JOOT (จุด) “to light” is used in connection with lamps, fires etc. where we actually have to light them with a flame.

DUP (ดับ) “to extinguish” is similarly used only where there is a flame to be extinguished except that if the electric light has been extinguished by a blown fuse or other breakdown we can also use DUP.

PIT (ปิด) “to close” is used for turning off a light, turning down or shutting down an electrical appliance or machine etc.

PERT (เปิด) “to open” is also used for “turning on” or “turning up” an electrical appliance, radio etc.

	PERT FY	เปิดไฟ	Turn on the lights.
	PERT WITTA-YOO NOY	เปิดวิทยุหน่อย	Turn the radio up a little.

PERT is also used idiomatically for “raising the hat”.

PERT MOO-AK

เปิดหมวก

To raise the hat.

KORTOT (ขอโทษ) corresponds to “excuse me” in English and is used in the same way.

KORTOT KRUP ROT FY ORK GEE MONG Excuse me, what time does the train leave? ขอโทษครับรถไฟออกกี่โมง

If you tread on someone’s foot you say;

KORTOT KRUP

ขอโทษครับ

Excuse me.

TEU (ถือ) means “to hold in the hand” but for “to hold something from moving” we use JUP “arrest”.

TEU is also used for “holding an opinion” as in English.

TEU WAH

ถือว่า

To believe that. To consider that.

YIP (หยิบ) “to pick up with the fingers” is often used instead of SONG with the meaning of “to hand someone”.

YIP SEU-A MAH HY CHUN TEE หยิบเสื้อมาให้ฉันที

Hand me my coat.

LAAK (แลก) “to barter” and TORN “to divide up” are both used with regard to “changing money” but in quite different senses.

LAAK implies that you expect to get back (in barter or exchange) as much as you gave and hence this word is used in asking for change.

TORN (ทอน) however which really means “to divide up” refers to what you expect to get as your share after you have divided up some money as for instance between yourself and the taxi driver.

	KOR LAAK TANABUT NEE DY MY KRUP Can you change this note? ขอแลกธนบัตรนี้ได้ไหมครับ
	TORN HY CHUN HAH BAHT ทอนให้ฉันห้าบาท	Give me five ticals change.

A point to watch in the first example given above is that if you leave out KOR it implies that you are not asking a favour but rather want to know if the note is a good one or not and if your friend will change it.

JUMNOO-AN (จำนวน) means “the amount” or “the number” of something and is used as follows.

NY PRATAYT UNGRIT MEE NUK SEUKSAH MY NOY GWAH ROY KON NY JUMNOO-AN NEE MEE KON THAI PRAMAHN ROY LA YEE SIP KON In England there are not less than 100 students. Of this number about 20% are Thai. ในประเทศอังกฤษ มีนักศึกษาไม่น้อยกว่าร้อยคน ในจำนวนนี้มีคนไทยประมาณร้อยละยี่สิบคน

CHALAHT (ฉลาด) and GENG both mean “skilful” or “clever” but the former is the more commonly used.

GENG (เก่ง) however is very frequently used in referring to your ability to speak Thai.

POOT PAHSAH THAI GENG พูดภาษาไทยเก่ง

You speak Thai very well.

GENG also has the meaning of “bold” or “audacious”.

KOR YEUM (ขอยืม) “borrow” and HY YEUM (ให้ยืม) “lend” both refer to borrowing or lending things or money on a temporary basis where there is no question of any interest being paid.

Quite different words are used for borrowing or lending money with interest.

TORT (ถอด) is “to take off” or “remove” a garment or a part of machinery.

	TORT RORNGTOW SOKGAPROK MAHK Take off your shoes, they are very dirty. ถอดรองเท้า สกปรกมาก
	TORT BAT DTER REE PLEE-AN MY Put in a new battery. (Remove battery change new) ถอดแบตเตอรี่เปลี่ยนใหม่

DERN TAHNG (เดินทาง) “to travel” from which we get;

NUNGSEU DERN TAHNG หนังสือเดินทาง

A passport. (Travel book)

LOW (เล่า) is “to recount” or “to relate”.

LOW REU-ANG NY NUNGSEU LEM NUN HY POM FUNG Tell me the story of that book. เล่าเรื่องในหนังสือเล่มนั้นให้ผมฟัง

DTOO-A (ตั๋ว) and BUT (บัตร) both mean “ticket” and are fairly synonymous although there are a number of compound words in which only one or other of the words is normally used.

Generally DTOO-A is used for small tickets such as railway tickets, airline tickets etc. and BUT for larger ones such as invitation cards, passes etc.

Generated by Lyndon Hill on Thu Jul 20 18:40:34 BST 2006.

Copyright remains with the original authors.