THAI LANGUAGE LESSONS
L27 - Jai Words (Words of the Heart)
A nice feature of the Thai language is the way they create words describing emotions or characteristics as 'heart words'.
| heart | hua jai |
| heart, mind, spirit | jai |
The Thai for heart is hua jai. That is the physical organ in your chest. Just like in English, the word heart is also associated with a more spiritual level to describe feelings or characteristics. In this case, Thais tend to use jai.
Words that describe emotions or feelings generally end with jai. For example, dee jai is to be happy or pleased. The word dee means 'good'. You can see therefore that, as described in the previous lesson, the word jai is being combined with other words from the Thai language to create the feeling of the emotion described. In this case 'good heart'.
There are literally hundreds of jai words in the Thai language but we will only look at some of the more common examples.
| bplairk jai | Wonder / Confuse | bplairk = strange |
| bplee-an jai | Change Mind | bplee-an = change |
| bpralaht jai | Surpised | bpralaht = surprise |
| cheu-a jai | Believe In | cheu-a = believe |
| chorp jai | Like / Be Pleased | chorp = like |
| dee jai | Happy / Pleased | dee = good |
| dtahm jai | Go Along With | dtahm = follow |
| dtang jai | Intend | dtang = establish |
| dtem jai | Excited | dtem = full |
| gamlang jai | Have Will Power | gamlang = strength |
| gep jai | Hide Feelings | gep = collect |
| gloom jai | Worried | gloom = worry |
| greng jai | Considerate / Respectful | greng = fear |
| hen jai | Sympathise | hen = see |
| jap jai | Touching | jap = touch |
| jep jai | Feel Hurt | jep = hurt |
| jit jai | emotional / mental state | jit = mind |
| jing jai | Sincere | jing = true |
| kao jai | Understand | kao = to enter |
| korp jai | Thankful | korp = thanks |
| mun jai | Become Sure of a Person | munkong = sturdy / stable |
| nair jai | Certain | nair = sure |
| poom jai | Proud | poom = proud |
| por jai | Satisfied | por = enough |
| sabai jai | Content | sabai = comfortable |
| sao jai | Sad | sao = sad |
| see-a jai | Upset / Broken Hearted | see-a = broken |
| son jai | Interested | son = interest |
| tam jai | Accept | tam = do / done |
| touk jai | To One's Liking | touk = correct/right |
| wai jai | Trust | wai = keep, store |
Words that describe characteristics generally start with with jai:
| jai dee | Kind / Generous | dee = good |
| jai dum | Mean / Nasty | dum = black |
| jai glah | Brave | glah = bravery |
| jai hin | Adament | hin = stone |
| jai kairng | Strong Willed | kairng = hard |
| jai ngai | Gullible | ngai = easy |
| jai orn | Compliant | orn = soft |
| jai raai | Bad / Cruel / Heartless | raai = bad |
| jai rorn | Impetuous / Hot-headed | rorn = hot |
| jai soo | Determined | soo = fight |
| jai yen | Calm / Cool | yen = cool |
The full meaning of some of these jai words cannot be conveyed in the simple tables above. Two commonly heard jai words that often cause confusion are:
greng jai
This is a very Thai concept that will not translate to any single English word. It can be used to convey a sense of indebtedness and not wanting to impose any more. Thais will also use it in the sense of feeling the need to repay a favour. It can also be used in a sense of being fearful of causing offence or annoyance.
mun jai
This is a complimentary word. It is used in the case of coming to trust somebody. It indicates that perhaps there was previously a feeling of doubt but that has now passed and you have faith in the subject.
