อุปกรณ์ตัดหญ้า is "a tool for cutting grass", as you thought. It's a general term.

There are many kinds:
มีดตัดหญ้า
เครื่องตัดหญ้า
รถตัดหญ้า
...

This post has been edited by kriswillems: 2009-02-12 23:01:14

A Thai caretaker did ask me specifically for my เครื่องตัดหญ้า. (He was aware I have an electric push lawnmower, As for อุปกรณ์ตัดหญ้า, I just put that together myself, assuming it would be correct. I didn't double check to see if it was in an official dictionary. In the future I'll check. The other oop word I heard was อุปสรรค oopL bpaL sakL noun obstacle; snag

อุปกรณ์ is a เครื่อง which translates as 'something' in this case something used in hand= เครื่องมือ others:something to help= เครื่องช่วย somethings joined together or sets of things = ครื่องประกอบ I am not sure about the last, but a word should never be read in isolationม the meaning will be clear in context. Not realy machine; เครื่องหมาย is something to give meaning เครื่องหมายคำถาม is '?'
Back to อุปกรณ์ is a general term means apparatus as you say, in this case/equipment in others , there is อุปกรณ์กอล์ฟ refers to golf gear, clubs shoes etc. if you wanted to say I haven't brought my kit try it out.

เรื่อง
ที่รัก! คุณได้เก็บอุปกรณ์ตัดหญ้าไว้ที่ไหน
ว้าย! ที้งไปแล้ว
โธ่เอ๋ย! ผมต้องซื้อใหม่

There is another use of the word regarding property ownership, as a legal term, but I haven't figured it out yet.

Yes I figured it out, I was just trying to see if anyone was interested in trying to work it out. Often the word used reflects your experience, if you had grown up with dad cutting grass on a golf course you might well accept that ถาด applied but if you were a farmer ถาด definitely means get this crap out of the ground and level it for planting, ดาย wouldn't come into it. The end is เตียม a lover of grass might like to use ดาย but I doubt it. These replies just help me to memorize stuff.

It's something officially issued by government... or can be something related to the government, the public service, the government service; officialdom, the bureaucracy.

Kris of BKK
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//e-mail removed as per forum rules//

Here's a good word, for serious students: วากยสัมพันธ์ = syntax

Not useful for impressing bargirls, who are not likely to know it, but an advanced student may want to use it when asking a teacher about the proper construction of complex sentences, which, after all, is the ultimate key to language fluency.

Better give a pronunciation guide for this strange-looking word: วาก-กะ-ยะ-สำ-พัน (waakF gaL yaH samR phan[t]M). Please challenge if you think this is incorrect.

Thanks, Khun Mangkorn.

That is the pronunciation, all right. Sorry for omitting it in my post.

Perhaps it would be even better to break it down:

วากย = speech, words, sentences

สัมพันธ์ = relation, connection, association

Ergo, the relationship of words (in sentences)

This post has been edited by mangkorn: 2009-04-24 18:02:15

Not an easy word to learn, but a nice one. Thank you.
Is วากยสัมพันธ์ the structure of sentences in spoken languages only, or can it also refer to programming language syntax?

E.g.: ความ ผิด พลาด ใน การ วากย สัมพันธ์ [khwa:mM phitL phla:tF naiM ga:nM wa:kF gaL yaH samR phanM]= syntax error???

Could you please give an example how วากยสัมพันธ์ is used in a sentence? Examples of วากย and สัมพันธ์ used in different context are also greatly appreciated.

cheers

Andi

- Edit: added pronunciation

This post has been edited by Puschl: 2009-04-25 02:14:55

กระผม ( grà-pŏm )
I ; me

Is there another use for this word besides me or I? I've noticed sometimes when someone is doing all the talking to a male, the male replies every once in a while with a single word กระผม. Could it also be used similar to uh-huh, ( I get what your saying.)?

It's likely you're hearing the similar-sounding, but different word ครับผม, which is a polite version of ครับ, meaning yes, yes sir, yes ma'am, sir etc

เดี้ยง  diiangF


1.
[colloquial slang, used comically] dead; to die
2.
exhausted; completely tired

This morning my Thai wife said the washing machine was broken.
After a little investigation, I discovered it wasn’t plugged in and said:

เครื่องไม่เดี้ยง

She did not understand me so I showed her where I got it from, a Becker book as follows.


Dead broken or out of order dîang เดี้ยง

เครื่องเดี้ยงเมื่อเช้านี้

krêuang dîang mêua cháo née
The machine broke this morning


She then said that it wasn’t correct and that dîang was used for describing handicapped people. I am assuming she is wrong because she was in the U.S. for 30 years so might not be aware of how the word is used nowadays. Would I be correct in my assumption? TIA

น้ำเน่า ( nám-nâo )

bad ; ill ; dirty ; mean ; base
polluted water ; foul water ; refused water
pornographic ; insane

Also used for:

ละครน้ำเน่า

soap operas; t.v. dramas

or:

in BP Becker Speak Like a Thai V. 2 (slang and idioms)

น้ำเน่า

Dull and monotonous , Literally: rotten water

as in:


คนไทยชอบดูหนังน้ำเน่า

(Thai people like watching soap operas.)

Why would Thai people like to watch soaps if they are dull and monotonous?

^
Maybe because they're pornographic and insane, or at least one of the two.....

That is the way I think about it, but the example is supposed to be for dull and monotonous. I was wondering if their is a mistake in saying that น้ำเน่า can be used to mean boring.

I think น้ำเน่า can also mean junk, trashy, cheap.

ถือ hold ; bear ; carry
หอบ to carry (in one's arms)
คอน to carry (on a shoulder pole)
หาบ to carry (on a shoulder pole)
พก to carry (on one's person)
ทูน to carry (on the head)
แบก to carry (on the shoulder or back)
หาม to carry (with another person)
สะพาย to carry(over the shoulder)

Thanks for those, I had forgotten a couple.
an additional one is
ยึด which I would translate as carrying a 3 year old but could be wrong.

another I've used is "neeb: which means to carry under the arm.

Recently I read ที่โคราชตอนนี้ฝนกำลังจะตก (têe koh râat dton née fŏn gam-lang jà dtòk).
I am confused because โค means cow, ox or bull and ราช means king, monarch, royal, sovereign.
Is this the Thai way of saying "It's raining cats and dogs"?
Thanks in advance.

โคราช is the city of Korat in NE Thailand.

Please see this.

K(h)orat is a 'second' name for the city/province but also the southern part of Isan (as in Korat plateau).

I use " fon dtok mai leum huu leum dta"

โคราช is Korat (the city more formally called นครราชสีมา)

"In Korat, its just about to start raining."

This post has been edited by SoftWater: 2009-10-25 18:33:11

1. adding,increasing
2. ally
3. involve
4. make report
5. make oneself known
6. ministry of defense
7. obligation, duty
8. one reason
9. raise a point
10. secretary
11. stressful problem
12, staff, personnel
13. troops
14. try, an attempt
15. worry, be concerned
16.concerned about a scheme

These 16 words or more than one word sometimes, might be heard in the news.
I clipped them from a VOA story and put them together on an audacity file. VOA
is very boring but can be quite useful as they have transcripts. I put them on my
IPOD which does a good job of drilling Thai into my head. Each word(s) are repeated twice as once is not enough for me. Audio attached for anyone interested,
 VOA01.mp3 ( 1.15MB ) Number of downloads: 3