Thai time vs Western time

[Guest fountainhall]

I even heard a story from a friend that he was once on a bus from Pattaya to Bangkok when the driver decided, without a word to anyone, to pull the bus over to a small roadside restaurant, exit the bus, and sit down and have lunch for about a half hour.

 

Ha! This happened to me in India - but on a scheduled flight from what was then called Bombay to Jaipur. Instead of a non-stop flight, my tour was stupidly booked on a 6:00 am flight via Aurangabad and Udaipur. First, there was a 2 hour delay in Bombay (Mumbai) before the short hop to Aurangabad. This 30-minute stop became another 2 hours whilst 6 seats at the back were manhandled with great fuss, taken out, and a stretcher then loaded and locked down. At Udaipur, we were informed there was bad weather at Jaipur and so the 30-minute stop would be around 90 minutes. With a nearly full plane suffering major hunger pangs, meals were brought on board and taken to the cockpit. After finally arriving at Jaipur 5 hours late, I asked at the hotel about the bad weather. "What bad weather? It's been sunny all day!"

[Guest mauRICE]

There are a few ways I find easiest of all. The first is to refer to time as a 24 hour clock. 8:00am is 0800. 2:00pm is 1400.

 

The Thai words for time are roughly pronounced as:

 

[1pm to 6pm

 

1pm - bai mong

2pm - bai song

3pm - bai sahm

4pm - bai see

5pm - hah mong yen

6pm - hoke mong yen

 

4 pm is sii mong yen.

 

[Guest mauRICE]

Be that as it may, I have shown the time chart from my previous post to my punctilious Thai friend. He has corrected it as follows:

 

7:00 หนึ่งโมงเช้า

8:00 สองโมงเช้า

9:00 สามโมงเช้า

10:00 สี่โมงเช้า

11:00 ห้าโมงเช้า

12 noon เที่ยงวัน

 

This way of telling the time between 7 am and 12 noon is being phased out and is no longer taught in Thai schools. It's still used by older, rural and/or less educated Thais though. Except for the minor correction I made, Gaybutton's transliterated list is correct.

[Gaybutton]

Except for the minor correction I made, Gaybutton's transliterated list is correct.

 

I'm not concerned about official transliteration. I'm concerned that readers will get the pronunciation right. Official transliteration is about as misleading and confusing as it gets. Quite a bit of it causes farang to mispronounce a hell of a lot of Thai words. My favorite transliteration is whenever I see the word 'porn.' I think we all know how many would think it would be pronounced, but the fact is the Thais pronounce it as 'pawn.' If you pronounce it the way it looks, then the Thais won't know what you're talking about.

 

My personal favorite farang mispronunciations of Thai are when I hear 'fa-rang,' as if you rang a bell. I also hear 'fair-rang,' and worse still, with the emphasis on the first syllable instead of the second syllable. I frequently hear this city pronounced "pa-TAY-ya." I also hear Jomtien, which is roughly pronounced 'jawm-tee-en,' pronounced as 'jahm-shun' instead.

 

Also, if you really want to nitpick about it, 'bai see' for 4:00pm is correct. Yours is also correct. The Thai language has more than just one phrase for that one. You can use them interchangeably, whichever you prefer. Just to be certain I'm not mistaken, I checked that out with a Thai woman who lives on my street, who speaks English fluently.

 

Krap-pom . . .

[Guest mauRICE]

I'm not worried about official transliteration. I'm concerned that readers will get the pronunciation right. Official transliteration is about as misleading and confusing as it gets.

 

Also, if you really want to nitpick about it, 'bai see' for 4:00pm is correct. Yours is also correct. The Thai language has more than just one phrase for that one. You can use them interchangeably, whichever you prefer. Just to be certain I'm not mistaken, I checked that out with a Thai woman who lives on my street, who speaks English fluently.

