คุณตัวเหม็น
khun tua men
In Thai, the phrase "you smell" is expressed as คุณตัวเหม็น (khun tua men).
This phrase is used to tell someone that their body has an unpleasant odor. In Thai, it is more natural to say คุณตัวเหม็น, which translates to "your body smells bad," rather than simply saying "you smell bad."
What does it mean word for word?
The phrase is composed of khun (you), tua (body) and men (to smell bad/stink).
How does it change in a sentence?
The word men (เหม็น) specifically refers to an unpleasant or bad odor. This distinguishes it from the word hom (หอม), which refers to a pleasant smell.
How do you pronounce it?
khun tua men
Did you know?
- While เหม็น refers to a bad smell, Thai has a specific word เหม็นเขียว ('green smell') to describe the pungent scent of raw vegetables or unripe fruit.
- In Thai, you do not use the word 'smell' as a neutral verb. While English allows you to say 'I smell a flower', Thai uses di-dai-กลิ่น (to perceive a scent) to avoid implying the object itself is stinking.
- The word tua (ตัว) means 'body', but in casual speech, it can also function as a pronoun meaning 'you'. Using tua men (ตัวเหม็น) instead of khun tua men (คุณตัวเหม็น) makes the accusation much more blunt and personal.
Examples in context
- ถ้าคุณตัวเหม็น ไปอาบน้ำนะtha khun tua men, pai ap nam naIf you smell, go take a shower.
Example conversation
A husband notices his wife smells like smoke after she was cooking.
- ชลสิทธิ์ Cholasitสิรินทร์ คุณตัวเหม็นกลิ่นควันมากเลยsirin khun tua men klin khwan mak loeiSirin, you smell strongly of smoke.
- สิรินทร์ Sirinใช่ค่ะ ฉันทำกับข้าวเสร็จแล้วchai kha, chan tham kap khao set laeoYes, I just finished cooking.
- ชลสิทธิ์ Cholasitไปเปลี่ยนเสื้อผ้าเถอะครับpai plian suea pha thoe khrapYou should go change your clothes.
- สิรินทร์ Sirinโอเคค่ะ เดี๋ยวฉันไปเปลี่ยนนะok kha, diao chan pai plian naOkay, I will go change now.
