Proper Etiquette

Focus: ให้

• ให้ (hâi) is one of the most common words in the Thai language.

  • Two of its main functions are as the verb "to give" and as a preposition meaning "for."

• When using ให้ (hâi) as the verb "to give," the basic pattern is:

  • Subject + ให้ (hâi) + Direct Object + Indirect Object

    • คุณแม่ให้เงินคุณพ่อ (khun-mâae hâi ngoen khun-phâaw.)

      ➤ "Mother gave the money to father.

• We can also include the word กับ (gàp) between the direct object and the indirect object.

  • ผมให้เงินกับคุณแม่ (phǒm hâi ngoen gàp khun-mâae.)

    ➤ "I gave the money to mother."

• When we use ให้ (hâi) as the preposition "for," it will come before the indirect object.

  • Often, though, when the indirect object is "you" or "me," we will omit it, and just ให้ (hâi) remains at the end.

  • The general pattern is: Subject + Verb + Direct Object + ให้ (hâi) + Indirect Object

    • คุณพ่อเปิดขวดน้ำให้ดิฉัน (khun-phâaw bpòoet khùuat náam hâi dì-chǎn.)

      ➤ "Father opened the bottle for me."

    • ใครซื้อขนมให้ (khrai súue khà-nǒm hâi.)

      ➤ "Who bought candy for you?"

• Additionally, we can attach a complete clause after ให้ (hâi) so that it carries the meaning of "for the purpose of."

  • ผมซื้อหนังสือพิมพ์ให้คุณพ่ออ่าน (phǒm súue nǎng-sǔue-phim hâi khun-phâaw àan.)

    ➤ "I bought a newspaper for father to read."

  • เด็กผู้ชายร้องเพลงให้เพื่อนฟัง (dèk-phûu-chaai ráawng phleeng hâi phûuean fang.)

    ➤ "The boy sang a song for his friends to hear."

Vocabulary & Phrases

• ช่วย...ให้หน่อย (chûuai...hâi nàwy)

  • This phrase essentially means "please."

  • ช่วย (chûuai) ➤ "to help."

  • ให้ (hâi) is the verb "to give," but we also use it in many other ways.

    • In this case, ให้ (hâi) means "for," as in "for me."

  • หน่อย (nàwy) ➤ "a little."

  • We can use it to make a request more humble.

    • To do so, we put the request in the middle of the sentence.

    • So the whole thing is almost like asking "Could you help a little by doing (some request) for me?"

  • Examples:

    • ช่วยเปิดประตูให้หน่อย (chûuai bpòoet bprà-dtuu hâi nàwy)

      ➤ "Could you please open the door for me?"

• ไม่เป็นไร (mâi-bpen-rai)

  • This is one of the most common expressions we use in daily conversation.

  • It can mean "never mind," "it's all right," "it's nothing," "that's okay," "no problem," "don't worry," or "you're welcome."

• จังเลย (jang looei)

  • This phrase functions as an adverb meaning "exceptionally," "exceedingly," "extremely," "very," or "really." It will usually follow directly after an adjective in the sentence.

  • Examples:

    • อากาศวันนี้ร้อนจังเลย (aa-gàat wan-níi ráawn jang looei.)

      ➤ "The weather is really hot today."

    • ผมหิวจังเลย (phǒm hǐu jang looei.)

      ➤ "I'm so hungry!"

• เหรอ (rǒoe)

  • This is a word that we can put at the end of a sentence to turn it into a question.

  • We can also use it by itself in very casual speech to mean "Really?" or "Is that so?"

    • คุณมีแฟนแล้วเหรอ (khun mii faaen láaeo rǒoe.)

      ➤ "So you have a girlfriend already, huh?"

    • จริงเหรอ เขาชื่ออะไร (jing rǒoe. khǎo chûue à-rai.)

      ➤ "Is that true? What's her name?"

  • We can also use เหรอ (rǒoe) in other questions where it is not essential to the meaning.

  • When it is paired up with a different question word in the sentence, เหรอ (rǒoe) has the effect of making the question sound more smooth.

  • Examples:

    • คุณเป็นคนประเทศอะไรเหรอคะ (khun bpen khon bprà-thêet à-rai rǒoe khá.)

      ➤ "So, what's your nationality?"

Proper Etiquette to Observe in a Thai Temple

• Temples in Thailand are popular places for tourists to visit, but it is important to remember that they are primarily places of worship.

  • One should always be careful to be respectful when visiting a temple.

  • The most basic rules of temple etiquette are to always remove shoes before entering temple buildings and to not sit with your feet pointing at a Buddha image, monks, or other people.

  • Dressing respectfully at a temple means dressing modestly.

  • Women should wear long pants or a skirt that goes at least to the knees, and their shirt should not be sleeveless or have a very low, drooping neckline.

  • Men, too, should not be wearing sleeveless shirts or shorts when visiting temples.

• It is generally okay to take photographs on temple grounds.

  • In fact, Thai people like to take pictures as much as anyone else, and you'll see many Thai tourists also posing for pictures at famous temples.

  • If you wish to take a photo of someone else, though, it is best to ask their permission beforehand.

  • Inside temple buildings you must be more careful.

  • At some temples there will be signs indicating that taking photos is not allowed inside the buildings.

