Thai Proverbs and Sayings: 17 Classics Explained

Thai has hundreds of proverbs and sayings, and Thais really use them: in conversation, in news headlines, in advice from parents and in school Thai exams. Most paint a picture from old village life (rice, buffaloes, rivers, temples), and many rhyme, which makes them easy to remember. Teachers distinguish สุภาษิตsù-paa-sìt, proverbs with a moral, สำนวนsǎm-nuan, idioms, and คำพังเพยkam pang-poei, sayings that comment without preaching, but in everyday talk people call them all สำนวนsǎm-nuan. Here are 17 you're likely to hear, with the picture and the meaning.

Chances and patience

• น้ำขึ้นให้รีบตักnáam kûen hâi rîip dtàk: "when the water rises, hurry to scoop it up". Make hay while the sun shines. It goes back to the days when Thais took their water from rivers and canals: at high tide the water is clear and easy to reach, at low tide it's shallow and muddy, as the Royal Society of Thailand explains.
• ช้าๆ ได้พร้าเล่มงามcháa-cháa dâi práa lêm ngaam: "slowly, you get a fine machete". Take your time and do it properly. It's the opposite advice to the first one, and Thais happily use both.
• วัวหายล้อมคอกwua hǎai láwm kâwk: "building a fence once the cow is gone". Locking the stable door after the horse has bolted.
• ขี่ช้างจับตั๊กแตนkìi cháang jàp dták-gà-dtaen: "riding an elephant to catch a grasshopper". Far too much effort or money for a small result.
• ตำน้ำพริกละลายแม่น้ำdtam náam-prík lá-laai mâe-náam: "pounding chilli paste and stirring it into the river". Pouring effort or money into something that can never pay back.

People you'll recognise

• กบในกะลาครอบgòp nai gà-laa krâwp: "a frog under a coconut shell". Someone who has seen little of the world but thinks they know it all.
• สีซอให้ควายฟังsǐi saw hâi kwaai fang: "playing the fiddle to a buffalo". Explaining something to a person who can't, or won't, understand.
• ผักชีโรยหน้าpàk-chii rooi nâa: "sprinkling coriander on top". A quick touch-up so something looks better than it is, like tidying only the corner the boss will see.
• คางคกขึ้นวอkaang-kók kûen waw: "a toad riding in a palanquin". Someone who gets rich or powerful and forgets where they came from.
• ไก่งามเพราะขน คนงามเพราะแต่งgài ngaam práw kǒn kon ngaam práw dtàeng: "a chicken is beautiful because of its feathers, a person because of their clothes". Clothes make the man, often said when someone has dressed up.

Fitting in and doing good

• เข้าเมืองตาหลิ่ว ต้องหลิ่วตาตามkâo mueang dtaa-lìu dtâwng lìu dtaa dtaam: "when you enter a town of one-eyed people, close one eye too". When in Rome, do as the Romans do: the perfect proverb for a foreigner learning Thai ways.
• ปิดทองหลังพระbpìt tawng lǎng prá: "putting gold leaf on the back of the Buddha image". Worshippers press squares of gold leaf onto Buddha images, and gold on the back is gold nobody sees. It means doing good without wanting credit, and it's high praise. Thais also say it ruefully, about hard work nobody notices.
• ทำดีได้ดี ทำชั่วได้ชั่วtam dii dâi dii tam chûa dâi chûa: "do good, get good; do evil, get evil". The Buddhist idea of karma, in a nutshell.

Trouble, love and talk

• หนีเสือปะจระเข้nǐi sǔea bpà jaw-rá-kêe: "running from a tiger, you meet a crocodile". Out of the frying pan, into the fire.
• จับปลาสองมือjàp bplaa sǎwng muue: "catching a fish in each hand". Chasing two things at once and ending up with neither. It's also said of someone dating two people at the same time.
• ข้าวใหม่ปลามันkâao mài bplaa man: "new rice and fatty fish", the best food of the season. The honeymoon period of a new couple.
• พูดไปสองไพเบี้ย นิ่งเสียตำลึงทองpûut bpai sǎwng pai bîa nîng sǐa dtam-lueng tawng: "speaking is worth two pai in cowrie shells, silence a tamlueng of gold". The pai and the cowrie shell were tiny units of old Siamese money, a tamlueng of gold a small fortune. Speech is silver, silence is golden.

Thai quotes for every day

If you're looking for Thai quotes, the word is คำคมkam-kom, literally "sharp words", and you'll find endless pages of them online. The sayings people actually live by are short: ไม่เป็นไรmâi bpen rai (never mind), ใจเย็นๆjai yen-yen (keep a cool heart) and สู้ๆsûu-sûu (keep going, you can do it). Our page on sanuk, sabai and mai pen rai explains the attitude behind them.

Using proverbs yourself

A well-chosen proverb from a foreigner gets a delighted reaction, because it shows you've gone well beyond the phrasebook. When friends tease you for eating sticky rice with your fingers like a local, เข้าเมืองตาหลิ่ว ต้องหลิ่วตาตามkâo mueang dtaa-lìu dtâwng lìu dtaa dtaam is the perfect reply. You'll practise giving advice, where proverbs come in handy, in Unit 23 of the free course, when Boss asks what to do about a job in Chiang Mai.