Most Thais who
deal with
tourists speak
some English,
but off the
beaten track
you'll probably
need at least a
few words in
Thai . Being
tonal, Thai is
extremely
difficult for
Westerners to
master. Five
different tones
are used - low (syllables
marked `),
middle (unmarked),
high (marked ´),
falling (marked
^), and rising (marked
~) - by which
the meaning of a
single syllable
can be altered
in five
different ways.
Thus, using four
of the five
tones, you can
make a sentence
from just one
syllable: mái
mài mâi mãi - "New
wood burns,
doesn't it?"
Thai script
has 44
consonants to
represent 21
consonant sounds
and 32 vowels to
deal with 48
different vowel
sounds. However,
street signs in
touristed areas
are nearly
always written
in Roman script
as well as Thai.
Because there's
no standard
system of
transliteration
of Thai script
into Roman, the
Thai words and
proper names in
this guide will
not always match
the versions
written
elsewhere. A
town such as
Ubon Ratchathani,
for example,
could come out
as Ubol Rajatani,
while Ayutthaya
is synonymous
with Ayudhia.
We've given a
few essential
phrases; for
more help, try
Thai: A Rough
Guide Phrasebook
(Rough Guides)
Pronunciation
VOWELS
a as
in dad.
aa is
pronounced as it
looks, with the
vowel elongated.
ae as
in there.
ai as
in buy.
ao as
in now.
aw as
in awe.
e as
in pen.
eu as
in sir, but
heavily
nasalized.
i as
in tip.
ii as
in feet.
o as
in knock.
oe as
in hurt, but
more closed.
oh as
in toe.
u as
in loot.
uay :
"u" plus "ay" as
in pay.
uu as
in pool.
CONSONANTS
r as
in rip; in
everyday speech,
it's often
pronounced like
"l".
kh as
in keep.
ph as
in put.
th as
in time.
k is
unaspirated and
unvoiced, and
closer to "g".
p is
also unaspirated
and unvoiced,
and closer to
"b".
t is
also unaspirated
and unvoiced,
and closer to
"d".
Greetings and
basic phrases
Whenever you
speak to a
stranger in
Thailand, it's
polite to end
your sentence in
khráp if
you're a man,
khâ if
you're a woman -
especially after
sawàt dii
(hello/goodbye)
and khàwp
khun (thank
you). Khráp
and khâ
are also often
used to answer "yes"
to a question,
though the most
common way is to
repeat the verb
of the question
(preceded by
mâi for
"no").
|
Hello
|
sawàt
dii
|
|
Where
are you
going? (not
always
meant
literally,
but used
as a
general
greeting)
|
pai nãi?
|
|
I'm out
having
fun/I'm
travelling
|
pai
thîaw (answer
to pai
nãi,
almost
untranslatable
pleasantry)
|
|
Goodbye
|
sawàt
dii/la
kàwn
|
|
Good
luck/cheers
|
chôk dii
|
|
Excuse
me |
khãw
thâwt
|
|
Thank
you
|
khàwp
khun
|
|
How are
you?
|
sabai
dii reu
?
|
|
I'm fine
|
sabai
dii
|
|
What's
your
name?
|
khun
chêu
arai ?
|
|
My name
is &
|
phõm (men)/diichãn
(women)
chêu &
|
|
I come
from &
|
phõm/diichãn
maa jàak
&
|
|
I don't
understand
|
mâi khâo
jai
|
|
Do you
speak
English?
|
khun
phûut
phasãa
angkrìt
dâi mãi?
|
|
Do you
have & ?
|
mii &
mãi?&
|
|
Is &
possible?
|
& dâi
mãi?
|
|
Can you
help me?
|
chûay
phõm/diichãn
dâi mãi?
|
|
(I) want
&
|
ao &
|
|
(I)
would
like to
&
|
yàak jà
&
|
|
(I) like
&
|
châwp &
|
Getting
around
|
Where is
the & ?
|
How far?
|
|
I would
like to
go to &
|
& yùu
thîi nãi?
|
|
klai
thâo rai?
|
yàak jà
pai &
|
|
Where is
this bus
going?
|
When
will the
bus
leave?
|
|
rót níi
pai nãi?
|
rót jà
àwk mêua
rai?
