ชักแม่น้ำทั้งห้า

Thai

Etymology

Jūjaka asks Prince Vessantara for his children as slaves, a 19th century painting from Thailand

From ชัก (chák, “to draw (in); to allude (to); etc”) +‎ แม่น้ำ (mɛ̂ɛ-náam, “river”) +‎ ทั้ง (táng, “with; all; etc”) +‎ ห้า (hâa, “five”); literally "to allude to all the five rivers"; originated from the Buddhist tale of Prince Vessantara, in which a beggar, Jūjaka, persuades the prince to give his children to him as slaves by uttering lengthy stories about the five great rivers, Gaṇga, Yamunā, Aciravati, Sarabhū, and Mahi, and comparing them with the generous mind of the prince.

Pronunciation

Orthographic		ชักแม่น้ำทั้งห้า d͡ʑ ạ k æ m ˋ n ˆ å d ạ ˆ ŋ h ˆ ā
Phonemic		ชัก-แม่-น้าม-ทั้ง-ฮ่า d͡ʑ ạ k – æ m ˋ – n ˆ ā m – d ạ ˆ ŋ – ɦ ˋ ā
Romanization	Paiboon	chák-mɛ̂ɛ-náam-táng-hâa
	Royal Institute	chak-mae-nam-thang-ha
(standard) IPA(key)		/t͡ɕʰak̚˦˥.mɛː˥˩.naːm˦˥.tʰaŋ˦˥.haː˥˩/(R)

Verb

ชักแม่น้ำทั้งห้า • (chák-mɛ̂ɛ-náam-táng-hâa)

1. (idiomatic, now rare) to cajole; to coax; to wheedle.
2. (idiomatic) to cite lengthy or various reasons which, however, do not directly concern the subject matter of the discussion.