Learn Thai by Speaking Your Language…

Over a decade ago I learned Thai by using a method called Speak Your Language. I wrote a post on what Speak Your Language is, but to summarize: I learned to speak Thai by starting with what I knew about English, slowly converting it into Thai one word and one grammar point at a time. By using the Thai I knew, filling in any gaps with English, I was able to communicate right away, and at the same time focus on what I needed to know next.

Times have changed over the last 10 years and so have I. I am now a father of four children living on the opposite side of the world (at least as far as time zones go). I am not living in a fully immersed atmosphere of Thai language 24/7. Despite that, I can still perfect my Thai. And I do that by using the Speak Your Language method.

Don’t you already know Thai?…

Let me ask that question another way. Despite being a native English speaker, do I know all there is to know about the English language? The answer is no. I have gaps in the lingo of lawyers, doctors, politics, cars, and the list goes on. My ability to talk incomprehensibly about any of those subjects vary considerably. And while I might be able to hold conversations in Thai, depending on the subject they are talking about, keeping up on the news is hit and miss. So there is always room for improvement.

When I learned Thai, I was a missionary. As missionaries we sacrifice many outside pleasures. One of those pleasures is watching TV or reading anything that is not related to the church. We got to go to an Internet Cafe once a week to send an email home and that was it. Now speed up 10 years and I am no longer living as a missionary. I have the new challenges of being a full-time working father with four children.

Ten years ago high-speed internet in the home was a novelty. It was the swimming pool in the back yard. We all know someone who had one, but never had one ourselves. There are now many advances in technology that I would never have dreamed possible when I first learned to speak Thai. Logically, to take advantage of these useful tools, I upgraded how I use Speaking Your Language.

Record yourself speaking to the wall…

The wall is such a nice conversational partner. It never talks back. It will listen to you ramble on and on. I’ve been told that steering wheels have a similar personality. Don’t just talk to the wall, record yourself while you talk. Digital recorders are fantastic upgrades from the tape recorders of old. They are not only smaller, but let you separate the recordings into individual files that can be kept independent from each other.

With digital recorders, you can record yourself talking about any subject you want. And as you fill in the gaps with English, you can figure out more words and phrases you want to learn. You can also record yourself translating TV, Radio, or whatever.

Use Anki to practice the words you need to learn…

Now that you have these words and phrases you need to learn, what do you do with them? Back in the day I would have made a list or flash cards. It’s not a bad method but flash cards are so old-fashioned. If you want to be hip and with the times you use a spaced repetition system, known as SRS. There are many on the web for free; the one I like the best is Anki.

Why is SRS better? It’s like flash cards on steroids. SRS gives you a new list of words to review every day based upon how successful you were in the past. Words you need to work on more come up more frequently. On the flip side, those you know better appear less often, but are not taken out entirely, so you still get a chance for a review. It’s like having a tutor pick which words and phrases you should review that day.

Post your Thai online using social media…

Just because you are not sitting in a street vendor’s fold up chair waiting for a plate of kài jieow mŏo sàp, doesn’t mean you can’t have the benefit of having a native correct you. There are many websites like lang-8.com or thai-language.com that let you post something online for others to correct. Twitter and Facebook have also proven to be useful tools. The great part is that you can continue to use English to fill in the gaps, while getting instant feedback from native speakers on how to say what you want to say.

The point I’m making is that it’s not the tools that improve your Thai, it’s how you use them. The point is that with Speaking Your Language, you need to speak as much Thai as possible, while using English to bridge the gap. And the more you speak Thai, the better you will become.

Justin Travis Mair
I Want To Speak Thai | I Want To Speak Spanish
Successful Thai Language Learner: Justin Travis Mair

Thai chili scale: A spicy secret to ordering Thai food…

I’ve been eating Thai food for like a gazillion years now and while I can order เผ็ดเผ็ด /pèt-pèt/ just fine, what arrives is almost never “up to me”. Tom Stephan has the same difficulties, only in a slightly different direction.

Tom: I wish I knew how to say “I’d like to order the Pad Thai, but moderately spicy. Not bland, but not number 5 on the scale. Maybe a 3?”

Me: A new one on me… I have the opposite problem – getting Thais to believe me when I say I want super spicy (especially as I don’t eat rice, used to cool down the mouth). I’ve settled on เผ็ดเผ็ด (and lots of praying to the pepper gods). Can’t you just say spicy a little bit? But all in all, what you get often comes down to the cook’s belief in what you can handle more than anything else.

