How do you use ได้ dâai

[Loong]

Pockets88 posted some questions in another thread including the question of how to use ได้ dâai.

 

I think it really deserves a topic of its own..These quotes from the other thread.......

 

Pockets88 ......

maa daai dern long jaak rot bpai laow

horse has walked down from vehicle,

 

i understand the use of daai for past tense and laow at the end to indicate the action is complete, here is another

 

puu ying daai bpert lin chak laow

woman has opened cash till

 

Barney....

Dai can be used for past tense - " pom mai pai" means I'm not going - "pom mai dai pai" means I didn't go.

 

Jaha........

Another small twist in the tale. To indicate past tense, mai dai must be placed before the verb.

Pom mai dai pai - I didn't go.

Pom pai mai dai - I couldn't go (unable to go).

 

ได้ dâai is another little word with various functions that belies its size.

Mostly we will hear it as the word "Can" and sometimes "To be able".

I believe that when it is used as "To be able" it is actual common usage as opposed to grammatically correct. This usage is covered by สมรรถ sà-màt and เป็น bpen, but mostly you will not be misunderstood if you use dâai.

 

I cannot speak Thai

 

ผมพูดภาษาไทยไม่ได้

pŏm pôot paa-săa tai mâi dâai

This is a perfectly acceptable way to say it

 

ผมพูดภาษาไทยไม่เป็น

pŏm pôot paa-săa tai mâi bpen

This would actually be correct, meaning that I do not have the ability to Speak Thai

 

ผมไม่สมรรถพูดภาษาไทยได้

pŏm mâi sà-màt pôot paa-săa tai dâai

This you would use with high class Thais or to get a laugh. It is very correct and translates as "I am not able to speak Thai can". This is the absolute correct way of saying it, but seems rather confusing to us. It is worth learning because it can help you to understand the proper sentence structure (altho it doesn't help me much!). Also when someone asks you if you can speak Thai, it's quite funny if you respond that you cannot perfectly.

 

We're getting a few power cuts lately and I lose the internet, so I will add more later..............................

Edited June 30, 2009 by Loong

[barney]

.

 

I cannot speak Thai

 

ผมพูดภาษาไทยไม่ได้

pŏm pôot paa-săa tai mâi dâai

This is a perfectly acceptable way to say it

 

ผมพูดภาษาไทยไม่เป็น

pŏm pôot paa-săa tai mâi bpen

This would actually be correct, meaning that I do not have the ability to Speak Thai

 

A common way to say it I've found is just "poot mai dai"..... a response I've got a few times when asking " poot passa angrit dai mai".

I suppose if you ask " poot passa angrit pen mai" the answer would be "poot mai pen"

Edited June 30, 2009 by barney

[Dr.Winston]

It can also mean to have got something i.e "phom dai rap cootmai jaak phuen phom nung chabap" = I recieved a letter from my friend or "Phom mai dai arai leey" = I didn't get anything.

[barney]

It can also mean to have got something i.e "phom dai rap cootmai jaak phuen phom nung chabap" = I recieved a letter from my friend or "Phom mai dai arai leey" = I didn't get anything.

 

That's what I like about these threads........ always something new to learn.

[herds]

It can also mean to have got something i.e "phom dai rap cootmai jaak phuen phom nung chabap" = I recieved a letter from my friend or "Phom mai dai arai leey" = I didn't get anything.

 

I would answer "Phom mai rap arai leey", now I would think that would be correct, but is "Phom mai dai arai leey" the same, but just more general, i.e. you could use sentance to answer many similar questions. E.G. Change the subject from receiving a letter to a receiving a phone call.

[Dr.Winston]

I would answer "Phom mai rap arai leey", now I would think that would be correct, but is "Phom mai dai arai leey" the same, but just more general, i.e. you could use sentance to answer many similar questions. E.G. Change the subject from receiving a letter to a receiving a phone call.

"Phom mai dai arai leey" is quite a common Thai phrase, another similar example of its use meaning to get(or not) something would ne "phom mai dai kamrai leey"= I didn't get any profit at all.

 

I won't pretend that I have a definitive answer for you but to my understanding 'rap' implies receiving something, for example something that you had ordered. As much as it's possible to translate both words into one english word (and it rarely is) I would translate this use of 'dai' as 'get' and 'rap' as receive.It's subtle the only way to really understand the differences in every day usage would be to get a Thai person to give you examples.

 

PS in your example above I would have answered "phom mai dai rap arai leey', the dai in this instance meaning 'I didn't get to receive anything.

[Loong]

A common way to say it I've found is just "poot mai dai"..... a response I've got a few times when asking " poot passa angrit dai mai".

I suppose if you ask " poot passa angrit pen mai" the answer would be "poot mai pen"

 

"poot mai dai" just means I cannot speak, but when you've just asked " poot passa angrit dai mai ? " It's obvious from the context that you mean I cannot speak English

 

I suppose if you ask " poot passa angrit bpen mai" the answer would be "poot mai bpen"

 

Absolutely. Or the answer could simply be Mai bpen.

If you wanted to answer Just a little, Bpen Nit-noy

[Dr.Winston]

"poot mai dai" just means I cannot speak, but when you've just asked " poot passa angrit dai mai ? " It's obvious from the context that you mean I cannot speak English

 

I suppose if you ask " poot passa angrit bpen mai" the answer would be "poot mai bpen"

 

Absolutely. Or the answer could simply be Mai bpen.

If you wanted to answer Just a little, Bpen Nit-noy

'Phuut mai dai' is fine, 'mai pen' is fine. 'Mai samart' is kind of like saying "I do not have the ability to" as opposed to "I cannot" it's very good Thai, but perhaps a little too formal for everyday speech. The best answer is probably the one that is most in line with the question as loong has alluded to above.

[herds]

Thanks for the reply. Theres many ways to say the same the same thing, I suppose I just always just look for the one thai people use the most which I've found is usually the one with the less words.

[Ajay75]

There are a few ways to use it. May^ daay^ from my understanding means "didn't" or "not have chance, cannot".

 

e.g - PomV may^ daay^ tam aray lee_y - I didn't do anything at all.

 

Of course you can mix it up with other expressions. Some of the other ways to use just "daay^" which I've been taught and use are:

 

Daay^ : get

 

1. with positive feeling e.g. new born baby, new friend, money, good news

2. by chance e.g. wound, bad news

 

Specific meaning :

 

Daay^ jay : spoiled (behavior) e.g. panrayaa pomV gamlang daay^ jay (My wife is being spoiled now.. to do anything she wants.),

 

Slang : gain acceptance/popularity e.g. kon tii^ lay^ puak^ sua_^ daa_ng daay^ jay jaak\ tuk/ kon (The people who got the red shirt out gain acceptance/popularity from everybody.)

 

Daay^ yin : hear

Edited July 20, 2009 by Ajay75

[jaocheu]

Two most common uses I hear are 'dai loy' and 'gor dai'. They pop up in conversation all the time. The first means 'sure' and the second 'ok'.