This article was originally posted on WomenLearnThai.com.
What do you think of these beautiful Thai words?…
Several times a month I jump into a taxi to roam around Thailand with a Thai friend. There is usually a plan, but we always end up goodness knows where. And after I let go of my western penchant for sticking to the plan, “goodness knows where” became fun.
On trips around Thailand I take a special black Moleskin to jot down what interests me. Sometimes it’s the name of a Wat or town. Sometimes a Thai word or phrase. But oftentimes I’m taking down notes for future posts on WLT.
On one trip I asked Khun Phairo and KP (the taxi driver) what their most beautiful Thai words were. They were both dumbfounded at my question and couldn’t come up with a single one.
Going at it from another angle, I then asked which Thai words sounded good tripping off their tongues. Thai words (or word combos even) they enjoyed saying.
Bingo. We were then on a roll with words for lovers, words used with kids, and words for fun.
And excellent for us, all can be found on YouTube. And because the YouTube files take up loads of room, I’m posting this section separate from a coming post: The most beautiful words in the Thai language.
āļŠāļāļēāļĒāđ /sabai sabai/…
Everyone who knows Thai knows āļŠāļāļēāļĒāđ /sabai sabai/. Sabai Sabai means “happy, comfortable, feeling fine, take it easy”. When someone asks you “sabai dee mai?” then you reply “sabai sabai” or “mai sabai”. And if you are panicking, someone might comfort you by saying “sabai sabai”.
The song of the same name is by āļāļāđāļāļĒ āđāļĄāļāļāļīāļāđāļāļĒāđ Thongchai “Bird” McIntyre. The original song came out in 1987 with later versions being cut by Bird and Sek Loso.
Btw: In Lao they say āļŠāļāļēāļĒ /sabai/ instead of āļŠāļ§āļąāļŠāļāļĩ /sà -wà t-dee/ or āļŦāļ§āļąāļāļāļĩ /wà t-dee/.
āđāļāđāļāđāļāđāļĄāđāđāļāđ /bpen bpai mÃĒi dÃĒai/…
āđāļāđāļāđāļāđāļĄāđāđāļāđ /bpen bpai mÃĒi dÃĒai/ means “it’s impossible” in Thai. Perry Como recorded the hit song Itâs Impossible back in 1970 but this version is Thailand’s very own. It’s not a translation of the American song, but a love song of the same name. It’s sung by āđāļĻāļĢāļĐāļāļē (Sayt-Taa), who is wishing for the impossible: ten faces, ten hands, etc.
āļāļīāđāļāļāđāļāļĒ /jÃp-jÃģi/…
āļāļīāđāļāļāđāļāļĒ /jÃp-jÃģi/ means “itâs a little thing, not a big deal”. āļāļīāđāļāļāđāļāļĒ is similar to āđāļĄāđāđāļāđāļāđāļĢ /mÃĒi bpen rai/ “it’s nothing, never mind”. The Thai song āļāļīāđāļāļāđāļāļĒ /jÃp-jÃģi/ is by flamboyant Country singer āļāļēāļ§ āļĄāļĒāļļāļĢāļĩāļĒāđ (Dao Mayuree). The lyrics start off with: “Itâs not a big deal if we break upâĶ”
āļŦāļāđāļāļĄāđāļāđāļĄ /nÃēm-nÃĄem/…
āļŦāļāđāļāļĄāđāļāđāļĄ /nÃēm-nÃĄem/ is slang for being “childish, innocent, naÃŊve”. The cute Thai song āļŦāļāđāļāļĄāđāļāđāļĄāđāļāļŦāļāđāļāļĒ /nÃēm-nÃĄem bpai nÃēi/ is sang by āļāļīāļĨāļĨāļĩāđ āđāļāđāļāļ /bin-lÊe oh-gaen/ (Billy XOXO).
āđāļĢāļ·āđāļāļĒāđ /rÊuay rÊuay/…
āđāļĢāļ·āđāļāļĒāđ /rÊuay rÊuay/ means “let it go, chill out”. The gist of the song is, “weâll keep going like this until we get old”. Love it (I’ve added this song to my Thai songs to learn list).
āļāļļāđāļāđ /jÚp jÚp/…
Thais use āļāļļāđāļāđ /jÚp jÚp/ for the sound that a kiss makes. You can say “kiss kiss” to your cat, your mom, your lover, your baby or spouse. But not your boss.
āļĢāļąāļāļāļ°āļāļļāđāļāđ /rÃĄk nÃĄ jÚp jÚp/ is “I love you, kiss kiss!”
Good morning Lani – I haven’t seen Bird (not for real anyway). But I have discovered what Thai music gets me hopping (finally – after all this time ð
Mia, “āļāļīāļ§āļāļīāļ§ (pronounced chiw chiw) means chill, chill out”. Ta! I’ll add it to the list (now need to find where I put it…)
Keith, you and Hugh are on the same page with āļŠāļļāļ§āļĢāļĢāļāļ āļđāļĄāļī (he submitted it to the Top 100 Beautiful Thai words post).
…. sounds a little like a person with a slight stutter saying âPeter Pan.â
So true – and fun ð
I like āļāļīāļāļīāļāļ āļąāļāļāđ too because I think it sounds a little like a person with a slight stutter saying âPeter Pan.â ð
My teacher from āļāļāļāđāļāđāļ /khon kaen/ in āļāļĩāļŠāļēāļ /iisĮan/ sometimes says āļŦāļ§āļąāļāļāļĩ too.
And āļāļēāļāļāļāļāļļāļĢāļĩ /gaanjà nÃĄbÃđrii/ and āļŠāļļāļ§āļĢāļĢāļāļ āļđāļĄāļī /sÃđwannÃĄpuum/ are also nice. From what I gather, they mean almost the same thing: golden province and golden land, respectively.
I love all the songs here esp. āļŠāļāļēāļĒāđ/sabai sabai, these days young Thais use more āļāļīāļ§āļāļīāļ§(pronounced chiw chiw) means chill, chill out.
I’ve noticed :
1.Museum in Thai spelled āļāļīāļāļīāļāļ āļąāļāļāđ
2.In Lao they say āļŠāļāļēāļĒāļāļĩ /sabai dii/ instead of āļŠāļ§āļąāļŠāļāļĩ /sà -wà t-dee/ or āļŦāļ§āļąāļāļāļĩ /wà t-dee/
Thai spelled āļŠāļāļēāļĒ
Lao spelled āļŠāļ°āļāļēāļĒ
Interesting??!!!
How fun. Good idea too. It’s always fun to learn through music and suits my mood these days perfectly. And I finally got to see the famous Bird which my students adore. jÚp jÚp!
Keith, Pippi Longstocking? Sweet! Yes, the short āļāļļāđāļ is the sound a āļāļđāļ makes (from what I’m told ð
Gaelee, āļāļīāļāļīāļāļ āļąāļāļāđ was one Thai word I found fun to learn just from the sound alone. When I first heard it I laughed and repeated it many times. And if I get a chance (I’m running around at the moment) I’ll add it to the coming post on beautiful Thai words. Ta!
For sound alone, I’ve always liked āļāļīāļāļīāļāļ āļąāļāļāđ ( pi-pit-ta-pan : museum ).
I loved saying it even when I had to count on my fingers to get the right number of syllables.
Apparently, āļāļļāđāļāđ is OK for Pippi Longstocking too! ð So āļāļļāđāļ is the sound a āļāļđāļ makes?