Tom: Yeah, most of the time when you ask for spicy, the waitresses at the local Thai eateries (there are a dozen) kind of look at you like one regards a small child asking for his own glass of whiskey; adorable, but…no.

Thai chili ranges…

After chatting with Thai friends an easily understood chili range was agreed on. Number 1 being for (cough) (cough) wimps, with the chilis getting progressively hotter from there.

1. Western style spicy: เผ็ดแบบฝรั่ง /pèt bàep fà-ràng/ (or not spicy: ไม่เผ็ด /mâi pèt/)
2. A little spicy: เผ็ดนิดหน่อย /pèt nít-nòi/
3. Moderately spicy: เผ็ดปานกลาง /pèt bpaan-glaang/
4. Somewhat spicy: ค่อนข้างเผ็ด /kôn kâang pèt/
5. Very spicy: เผ็ดๆ /pèt-pèt/, เผ็ดมากๆ /pèt mâak mâak/
6. Thai style spicy: เผ็ดแบบไทย /pèt bàep tai/
7. Super spicy (the most spicy): เผ็ดสุดๆ /pèt sùt sùt/

[See post to listen to audio]

So if you want to take a stab at getting your Thai food at a hotness suitable for your tastes, you’d say something like this:

น้องๆ ขอส้มตำไม่เผ็ดหนึ่งจาน
nóng nóng kŏr sôm-dtam mâi pèt nèung-jaan
Waitress, I want one plate of somtam, not spicy.

[See post to listen to audio]

ขอลาบไก่เผ็ดนิดหน่อยหนึ่งจาน
kŏr lâap gài pèt nít-nòi nèung jaan
I want one plate of mixed chicken salad, a little spicy.

[See post to listen to audio]

ขอผัดกระเพราไก่เผ็ดปานกลางหนึ่งจาน
kŏr pàt grà prao gài pèt bpaan-glaang nèung jaan
I want one plate of chicken with basal leaf, moderately spicy.

[See post to listen to audio]

ขอแกงเขียวหวานไก่ค่อนข้างเผ็ดหนึ่งถ้วย
kŏr gaeng kĭeow wăan gài kôn kâang pèt nèung tûay
I want one bowl of green (sweet) chicken curry, somewhat spicy.

[See post to listen to audio]

ขอต้มยำไก่เผ็ดๆหนึ่งชาม
kŏr dtôm yam gài pèt pèt nèung chaam
I want one bowl of Tom Yam Chicken, spicy.

[See post to listen to audio]

small bowl: ถ้วย /tûay/
big bowl: ชาม /chaam/

[See post to listen to audio]

ขอผัดเผ็ดขี้เมาทะเลเผ็ดสุดๆหนึ่งจาน
kŏr pàt pèt kêe-mao tá-lay pèt sùt sùt nèung jaan
I want one plate of stir fried drunken seafood, super spicy.

[See post to listen to audio]

When your Thai food is not spicy hot enough…

Often (for me) a dish will arrive and it’s not spicy enough. It’s a good thing that most Thai restaurants have a condiment selection on the table.

Condiments: เครื่องปรุง /krêuang bprung/
Dried crushed chili: พริกป่น /prík bpòn/
Shrimp paste with oil: น้ำพริกเผา /nám prík păo/
Vinegar with fresh chili: พริกน้ำส้ม /prík náam sôm/
White sugar: น้ำตาล /nám dtaan/

[See post to listen to audio]

If you can’t find what you like, you’ll need to ask the waitress. What you ask for sometimes depends upon the dish. But, as they say in Thailand, up to you.

I’m not fussy (I just want hot), so if there isn’t a chili pot on the table I ask for น้ำปลาพริกขี้หนู /nám bplaa prík kêe-nŏo/ (fresh mouse dropping chili and lime in fish sauce).

