IS there a trend in reading Thai? I see more and more People pushing newcomers to learn how to read from the beginning and i find this amazing! It took over two decades that expats and teachers start to focus more on reading instead of speaking. Every language course in German, Japanese, Chinese, French etc. gets the student as fast and soon as possible on reading! It was only Thai courses that truly avoided the reading part for some weird reason.

I just want to say thank you to the community for changing the mindset about learning how to read Thai. Also alot of more expats having very good pronunciation!

I want to create some Thai learning games based on classic retro gaming. What do you think would work well?

I was thinking of the block breaking games and also side scrollers or RPGs.

I feel like most learning apps are really boring it would be great to learn the language through some actually fun games. Just a random thought as it seemed quiet in here!

🙏

what is the difference in the pronunciation of ข้าว and เข้า? is เข้า just slightly shorter?

I can see this word must have come from ขอประทานโทษ but I'm not sure what happens if you take a formal term like that and hack bits off it. Maybe it just becomes colloquial, maybe it sounds insincere, idk. So how does ทานโทษ compare to the full version ขอประทานโทษ or plain ขอโทษ?

Sorry if this isn't an appropriate post! I heard this song, "Tanyong" by Daotai Mueangtrang, recently, I love the song, and how the language sounds, but I don't speak anything even close to this. I've had no luck looking for the lyrics online. I tried to transcribe it by ear to see if I could figure them out, but the language has defeated me. I maybe got the first two lines as
"Tanyong, tanyong, yong rai wa phi, ton cho nyao ma-fai
Phi pen khon tai mi lai chai, khop ying mae rai, kho ru mit phra"
But Thai distinguishes sounds English makes it hard to tell apart, and I struggle with tones in singing. And it seems harder to find out how Pak Tai is pronounced online- I assume it's Pak Tai, though even then, I hear a few "st" sounds I don't know what to make of.

I'd love to know what the words are, if anyone's willing to give it a listen and write them down!
And if you are, I like this one nearly just as much, same artist, and can't find its lyrics either.

I am developing an habit to regularly journal in Thai. But I am not sure how to refer to myself.
Let’s take an easy example , I would write in english “You need to change your perspective” —> คุณต้องเปลี่ยนมุมมอง
Naturally, คุณ will come to my mind, but it seems odd ? Skipping the pronoun would also feel to me that I am not fully addressing to myself and my words won’t carry the same meaning strength. I was thinking of using เธอ but it looks weird. Or maybe just using ผม ? ตัวเอง?

Native speakers , your thoughts ?
Damn, I am always uncomfortable with pronouns. On my daily life I am just switching with ไอ / ผม for informal / formal.

Edit : I am a male

Hey, I'm looking for an online CI focused group lesson. I've only found private lessons or recorded ones.

Can anyone point me to the right direction?

I'm Thai and live in Chiang Mai. I talk with a lot of foreigners, and the same few mistakes keep coming up, so here they are:

1. ไม่เผ็ด (mâi phèt) means "not spicy." But at most street stalls, เผ็ดนิดหน่อย (phèt nít nòi), "a little spicy," gets you a better result. "Not spicy" sometimes still comes out spicy, haha.

2. ครับ / ค่ะ isn't just a polite word. It goes on the end of almost every sentence, and leaving it off can sound blunt even when you don't mean it to.

3. ไม่เป็นไร (mâi pen rai) isn't only "no problem." People also use it to end an awkward moment, decline politely, or say "don't worry about it."

Full disclosure: I built a small website with free lessons in this style (pronunciation, everyday conversation, and the cultural "why"): https://thaitalklab.pages.dev/

It's still early, so I'd honestly like to know: what situations do you most wish you could handle in Thai? I'll make lessons based on the answers. Happy to answer any Thai questions in the comments too.

Hi!

I really loved reading Chinese romances to learn Chinese and was thinking of re-reading some of them in Thai but not sure if translations are available.

I'm thinking of authors like 顾漫，墨宝非宝，明晓溪，饶雪漫, etc.

Would anyone know where to read or purchase Thai translations of their novels?

Would also be interested in original works in Thai with similar writing styles :)

Thanks! :3

If they do, let me know which one. I’ve just started using one called DuoCards but wanna know if there are any better before I commit to premium. Cheers

Hi Reddit,

Want to know if the sentence below is natural and correct (casual as well).

ถ้าฉันเปลี่ยนวิธีที่คุณมองตัวเองได้ - trying to say: "If I could change the way you see yourself..."

