ฉัน  รัก  ไทย  แลนด์

Do I need to learn to speak Thai?

  Is it easy? Yes and no. Thai is a tonal and monosyllabic language. Words are said with 5 different tones, but if you have a good ear it can be OK. Work with your ears! Grammar and syntax are very basic but script is tricky with 72 characters ‑ to learn you use phonetics. We would encourage you to take Thai lessons as soon as you are able to help you to settle easily. Although many Thais do speak some English very well, not all do and life is easier if you have even a small command of the Thai language to help you find your way, e.g.:

• Shopping, to speak to the maid ‑ cooking, ironing, looking after children,

• Telephone conversation, husband's company/location,

• Time, day, months, numbers,

• How long, how far, how much where, when, what, etc.

ENGLISH                                           THAI

Hello                                                    So waddee kha (khrap for males)

How are you?                                     Pen yangai?

I'm fine                                                 Sabai dee

Thank you                                           Kob kun kha(khrap)

It doesn't matter                                  Mai pen rai

Excuse me                                          Khor tort kha (krap for males)

What is your name?                           Khun cheu arai kha?(khrap)

My name is                                        Deechan cheu  (female)

                                                            Pom cheu  (male)

I can't understand                              Deechan mai khao jai kha (female)

                                                            Pom mai khao jai khrap (male)

Is there any house for rent?              Mee ban hai chao mai kha?(khrap)

Is there any apartment for rent?       Mee apatment hai chao mai kha?

Bedroom                                            Hong non

Pardon                                                Arai no kha? (khrap for males)

Is madam at home?                           Madam yu ban mai?

Please speak slowly                          Chuay pood cha cha noi kha

Two cups of coffee please                Khor gafae song tuay kha

Notes: The polite particle is "khrap" for male speakers and "kha" for female speakers. There is no exact phonetic equivalent of the Thai language so this should be taken into account. This approximation is for English speaking people.

I            Nung                    6          Hok                     100                  Roy

2           Song                    7          Jet                       1,000               Pan

3           Sam                     9          Pbad                   10,000             Meun

4           See                      9          Gau                     100,000           Sen

5           Ha                       10        Sip                      1,000,000        Lahn

(C) 2006 copyright by SPIRIT TO SERVE OUR COMMUNITIES / Rotary Club of Taksin-Pattaya