SF,
many Thai words are centered around a key word. As in your towel example, it was somewhat generalised.
The root word here is Paa (=cloth).
So, (bath) towel = paa chet tua, cloth wipe body, as you would normally only wipe your body after a bath.
Face towel = paa chet naa, cloth wipe face, also means handkerchief
Blanket = paa hom, cloth to cover
Same with naam = water
naam manao = water (of) lime, lime juice
Naam jai = water (of) heart, pity
Naam jim = water (of) put in, dipping sauce - be careful of this pronunciation as it can allude to something quite crude...
Continuing,
hong naam = room water, bathroom
Mae naam = mother water, river
Loog naam = daughter water, stream
The noun comes first, followed by the adjective. Put them in the wrong sequence and they will mean something else.
Take the word for 'heart' - hua jai, head of mind.
Now, with 'rorn jai' = hot mind, is impatient. However, if you do this
'Jai rorn' = Mind hot, it gets translated to anxiety...
On a seperate note, you do sometimes need up to two pages to translate some Thai words, or even try to define their usage. Even then, it can still defy logic. 'Mai Pen Rai' is one classic example...
