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Thai phrases › Idioms 2 and four-syllable expressions
How to say you scratch my back, I'll scratch yours
in Thai
หมูไปไก่มา
mǔu bpai gài maa
you scratch my back, I'll scratch yours · literally “pig goes, chicken comes”
Add ครับ (kráp) if you are a man or ค่ะ (kâ) if you are a woman. It makes the sentence polite, and Thais always use it.
Favours traded both ways; also a fair deal.
- Where
- work
- Register
- polite
Words inside it
From the same situation: Idioms 2 and four-syllable expressions
- คำซ้อนpaired word, word doublet
- คำสัมผัสrhyming words, rhyme
- คำพังเพยsaying, adage
- โวหารrhetoric, way with words
- อุปมาsimile, analogy
- เปรียบเปรยto make a pointed comparison
- คมคายsharp, witty (of words)
- สละสลวยelegant, polished (of language)
All 98 words and phrases in “Idioms 2 and four-syllable expressions” →
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Jingjok drills หมูไปไก่มา until you can say it without thinking, then shows you where to use it today. Recognise and use 40 more Thai idioms and the paired and four-beat expressions (คำซ้อน) that give Thai speech its rhythm, and bring them into conversation the way Thais do.
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