melasinsh Posted July 12, 2005 Report Share Posted July 12, 2005 A farang quite good in Thai claims: 1) "chan (shan) rak khun" - is a bad way for a Thai woman to tell a farang she loves him, it is an insult to the farang 2) "chan rak ter (ther)" - is the proper way for a Thai woman to express a deep committed love that might be between the two people if they are to be married. I would really appreciate Thai people (men and women) that can tell me, do both translate into English as "I love you" or would you translate them using different English. What is the sentiment, the feeling or the emotional difference? Am I reading this guys writings correctly? Thank you all for your help. NOTE: This question comes from a new Reader's Submission posted in www.stickmanbangkok.com. An article entitled "Why I would never marry a Thai." Readers Submission http://www.stickmanbangkok.com/reader/reader1803.htm in Section 3 of this rather lengthy submission. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CiaranM Posted July 12, 2005 Report Share Posted July 12, 2005 A farang quite good in Thai claims:1) "chan (shan) rak khun" - is a bad way for a Thai woman to tell a farang she loves him, it is an insult to the farang 2) "chan rak ter (ther)" - is the proper way for a Thai woman to express a deep committed love that might be between the two people if they are to be married. NOTE: This question comes from a new Reader's Submission posted in www.stickmanbangkok.com. An article entitled "Why I would never marry a Thai." Readers Submission http://www.stickmanbangkok.com/reader/reader1803.htm in Section 3 of this rather lengthy submission. well if u r getting ur advice from stickman enough said !!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
khun_lung Posted July 12, 2005 Report Share Posted July 12, 2005 I'd be quite surprised if any female TF member couldn't understand "I love you" in English. Nonetheless, as has been advised, it can be said several ways in Thai. Don't get in the habit of saying it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
melasinsh Posted July 12, 2005 Author Report Share Posted July 12, 2005 well if u r getting ur advice from stickman enough said !!! Your position on Stickman and Mangosauce is well known. This topic is a matter of understanding Thai language hence the choice of the forum for posting this question. The question has nothing to do with Stickman. It has to do with the subtleties between "khun" and "ter" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
melasinsh Posted July 12, 2005 Author Report Share Posted July 12, 2005 agree with misty. khun or ther means exactly the same. except one tip: "chan rak ther" sounds a bit sissy i would say esp. if a guy say it to a girl coz "chan" is used for women to refer to themselves. "phom" is better for men."ther" usually used to refer to 2rd person (mostly female) and mostly said by women too. i noticed Yellow>>> Thank you for your answer. There was no question about the use of "chan." It was a Thai woman expressing her love to a Farang man so "chan" is correct (or the best choice). I was always clear on the difference between phom and chan. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
melasinsh Posted July 12, 2005 Author Report Share Posted July 12, 2005 I'd be quite surprised if any female TF member couldn't understand "I love you" in English. The question relates to a Thai woman expressing her love to a Farang man. You misunderstood the question and assumed I want to know how to say I love you to a Thai woman. I do not. I wish to understand better the difference in sentiment between khun and ter when used in chan rak khun and chan rak ter as said by a Thai woman to a Farang man. Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
melasinsh Posted July 12, 2005 Author Report Share Posted July 12, 2005 Chan rak ter is more informal, intimateChan rak khun in more formal, respectful Neither is wrong, but the "ter" format is more common -- as we don't usually stand on formality when expressing love. Thanks for your reply. I think that is exactly the point the author was trying to make. If you are close enough to somebody and are at a point in the relationship where you are expressing your love to each other, shouldn't you be referring to each other in a less formal (more familiar) way and not using the 2nd person singular more formal means of address. I made a serious mistake by quoting the reference of the discussion because everybody wants to turn this into a rant on stickmanbkk and the readers rather than a discussion of a fine point in the use of Thai pronouns. I do not like to copy phrases or discussions without crediting the author as it might appear as plagiarism (perhaps rightly so). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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