Signs

Tang Nee Fai

You might sometimes see this sign at playgrounds where there are swings and slides. It says “haam dek dtoh len”. The word “dek dtoh” means “kid big”. The first word you would have see many times as it is used in all forbidden notices. It basically…

I took a picture of this sign at a park in Bangkok. It is telling walkers to be careful of cyclists. In Thai it says “ra-wang jak-gra yaan”. ระวัง จักรยาน (ra-wang jak-gra yaan)

If you don’t want to get into trouble then you should try and remember this sign. In Thai it says “haam kao” which means forbidden to enter. ห้าม เข้า (haam kao)

You probably don’t need to remember this sign unless you are a postman of course. In Thai it says “dtoo rap jot-mai”. The last word is “letter” which might be useful. A literal translation is “box receives letters”. ตู้ รับ จดหมาย (dtoo rap jot maai)

If you need to get some documents photocopied then this is the sign that you need to remember. It says “tai ayk-ga-saan”. ถ่ายเอกสาร (taai ayk-ga-saan)

I guess if you have a litter bin that looks like this then you might need a sign that tells you what it is. In Thai it says “tang ka-ya”. ถัง ขยะ (tang ka-ya)

You don’t really need a sign to tell you not to do this. “Haam ting ka-ya” which means “forbidden to discard trash”. ห้าม ทิ้ง ขยะ (haam ting ka-ya)

Another useful sign you should remember if you don’t want to get hurt. The first word is seen often on warning signs and says “rawang” which means “be careful”. The whole sign says “rawang peun leun” which means, word-by-word, “beware floor slippe…

There are two interesting things to note about this sign. The first word is actually a borrowed English word “menu” and is pronounced “may-noo”. The second word is Thai “wan-nee” which means today. So, “Today’s Menu”. Notice it is back-to-front co…