น้ำขุ่นอยู่ใน น้ำใสอยู่นอก

Bite your tongue

น้ำขุ่นไว้ใน
น้ำ
náam
ขุ่น
kùn
อยู่
yùu
ใน
nai
น้ำ
náam
ใส
săi
อยู่
yùu
นอก
nôk

Vocabulary

náam = water

kùn = [to] be turbid ; be muddy

yùu = [to] be at ; live at ; stay

nai = in

náam = water

săi = [to be] bright ; clear

yùu = [to] be at ; live at ; stay

nôk = outside

Literal Meaning

Keep the dirty water inside and the clear water outside

English Proverb

Bite your tongue

Explanation

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If taken literally, this saying seems counter-intuitive. Why would you want to reject clean water and keep the dirty. However, here the word water refers to words or thoughts. If you have bad thoughts or want to say things to a person that may cause them harm or upset, you must keep them inside you and only allow good thoughts and words out, to avoid hurting the other person. This is a key concept in Thai social conventions.

Example

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เวลาที่คุณโกรธเพื่อนร่วมงาน ต้องใจเย็นๆ ให้น้ำขุ่นอยู่ในน้ำใสอยู่นอก

we-laa têe kun gròht pêuan rûam ngaan dtông jai yen yen hâi  náam kùn yùu nai náam săi yùu  nôk

When you are angry at coworker, you have to take it easy like keep the dirty water inside and the clear water outside.