Whatever country you live in, learning the native language will certainly help and improve your day to day life.
Thai, on the face of it is a difficult language to learn. It is based on tones and completely different alphabet to what we are used to. There are also different dialects spoken in the north and in Isaan that can just complicate things further. However, if you just a learn a little each day you will find that the locals are more than happy to help you.
Learning the basics such as “Sawadee Khrap” which is “hello” and “Khop Kun Khrap”, “thank you” will give you a some much needed confidence when you get favourable responses back. From here you could then move on to numbers and the days of the week. These are simple things that you could learn from the internet or even from one of your Thai friends.
Books and the internet are a great way to pick up the basics but you may have difficulty with the correct pronunciation and the tones. This is where going to professional classes will help. They will not only teach you how to pronounce words correctly but they will also be able to teach you more conversational Thai. From here, you will discover that you start to learn phrases on your own and understand far more.
If you wish to learn to read and write Thai, your only option really is to go to a professional school. Learning the alphabet is hard initially but once you have mastered it you will find speaking the language a lot easier too. In fact, many schools actually start with learning the alphabet, reading and writing before speaking.
All across Pattaya, you will find schools teaching Thai. Some offer private one-to-one lessons whilst others are more in a classroom environment.
AT END OF A SENTENCE
MEN USE… KRUP
WOMEN USE… KA
THANK YOU
KHORB KHUN
HELLO & GOODBYE
SAWAT-DEE
SEE YOU AGAIN
LAO JER GUN
GOOD LUCK
CHOK DEE
HOW ARE YOU?
SABAI DEE MAI
I AM FINE
SABAI DEE
WHAT IS YOUR NAME?
KHUN CHUE ARIA
MY NAME IS
PHOM CHUE
IT’S OK
MAI BEN RAI
I DON’T WANT ANY
MAI OW KHRAP/KA
I DON’T HAVE ANY MONEY
MAI MEE DTUNG
WHERE ARE YOU GOING?
BAI NAI?
I DON’T BELIEVE YOU
MAI CHUE
REALLY
JING
EXPENSIVE/CHEAP
PANG/TOOK
SORRY
KHOR THOT
You will say it when you want to interrupt someone, when you want to pass by someone or when you do something wrong.
SORRY
SIA JAI
ONE
NUENG
TWO
SONG
THREE
SAM
FOUR
SEE
FIVE
HAR
SIX
HOK
SEVEN
JED
EIGHT
BAD
NINE
GAO
TEN
SIB
ELEVEN
SIB ET
TWELVE
SIB SONG
THIRTEEN
SIB SAM
14 = 10 + 4
SIB SEE
15 = 10 + 5
SIB HA
20
YEE SIB
21
YEE SIB ET
22
YEE SIB SONG
23
YEE SIB SAM
24 = 20 + 4
YEE SIB SEE
25 = 20 + 5
YEE SIB HA
100
NUENG ROI
200
SONG ROI
1,000
NUENG PUN