  • In temple buildings where photos are allowed, it is important not to disturb those who are praying or engaged in other religious activity.

What are they giving those Thai Monks?

Focus: Using กำลัง (gam-lang) and อยู่ (yùu)

• Unlike many languages, verbs in Thai never alter their form to make different tenses. Instead, we add additional words to do the same job.

• We can create the present continuous tense by adding กำลัง (gam-lang) in front of the verb.

  • It shows that the action is in the middle of happening right now.

  • ผมพูดภาษาไทย (phǒm phûut phaa-sǎa-thai.)

    ➤ "I speak Thai."

  • ผมกำลังพูดภาษาไทย (phǒm gam-lang phûut phaa-sǎa-thai.)

    ➤ "I'm speaking Thai."

• You can also include the word อยู่ (yùu) after a verb phrase to show that the action is in the middle of taking place.

  • ดิฉันทำการบ้านอยู่ (dì-chǎn tham gaan-bâan yùu.)

    ➤ "I'm doing homework."

  • ผู้ชายคนนั้นรอแฟนอยู่ (phûu-chaai khon nán raaw faaen yùu.)

    ➤ "That man is waiting for his girlfriend."

• If you put กำลัง (gam-lang) in front of the verb and อยู่ (yùu) after the verb, it puts a little more emphasis on the fact that the event is still going on.

  • ดิฉันกำลังทำการบ้านอยู่ (dì-chǎn gam-lang tham gaan-bâan yùu.)

    ➤ "I'm in the middle of doing homework."

Vocabulary & Phrases

• แต่ละคน  (dtàae lá khon)

  • This is just a phrase that means "each person."

  • แต่ (dtàae) ➤ "but" or "only."

  • ละ (lá) ➤ "per."

    • It usually follows a classifier, but not in this case.

  • คน (khon) ➤ "person."

• ทำอะไรกันอยู่  (tham à-rai gan yùu)

  • This is a question that means "What are they doing?"

  • ทำ (tham) ➤ "to do,"

  • อะไร (à-rai) ➤ "What?"

  • กัน (gan) ➤ "together."

    • We use it here because the subject of the sentence would be plural.

  • อยู่ (yùu) ➤ "to be located."

    • However, when อยู่ (yùu) follows another verb in the same sentence, it indicates that the action is still taking place, or in other words, it changes the sentence to the present continuous tense.

• แล้ว...ล่ะ (láaeo...lâ)

  • We use this pattern to ask about a new subject in regard to the information that was just given.

  • We would place the subject in the middle of the phrase.

  • We can use it for asking back the person you are talking to with the same question they just asked you, as in:

    • แล้วคุณล่ะ (láaeo khun lâ.) ➤ "And how about you?"

  • Or we can use it to ask about a separate subject:

    • แล้วคุณแม่ล่ะ (láaeo khun-mâae lâ.) ➤ "What about mother?"

• พวกเขา  (phûuak-khǎo)

  • This is a plural pronoun that means "they" or "them."

  • พวก (phûuak) means "a group."

  • We can add it to the beginning of many pronouns and nouns to make them plural.

  • Some other common words that contain it are

    • พวกเรา (phûuak-rao) ➤ "we" or "us",

    • พวกนี้ (phûuak-níi) ➤ "these"

    • พวกนั้น (phûuak-nán) ➤ "those".

Preparing for Good Fortune in This Life and Beyond

• The word สังฆทาน (sǎng-khá-thaan) means an "offering to monks."

  • It comes from the Sanskrit phrase Sangha-dana.

  • Sangha is the term we use for the community of monks who follow the Buddha, and dana means "generosity."

  • In Buddhist belief, the act of generosity toward the community of monks is an important activity for increasing one's "store of merit": บุญ (bun).

  • Merit is a sort of intangible measure of accumulated virtue that largely determines under what types of conditions and circumstances one will be reborn in the future.

  • So to have a more favorable existence in the next life, as well as better fortune for the rest of this life, it is necessary to make merit.

  • The Thai phrase for "making merit" is ทำบุญ (tham-bun).

  • We often use this phrase in daily conversation whenever someone is talking in general about performing religious activity or doing a good deed.

• Many people know that Thais make merit by offering food to the monks in the morning.

  • If you wake up early enough on any given day, in any city or village in Thailand, you'll see barefoot monks out collecting alms.

  • The monks receive enough food each day to feed themselves, but there are other necessities of life besides food.

  • That is why giving สังฆทาน (sǎng-khá-thaan) is an important practice.

• Shops near temples sell special orange buckets filled with an assortment of items for daily use.

  • The bucket might contain such things as soap, toothpaste, matches, towels, and instant coffee.

  • Someone who wants to make merit will buy one of the buckets and present it to a monk at the temple, usually the abbot if he is available.

  • Women are not supposed to directly hand anything to a monk, so there will be a piece of cloth that they set the offering down on.

  • The monk will touch the other end of the cloth to symbolically accept the offering.

  • There is also the belief that the merit one makes can be shared or dedicated to another person.

  • So usually, when Thais give สังฆทาน (sǎng-khá-thaan), their purpose is to dedicate the merit to a deceased relative.

  • There is a short ceremony for dedicating merit in which the monk will chant some prayers in Pali while the person who made the offering pours water from a small metal vial into a bowl.