Laow And Bpai Laow

[Loong]

here is another one with bpai หมวกใบนี้เป็นของผู้หญง

which i think says muak bpai nii bpen kawng puu ying this is a womans hat so if i understand what you are saying the bpai is driving home the point that this is a womans hat???????????

i hope im getting this otherwise i am going for a bottle of vodka

 

You missed sera ii from pôo yĭng

 

หมวกใบนี้เป็นของผู้หญิง

mùak bai née bpen kŏng pôo yĭng

 

 

This sentence doesn't contain the word ไป bpai, the word is ใบ bai, this word usually means leaf but it is also a classifier for paper objects such as tickets, receipts, documents, hollow objects, fruit and other various objects including hats.

 

 

 

from http://www.knowphuket.com/thai_language/L10_classifiers.htm

 

 

 

Classifiers are the words used to count objects. In Thai, you cannot count a noun, e.g. 'I have five dogs'. Instead you have to use a classifier.

 

The easiest way to describe this is it to compare it to the English concept of countable and non-countable nouns.

 

'Dog' is a countable noun - you can say 'I have five dogs'.

 

'Sand' is a non-countable noun - you cannot say 'I have five sands'. Instead you must say 'I have five grains of sand'. In this case 'grain' is the classifier.

 

'Grass' is a non-countable noun - you cannot say 'I have five grasses'. Instead you must say 'I have five blades of grass'. In this case 'blade' is the classifier.

 

In Thai, every noun is non-countable. So the problem is for every noun you want to count, you have to know its classifier.

 

Some common classifers:

an ............... general classifier (you can use it for small objects if you cannot remember the right classifier)

kon ................ people

dtua ............... animals (and other objects with arms or legs such as shirts, trousers, chairs and tables)

kan ................vehicles

met .............. pills, seeds, grains, etc

lem .......... books, cutlery, umbrellas and things with handles

bai ................paper, leaves, tickets, hollow objects such as cups, bowls, hats.

 

These are just a small selection of the available classifiers. As you can see, the way they are applied to nouns are often very ambiguous and there is no shortcut other than to memorise them.

How Classifiers Work in Thai

 

Let's look at some examples:

 

New Vocabulary:

peu-an ...... friend

rot yon ..... car

mah......... dog

 

mee peu-an hok kon - I have 6 friends. Literally 'I have friends, 6 people'.

 

mee rot yon sorng kan - I have 2 cars. Literally 'I have cars, 2 vehicles'.

 

mee mah sahm dtua - I have 3 dogs. Literally 'I have dogs, 3 bodies'

 

 

 

Classifiers are an intrinsic part of the Thai language and you cannot speak it well without using them. If you go to a bar and say:

 

ao sorng bee-a - I want two beers.

 

They probably will not understand because you have not used a classifier. You need to say:

 

ao bee-a sorng kuat - I want beer, two bottles.

Edited June 29, 2009 by Loong

[Goldfishpie]

Ok I think I got this figured. As far as I can see the word "bai" can mean :-

 

Bai = A classifier of leaves ie paper, sheets, tickets = Pom mee ekasan saam bai = I have 3 documents

 

Bai = Verb to go

 

Bai = too/very ie beer paeng gern bai mahk = the beer is too expensive

 

Bai duay = with/by = Chan rorb rorb dem bai duay poo kon. I was surrounded with/ by people

(Although I don't think the Thais would actually say this)

 

Am I getting near?????????

[Loong]

ไป bpai means to go, too, very, etc. The consonant sound is similar to the English "P", but it does not sound the same as the English word "Pie". When you say "Pie" you will release a puff of air on the P sound, when you say "bpai", you will not release a puff of air. Try to isolate the "py" sound in the English word "Spy" and you will have got it near enough.

 

ใบ bai, is the word for leaf and classifier etc. The consonant sound is the same as the English "B"

 

They are not the same word

[pockets88]

You missed sera ii from pôo yĭng

 

หมวกใบนี้เป็นของผู้หญิง

mùak bai née bpen kŏng pôo yĭng

 

 

This sentence doesn't contain the word ไป bpai, the word is ใบ bai, this word usually means leaf but it is also a classifier for paper objects such as tickets, receipts, documents, hollow objects, fruit and other various objects including hats.

 

 

 

from http://www.knowphuket.com/thai_language/L10_classifiers.htm

 

 

 

Classifiers are the words used to count objects. In Thai, you cannot count a noun, e.g. 'I have five dogs'. Instead you have to use a classifier.

 

The easiest way to describe this is it to compare it to the English concept of countable and non-countable nouns.

 

'Dog' is a countable noun - you can say 'I have five dogs'.

 

'Sand' is a non-countable noun - you cannot say 'I have five sands'. Instead you must say 'I have five grains of sand'. In this case 'grain' is the classifier.

 

'Grass' is a non-countable noun - you cannot say 'I have five grasses'. Instead you must say 'I have five blades of grass'. In this case 'blade' is the classifier.

 

In Thai, every noun is non-countable. So the problem is for every noun you want to count, you have to know its classifier.

 

Some common classifers:

an ............... general classifier (you can use it for small objects if you cannot remember the right classifier)

kon ................ people

dtua ............... animals (and other objects with arms or legs such as shirts, trousers, chairs and tables)

kan ................vehicles

met .............. pills, seeds, grains, etc

lem .......... books, cutlery, umbrellas and things with handles

bai ................paper, leaves, tickets, hollow objects such as cups, bowls, hats.

 

These are just a small selection of the available classifiers. As you can see, the way they are applied to nouns are often very ambiguous and there is no shortcut other than to memorise them.

How Classifiers Work in Thai

 

Let's look at some examples:

 

New Vocabulary:

peu-an ...... friend

rot yon ..... car

mah......... dog

 

mee peu-an hok kon - I have 6 friends. Literally 'I have friends, 6 people'.

 

mee rot yon sorng kan - I have 2 cars. Literally 'I have cars, 2 vehicles'.

 

mee mah sahm dtua - I have 3 dogs. Literally 'I have dogs, 3 bodies'

 

 

 

Classifiers are an intrinsic part of the Thai language and you cannot speak it well without using them. If you go to a bar and say:

 

ao sorng bee-a - I want two beers.

 

They probably will not understand because you have not used a classifier. You need to say:

 

ao bee-a sorng kuat - I want beer, two bottles.

i should have noticed that nee after the noun requires a classifier , you try to learn one thing and start forgetting what you have already learned,

but that was a very good explanation of what classifiers are and how they are used