I wanted to share my experience learning Thai, especially for those navigating self-study. When I began studying Thai, I had no teacher or formal courses—just Google and YouTube. The first thing I tackled was the Thai alphabet, starting with ก (gor gai) through ฮ (hor nok hook). That’s all I knew at the time.

Fortunately, I had a coworker who spoke Thai. Whenever we went to markets or malls, I’d ask them to read signs for me and explain the meanings and pronunciation. This helped me gradually become familiar with Thai, but it didn’t mean I was fluent in speaking, reading, or writing. It was only the beginning.

The real turning point came when I switched jobs. At my new workplace, I was the only foreigner. Everyone spoke only Thai—it was a massive challenge! But I made an effort to communicate and ask questions about the language with my colleagues. Over time, through daily immersion, I reached native-like fluency.

Here’s what I learned about language acquisition along the way:

1. Surround yourself with the language. Be in environments where you can use the target language every day.
2. Use Google and YouTube. Don’t hesitate to look up what you don’t understand.
3. Find people to talk to. Chat with gamers, strangers on Discord, or anyone you can connect with online.
4. Commit to using the language. For instance, I unfriended everyone on Facebook and added only Thai friends—extreme, but it worked!
5. Watch, listen, and enjoy content in the language. This can be anything you like. Personally, I followed gaming channels like HEARTROCKER. He play English games but explain everything in Thai, which was incredibly helpful.

That’s my journey! I hope this encourages and inspires others learning Thai. Remember, it’s about consistency and finding joy in the process. Good luck and have fun learning Thai!

I've been having trouble understanding the difference and how to use it in a sentence. I've been told they are similar but I still don't understand.

I’ve been thinking about how to best manage Thai vocabulary and phrases from videos, websites, and random lists. You know the situation: you watch a learning clip on Facebook, Youtube etc. or stumble upon a new phrase somewhere. But let’s face it—just seeing or reading it once isn’t enough to make it stick. Repetition is key.

So, my question is: how do you organize all this unstructured info into something you can actually study? To extract information from a clip or unstructured source is sometimes tedious and takes time.

Do you use a database, a learning app, or something else?

For me, an ideal system would let you store:

1. Thai script

2. English translation

3. Transliteration (optional, for beginners)

4. Audio files

5. Categories

6. Notes

7. Variants of the word/phrase (e.g., informal versions or alternative ways to say it) with a flag "formal", "informal" etc.

What apps, tools, or strategies do you use to make your Thai learning more structured and efficient? Let me know — I'd love to hear your tips!

So far all I've found is SBS Thai but it's way above my level, Riam Thai was also very good but it seems like she only does YouTube now.

There are podcasts for Thai but the majority are teaching Thai grammar in English which doesn't help my listening or understanding natural Thai

I created Language Trainer to learn the thai alphabet and common words, phrases and sentences.

To do so I used OpenAI to generate the thai alphabet and common words, phrases and sentences. So it might be that it contains errors. Please tell me if something is wrong or missing.

The App is using The Web Speech API (TTS) of the browser. Depending on your OS and browser it supports different voices. Especially for the thai language some results are not well pronounced, sometimes even wrong. I also tried to use OpenAI's TTS service, but the result were not better. So take it with a grain of salt.

At the moment the App has two main functions:

• Thai Alphabet with word analyzer
• Learning common words, phrases and sentences (only a few examples at the moment and OpenAI generator)

Here is the Link to the App:

https://d3oi5f0vbaba7k.cloudfront.net/

Let me know if it is complete garbage or if you like it.

I'm still struggling with the tones, I'll record myself practicing tones for month to see my progress

https://youtu.be/5n5PBc1RmhU?si=NYpz94yic3rg5nTg

Could someone with perfect pitch identify which notes correspond to the 5 tones of the Thai language?

This tones are actually: Normal, bass, high pitch that are quite flat, despite the bass tend to go down deeper at this end of the prononciation, and the high pitch one as well but tend to stal longer high before falling down a bit.

Then there is 2 that are well modulated: One that rise up, as someone who ask a question innocently, And one that "bounce", or "dig". It start lower in the bass that the second tone, goes even lower, then rise up slightly higher than the original note.

(The 5 names commonly used for this tones are wrong regarding their nature. Therefore I don’t mention them here.)

I created flashcards to help learn Thai consonants. These flashcards are packed with features to make learning fun and effective. Each card contains:

• The consonant character in a clear, large font.
• A pictogram to help you learn how to write the consonants.
• The English name of the consonant.
• Thai name/word with their pronunciation in both Thai script and phonetic transcription.
• Class type (middle, high, or low) and information about initial and final sound characteristics.
• An audio button, so you can listen to the correct pronunciation (online version)
• The consonant in different font variants, including modern fonts, to help you recognize it in various contexts

This project is still under construction, and I would love to hear your feedback. Is there anything essential that you think is missing? Your input will help make these flashcards even better!

