thaow rai????

Post by **bubbly** » Mon Apr 06, 2009 5:11 am

Its ever more confusing the more i learn!!!!
Could someone please explain this one????
Thaow rai=how much
Mai cow dee thaow rai=not very good
How does the "thaow rai" fit in both quotes?????
Also,would i be right in assuming "cow dee thaow rai"=very good
I always say dee ma for very good/very well
Any reply's would be much appreciated

Post by **bluezephyr** » Mon Apr 06, 2009 5:25 am

bubbly wrote:Its ever more confusing the more i learn!!!!
Could someone please explain this one????
Thaow rai=how much
Mai cow dee thaow rai=not very good
How does the "thaow rai" fit in both quotes?????
Also,would i be right in assuming "cow dee thaow rai"=very good
I always say dee ma for very good/very well
Any reply's would be much appreciated

Thao Rai Khup, How much is it
Mai Dii, not good.
Mai Khao Jai, I dont understand
Dii Ma very good
Geng Ma very well.

Not sure how they all fit together

Im usually wrong and also wait for a forum expert

Post by **bubbly** » Mon Apr 06, 2009 6:42 am

Oh pad jaow!!!! mai leu

Post by **cozza** » Mon Apr 06, 2009 7:55 am

I always thought it was Thao Arai - How much?

I tend to use Ghi Baht for how much...be careful how you say Ghi, not Kii.

Oh, and ALWAYS use Krup on the end!! Its the equivalent of saying thank you or please but does not translate to thanks or please. Its Ka for the girls...

I think Dee Maak is the correct English spelling for Very good (feeling/emotions) and Geng Maak would be for Very Good (job/effort)

Sorry, just to be extra fussy on writing/pronunciation, to not know is Mai Reu. The 'R' should slightly roll, almost like an 'L' sound, which is why it often sounds like 'Leu'.

Post by **margaretcarnes** » Mon Apr 06, 2009 7:58 am

My kawy - not very.
Rah-kah - price. Value.

I would guess your 'mai cow dee thaow rai' is something like 'not very good value'.
Don't forget that local variations and abbreviations confuse us. For example 'mee hah' from a checkout person at Family Mart is a lazy form of 'Do you have five baht please?'

Buksi! Help!

Post by **margaretcarnes** » Mon Apr 06, 2009 8:10 am

Cozza - Robertsons handy little dictionary gives 'tao ry' as the phonetic for 'how much'
'Gee' is 'how many' So 'gee baht' would be 'how many baht'.

Post by **cozza** » Mon Apr 06, 2009 9:39 am

I think Ghi Baht is informal/colloquial where Thao Rai is more formal 'proper' language.

I always use Ghi Baht as its what my wife taught me, she is a local so i guess its kind of informal.

Post by **Roel** » Mon Apr 06, 2009 10:08 am

Mai tao rai (ไม่เท่าไร) = not very, not much, not many, little

I think you cannot leave the "mai" out and use it in a positive way.
But I could be wrong.
It is always used at the end of the sentence:
mai dee tao rai = not very good, not particularly good
phom mai hiw tao rai = I am not very hungry

bubbly wrote:

Mai cow dee thaow rai=not very good

What do you mean with the "cow" bubbly?
Did you mean to say "koi"?
Because that would be another way of saying "not very good" but then both ways are used together in one sentence.
Of course it is always possible that certain Thais or dialect speakers do this.*

Compare:
mai dee tao rai = not very good
with
mai koi dee (ไม่ค่อยดี) = not very good, not really good

Out of (linguistic) interest: where did you get this "cow" from?

PS Thai script was added because I know from experience this is very helpful for more advanced learners.
So before certain posters get excited again it is not for showing off.
Only trying to help the interested.

* Meanwhile confirmed by Thai office staff that the expression with both "koi" and "tao rai" is commonly used. Does not make the expression any stronger, so they say.

Post by **barrys** » Mon Apr 06, 2009 10:42 am

Roel
Thank you for your very lucid explanation - that's also precisely as I would understand it:

The expression "my koi (adjective of your choice) tao rai" would appear to mean "not old/expensive/far/hot at all".

Super Joe · Post by **Super Joe** » Mon Apr 06, 2009 3:14 pm

This is handy, speaks to you as well:
http://www.thai-language.com/dict/

SJ

Post by **Roel** » Mon Apr 06, 2009 5:00 pm

Yes, very good site Super Joe.
And the site actually gives "mai koi dee tao rai" as an example of "not very".

And also this sentence by the way:
"Most prime ministers are people with flaws and blemishes and have backgrounds which are not very well respected by society."
(I am not making this up, check it out yourself)

Post by **katria** » Mon Apr 06, 2009 10:38 pm

Thao rai krap is a lot better than kii bath.

or you can use kii bath krap. better than you just say kii bath

may be you will be get discount from them

Post by **bubbly** » Tue Apr 07, 2009 12:16 am

I've downloaded pimsleur thai onto my pc and i'm on lesson 3. I knew most of the first 2 but this just confused me.
I just played it back Roel and on closer listening it is koi(but it sounds a lot like cow,would this be a regional variation???)
Also they don't say khap but Khrap!!!! and pronounce it crap.
I've never heard a thai say this.
I should know about that!!!! i'm an expert on talking khrap

Post by **BaaBaa.** » Tue Apr 07, 2009 12:38 am

bubbly wrote: Also they don't say khap but Khrap!!!! and pronounce it crap.
I've never heard a thai say this.
I should know about that!!!! i'm an expert on talking khrap

That is the correct and official pronunciation.

In reality everybody drops the R.

Post by **margaretcarnes** » Tue Apr 07, 2009 8:15 am

It just makes me so stinkingly jealous that Roel not only speaks English and Thai so well - but is also able to explain Thai - in English - to English speakers!
Well done Roel!

Hua Hin Forum

thaow rai????

thaow rai????

Re: thaow rai????

thaow rai?

thaow rai?

thaow rai?