The /ai/ sound in Thai have two forms; 1. ใ is called สระไอไม้ม้วน /sà-rà ai máai mûan/ 2. ไ is called สระไอไม้มลาย /sà-rà ai máai má-laai/ Those who have just started to read and write Thai language might get confused when to use ใ or ไ . The good news is there are only 20 words [...]
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The Full Name of Bangkok
The real name of Bangkok is the longest city name on Earth. Bangkok is the capital of Thailand and the largest city in the kingdom. Thai people don’t call this city Bangkok, it is commonly called in Thai กรุงเทพมหานคร “Krung Thep Maka Nakhon”, or just กรุงเทพฯ “Krung Thep”. When the King Rama I (The founder [...]
Learn Thai from a Mistake
My student showed me a photo from his trip to Chiang Rai. Once I saw it, it made me laugh out loud. I would like to share it with you so we can also learn Thai from this photo. This is a warning sign from a tea plantation in Chiang Rai province in Northern Thailand. Chiang Rai is known [...]
The Tale of the Stupa and a Small Box of Rice
Today I started my day early and had very small breakfast, by the time I had a chance to have lunch it was about 2:30 pm so I was starving. I ordered a lot of dishes including a whole deep fried chicken. Of course I could finish only ¼ of all portions in front [...]
Update! New Thai Slang in Dictionary of New Words
Sawatdee ka, The committee of the royal institute are compiling new words, slang and expression currently in use, ostensibly for the benefit of later generations, who may be confused by the wacky slang of today’s popular media (like my mom lol).There will be more than 1,000 words published in the Dictionary of New Words edition 4 ( พจนานุกรมคำใหม่เล่ม [...]
Lesson 5: Thai Long Vowels
There are 14 long vowels in Thai language. 1. อา /aa/ like a in sofa มา /maa/ means to come 2. อี /ee/ like ee in tree มี /mee/ means to have 3. อือ /ue/ there is no equivalent sound of this vowel in [...]
Lesson 4 – Thai Vowels
Sawatdee ka, There are 32 vowels in Thai language – 14 long vowels and 18 short vowels. Vowel in Thai is called สระ [sà-rà] Long vowel is called สระเสียงยาว [sà-rà sĭang yaao] Short vowel is called สระเสียงสั้น [sà-rà sĭang sân] Here are all 32 vowels: I usually recommend my students to start [...]
Lesson 3 – Practice Writing – Middle Class Consonant
We have seen how the nine Middle class consonants look like in the previous lesson. Now let’s learn how to write each letter, shall we? I wrote all these letter myself, so please accept my apology if the pictures are not very clear. [1] ก.ไก่ (Gaw Gài)
Lesson 2 – Middle Class Consonants
Thai consonants are divided into three classes; Middle class, High class and Low class. See all 44 alphabets here. There are nine middle class consonants (อักษรกลาง [àk –sŏrn glaang]) อักษรกลางมี 9 ตัว [1] ก.ไก่ (Gaw Gài) ไก่ (gài) means chicken
Lesson 1 – Read and Write Thai
Sawatdee ka, Thai language has 44 letters, 32 vowels, 4 tone marks and various other symbols for pronunciation. Today I would like to talk about Thai letters. There are 44 letters in Thai language. (not too many to remember, right? ) In order to read Thai correctly, you will need to know what the class of each [...]