|
|
Stop
here
|
jàwt
thîi nîi
|
|
Here
|
thîi nîi
|
|
Over
there
|
thîi
nâan/thîi
nôhn
|
|
Right
|
khwãa
|
|
Left
|
sái
|
|
Straight
|
trong
|
|
Street
|
thanõn
|
|
Train
station
|
sathàanii
rót fai
|
|
Bus
station
|
sathàanii
rót meh
|
|
Airport
|
sanãam
bin
|
|
Ticket
|
tua
|
|
Hotel
|
rohng
raem
|
|
Post
office
|
praisanii
|
|
Restaurant
|
raan
ahãan
|
|
Shop
|
raan
|
|
Market
|
talàat
|
|
Hospital
|
rohng
pha-yaabaan
|
|
Motorbike
|
rót
mohtoesai
|
|
Taxi
|
rót
táksîi
|
|
Boat
|
reua
|
Accommodation
|
How much
is & ?
|
& thâo
rai/kìi
bàat?
|
|
How much
is a
room
here per
night?
|
hâwng
thîi nîi
kheun lá
thâo rai?
|
|
Do you
have a
cheaper
room?
|
mii
hâwng
thùuk
kwàa mãi?
|
|
Can I/we
look at
the room?
|
duu
hâwng
dâi mãi?
|
|
I/We'll
stay two
nights
|
jà yùu
sãwng
kheun
|
|
Can I
store my
bag here?
|
fàak
krapão
wái thîi
nîi dâi
mãi?
|
|
Cheap/expensive
|
thùuk/phaeng
|
|
Air-con
room
|
hãwng ae
|
|
Bathroom/toilet
|
hãwng
nám
|
|
Telephone
|
thohrásàp
|
|
Fan
|
phát lom
|
General
adjectives and
nouns
|
Bad, no
good
|
mâi dii
|
|
Big
|
yài
|
|
Closed
|
pìt
|
|
Delicious
|
aròi
|
|
Dirty
|
sokaprok
|
|
Food
|
ahãan
|
|
Foreigner
|
fàràng
|
|
Friend
|
phêuan
|
|
Fun
|
sanùk
|
|
Hot (spicy)
|
pèt
|
|
Ill
|
mâi
sabai
|
|
Open
|
pòet
|
|
Very
|
mâak
|
Numbers
|
Zero
|
Suun
|
|
One
|
nèung
|
|
Two
|
sãwng
|
|
Three
|
sãam
|
|
Four
|
sìi
|
|
Five
|
hâa
|
|
Six
|
hòk
|
|
Seven
|
jèt
|
|
Eight
|
pàet
|
|
Nine
|
kâo
|
|
Ten
|
sìp
|
|
Eleven
|
sìp èt
|
|
Twelve,
thirteen,
etc
|
sìp
sãwng,
sìp sãam..
|
|
Twenty
|
yîi sìp/yiip
|
|
Twenty-one
|
yîi sìp
èt
|
|
Twenty-two,
twenty-three,
etc
|
yîi sìp
sãwng,
yîi sìp
sãam &
|
|
Thirty,
forty,
etc
|
sãam sìp,
sìi sìp..
|
|
One
hundred,
two
hundred,
etc
|
nèung
rói,
sãwng
rói..
|
|
One
thousand
|
nèung
phan
|
|
Ten
thousand
|
nèung
mèun
|
Time
The commonest
system for
telling the
time, as
outlined below,
is actually a
confusing mix of
several
different
systems. The
State Railway
and government
officials use
the 24-hour
clock (9am is
kâo naalikaa,
10am sìp
naalikaa,
and so on),
which is easier.
|
1-5am
|
tii
nèung-tii
hâa
|
|
6-11am
|
hòk
mohng
cháo-sìp
èt mohng
cháo
|
|
Noon
|
thîang
|
|
1pm
|
bài
mohng
|
|
2-4pm
|
bài
sãwng
mohng-bài
sìi
mohng
|
|
5-6pm
|
hâa
mohng
yen-hòk
mohng
yen
|
|
7-11pm
|
nèung
thûm-hâa
thûm
|
|
Midnight
|
thîang
kheun
|
|
What
time is
it?
|
kìi
mohng
láew?
|
|
Minute
|
naathii
|
|
Hour
|
chûa
mohng
|
|
Day
|
waan
|
|
Week
|
aathít
|
|
Month
|
deuan
|
|
Year
|
pii
|
|
Today
|
wan níi
|
|
Tomorrow
|
phrûng
níi
|
|
Yesterday
|
mêua wan
|
|
Now
|
diaw níi
|
|
Next
week
|
aathít
nâa
|
|
Morning
|
cháo
|
|
Afternoon
|
bài
|
|
Evening
|
yen
|
|
Night
|
kheun
|
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