Looking for Thai friends who want to learn English. I speak Thai but not the best. I want to be fluent by the end of this year/beginning of next year and I think speaking with someone often would help. I’m looking for someone Thai who wouldn’t mind speaking to me regularly in Thai, no matter the English level. If you are also curious about learning English, I can help in exchange as well. Anyone interested? Comment and let’s talk

I've been interested in learning Thai for a long time because I'm interested in Thai culture and I wanna travel there someday. I heard that comprehensible input is a technique kids use to learn their native language, so I wanted to give it a try. I've also seen people say that it doesn't work and that the process is very slow. Which has been hindering me in fully devoting my time into this technique.

My question is, has this technique actually worked on anyone? when should I be expected to understand thai ? and how long does this technique take time to work ?

I wanna be as patient as possible but sometimes it is discouraging when I feel like I'm making no improvements

hey all! do you have any specific recommendations for good thai italki tutors? im around a2-

¿Alguien sabe algún buen sitio web para traducir del inglés al tailandés o un diccionario en línea? Estoy tratando de aprender tailandés, pero está bien difícil encontrar páginas buenas de traducción que tengan tailandés.

I made some short Thai stories for learners who want to practise reading Thai

Hi everyone!

I’ve been learning Thai for about six months now, and one thing I found surprisingly difficult was finding reading material for that awkward stage where you’ve learned the Thai script, but reading native content still feels too difficult.

I realised I was using ChatGPT a lot to create short stories I could practise with, and eventually I decided to go all-in and start making little mini graded e-books.

The stories are divided into three levels, and they’re written entirely in Thai without transliteration. What's more, my Thai partner has checked and edited all of them to make sure they are 100% accurate and native. Each one has:

• vocabulary organised by chapter
• pronunciation and English meanings for more difficult words
• short language deep-dives based on things that appear naturally in the story
• lots of everyday Thai rather than overly formal textbook language

The idea is basically to bridge the gap between learning the Thai alphabet and actually being able to read natural Thai without much effort.

I’ve recently opened a small webshop for the books. You can find the link in my profile. The series is called Start Reading Thai.

I’d also genuinely love feedback from other Thai learners — particularly on the difficulty levels and what kinds of stories/topics you’d like to see in future.

There's a plethora of resources out there, which is great, but I'm a little overwhelmed as to how to start.

Do I learn the alphabet first? Focus on prnounciation/tone? (I've taken lessons in Japanese/Spanish, but neither are tonal languages) Build a vocabulary with Anki?

For those who have taken classes for Thai, how was your class structured?

For those who self-studied, what are some things that worked for you? Would you have done anything differently to optimize your progress?

Thanks in advance!

I’m lower-mid intermediate with speaking, reading and listening, and I’m looking to work with a teacher to improve further.

Ideally looking for someone who can assess where I’m at and help me build from there. Happy to pay and make it a regular weekly lesson.

Based in Bangkok. Feel free to DM me or contact +66817725300 if you’re interested or have any recommendations.

Hey Everyone! I just wanted to share about my thai learning journey. I have joined a Thai certificate course this month and my classes have started from the 11th of September. The fee of the course is quite affordable and they teach us twice a week online. The duration is six months. I am a complete beginner and till now I have learned about basic greetings, consonants, vowels, and tones. Though I haven't properly learned them but I am studying and practicing.

I watch Thai shows especially Bl and listen Thai songs. I am also interested in Thai culture that's why I am learning this language. Wish me luck😇

Ive been trying to relearn Thai using notebooklm and when using the old ones it just doesnt work out all as its not readable while the news i can only find grade 1 and 2 im looking for the complete 1 - 6 set but i can only find physical copies not digital copies

What other FREE apps are there besides Airlearn? I want to get more into Thai besides just checking off my daily Thai to keep my streak going😭

I want to seriously learn Thai, but I’m honestly overwhelmed by all the different resources and methods. I don’t know what order I should be doing things in.

My goals are to eventually:
read and write Thai
understand pronunciation and tones
speak basic Thai
understand simple sentences/conversations
eventually stop relying on romanization

Right now, I’m mainly looking for FREE resources, but I’m open to paid resources/courses/books later when I’m able to pay for them.

If you were starting Thai from absolute zero, what would you recommend doing FIRST, and what would you do after that?

I’d really appreciate actual resources too — free YouTube channels, websites, apps, courses, textbooks/workbooks, etc.

I’m especially looking for resources that can take me through Thai step-by-step instead of giving me a huge list of random things to study.

Basically, if you could give a beginner a “start here → then do this → then this” path, what would it be?

Any other advice for someone starting Thai from absolute zero would also be greatly appreciated!

Thank you! 🇹🇭❤️