Thai New Year is here! Although there is no water fight as usual this year, Thai people still celebrate this holiday with their families and loved ones. Songkran is also the period when road accidents are occurring at the highest rate and this period between 9th – 15th April is referred by the police as the ‘Seven Dangerous Days’ of the New Year. Most accidents are … [Read more...] about 10 Useful Phrases for Thai New Year
Read and Write Thai
VIDEO: Thai Short Vowels
To speak Thai clearly and make local people understood, it is not only getting the tones right it is also pronouncing the vowels correctly. There are in total 32 vowel sounds in Thai language, 14 of them are long vowel sounds and 18 are short vowel sounds. Similar to pronouncing Thai tones, when the vowel changes the meaning changes too. So you should make sure you … [Read more...] about VIDEO: Thai Short Vowels
VIDEO: Say Them Right, Thai Long Vowels
To speak Thai clearly and make local people understood, it is not only getting the tones right it is also pronouncing the vowels correctly. There are in total 32 vowels in Thai language, 14 of them are long vowels and 18 are short vowels Similar to pronouncing Thai tones, when the vowel changes the meaning changes too. So you should make sure you are saying a word … [Read more...] about VIDEO: Say Them Right, Thai Long Vowels
Learn Thai from Mistakes
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 for their abundant tea plantations. The sign in Thai says "ห้ามเด็ดยอดชา" , but what … [Read more...] about Learn Thai from Mistakes
20 Thai Words Most Commonly Misspelled
(Photo credit: Kapook.com) I put the pronunciation and the meaning of each word here: I often misspell "email" and "ice-cream". What about you? :) … [Read more...] about 20 Thai Words Most Commonly Misspelled
Thai National Anthem เพลงชาติไทย
Thai National Anthem เพลงชาติไทย /pleeng châad tai/ In Thailand, you will hear the Thai national anthem played every day at 8am and 6pm. Every TV and radio station plays it, and it will be played over government building speaker systems, at the sky train and underground in Bangkok, bus stations, in parks and in most other public places. Thai schools also play the national … [Read more...] about Thai National Anthem เพลงชาติไทย
20 Words with Mai Muan ใ
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 that use " ใ ". Every Thai student has to remember these 20 words by reciting a poem in … [Read more...] about 20 Words with Mai Muan ใ
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 Maha Nakhon", or just กรุงเทพฯ "Krung Thep". When the King Rama I (The founder and the first monarch of the reigning House of … [Read more...] about The Full Name of Bangkok
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 of me. That reminded me of a story I learned from my primary school. The story, as told in various forms … [Read more...] about The Tale of the Stupa and a Small Box of Rice
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 learning the long vowels before … [Read more...] about Lesson 4 – Thai Vowels
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) … [Read more...] about Lesson 3 – Practice Writing – Middle Class Consonant
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 … [Read more...] about Lesson 2 – Middle Class Consonants
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 letter is. It is good for … [Read more...] about Lesson 1 – Read and Write Thai