Pronouciation of Hua Hin

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THAI ROB
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Pronouciation of Hua Hin

Post by THAI ROB »

It may seem a daft question but please can some one let me know how Hua Hin is correctly pronounced is it like Hooa Hin or maybe Hugh Hin. Most people pronounce Pattaya wrong for instance it is correctly pronounced Pat a ya
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Big Boy
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Post by Big Boy »

I always say Whah Hin - my Thai wife agrees.
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Post by Jaime »

But 'head,' apparently the literal and contextual meaning of Hua, is not pronounced 'Whah'. I think this is a colloquial pronunciation in the same way that Brits might pronounce Middlesborough as 'Middlesbruh.'

I just double checked with Mrs Jaime and she pronounces it clearly as 'Hoo-(w)ah Hin' A quick 'Hoo-(w)ah' but definitely 'Hoo-(w)ah' nevertheless. My wife is from the North but her cousin's husband (born and raised in Hua Hin) pronounces it the same way and don't forget that Thailand has many regional accents that could affect the pronunciation too.
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Post by Jaime »

Shouldn't this thread be posted somewhere else on the forum, rather than Accommodation?
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Post by lomuamart »

Correct. I've moved the thread to the Thai language section. It sits better there.
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PeteC
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Post by PeteC »

I think Jaime is correct. Many years ago I picked up the bad habit of pronouncing it Wah Hin after hearing it said that way. Even now it slips out that way sometimes and usually gets a big laugh from the Thais! :shock: Pete
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Post by Rob c »

Quoted by Jaime
'Hoo-(w)ah Hin'
My mrs pronounces it exactly the same as that, she's from Isaan though. However her sister who's lived in HH for 20 odd years says it the same way.

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Post by Burger »

Just asked two Thais in the house:

Definately 'hoo-wah' hin and not 'whah' hin.

They actually laughed when I said the 'whah' hin one.

I've been calling it 'whah' hin for ages now.

Burgwah.
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Big Boy
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Post by Big Boy »

Thanks guys - typical Thai language wind-up! :oops: Tell the stupid farang its pronounced one way, and then have a good laugh everytime you get it wrong.

However, are sure that its me who's been wound up, and not you guys?

My wife, her family and many friends are also from the North East - they all pronounce it 'Whah'........................to hell with all of this - lets just pronounce it 'heaven'
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Post by Jaime »

Big Boy, my sister-in-law is from near Sakhon Nakhon and she pronounces it in a similar way to the way you mention, with the Hoo-ah being said very quickly so that it sounds like 'Whah'. As I posted above, I think this is a colloquial corruption. Ask Mrs Big Boy to pronounce Hua Hin v-e-r-y s-l-o-w-l-y. Better still, ask her to say the Thai word for 'head' on its own, without the Hin after it and listen to how it sounds.

Hoo-ah also means 'cow' when spoken in a different tone. I get mixed up between the two!
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Post by STEVE G »

Big Boy wrote;
My wife, her family and many friends are also from the North East - they all pronounce it 'Whah'........................


Hi Big Boy,
I think I see the source of the confusion, if they are from the North East they must be Thai geordies, so they pronounce it “whahâ€
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Post by Big Boy »

Jaime,

I eventually slowed he speech down to snail's pace - no mean feat for a Thai Lady. You are correct - albeit it was not until about the 6th attempt that she slowed it down enough.

Steve,

[quote]if they are from the North East they must be Thai geordies, so they pronounce it “whahâ€
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Post by Jaime »

Big Boy wrote:Jaime....You are correct
You could have made the font a bit bigger - I'm not sure that everyone could read that! :mrgreen: Being right all the time is such a burden though! :wink:
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Post by Big Boy »

Jaime wrote:
You could have made the font a bit bigger
I couldn't - its a limitation of the system (or are you going to prove me wrong on that one as well?) :oops:
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Post by Guess »

You are all wrong.

It is plonounced Paladice City.


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