[See post to listen to audio]

But if you want to be more traditional, here are a few dish/chili combos:

Papaya salad: ส้มตำ /sôm-dtam/
Ask for either พริกป่น /prík bpòn/ or พริกขี้หนู /prík kêe-nŏo/

[See post to listen to audio]

Minced chicken salad: ลาบไก่ /lâap gài/
Ask for พริกป่น /prík bpòn/

[See post to listen to audio]

Chicken with basal leaf: ผัดกระเพราไก่ /pàt grà prao gài/
Ask for น้ำปลาพริกขี้หนู /nám bplaa prík kêe-nŏo/

[See post to listen to audio]

Green chicken curry: แกงเขียวหวานไก่ /gaeng kĭeow wăan gài/
Ask for น้ำปลาพริกขี้หนู /nám bplaa prík kêe-nŏo/

[See post to listen to audio]

Tom Yam: ต้มยำ /dtôm-yam/
Ask for either น้ำพริกเผา /nám prík păo/, or พริกป่น /prík bpòn/, or พริกขี้หนู /prík kêe-nŏo/

[See post to listen to audio]

To get what you want just say:

Waitress, I’d like… + your chili of choice
น้องๆ ขอ /nóng nóng kŏr…/

[See post to listen to audio]

Spicy downloads…

If you are not confident enough to speak Thai I’ve prepared audio downloads. So all you need to do is stick the audio on your smart phone, and when needed, play your chili needs for your waitress. And pray.

Zip format: Thai Chili Pepper Scale
Zip format: Thai Chili Conversations

Good luck and good eating!

It’s all relative (ญาติ /yâat/)…

I just returned from visiting my son and daughter-in-law in the U.S. and meeting my grand children for the first time. It was a great experience, especially for my wife Pikun who could use her hard-won mothering skills to hold and feed and take care of some little ones once again. That got me to thinking about how the Thais refer to their relatives. I am always getting some relationship word wrong so I put together the following chart, mostly for my own edification. I thought I would share it with our readers. See if you can remember them all. Pop quiz on Friday.

Note: Just to make things a bit more complicated, most of the following terms can be used with people who are not your real relatives but simply with people who are of a similar age to them. Thus you get the situation where your Thai friend introduces you to someone she calls “my sister” (she’s thinking of the term พี่ /pêe/), but the person being introduced could be a sibling, or a cousin, a classmate, a coworker, or maybe just a friend.

And these are just the most common terms in use. There are lots more.

Example: The Thai word for “child” or “offspring” could be the more common/ลูก/ lôok, or one you might find in writing บุตร /bùt/, or ทายาท /taa-​yâat/ which I have only seen in dictionaries and has more of the meaning “heir”.

Grandparents’ generation (ตายาย /dtaa-​yaai/)…

The names Thais use for grandparents depends on whether they are on your mother’s side (maternal) or your father’s side (paternal). Collectively they are referred to as ตายาย /dtaa-​yaai/. Quite often these terms are used as endearments in familiar settings with any older men or women, even if we don’t know them.

• Maternal grandmother (ยาย /yaai/)
• Maternal grandfather (ตา /data/)
• Paternal grandmother (ย่า /yâa/)
• Paternal grandfather (ปู่ /bpòo/)

Note: The word for great grand parent is ทวด /tûat/. To be specific we can add it to the above.

Example: Maternal great grandfather becomes ตาทวด /dtaa-​tûat/, etc.

Parents’ generation (พ่อแม่ /pôr-​mâe/)…

If your parents have siblings these would simply be your aunts and uncles in English. In Thai we have to know whether they are on your mother’s side or your father’s and we also need to know whether they are their older or younger sibling.

On your mother’s side:

• Mother (แม่ /​mâe/)
• Sisters (Your maternal aunts)
• Older (ป้า /bpâa/)
• Younger (น้า /náa/)
• Brothers (Your maternal uncles)
• Older (ลุง /lung/)
• Younger (น้า /náa/)

On your father’s side:

• Father (พ่อ /pôr/)
• Sisters (Your paternal aunts)
• Older (ป้า /bpâa/)
• Younger (อา /aa/)
• Brothers (Your paternal uncles)
• Older (ลุง /lung/)
• Younger (อา /aa/)

Note: The word ลุง /lung/ can be used as an endearment with men old enough to be your parents’ age. The word ป้า /bpâa/ is the female equivalent.

Wife’s parents:

• Mother-in-law (แม่ยาย mâe-​yaai): combines the words for mother and maternal grandmother.
• Father-in-law (พ่อตา pôr-​dtaa): combines the words for father and maternal grandfather.

Husband’s parents:

• Mother-in-law (แม่ย่า mâe-​yâa): combines words for mother and paternal grand mother.
• Father-in-law (พ่อปู่ /pôr-​bpòo/): combines words for father and paternal grand father.

