WORD STUDY

Point 1. The meaning of lE@Ew. You have now had several examples of the use of the word lE@Ew 'already,' though it has not always been translated in exactly that way. In the examples shown immediately below that part of the English translation which most nearly expresses the meaning of the word lE@Ew in the particular Thai example is put in bold face:

From these examples, then, you will notice that lE@Ew simply means that whatever it is you are talking about has already happened. The word lE@Ew also occurs in a numberr of set phrases with special translation. These set phrases should be memorized. Those you have had so far are:

Point 2. The question phrase rf&f yaN. In the Basic Sentences of this unit you have had a new question phrase rf&f yaN, which is composed of rf&f 'or' and yaN 'still, yet.' The phrase has the same meaning as the English word 'yet' when used in questions, such as, 'Have you eaten yet?' The sentences below contain examples of this question phrase followed by both a 'yes' answer and a 'no' answer.

Point 3. The position of nf$N. This word may be placed either before or after the classifier, e.g., phu^uchaay nf$N khon 'one man' or phu^uchaay khon nf$N 'a man.' If placed before, it is a number-word (Unit 2, p.61); if placed after, it is a descriptive word (Unit 3,p. 89). Only nf$N is used in both ways.

Point 4. The use of ca^? and ca@?. The words ca@? and ca@? are used like khra@p (employed by men) or kha^? and kha@? (employed by women) except that the social status of the person spoken to is different. Men use khra@p when speaking to people of the same age and social position and also to older people or people of higher social position. Women use kha^? and kha@? in the same circumstances. The words ca^? and ca@?, on the other hand, are used by both men and women when speaking to children and also when speaking to people of lower social position, such as servants. Besides this, the words are also used between intimates; therefore a man might use them when speaking to his wife or sweetheart and two women who are very close friends might use them when speaking to each other.
Because of the fact that the words ca@? and ca@? sometimes imply intimacy, care must be taken in using them. As far as what polite words you yourself should use are concerned, you will be able to get along in all ordinary circumstances if you follow the suggestions below:
1) When speaking to children us ca^? and ca@?.
2) When speaking to salespeople or tradesmen, omit the polite word altogether. You may also do this when speaking to servants, if you wish.
3) When speaking to friends, elders, or superiors, use khra@p (if you are a man) and kha^? and kha@? (if you are a woman).

Point 5. The words mO&O and phE^Et. Both mO&O and phE^Et mean 'doctor,' but phE^Et is more formal and more precise than mO&O. The difference between the two words is therefore something like the difference between 'physician' and 'doctor' in English, for phE^Et always refers to a person who treats physical ills, but mO&O, while it means this, too, also has a wider meaning, as in mO&Oduu 'astrologer, fortune-teller' (from 'the looking doctor').

Point 6. Some special phrases.

da^y Nen 'to make money,' lit. 'to get money,' composed of da^y 'to get, obtain' and Nen 'money, silver.'

deen thaaN 'to travel,' lit. 'to walk the way,' composed of deen 'to walk' and thaaN 'path, way.' However, the phrase deen thaaN refers to any kind of travelling and does not have to be on foot.

he&n du^ay 'to agree (with what has been said),' lit. 'to see with,' composed of he&n 'to see' and du^ay 'with by means of; also.'

maa ha&a 'to come see (a person),' lit. 'to come look for,' composed of maa, 'to come' and ha&a 'to look for.'

mii ?aachi^ip 'to make a living,' lit. 'to have a living,' composed of mii 'to have' and ?aachi^ip 'living, livelihood, occupation.'

pay ha&a 'to go see (a person),' lit. 'to go look for,' composed of paj 'to go' and ha&a 'to look for.' Compare with maa ha&a above.

tha^a ya$aN na@n 'in that case,' lit. 'if it is that way,' composed of tha^a 'if,' ya$aN 'kind, sort; way (of doing something),' and na@n 'that.'

tham Naan 'to work,' lit. 'to do work,' composed of tham 'to do, make' and Naan 'work, job, ceremony.'

Point 7. Some compounds.

?aaha&anthi^aN 'lunch, luncheon, noon meal,' lit. 'noon food,' from ?aaha&an 'food' + thi^aN 'noon.' Note that ?aaha&anthi^aN means the 'lunch' that you eat at noon; it does not refer to the kind of lunch that you pack up and take along with you.

khonkha&aykhO&ON 'salesman, salesperson,' lit. 'selling person,' from khon 'person' + kha&ay khO&ON 'to sell things.'

khonNaan 'worker, laborer, hand,' lit. 'work-person,' from khon + Naan 'work, job.'