Daily Thai Confidence — Using แม่น้ำ (mâe-nám)

Noun: แม่น้ำ (mâe-nám)
Meaning: river

In this Thai lesson, we learn how to use the noun แม่น้ำ (mâe-nám), which means ‘river’. It refers to a large natural flow of water that moves continuously and usually flows into the sea, a lake, or another river. It is literally ‘mother of water’, which reflect the idea of a main or major body of flowing water. It can function as a subject (ประธานของประโยค — bprà-t^hāan k^hǎwng bprà-yôok) or object (กรรมของประโยค — gāam k^hǎwng bprà-yôok) in a sentence.

For examples (ตัวอย่างเช่น — dtūa-^awyàang chên)

mâe-nám sǎai née yāow mâak
Literal: Mother-water line this long very.
This river is very long.

The noun แม่น้ำ (mâe-nám) means ‘river’ and functions as the subject of the sentence. The word สาย (sǎai) has multiple meanings in Thai. While it can function as an adjective meaning ‘late’ in other contexts, in this sentence it functions as a classifier for rivers. The classifier สาย (sǎai) is used together with the demonstrative นี้ (née = this) to specify this particular river, not rivers in general. In Thai, classifiers commonly appear with demonstratives such as นี้ (née = this) and นั้น (nán = that) to point to a specific, identifiable item, not just a general concept. The adjective ยาว (yāow) means ‘long’ in terms of physical length. The adverb of degree มาก (mâak), meaning ‘very’ is used to intensify it. Please note: In Thai, different adjectives are used for ‘long’ depending on what kind of length is being described, rather than using one general word as in English. The adjective ยาว (yāow) refers to physical length, such as objects, roads, or rivers. The adjective นาน (nāan = for a long time) is used for length of time or duration. While the adjective ไกล (glāi = is far) describes long distance or how far something is from another place. For example: เชือกเส้นนี้ยาวเกินไป (chêuak sên née yāow gēun-bpāi – This rope is too long.); เขามารอนานมากแล้ว (k^hǎo māa rāw nāan mâak láew = He has been waiting for a long time.); เขาต้องเดินทางไกลพรุ่งนี้ (k^hǎo dtâwng dēuhn-t^hāang glāi p^hrûng-née = He has to travel a long distance tomorrow.

bâan k^hǎwng-chǎn ^awyùu rīm mâe-nám
Literal: House belonging to-me to be situated edge of mother-water.
My house is by the river.

The noun phrase บ้านของฉัน (bâan k^hǎwng-chǎn = my house) functions as the subject of the sentence. The linking verb อยู่ (^awyùu) means ‘to be located’ or ‘to be situated’ and is used in Thai to link the subject to its location. The prepositional phrase ริมแม่น้ำ (rīm mâe-nám = by the river) tells us where the house is located. Please note: The preposition ริม (rīm) means ‘by,’ ‘beside,’ or ‘along the edge of’ and is used to describe a location that is next to or along the boundary of something, especially natural features or physical edges. It is commonly followed by a noun, for examples: ริมแม่น้ำ (rīm mâe-nám = by the river); ริมทะเล (rīm t^há-lāy = by the sea); ริมถนน (rīm t^hà-^hnǒn = along the road); ริมทางเดิน (rīm t^hāang-dēuhn = along the walkway); ริมคลอง (rīm k^hlāwng = by the canal); ริมทาง (rīm t^hāang = by the roadside); ริมหน้าต่าง (rīm ^hnâa-dtàang = by the window); ริมธาร (rīm t^hāan = by the stream)

sà-p^hāan k^hâam mâe-nám ^awyùu mâi glāi jàak t^hêe-nêe
Literal: Bridge to cross mother-water to be situated not far from place-this.
The bride across the river is not far from here.

The noun phrase สะพานข้ามแม่น้ำ (sà-p^hāan k^hâam mâe-nám = the bridge across the river) functions as the subject of the sentence. The linking verb อยู่ (^awyùu) means ‘to be located’ or ‘to be situated’ and is used in Thai to link the subject to its location. The adjective phrase ไม่ไกลจากที่นี่ (mâi glāi jàak t^hêe-nêe = not far from here) describes the distance of the bridge to here.

mâe-nám ^hlǎi p^hàan jāi-glāang-mēuang
Literal: Mother-water flow through heart-middle-city.
The river flows through the heart of the city.

The noun แม่น้ำ (mâe-nám) means ‘river’ and functions as the subject of the sentence because it appears before the verb phrase. The verb phrase ไหลผ่าน (^hlǎi p^hàan = to flow through / to flow pass) is a serial verb construction, where ไหล (^hlǎi) means ‘to flow’ and ผ่าน (p^hàan) adds the meaning of passing through something. The phrase ใจกลางเมือง (jāi-glāang-mēuang) refers to ‘the heart of the city,’ or ‘city centre’ and functions as the object of the verb phrase, indicating the place that the river flows though.

Practise putting your newly learned Thai word into a sentence by translating the following sentences below.

• We took a walk along the river this morning.
• The restaurant is near the river in the city centre.
• The water in the river is very clear.
• We are building a house next to the river.
• The children like to swim in the river after school.

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Urai Khomkham

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