THAILAND - LANGUAGE

Thai Language – A Practical Briefing
Although the language barrier in Thailand may seem a hindrance at times, trying to communicate can also be a fun and rewarding experience.
Using physical actions to convey a meaning often works and learning a little bit of the local language is always appreciated by the Thai people. The main thing is to make the effort and have fun.
The following book has been provided to help enhance the communication between yourself and your host country, leading to a more enjoyable visit. We hope you find it useful.

Polite Particles and Gender
Polite particles are added to the end of statements and questions to make the speaker’s words sound more polite. A male speaker will add krap and a female ka. Krap and ka can also be used to answer yes to a question or show agreement.
The pronoun ‘I’ also changes depending on the gender of the speaker. A man refers to himself as pom (I, me) while a woman will refer to herself as chan (I, me).

Greetings & Introductions
In the villages one of the first words you will hear is ‘farang’ – foreigner.
Just being a farang will attract attention and it is always nice to nod your head and say hello (sa·wa·dee [krap / ka]) to villagers you meet.
There are other common greetings apart from the customary sa·wa·dee [krap / ka]. For example pai nai (Where are you going?) is often used. The speaker normally isn’t too concerned what your destination is but it is polite to give an answer or smile back.
Food is a big part of Thai life, illustrated by the common greeting kin kow reu yang (Have you eaten?). You will often be invited for food with strangers which if accepted can be a very sociable experience.
In Thai culture it is not considered impolite to ask someone their age. Thai people often ask this so they will know how to address you in the future – adding Pi before your name if older than them.
Another common question which may seem forward to Westerners is mee fan mai (Do you have a boyfriend / girlfriend?). It is just a Thai way of being friendly and getting to know you more, they are not (always!) trying to chat you up.

Pronunciation
The following is a guide to the phonetic system used in this phrasebook.
The dots indicate syllable breaks within words (eg. sa·wa·dee krap – hello).

Consonants
g as the g in good / get
bp a single sound between a b and a p sound
dt a single sound between a d and a t sound
k as the k in kite, aspirited (ie with an audible puff of air)
p as the p in push / pie aspirited e as the e in hen / pen
t as the t in tie / tap aspirited u as the u in put
ng like the ng at the end of sing, practice by saying sing without the ‘si’
r similar to the r in rat / run, many Thai’s find it difficult to pronounce and substitute a l sound

Vowels
i as the i in it ai as the ai in aisle / Thai
ah as the a in father a as the a in ago / about
ao as the ow in now
o as the o in hot / cot
oh as the oe in toe

Thai Language – Useful Phrases

This list of useful phrases from the Thailand language, Thai, will help to get you started.