THAI LANGUAGE LESSONS
L29 - Moderate Statements
In the previous lesson we looked at how to add emphasis to a statement. In this lesson we will look at how to moderate a statement. In English we use words such as 'a little' or 'a bit', e.g. instead of saying 'it is cold', we could moderate it by saying 'it is a little cold'.
The Thai language also has an array of words for moderating statements, and Thais like to use them sometimes.
noy
noy is used in much the same way that we use 'a little' or 'a few'. It comes at the end of the statement:
wan nee rorn noy - Today
is a little hot.
haht nai yang mee kon noy - Nai Yang Beach
has few people.
It is also sometimes used as a way to make commands sound nicer, a little like saying 'please'.
mah nee noy - Come here a little.
mah nee on its own would sound a little harsh. Adding noy to the command makes it sound softer and friendlier.
nit
nit is used in much the same way that we use 'a bit'.
pom naow nit - I am a bit cold.
nit noy
nit is not used on its own very much. It is much more often combined with other words, e.g. like in the often used phrase nit noy - 'a little bit'.
It comes at the end of the statement:
chan ruk koon nit noy - I
love you a little bit.
pom poot pah-sah thai nit noy - I
speak Thai a little bit.
nit dee-ow
Another word nit is often combined with is dee-ow, which means one or single. So nit dee-ow would roughly translate as 'just one bit'. It is not actually used to specifically state 'just one' but to convey the general idea of 'just a little'.
It comes at the end of the statement:
ao kanom cake mai - Do
you want some cake?
ao nit dee-ow krap - I
want just a little (just one bit).
bahng
bahng translates quite nicely to the English word 'some'.
koon bpai poo-get boy boy mai - Do
you go to Phuket often?
pom bpai poo-get bahng krang - I
go to Phuket sometimes.
