Outrageous Thai. T. F. Rhoden
MÚNG
I guess he understands what we’re saying.
Probably one of the trickiest ending particles to use is วะ [wá]. Similar to how the pronouns of กู [goo] and มึง [mueng] can turn any phrase into a f—k-you phrase, so can the ending particle วะ [wá]. It can, however, also make you sound like you really know what you’re doing in Thai since not a lot of foreigners use this. After you’ve heard a few of your Thai friends use it, give it a try also. They’ll discourage you from using it, but I say screw it! If you really want Thais to take you seriously, you’ll need to learn how to curse in Thai. The word วะ [wá] is simply a slang basic that you need to master. Also, be aware that วะ [wá] is sometimes pronounced as ฟะ [fá] by the kids today in and around Bangkok.
• เฮ้ย! แก คิดจะ ไป ไหน วะ
héri gae kít jà bpai nǎi WÁ
Hey! Where the f—k ya think you’re going?!
• อะไร วะ!
’à-rai WÁ
What the f—k!?!? / What the hell!?!?
• หาย หัวกันไป ไหน หมด ฟะ
hǎi hǔa gun bpai nǎi mòht FÁ
Where the hell did everyone go?
One last thing about ending particles is that you can string as many of them together as you want. See the following example:
• ก็ เคย มี ล่ะนะ ซิ
gâw keri mee là-ná sí
Well, yeah! I used to have one!
CHAPTER TWO
Quick Greetings
For this chapter I just want to review a few of the different ways to say hello. You already got the chance to learn most of the Slang Basics in the first chapter, but it’s always good to go over these greetings one more time. I’ll start with some of the more normal ways to greet someone and then move on to some of the more casual ways to say something like “What’s up?”
Hello, Hi and Hey!
The most common phrase you’ll hear in Thailand for a greeting is สวัสดีครับ [sà-wùt dee krúp] or สัวัสดีค่ะ [sà-wùt dee kâ]. As mentioned, the ending particle ครับ [krúp] is for guys and the ค่ะ [kâ] is for girls. This phrase can be used with pretty much anyone and at anytime of the day to mean hello or hi. Sometimes you might just hear the words วัสดี [wùt dee] or วัสดี ๆ [wùt-dee wùt-dee] said quickly. This is similar to the English hey or hi. This is a little bit more informal than the สวัสดีครับ [sà-wùt dee krúp], but you will hear it around all the same. Another common way of saying hello comes from the English language itself. This is the word ฮัลโล [hun loe] and is used whenever a Thai person answers the phone. Often times they will say the second syllable with a rising tone like: ฮัลโล๋ [hun lǒe].
• สวัสดีครับ คุณสมชัย
SÀ-WÙT DEE KRÚP koon sǒhm-chai
Hello, Mr. Somchai.
• วัดดี ๆ
WÙT-DEE WÙT-DEE
Hey…hi!
• ฮัลโล๋ ใคร โทร หา อ่ะ
HUN-LǑE krai toe-hǎh ’à
Hello? Who’s calling?
How are ya?
To ask how someone is doing instead of just saying hello, the most common phrase you will hear is สบายดีมั้ย [sà-bai dee mái]. This just translates to How are you? Similar to the phrase สวัสดีครับ [sà-wùt dee krúp], you can use the phrase สบายดีมั้ย [sà-bai dee mái] with just about anyone and at anytime of the day. You can also switch the question particle มั้ย [mái] with ปะ [bpá] to ask the more casual สบายคีปะ [sà-bai dee bpá] —just another way to ask How are ya? or How ya doin’? The best response to this question is just สบายดี [sà-bai dee], which translates to I’m fine. For both phrases it’s probably good to tack on the ครับ [krúp] or ค่ะ [kâ] depending on what gender you feel like representing. This just adds an extra degree of politeness.
• สบายดีมั้ย ครับ
SÀ-BAI DEE MÁI krúp
How are you?
• สบายดี ครับผม
SÀ-BAI DEE MÁI krúp-pǒhm
I’m fine, thank you.
How’s it going?
The phrase How are you? is a good one but sometimes it’s easier or more natural to say something like How’s it going? or How’s it? The phrase in Thai is เป็นยังไงบ้าง [bpehn yung ngai bâhng] or เป็นยังไงมั่ง [bpehn yung ngai mûng]. This is a little more informal than asking สบายดีมั้ย [sà-bai dee mái]. I suggest to not use this phrase until you are fairly familiar with a Thai friend or colleague. This can be shortened down even further to the phrase เป็นยังไง [bpehn yung ngai] or even the more common เป็นไง [bpehn ngai]. You will most likely hear this among friends. A Thai national would probably give you an odd look if you used such an informal way to ask how they are, but I think เป็นไง [bpehn ngai] just sounds cooler than เป็นยังไงบ้าง [bpehn yung ngai bâhng]. I think a natural way to say I’m fine or Just good is to answer with ดี [dee] or ก็ดี [gâw dee]. If you want to make your retort a little more cocky, you can say เป็นยังงี้แหละ [bpehn yung-ngée làe], which can be translated to Well, it’s going... or Well, it’s like this.
• พี่ เป็นยังไงบ้าง อ่ะ
pêe bpehn yung ngai bâhng
How’s it going?
• ก็ เป็นยังงี้แหละ
gâw BPEHN YUNG-NGÉE LÀE
Well… it’s going.
• เป็นไง
BPEHN NGAI
How’s it?
• ก็ ดี
GÂW DEE
I’m fine.
What just happened? What’s the deal?
If something just happened or there seems to be something off and you want to know more than just how it is going, you may hear Thais ask เป็นอะไรไป [bpehn ’a-rai bpai]. This translates to What just happened?, What’s going on? or What’s the deal? This is more direct than the other earlier greetings because you may be inquiring about a particular situation or event. This phrase is often shortened to เป็นไรไป [bpehn rai bpai] in colloquial speech. Another common way to ask What just