Thai language: bai, maa and glap

Today I want to talk about three words: bai, maa and glab.

Bai means go;

Maa means come;

glab means return (so the phrase glab baan means to return home)

With a bar girl

The word duay means also or too and duay gan means together, so the phrase bai duay gan means go together. By adding the question word mai a bar girl can ask you a question: Bai duay gan mai kaa? She’s asking if you’d like to go together — she wants you to barfine her.

Of course, you don’t have to wait for her to offer. You can ask her the same question:

Bai duay gan mai krab?

or, if you think you can handle it:

Khun yaag bai duay gan mai krab?

In the taxi

If a taxi driver asks you “Bai nai?” the question is “Where do you want to go?” In tourist Thai you can answer, “Bai Soi See krab” (go to Soi 4) or “Bai Patpong krab” (go to Patpong). The grammar’s not perfect, but he’ll understand.

bai taamngaan = go to work

bai ranahaan = go to a restaurant

bai Soi Cowboy = go to Soi Cowboy

bai Rohngroem Sheraton = go to the Sheraton Hotel

I want to go

Yaag is a word that means “want”. Yaag + verb is good grammar. So, if you’re feeling confident you can try this:

Pom yaag bai ______. (Pom = I, yaag = want, bai = go)

Pom yaag bai Rohngroem JW Marriott.

Pom yaag bai Nana Plaza.

Pom yaag bai Soi jet tap neung. (I want to go to Soi 7/1)

Come Here

An action that involves going from here to there in Thai is bai.

An action that involves going from there to here in Thai is maa.

If you’re on the phone with a Thai girl you had sex with yesterday and you want her to come meet you where you are. You can say:

Maa rohngroem Westin, hawng sawng-soon-sahm = Come to the Hotel Westin, room 203

(For notes on Thai numbers, click here)

Maa soi jet, pom yoo tee New Wave Bar = Come to Soi 7, I am at New Wave Bar

Maa Satanee Asok = Come to Asok (BTS) station

Returning to a Place

Glab is a word that means you return to a place. So:

Glab baan = return home

Glab rohngroem = return to the hotel

Glab tamngaan = return to work (if your girl tells you this, then she’s going back to the bar where you picked her up.)

Glab pratedt khun = return to your country

Glab pratedt pom = return to my country

Prugnee Pom ja glab pratedt pom = Tomorrow I will return to my country

Other uses of bai & maa

To repeat,

An action that involves going from here to there in Thai is bai.

An action that involves going from there to here in Thai is maa.

On the telephone

The word toh means to make a phone call. Toh bai is used to call a place, Toh bai haa is used to call a person.

Toh bai rohngroem Dusit Thani = Call to the Dusit Thani hotel

Toh bai haa pisao = Call to (my/your) older sister

If you want someone to call you back or you expect someone to call you back, you can use say toh maa haa.

Toh maa haa Pom na krab = Call me back (please)

John ja toh maa haa pom krab = John will call me back

Here are a few other phrases that include bai or maa:

Visit

bai yiam = go visit; maa yiam = come visit

Bring or take a person somewhere

paa (person) maa (place) = to bring someone to a place

paa (person) bai (place) = to take someone to a place

paa John maa Soi yee-sip-sawng = bring John to Soi 22

paa John bai sanaambin = Take John to the airport

Bring or take an object somewhere

Ow (object) maa (place) = bring a thing to a place

Ow (object) bai (place) = Take a thing to a place

Ow nangseu maa rohngroem = bring the book to the hotel

Ow meu-teu maa Big Dog’s = Bring the mobile phone to Big Dog’s (bar)

Ow computer bai tamngaan = take the computer to work

Summary

Any time you return to a place, use glab. (for example, rot = car, and lieaw = turn; to tell a taxi driver to make a u-turn you can say ‘glab rot’ or ‘lieaw glab’).

Really, bai and maa are used similarly to go & come, take & bring in English. If it’s going away from you, say bai. If it’s coming towards you, say maa.

You’ll be okay.

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Tagged as: come, go, return, Thai Language, Thailand