Hey everyone,

I’ve been working on this visual guide (I know there are many out there, but I wanted to create my own) to Thai tone rules, and I wanted to share it here for feedback or suggestions. Here's how the overview is structured:

• Consonant Classes: High, Middle, and Low consonants are categorized with examples listed for each group.
• Tone Marks: The four tone marks (ไม้เอก, ไม้โท, ไม้ตรี, ไม้จัตวา) are represented across the top, showing how they interact with each consonant class.
• Tone Outcomes: The resulting tone for each combination of consonant class and tone mark is shown with examples and the corresponding transcription.

I know that you still need to learn about short/long vowels and live/dead syllables, but I tried to make this as clear and beginner-friendly as possible.
Probably there are a few exceptions to the rules, but the scheme is intended to cover about 99% of cases.
Do you think it’s accurate and easy to follow? Is there anything you’d add or correct?

Thanks in advance for your input!

What's the most polite way to write the head off to beg them to fix a machine in the gym?

I can write basic thai but it comes across as casual and rude.

Ex: ช่วยซ่อมแซมมันด้วย

Just moved to Thailand a couple of days ago and it didn't take long to realise that english doesn't really help me. I would like to learn the thai language not only some sentences if possible. I'm pretty sure it will take some time but it's not a problem.

Edit: thank you so much for the replies

Hi everyone! I'm a solo developer who made a fun (hopefully?) app for conversing in different languages. Lots of my friends have moved across countries and struggle to learn the local language so I built this initially for them but I'm hoping it will be useful to more people :)

I've tried the languages I'm familiar with, but I'm lacking input from thai learners. Would love to have your thoughts and ideas! It's based on Chat GPT so expect that same level of quality.

The app is called Speekeezy AI and gives free daily chats with no ads or signups needed, but there's an optional subscription which helps to pay for my running costs of using Chat GPT (and also gives you unlimited chats and 20+ scenarios to switch between).

Hope you like it! Let me know what you think :)

https://apps.apple.com/app/speekeezy-ai-language-chat/id6737482553

มาคือลิงแท้ผัวข่อย ภาพนี้ (it is in Isaan)

I noticed that when I type the Thai consonant "น" into Google Translate, it shows "นาฬิกา" (clock, /naa-lí-gaa/) as the associated word. However, in most Thai learning materials, the consonant น is taught with the mnemonic "นอ หนู" (mouse).

Is "นาฬิกา" an alternative mnemonic for น? Or is this just an error or oddity in Google Translate? Are there any sources or contexts where น is actually taught as "นอ นาฬิกา"?

I understand it’s a term of affection but can let’s say a mom use this for their children?

Sanskrit is an Indo-European language and Thai has incorporated a lot of words from Sanskrit. Out of linguistic interest, I've been looking into Thai words which have cognates in English or other Indo-European languages because they both share the same Indo-European roots.

Obviously I'm not looking at loan words from current Indo-European languages.

I've identified a few words so far which fit my bill:

-หิมะ (hima) - snow, from the Sanskrit hima (snow, winter, frost), which is related to the Latin "hiems" and Slavic "zima" meaning winter.

-ชีวิต (chivit) - life, from the Sanskrit jiva (life, alive), related to the English word "quick" (OE for "alive"), the Latin "vivus" and the Greek "bios".

-สุนัข (sunak) - dog, from Sanskrit sunaka/sunas, related to the English word "hound" and German "Hund".

-สัตว์ (sat) - animal, from Sanskrit sattva (animal, living being), related to the English sooth/soothsayer and sin.

I am looking to expand the list. Does anyone know more?

I'm having a hard time remembering classifiers: for example "luuk" is children/round fruit/balls/etc and "bai" is "cups/backpacks/flat objects/etc". These seem like such a random collection of things.

How bad would it be if I use the general classifier "an" too much? I can only remember the basic ones like dtuaa->animals, kon->people.

What are the easy way to learn Thai language?

When I talk to my Thai colleagues I am limiting myself to only นะ and สิ particles. I have an impression that เถอะ is aggressive or harsh. To give you a background, I am over 50yo and a consultant on the project, the supervisor is Thai, the rest of the group are Thai people younger than myself. What is the most polite way to say them all : Please go to my desk to discuss something? I try to use my Thai in the office as much as I can. Thanks.

