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ถ่อมตัว　ดีกว่า　เพราะ　โอ้อวด　น่าเบื่อ　ครับ

ถ่อมตัว　ดีกว่า　เพราะ　โอ้อวด　น่าเบื่อ　ครับ
Being humble is better because boasting is boring.
From Lesson 436:Verb phrases as subjects·Thai

Questions & Answers about ถ่อมตัว　ดีกว่า　เพราะ　โอ้อวด　น่าเบื่อ　ครับ

Why are ถ่อมตัว (to be humble) and โอ้อวด (to boast) used here without the prefix การ (gaan) to make them nouns?
This is called zero-nominalization, which is very common in casual spoken Thai. When making a general statement, you can drop the prefix การ (gaan) and put the bare verb phrase right into the subject position. Saying การถ่อมตัว and การโอ้อวด would also be grammatically correct, but they would sound much more formal.
How does the word ถ่อมตัว (tòm-dtua) break down?
It combines ถ่อม (to lower or disparage) and ตัว (body or self). Literally meaning "to lower oneself," it is the standard way to express being modest or humble in everyday Thai.
Could I just use อวด (ùat) instead of โอ้อวด (ôo-ùat) for "boasting"?
Yes, you can. อวด simply means "to show off" or "to boast." โอ้อวด pairs โอ้ (to brag) with อวด to create a slightly more stylized, emphatic compound. Because dropping the noun prefixes gives this sentence a punchy, proverb-like rhythm, using the two-syllable โอ้อวด balances perfectly with the two-syllable ถ่อมตัว.
In the phrase ถ่อมตัว ดีกว่า (Being humble is better), why isn't there a verb like เป็น (bpen) or คือ (keu) for "is"?
As you might recall, Thai adjectives act as stative verbs. The word ดี (good) already contains the meaning of "to be good." Therefore, ดีกว่า functions completely on its own as "is better" without needing an explicit "to be" verb to link the new action-verb subject to the adjective.

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