Weak and Solid

In this Easy Thai lesson, discover the many ways Thai uses อ่อน (ɔ̀ɔn), แก่ (gɛ̀ɛ) and แข็ง (khɛ̌ng)! Starting with coconuts, mangoes and bamboo shoots, you’ll see how these words describe things that are young or mature, before moving on to faces, people, plants and wood. They’re also paired with parts of the body to describe feelings: legs giving way from exhaustion, freezing in fright after seeing a ghost, or softening your heart when someone brings you flowers. You’ll also hear the saying ไม้อ่อนดัดง่าย ไม้แก่ดัดยาก (máai ɔ̀ɔn dàt ngâai, máai gɛ̀ɛ dàt yâak) – young wood bends easily, old wood doesn’t.

Thai Vocabulary:
มะพร้าวอ่อน (má-phráao ɔ̀ɔn) – Young coconut
หน้าอ่อน (nâa ɔ̀ɔn) – Youthful-looking
ขาอ่อน (khǎa ɔ̀ɔn) – Weak in the legs
ขาแข็ง (khǎa khɛ̌ng) – Frozen stiff (with fright)
ใจอ่อน (jai ɔ̀ɔn) – Soft-hearted / To give in
ใจแข็ง (jai khɛ̌ng) – Firm / Unyielding

Beginner Age Body Feelings Food Fruit Idioms Opposites Plants Proverbs Vegetables

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Light or Strength

In this Easy Thai lesson, you’ll learn how to describe how strongly an action is done using เบา (bao) – gently / lightly and แรง (rɛɛng) – hard / strongly. Through short example sentences, you’ll hear these words with everyday actions: pressing a remote, closing a door, cracking crab claws, kicking a football and getting a massage. There’s even a waterfall flowing too strongly to swim in! Thai Vocabulary: ตี (dtii) – To hit ต่อย (dtɔ̀i) – To punch ตบ (dtòp) – To slap กด (gòt) – To press ทุบ (túp) – To pound / To smash เตะ (dtè) – To kick นวด (nûat) – To massage ถีบ (tìip) – To kick (with the sole of the foot) น้ำไหล (náam lǎi) – Water flows Repeat each phrase out loud as you listen, and you’ll soon be using เบา (bao) and แรง (rɛɛng) naturally in your own Thai sentences.

Weak and Solid

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