Hi. My name is Denis and I'm learning Thai using language exchange apps.

When I'm writing my name in Thai sometimes I'm writing "เดนิ", cause it's easier to pronounce for Thai people. I'm thinking about it like my nickname.

People I'm speaking to, often correct me and say, "you should write เดนิส or เดนนิส" and I'm struggling to explain "denny" is an appropriate variation for me.

Is it normal to correct on name spellings? How can I explain to Thai person they can call me "เดนิ" ?

Here is the YouTube link for those interested.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uDE_mxbtNiY

Where's ซ on an Android keyboard? I can't seem to find it. The closest I got is ฃ but that has a vastly different sound.

Recently started learning Thai 2x/week (4hrs.) after work in a school. My listening skills are better simply because I have been exposed to the language for quite some time. I am 15 hours into the speaking level which is 60 hours and then after that it'll be 60 hours reading and 60 hours writing. I am enjoying the learning journey very much and I am not setting myself hard objectives e.g. I want to be fluent in x amount of years but it's more about building this habit of learning a new language and I take any improvement along the way :)

Now, it's all about building vocabulary right now for managing common life situations. Already now there are times where I simply do not find myself in the situation(s) that allow me to apply the learned content. I work in the office 2-3x/week so there's limited opportunity there (it's a workplace after all), of course in my free time I use it wherever I go (coffee shop, restaurants..) but that's about it, really. I live alone too which doesn't help either.

I am thinking that reading and writing later will be easier e.g. street signs, books and writing can be applied easily with Line chats etc.

I am just worried that I will be stuck in a certain level of proficiency simply because of a lack of application possibilities. I am not going to strike up long conversations with strangers, so I guess it'll be the coworkers in the office then. I guess befriending Thais will be hugely beneficial. Maybe I am just overthinking 😅

Is there anything you suggest me to do apart from attending the school e.g. watching certain YouTube videos with English subtitles that talk about an easy subject, or maybe a series? I guess I am wondering too if 4 hrs./week is enough knowing that I have the current limitations of applying the language.

Any advice is welcome 🙏🏻

It isn't a denti-alveolar t (t̪) but also doesn't sound like an english T. Or am i wrong?

Sawadee kaa,

Hello to all the Thai language learners in the community.

I hope you can all join us for an exciting Thai language lesson where we'll dive into telling time the Thai way! Sponsored by Ling.

Topic: Time in Thai Language & Culture In this lesson, you'll learn how to:

• Tell time in Thai
• Use time-related vocabulary
• Understand cultural differences in how Thai people view and talk about time

Your Teacher: - Becky from Ling Live who is an experienced Thai language instructor will guide you through this interactive session! Her patience and professional expertise will make sure you learn something new.

Date & Time: Thursday, 28 November BE 2567 at 20:00 GMT +7 Thailand Time.
**Location:**⁠event lobby voice channel

Whether you're a complete beginner or already know some Thai, this lesson is perfect for anyone interested in Thai language and culture!

To Join: Please join our Discord server and head to #event-announcements to see the event details.

discord.gg/W3AtYrCXcA

Feel free to invite your friends who might be interested, into the server and have them join us!

Hope to see you guys there!

• Andrea from Ling Community Team

My toddler spends the majority of their day hearing & speaking Thai from the nanny, grandparents, playmates, mother etc. And only a few hours from me reading stories in english, playing in english.

But its funny to see all the Thais at the talad (market), cafes, restaurants, park try to speak with him in english.

Is there a better / funnier response than "khao puut thai dai krap, mai dai puut passa angrit krap"

My toddler is already shy with strangers in public, but if they spoke thai, it might have a better reaction from him, rather than him burying his face into my pants.

Wanted to draw attention to the tone markers. ไม้เอก​ seems redundant here. เลิ่ก​ would be pronounced the same as เลิก​ - with a falling tone. And ลั่ก​ - isn't it pronounced the same as ลัก as well. Am I missing something?

When should I use which?

How to say' I already know you're toxic?'

ผมรู้แล้วว่าคุณ toxic is what my tutor said but it's a literal translation.

Context is your flirting with girl in a club and you know her and her friends well. She likes you but your friend told you already that she is toxic.

You say something like this or the equivalent to her , in a flirting way. Let's not be sensitive here, the woman isn't a stranger. I know how to express this in Mandarin Chinese and English east coast slang but I'm not fluent enough in Thai to say this without being rude due to my lack of fluency.

I’ve searched online on google translate other sites and know that cousin is ลูกพี่ลูกน้อง but I want to know should you call it differently for older or younger cousins? As in is there a word to say older cousin for example?

Thanks