Your generation…

You (คุณ /kun/), your siblings (พี่น้อง /pêe-​nóng/), your cousins (ลูกพี่ลูกน้อง /lôok-​pêe-​lôok-​nóng/), your spouse (แฟน /faen/), and children (ลูก /lôok/).

• Siblings (พี่น้อง /pêe-​nóng/)
• Older sister (พี่สาว /pêe-​sǎao/)
• Younger sister (น้องสาว /nóng-​sǎao/)
• Older brother (พี่ชาย /pêe-​chaai/)
• Younger brother (น้องชาย /nóng-​chaai/)
• Cousins (ลูกพี่ลูกน้อง /lôok-​pêe-​lôok-​nóng/)
• Older cousin (พี่ /pêe/)
• Younger cousin (น้อง /nóng/)

Note: We can use พี่ /pêe/ and น้อง /nóng/ as a personal pronoun with close friend and other relatives (referring to them as well as ourselves). Since finding out someone’s age is very important linguistically as well as socially, you’ll need to know whether someone is older or younger than you. Asking someone’s age is not the best way to do this. The best ways I have seen is to 1. Ask what sign of the Chinese Zodiac they are (which would tell you within a 12 year cycle who came first), or 2. Ask what year they finished school (before you did or after).

• Spouse (คู่ครอง /kôo-​krong/ is formal, แฟน /faen/ is more familiar)
• Wife (ภรรยา /pan-​rá~​yaa/)
• Husband (สามี /sǎa-​mee/)

Note: It is best to avoid using the terms ผัว /pǔa/ for husband and เมีย /mia/ for wife in polite company. They can be construed as being derogatory by some people and it is usually best to err on the side of politeness.

• Sister-in-law
• Wife of your younger brother (น้องสะใภ้ nóng-​sà~​pái)
• Wife of your older brother (พี่สะใภ้ pêe-​sà~​pái)
• Brother-in-law
• Husband of your younger sister (น้องเขย nóng-​kǒie)
• Husband of your older sister (พี่เขย pêe-​kǒie)

Note: The use of พี่ /pêe/ and น้อง /nóng/ for the in-laws is determined by the age of your sibling, not the age of the person (in-law).

The next generation…

• Children (ลูก /lôok/)
• Daughter (ลูกสาว /lôok-​sǎao/)
• Son-in-law (ลูกเขย /lôok-​kǒie/)
• Son (ลูกชาย /lôok-​chaai/)
• Daughter-in-law (ลูกสะใภ้ /lôok-​sà~​pái/)
• Children of aunts and uncles (หลาน lǎan)
• Niece (หลานสาว lǎan-​sǎao)
• Nephew (หลานชาย lǎan-​chaa)

And the next…

• Grandchildren (หลาน /lǎan/)
• Granddaughter (หลานสาว /lǎan-​sǎao/)
• Grandson (หลานชาย /lǎan-​chaai/)

And the next…

• Great grandchildren (เหลน /lǎyn/)

And all the rest…

• Relative/relation/kin (ญาติ /yâat/) or (ญาติพี่น้อง /yâat-​pêe-​nóng/)

Hugh Leong
Retire 2 Thailand
Retire 2 Thailand: Blog

Thai Abbreviations Can Help Us Learn Vocabulary, Spelling and Pronunciation…

One chief bugaboo that has plagued me in my endeavors to learn to read Thai is the numerous abbreviations scattered all about newspapers and magazines. I usually end up skipping them when I read, but as they are usually integral to the story line I am forced to look them up later.

After a while (and in my case a long while) I remember a few. And it turns out that once I know what the abbreviation letters stand for, I can remember them more easily. And, as an added attraction, it helps me learn more vocabulary, spelling, and pronunciation.

Below are a few abbreviations that you will often run into. Breaking them down is a good way to add to your vocabulary. When you get stuck trying to decipher Thai abbreviations a good resource is thai-language.com where you can look up most of them. It also has a nice list of lots and lots of abbreviations in their reference section.

