expression, |
| Arnon: เดี๋ยวก่อน (dĭiao gàawn) |
| Michael: This means "Hold on!" It's something you exclaim when you're trying to catch up to someone and you need them to slow down or stop. Another one is |
| Arnon: บอกแล้วไง (bòk láaeo ngai) |
| Michael: This one means "I told you so!" This is what you exclaim if you want to point out that your warning was well founded, especially if the person you're addressing disagreed with you the first time. Here's one that's a bit more intense: |
| Arnon: บ้ารึเปล่า (bâa rúe bplào) |
| Michael: It means "Are you crazy?!" This is something you exclaim toward someone who's done something unbelievable or absurd. |
| Arnon: คุณทำอะไรลงไป บ้ารึเปล่า (khun tham à-rai long bpai bâa rúe bplào) |
| Michael: "What have you done? Are you crazy?!" And, finally, we have the expression, |
| Arnon: เสียเวลาจริงๆ (sĭia wee-laa jing jing) |
| Michael: This one means "What a waste of time!" It's something you exclaim to emphasize to someone that they spent their time and energy for nothing. |
| Cultural Insight/Expansion |
| Michael: In Thai, some interjections come in the form of onomatopoeia. These are words that imitate the sound they describe. For instance, there's the word, |
| Arnon: ตูม (dtuum) |
| Michael: or "Boom!" This is a word that describes the sound of an explosion. It's something you say when you're trying to startle somebody. A similar interjection would be |
| Arnon:ปัง (pạng) |
| Michael: or "Bang!," a sound that imitates a gunshot. Another one would be |
| Arnon: ปี๊น ๆ (bpéen bpéen) |
| Michael: This interjection is often used when you're riding a bicycle and need to warn others to step aside. It's the sound of a car horn honking "Beep! Beep!" |
Outro |
| Michael: Do you have any more questions? We're here to answer them! |
| Arnon: แล้วพบกันใหม่เร็วๆนี้ครับ (láaeo-phóp-gan-mài reo-reo-níi khràp) |
| Michael: See you soon! |
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