อดเปรี้ยวไว้กินหวาน [òd prîao wái gin wǎan] is a Thai proverb that is used to teach or encourage delayed gratification, which is the act of resisting an impulse to take an immediately available reward in order to obtain a more valued one in the future. It’s usually said to someone to encourage them to not take what they want now and wait for what they want more in the future.
Most of the time, “อด” [òd] means to “to miss a chance to do something,” but in this context, it means “to resist doing something you want to do.” เปรี้ยว [prîao] means “sour. “ไว้” [wái] is used with a future action and can be translated as “for” or “to” (learn more about the meaning and the use of this word in the video lesson at the end of the post). กิน [gin] means “to eat” and “หวาน” [wǎan] means “sweet.”
“อดเปรี้ยว” [òd prîao] to resist (eating now when it’s) sour
“ไว้” [wái] in order to “กินหวาน” [gin wǎan] eat (later when it’s) sweet.
The idiom is taken from the fact that the taste of mangoes goes from sour to sweet as they ripe. It basically says for you to resist your temptation and wait until the mango becomes more ripe and sweet so you get to eat it when it’s most delicious.
Examples
เราว่าอดเปรี้ยวไว้กินหวานเถอะ รอเก็บเงินได้เยอะกว่านี้แล้วซื้อคันใหญ่ไปเลยดีกว่า
[rao wâa òd prîao wái gin wǎan tèr, raw gèp ngern dâi yér gwàa níi léaw séu kan yài pai loei dii gwàa]
I think you’d better wait (for a more rewarding outcome) and buy a big rather than a small car when you have more money.
หนูต้องหัดอดเปรี้ยวไว้กินหวานรู้ไหมลูก สอบเสร็จก่อนค่อยไปเที่ยวจะเที่ยวสนุกกว่าเยอะเลย
[nǔu tâwng hàt òd prîao wái gin wǎan rúu mái lûuk, sàwp sèt gàwn kôi pai tîao, ja tîao sanùk gwàa yér loei]
You’d better learn to wait (for a more rewarding outcome), honey. You’ll have much more fun if you go on a trip after you’re done with your exams than if you go now.
ตอนนี้แต่งไปก็ลำบากเปล่าๆ อีกสามปีพร้อมกว่านี้ ค่อยแต่งก็ยังทัน อดเปรี้ยวไว้กินหวานดีกว่า
[tawn níi tàeng pai tâw lambàak plào plào, ìik sǎam pii próm gwàa níi kôi tàeng gâw yang tan, òd prîao wái gin wǎan dii gwàa]
You will struggle if you get married now. You can do it 3 years later when you’re more ready. It’s better to wait (for a more rewarding outcome).
ขายตอนนี้ได้เงินเยอะกว่าถ้าขายตอนนั้นตั้งสามหมื่น ดีที่ตอนนั้นยอมอดเปรี้ยวไว้กินหวาน
[kǎai tawn níi dâi ngern yér gwàa tâa kǎai tawn nán tâng sǎam mèun, dii tîi tawn nán yawm òd prîao wái gin wǎan]
I’ll get 30,000 Baht more if I sell it now than if I had done it earlier. Thank God I waited (for a more rewarding outcome) then.
เรายังไม่อยากมีอะไรกับแฟน แม่เราสอนให้อดเปรี้ยวไว้กินหวาน กลัวท้องแล้วเขาทิ้ง
[rao yang mâi yàak mii arai gàp fan, mâe rao sǎwn hâi òd prîao wái gin wǎan, glua táwng léaw káo tíng]
I don’t want to get intimate with my boyfriend yet. My mother taught me to wait for marriage. I’m afraid of getting pregnant and then dumped.
Related posts: 1. อด [òd]
2. Video lesson “The Meaning and Use of เอาไว้ [(ao) wái]”
Find PickupThai’s lessons helpful? Feel free to check out our self-developed Thai learning materials “PickupThai Podcast,” humor-filled audio lessons based on fun stories that teach you to speak natural-sounding Thai the super fun way unlike any textbook. Learn REAL Thai with us and never sound like a foreigner again. Available for all levels. Try free samples now!
