I got the impression that there are some similarities between Thai and Cantonese during a trip to Thailand earlier this year. But up to now I was not quite sure what these similarities are. Since I started studying Thai a short while ago, I noticed the following.
1. Thai and Cantonese use similar sounds.
For example, the sound “ng” (as in ง and 我) can appear at the beginning of a word in both languages. In fact, I believe it is possible to use the Thai script to transcribe most, if not all, Cantonese words.
2. The correct use of classifiers is extremely important in both languages.
The word order when using classifiers is different in the two languages though. In Thai the order is noun – cardinal number – classifier, but in Cantonese (and all other spoken variants of Chinese) the order is cardinal number – classifier – noun.
3. Some words are almost identical.
- Chicken. Say ไก่ (gài) in Thai, but use a high level tone (one that does not rise in the end) instead, and you have the correct Cantonese pronunciation. Or say 雞 (gai1) in Cantonese with a low level tone to get the Thai pronunciation.
- Three. Say สาม (sǎam) with a high level tone to turn it into Cantonese, or 三 (saam1) with an extended low rising tone to turn it into Thai.
- Nine. Say เก้า (gâao) with with a rising tone to speak Cantonese, or 九 (gau2) with a high falling tone that initially rises a bit to speak Thai.
Was just sent a link to your blog. Welcome!
The similarity is because Thai has borrowed many words from Chinese languages over the centuries.
The words you’ve mentioned here are part of an older stratum of Chinese loans in Thai — those that have likely been part of the language since before the Thais migrated from Southern China. Thai cardinal numbers, with the apparent exception of หนึ่ง ‘one’, are all from Chinese, though time has sometimes obscured the relationship. Same goes for Japanese cardinal numbers.
Words like ไก่ ‘chicken’, ม้า ‘horse’, หมึก ‘ink’, ถั่ว ‘bean’, กว้า่ง ‘wide’, and so forth are other loans most likely of very old vintage.
More recent loans have come in the last few hundred years by way of merchants and immigrants speaking mostly Teochew and Hokkien, with some Hakka. These recent loans words like ก๋วยเตี๋ยว ‘noodle (soup)’, เก้าอี้ ‘chair’, ยี่ห้อ ‘brand, trademark’. The Min Nan influence can be seen in the f > h correspondence in words like เต้าหู้ ‘tofu’, ฮวงจุ้ย ‘feng shui’.
This results in an interesting mixture of influence. It’s interesting to note that the common word for bean/nut, ถั่ว, is almost certainly of the same origin as เต้า in เต้าหู้ ‘tofu’, and yet they have different pronunciations because they’ve been borrowed in different eras and from different Chinese languages.
Keep at it with the Thai, it’s interesting to read about your experiences and progress.
Thanks for the explanation Rikker. Very much appreciated!
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