119 replies to this topic

[pog1701]

Language Tip:

Even if Thai's are very patient with our efforts to speak Thai, believe me they are sick of arai na (pardon) so try this instead:


pôot eek tee dai mai?

Could you say that again?

[slappy111]

Great thread.
Here's a little phrase I use frequently when I want a room full of yaking LBs to be quiet;
poom poo passa Thai die

Roughly translated "I speak perfect Thai"

They don't know whether you're serious or not. Either way it becomes very quiet

[pog1701]

Great thread.
Here's a little phrase I use frequently when I want a room full of yaking LBs to be quiet;
poom poo passa Thai die

Roughly translated "I speak perfect Thai"

They don't know whether you're serious or not. Either way it becomes very quiet

Nice one Slappy LOL

[pog1701]

hěn = see


hěn baang sìng

See something

[pog1701]

Dates are expressed using the pattern

wun + ordinal number + month:

wun te sip tun-wah-kom 10th December.

The year thing has been covered elsewhere, though I posted it again as it fits in nicely with this post (so yawn for a comment saying this has been posted already)

The year bpee is normally counted according to the Buddhist era (BE) (poot-ta-suk-ka-raht or por sor for short) which began with the birth of Bhuddha, 543 BC. To convert Thai years to AD (kor sor) you simply subtract 543 years, Therefore 2500 BE is 1957 AD, while 200 AD is 2543 BE.

[pog1701]

Ordinal numbers in Thai are formed by adding tee in front of the number:

Tee Nueng First

Tee Sorng Second

Tee sahm Third

[dixon cox]

tham = make

Khun tum arai?

I hate to say it Dude, but this is a prime example of why writing Thai using the letters of the English alphabet just does not work. The same goes for phrase books unless they're just used as a reminder.

The only way to learn Thai is to listen to it, either with people or by way of audio lessons then practise it, otherwise the tones are non-existent or completely wrong.

I still enjoy some of your lessons though as I know many of the words you're using, therefore I have a reasonable grasp of the pronunciation already.

[boarhog]

DC can always find a cloud on a sunny day.

Don't let the forums mental giant detract from your lessons mate.

[xyzzy]

I'm lazy, I just use this: http://www.thai-language.com/dict/

[pog1701]

tham = make

Khun tum arai?

I hate to say it Dude, but this is a prime example of why writing Thai using the letters of the English alphabet just does not work. The same goes for phrase books unless they're just used as a reminder.

The only way to learn Thai is to listen to it, either with people or by way of audio lessons then practise it, otherwise the tones are non-existent or completely wrong.

I still enjoy some of your lessons though as I know many of the words you're using, therefore I have a reasonable grasp of the pronunciation already.

Good point, which leads nicely into the Romanization of Thai

For us westerners learning Thai it is handy to use a romanized version of Thai (which prompted DC’s post). Regretfully a certain level of Thai is required to understand the posts I make here. One semester in night school with 15 minutes of practice each day should be enough for single word posts, for those of you on the ground well you should have no excuse. According to Smyth D (Teach yourself Thai) introduction page xi

“You should treat the romanization of Thai as a crutch and should aim to discard it as quickly as possible”

A chara (friend) easier said than done.

Yes you really need to listen and converse with native speakers it really is the only way as DC pointed out. By far the best audio and script is from the following book.

BenJawan Poomsan Becker

Thai for beginners

ISBN 1-887521-00-3 90000

In light of DC’s post I will continue to post a single word a day, though I will also post a character from the Thai alphabet (àk-sŏn tai).

[pog1701]

DC can always find a cloud on a sunny day.

Don't let the forums mental giant detract from your lessons mate.

Hey there BH, remember you and I trying to get the language down that Xmass, that was a good laugh, yes I hope to encourage all BM's with these posts.

[pog1701]

I'm lazy, I just use this: http://www.thai-language.com/dict/

That is what I'm hoping to discourage , I could post all my sources and BM's could look them up, though kind of like getting exam answers before the test.