Learn how to ask and answer the question, "What do you do?"
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| INTRODUCTION |
| Jessi: Top 25 Thai Questions You Need to Know - Lesson 4: "What do you do for a living?" in Thai. In each lesson of this 25 part series, you'll master a common question for Thai learners, and then learn how to answer like a native speaker. You'll learn how these key phrases work by breaking them down into each component. Then, through repetition and new vocabulary, you'll expand your understanding of the question, its answers, and any variations. |
| In this lesson, you'll learn how to respond to the common question "What do you do?" In Thai, this is... |
| Pim: khun tham ngaan à-rai khá |
| Jessi: The first word in the question "What do you do?" is... |
| Pim: khun |
| Jessi: meaning "you" in English. |
| Pim: (Slow, by syllable) khun |
| Jessi: Listen again and repeat. |
| Pim: khun |
| {Pause} |
| Jessi: This pattern of first introducing a word at natural speed, providing the translation, breaking it down, and then giving it again at natural speed will be repeated throughout the series. Try to speak aloud as often as possible. The next word in the question is- |
| Pim: tham |
| Jessi: meaning "do" |
| Pim: (Slow, by syllable) tham |
| Jessi: Now repeat. |
| Pim: tham |
| {Pause} |
| Jessi: Listen to the first two words of the question and repeat. |
| Pim: khun tham |
| {Pause} |
| Jessi: And after that... |
| Pim: ngaan |
| Jessi: meaning "work" |
| Pim: (Slow, by syllable) ngaan |
| Jessi: Now repeat. |
| Pim: ngaan |
| Jessi: Listen to the first three words of the question and repeat. |
| Pim: khun tham ngaan |
| {Pause} |
| Jessi: And next... |
| Pim: à-rai |
| Jessi: meaning "what" |
| Pim: (Slow, by syllable) à-rai |
| Jessi: Now repeat. |
| Pim: à-rai |
| {Pause} |
| Jessi: Listen to the first four words of the question and repeat. |
| Pim: khun tham ngaan à-rai |
| Jessi: And next... |
| Pim: khâ |
| Jessi: which is a polite ending particle for female speakers for questions and requests |
| Pim: (Slow, by syllable) khâ |
| Jessi: Now repeat. |
| Pim: khâ |
| {Pause} |
| Jessi: Listen to the entire question and repeat. |
| Pim: khun tham ngaan à-rai khá |
| {pause} |
| Jessi: Remember to change the final khá to khráp if you’re a male speaker. |
| Jessi: You will hear this common question again and again throughout your studies. Master the following pattern and responses to the question "What do you do for a living?" |
| Pim: dì-chǎn bpen khruu khâ |
| Jessi: "I'm a teacher." Again slowly. Repeat the phrase.Repeat the phrase. |
| Pim: (Slow) dì-chǎn bpen khruu khâ |
| {pause} |
| Jessi: Let's break it down from the beginning. The first word is... |
| Pim: dì-chǎn |
| Jessi: means "I" used by females |
| Pim: (Slow, by syllable) dì-chǎn |
| Jessi: Now repeat. |
| Pim: dì-chǎn |
| {Pause} |
| Jessi: And next, |
| Pim: bpen |
| Jessi: meaning "to be." |
| Pim: (Slow, by syllable) bpen |
| Jessi: Now repeat. |
| Pim: bpen |
| {Pause} |
| Jessi: And after that... |
| Pim: khruu |
| Jessi: meaning "teacher." |
| Pim: (Slow, by syllable) khruu |
| Jessi: Now repeat. |
| Pim: khruu |
| {Pause} |
| Jessi: And next... |
| Pim: khâ |
| Jessi: which is the particle added at the end of the sentence or phrase in order to increase the level of politeness when the speaker is a female. |
| Pim: (Slow, by syllable) khâ |
| Jessi: Now repeat. |
| Pim: khâ |
| {Pause} |
| Jessi: Listen to the speaker say "I'm a teacher." and then repeat. |
| Pim: dì-chǎn bpen khruu khâ |
| {Pause} |
| Jessi: This is how you would say "I'm a teacher." if you are a female; if you are a male, simply replace the word dì-chǎn with the word phǒm, meaning “I” in English. |
| Now, listen to the entire response as you would say it if you’re a male, and repeat. |
| Pim: phǒm bpen khruu khráp |
| Jessi: To use a different phrase, replace "teacher" with "doctor." |
| Pim: mǎaw |
| Jessi: "doctor" |
| Pim: (slow) mǎaw (regular) mǎaw |
| Jessi: Listen to the phrase again, this time with "doctor." |
| Pim: dì-chǎn bpen mǎaw khâ |
| Jessi: We mostly say the same, simply replace the word "teacher." Say, "I'm a doctor." |
| {pause} |
| Pim: dì-chǎn bpen mǎaw khâ |
| Jessi: Remember, this is how to answer the question if you’re a female. If you’re male, use phǒm instead of dì-chǎn. Now let’s try it with a male version. |
| Jessi: To make a different phrase, replace replace "doctor" with "engineer." |
| Pim: wít-sà-wá-gaawn |
| Jessi: "engineer" |
| Pim: (slow) wít-sà-wá-gaawn (regular) wít-sà-wá-gaawn |
| Jessi: Listen to the phrase again, this time with "engineer." |
| Pim: phǒm bpen wí-sà-wá-gaawn khráp |
| Jessi: We replace the word for "doctor" and use the male version of the sentence. Say, "I'm an engineer." |
| {pause} |
| Pim: phǒm bpen wí-sà-wá-gaawn khráp |
| Jessi: To expand on the pattern, replace "engineer" with "businessman." |
| Pim: nák-thú-rá-gìt |
| Jessi: "businessman" |
| Pim: (slow) nák-thú-rá-gìt (regular) nák-thú-rá-gìt |
| Jessi: Listen to the phrase again, this time with "businessman." |
| Pim: phǒm bpen nák-thú-rá-gìt khráp |
| Jessi: We replaced the word for "engineer" and use the male version of the sentence. Say, "I'm a businessman." |
| {pause} |
| Pim: phǒm bpen nák-thú-rá-gìt khráp |
| Jessi: Now it's time for a quiz. Imagine you're visiting Thailand and a female speaker asks what you do. You’re a teacher. Respond to the question. |
| Pim: khun tham ngaan à-rai khá (five seconds) dì-chǎn bpen khruu khâ |
| Jessi: Now imagine you're a female doctor. Respond to the question. |
| Pim: khun tham ngaan à-rai khá (five seconds) dì-chǎn bpen mǎaw khâ |
| Jessi: Now imagine you’re a male engineer. Remember to think about the gender of your words. Answer the speaker’s question. |
| Pim: khun tham ngaan à-rai khá (five seconds) phǒm bpen wí-sà-wá-gaawn khráp |
| Jessi: Now imagine you’re a businessman. Respond to the question. |
| Pim: khun tham ngaan à-rai khá (five seconds) phǒm bpen nák-thú-rá-gìt khráp |
| Jessi: Now you want to learn what that person does. Ask the feminine version of that question. |
| (5 seconds) |
| Pim: khun tham ngaan à-rai khá |
| {pause} |
| Jessi: This is the end of Lesson 4. |
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