 

I've never heard Thais refer to 4 pm as bai sii. Perhaps it is a regional or class variation, or simply poor use of the language, but I wouldn't be so bold as to say it is interchangeable with sii mong yen in standard Thai, depending on one's preference. I'll email one of my Thai teachers and ask her what she thinks. While their English may not be as fluent as a Thai woman who lives on one of Pattaya's streets, they did attend Thammasat and Chulalongkorn where they read Thai and Pali-Sanskrit.

 

I was referring to your transliteration, not any form of official transliteration, the existence and veracity of which are debatable. Your list, read aloud, should be coherent to a Thai who hasn't got a lazy ear although I agree the pronunciation would be quite off based on what you had written. If I had wanted to nit pick, I could have easily offered a transliteration that I feel would be closer to the correct Thai pronunciation but I was more interested in establishing common, contemporary usage.

[Guest Geezer]

Did they ever determine how many angels could dance on the head of a pin?

[Guest]

Did they ever determine how many angels could dance on the head of a pin?

 

6 you silly goose.

 

GT, I do love reading about your adventures.

 

Thank you!

[Gaybutton]

I've never heard Thais refer to 4 pm as bai sii.

 

My experience is different from yours. I've never heard Thais refer to it as anything else. I never hear "mong yen" come into it before 5:00pm. It really doesn't matter very much. If you are trying to verbally communicate 4:00pm, people can try it your way or mine. If the Thai person doesn't understand, then try the other one. One of them will work. If neither works, one can always try "sip-hoke nah-lee-KAH."

 

If none of those work, then meet the guy at 5:00.

[Guest mauRICE]

My experience is different from yours. I've never heard Thais refer to it as anything else. I never hear "mong yen" come into it before 5:00pm.

 

Then, what was your basis for stating so emphatically that bai sii and sii mong yen were interchangeable, dependent only on preference? At least I was willing to concede that it might be a regional or social class variation, pending clarification.

[KhorTose]

Did they ever determine how many angels could dance on the head of a pin?

 

Yes, but the number varies depending on the time of the day?

 

Actually GB and Maurice, this is informative and agrees with what I've heard said by many a poster who has bothered to learn Thai. (Aside: Cudos to both of you). "Thais do not speak their own language very well, and it varies by class, and location." Being from the USA, I wonder if the Thai variations are greater then the English ones in the USA. It also reminds me of that thread we had on the differences between America's and England's, English.

[Gaybutton]

Then, what was your basis for stating so emphatically that bai sii and sii mong yen were interchangeable, dependent only on preference?

 

Based on what my English speaking neighbor told me.

 

Also based on the following URL, which uses them interchangeably: http://www.learningthai.com/time.html . According to that web site, 'bai see' falls into the category of "usually used." 'See mong yen' falls into the category of "sometimes used."

 

Also based on the following excerpt from the James Higbie book, "Essential Thai," page 101, which doesn't even include 'sii mong yen' among the options:

 

 

I still think it's easier to just have the guy meet you at 5:00 . . .

[Guest xiandarkthorne]

Hi everyone,

Sorry I missed the preceding posts between my last post and GB's latest one. I was in Hatyai for three days and just got back.

 

Regarding missed opportunities because I insisted on sticking to my principles (and having people be as punctual as I am), I have always been philosophical about that. It's like buying a lottery ticket with the same number twelve times and then not buying it the 13th and having it come out first prize. Am I going to kick myself because I didn't buy it just one more time?

 

I confess, I used to. And then I suddenly realized that I was allowing other people to waste the precious minutes of my life out of fear of missing out on a 'might-have-been'

 

I guess at the end of the day, it's up to the individual. If you think someone's so hot that he's worth throwing away a few hours of your life (and probably quite a bit of your money after that), then I salute the courage of your decision. Speaking personally, I have never yet met anyone THAT hot.

[Guest George]

If none of those work, then meet the guy at 5:00.

 

Thanks for that one GB, gave me a good laugh.

 

 

George