Daily Thai Confidence: Using อาศัย (āa-sǎi)

Verb: อาศัย (āa-sǎi)
Meaning: to live / to reside / to rely on / to depend on / to make use of

In this Thai lesson, we learn how to use the verb อาศัย (āa-sǎi), which mean “to live,” “to reside,” “to rely on,” “to depend on,” or “to make use of” something. The verb อาศัย (āa-sǎi) can be used in several different ways. It can describe where someone lives, when someone depends on another person or something, or when someone makes use of a particular resource or opportunity.

When talking about where someone lives, the verb อาศัย (āa-sǎi) can be used to describe the place where a person resides, meaning “to live” or “to reside” – subject + อาศัย (āa-sǎi) + อยู่ (^awyùu) + preposition (at, in, with, near) + location.

For example (ตัวอย่างเช่น – dtūa-^awyàang)

ฉันอาศัยอยู่ในประเทศอังกฤษ

chǎn āa-sǎi ^awyùu nāi bprà-t^hâed āng-grìd
Literal: I live to be situated in country England.
I live in England.

เขาอาศัยอยู่กับพ่อแม่ของเขา

k^hǎo āa-sǎi ^awyùu gàb p^hâw-mâe k^hǎwng-k^hǎo
Literal: He live to be situated with father-mother belonging to-him.
He lives with his parents.

ตอนนี้ผมอาศัยอยู่ที่กรุงเทพฯ

dtāwn-née p^hǒm āa-sǎi ^awyùu t^hêe grūng-t^hâeb
Literal: Right now, I live to be situated in Bangkok.
I currently live in Bangkok.

พวกเขาอาศัยอยู่ใกล้ทะเล

p^hûak-k^hǎo āa-sǎi ^awyùu glâi t^há-lāy
Literal: They live to be situated near sea.
They live near the sea.

Another important use of the verb อาศัย (āa-sǎi) is to describe depending on someone or something for help, support or assistance. It is often used when someone needs another person or something in order to do something. In this context, the verb อาศัย (āa-sǎi) means “to rely on” or “to depend on” – subject (+ modal verb – have to / must / should) + อาศัย (āa-sǎi) + someone or something.

For example (ตัวอย่างเช่น – dtūa-^awyàang)

ฉันต้องอาศัยความช่วยเหลือจากเพื่อน

chǎn dtâwng āa-sǎi k^hwāam-chûay-^hlěua jàak p^hêuan
Literal: I have to depend on help from friend.
I need to depend on help from friend.

เขาอาศัยพ่อแม่ในการดูแลลูกของเขา

k^hǎo āa-sǎi p^hâw-mâe nāi gāan-dūu-lāe lûuk k^hǎwng-k^hǎo
Literal: He depend on father-mother in the process of looking after children belonging to-him.
He relies on his parents to look after his children.

รัฐบาลสร้างโครงการใหม่ขึ้นเพื่อช่วยเหลือประชาชน

rád-t^hà-bāan sâang k^hrōng-gāan ^hmài k^hêun p^hêua chûay-^hlěua bprà-chāa-chōn
Literal: Government build project new up in order to help people.
The government established a new project to help the public.

เราไม่ควรอาศัยคนอื่นตลอดเวลา

rāo mâi k^hūan āa-sǎi k^hōn èun dtà-^hlàwd wāy-lāa
Literal: We not should depend on people other all the time.
We shouldn’t depend on other people all the time.

The verb อาศัย (āa-sǎi) can also mean “to make use of” or “to take advantage of” something, such as an opportunity, a situation, knowledge or a particular resource to achieve something.

For example (ตัวอย่างเช่น – dtūa-^awyàang)

เขาอาศัยโอกาสนี้ในการเรียนรู้สิ่งใหม่ ๆ

k^hǎo āa-sǎi ō-gàad née nāi gāan-rīan-rúu sìng ^hmài-^hmài
Literal: He make use of opportunity this in the process of learning-knowing thing new-new.
He makes use of this opportunity to learn new things.

เราสามารถอาศัยเทคโนโลยีในการทำงานได้

rāo sǎa-mâad āa-sǎi téch-nō-lō-yēe nāi gāan-t^hām-ngāan dâi
Literal: We capable of making use of technology in the process of doing work can.
We can make use of technology in our work.

ฉันอาศัยประสบการณ์ที่ผ่านมาในการตัดสินใจ

chǎn āa-sǎi bprà-sòb-gāan t^hêe-p^hàan-māa nāi gāan-dtàd-sǐn-jāi
Literal: I make use of experience that-pass-come in the process of making decision.
I draw on my past experience when making decisions.

เขาอาศัยความรู้ที่มีอยู่ในการแก้ปัญหา

k^hǎo āa-sǎi k^hwāam-rúu t^hêe mēe ^awyùu nāi gāan-gâe bpān-hǎa
Literal: He make use knowledge that have currently in the process of solving problem.
He uses his existing knowledge to solve problem.

Practice Exercise (แบบฝึกหัด – bàeb fèuk-hàd)

Practise putting your newly learned Thai word into a sentence by translating the following sentences below.

1. My family lives in Chiang Mai.
2. Students need to rely on their own effort when learning Thai.
3. We make use of nature to generate energy.
4. Most people live in large cities.
5. He no longer wants to depend on his parents’ money.