Bangkok: กทม.
กรุงเทพมหานคร /grung-tâyp-má-hǎa-ná-kon/

กรุง /grung/ (city, capital)
เทพ /tâyp/ (angel)
มหา /má-hǎa/ (great),
นคร /ná-kon/ (city,town)

Literally: The Great (Capital) City of Angels

Motorcycle: จยย.
จักรยานยนต์ /jàk-grà-yaan-yon/

จักร /jàk/ (circle)
ยาน /yaan/ (vehicle)
ยนต์ /yon/ (engine)

Note: Most new learners of Thai will be familiar with the loan word for “motorcycle” มอเตอร์ไซค์ /mor-dter-sai/. จักรยานยนต์ /jàk-grà-yaan-yon/ is more formal, seen more often in writing. When speaking, I use the loan word just like everyone else does. By the way, the word จักรยาน /jàk-grà-yaan/ by itself means “bicycle” (two circles) so จักรยานยนต์ /jàk-grà-yaan-yon/ can mean “a bicycle with an engine”.

Medical Doctor: นพ.
นายแพทย์ /naai-pâet/, and (พญ.) แพทย์หญิง /pâet-yǐng/

นาย /naai/ (Mr.)
แพทย์ /pâet/ (physician)
หญิง /yǐng/ (lady, female)

Note: There are two different words for physicians, one for males and one for females. Thai also uses another abbreviation for Doctor “ดร.” which is a direct transcription of “Dr.”

Director: ผอ.
ผู้อำนวยการ /pôo-am-nuay-gaan/

ผู้ /pôo/ (person, one who…)
อำนวย /am-nuay/ (to give, produce)
การ /gaan/ (action)
อำนวยการ /am-nuay-gaan/ (to direct)

Buddhist Era, B.E.: พ.ศ.
พุทธศักราช /pút-tá-sàk-gà-ràat/

พุทธ /pút, also pút-tá/ (Buddha, Buddhist)
ศักราช /sàk-gà-ràat/ (era, period)

School: ร.ร.
โรงเรียน /rohng-rian/

โรง /rohng/ (hall, house, building)
เรียน /rian/ (to study)

Hospital: รพ.
โรงพยาบาล /rohng-pá-yaa-baan/

โรง /rohng/ (hall, house, building)
พยาบาล /pá-yaa-baan/ (to care for, cure)

Note: The word พยาบาล /pá-yaa-baan/ is also used to mean “nurse”. Both the noun and the verb form.

Police Station: สน.
สถานีตำรวจ /sà-tǎa-nee-dtam-rùat/

สถานี /sà-tǎa-nee/ (station)
ตำรวจ /dtam-rùat/ (law enforcement officer, police)

Note: The abbreviation for “police man” is ตร. (ตำรวจ /dtam-rùat/).

Member of Parliament: ส.ส.
สมาชิกสภาผู้แทนราษฎร /sà-maa-chík-sà-paa-pôo-taen-râat-sà-don/

สมาชิก /sà-maa-chík/ (member)
สภา /sà-pa/ (parliament)
ผู้แทน /pôo-taen/ (representative)
ราษฎร râat-sà-don/ (citizen)

Provincial Governor: ผวจ.
ผู้ว่าราชการจังหวัด /pôo-wâa-râat-chá-gaan jang-wàt/

ผู้ว่า /pôo-wâa/ (governor)
ราชการ /râat-chá-gaan/ (government service)
จังหวัด /jang-wàt/ (province

Note: ผว. (governor) is an abbreviation of the abbreviation ผวจ. (provincial governor).

Kilometer: กม.
กิโลเมตร /gì-loh-máyt/

กิโล /gì-loh/ (kilo, loan word)
เมตร /máyt/ (meter, loan word)

Some common single letter abbreviations can’t be broken down into parts but are fairly obvious once we know what Thai words they stand for:

Province: จ., sometimes จว.
จังหวัด /jang-wàt/

Alley, lane: ซ.
ซอย /soi/

Meter: ม.
เมตร /máyt/
Loan word from “meter”

Teacher: อ.
อาจารย์ /aa-jaan/

Mister: มร.
มิสเตอร์
Transcription of the loan word “Mister”

O’clock: น.
นาฬิกา /naa-lí-gaa/

Using นาฬิกา /naa-lí-gaa/ (as in สิบสามนาฬิกา /sìp-sǎam naa-lí-gaa/, 13:00 hours, or 1pm) is the more formal way of telling time. This word can also mean “clock” or “watch”

Hugh Leong
Retire 2 Thailand
Retire 2 Thailand: Blog