In English, when using an adjective we place it before the noun. “A red car” is a good example; the adjective – red – modifies the noun – car.

In Thai, the adjective comes after the noun:

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Numbers and counting in Thai is very simple. Only two small quirks that you need to take into consideration. To start, let’s look at the Thai script for the numbers 0-9 and build from there:

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The creators of Learn-Thai-Podcast.com have developed a truly excellent series of MP3 and video lessons teaching vocabulary, grammar, and conversational Thai. Their Premium Course, which is not only great but also very afforable, contains just under 450 (yes, you read that right) lessons.

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Affectionately known as “The Consonant Killer” – by me at least – this symbol, when placed over a consonant, renders the consonant dead and unpronounced. It’s officially known as การันต์ (gaa ran) and looks like this:

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I don’t really have much to say in the way of a review of Mary Haas’ classic “Thai-English Student’s Dictionary” but it’s such an invaluable resource for learning Thai that I wanted to make sure it was mentioned so aspiring Thai language learners would know that it’s available and recommended. Read more…

When I first starting dating my wife, Su, I was obviously very interested in learning more about her culture. I purchased a few books on Thailand, Thai culture, and, of course, the Thai language. I came across Thailand Fever on Amazon.com, and quite frankly my first thought was that this book was a how-to guide for Western guys to pick up prostitutes and bar girls. It wasn’t until two friends – both married to Thai women – strongly recommended this book to me that I decided to give it a shot. I’m very happy to say that I couldn’t have been more wrong about this book; Chris Pirazzi and Vitida Vasant have written the definitive book on Western-Thai relationships.

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New Thai-English, English-Thai Compact Dictionary for English Speakers with Tones and Classifiers

This updated version of Benjawan Poomsan Becker’s Thai-English dictionary (rewritten with the help of Thailand Fever author Chris Pirazzi) is an excellent update to the original version. Not necessarily a pocket dictionary – but certainly a bookbag dictionary – kun Becker’s new dictionary is an absolute MUST HAVE for the Thai language student.

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Now that I’ve covered the basics that will help you to determine a syllable’s tone, let’s put them all together and talk about how everything works. If you need a review, please see all of my previous Thai Language posts.
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Many words in Thai are spelled one way but pronounced another. This can certainly be very confusing. Many times the confusion is a result of vowels and/or consonants being hidden in the written syllable but still present and affecting tone when spoken. Read more…

The consonant ห – hɔ̌ɔ hìip – is like the ninja of Thai; you think you catch a glimpse of it here and there in your peripheral vision, and sometimes you don’t really see it, but there is always the feeling that it’s lurking somewhere very close by.

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