Learn Thai Books

Thai Language Books & eBooks

LivingHour.org is pleased to announce the publication of Learn Thai Language: Generation Next (Slang & Colloquial Talk). This fun and useful bi-lingual book is for all students of the Thai language who wish to better understand and communicate with Thailand’s younger generation.

Not a dry textbook or simple dictionary of terms, this is one Thai language book that you will enjoy reading and using. More than just giving you new vocabulary, this book provides hundreds of sample sentences to advance your skills in listening, talking, and reading the colloquial language of Thailand.

Buy the Trade Paperback from our Bookstore for $9.99*

Buy the PDF eBook version for only $3.99*

For Buyers in Thailand: Purchase the workbook version for only 225 baht. Contact us at living(at)livinghour.org to receive the ATM transfer details.

The book is organized to make it easy for you to navigate. The Thai vocabulary pages are arranged alphabetically by their transliteration (phonetic spelling). Each Thai entry is followed by an English definition and two English words or phrases that match the Thai. This vocabulary is used in the comic and in the sample sentence below the definition.

The Thai translation of the English sample sentence is followed by its transliteration and by a literal word-for-word translation, so that students can better understand the vocabulary used and how the sentence is organized. At the bottom of each page is a transliteration of the Thai used in the comic, followed again by its literal translation. An English word index is included in the back of the book, which can help you locate matching Thai entries.

Learn Thai Language: Generation Next is also an excellent resource for Thai English students who want to learn the colloquial language of native English speakers. English language notes included.

*All proceeds from book sales go to The Foundation For Underprivileged Children (Chachoengsao) and the development of lessons and course materials at the Ysaan Institute.

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Add 100s of Thai words to your working vocabulary in only a week’s time with the Original Thai-English Cognate Dictionary & Learning Tool. The book includes 100s of colloquial sample sentences to get you speaking Thai naturally and not like a phrasebook.

Buy the Trade Paperback from our Bookstore for $8.99*

Buy the PDF eBook for only $3.99*

For Buyers in Thailand: Purchase the workbook version for only 225 baht. Contact us at living(at)livinghour.org to receive the ATM transfer details.

Pick up the multi-platform eBook edition for your iPad, Kindle, Palm Pilot, Sony Reader, Nook, iPhone, or other portable device by clicking on the following link:

Purchase: Thai-English Cognate Dictionary

In addition to teaching you vocabulary quickly, this book will help all Thai language learners better recognize the ways in which many Thai words are formed. Minus the polysyllabic words adopted from foreign languages, Thai is a monosyllabic language. More complicated ideas/words are thus formed by putting together one syllable root words to form new words. For example, the Thai word for refrigerator dtôo-yen (ตู้เย็น) is formed by the words dtôo (cabinet) + yen (cool). When such words occur in this book, they are broken down for you. Paying attention to how these root words are put together will help you build your vocabulary even faster.

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The mini-ebook Heart to Heart Talk, the 2nd book in our Easy Thai Top 40™ series, is now for sale. Whether you are an expat or a tourist in Thailand, Heart to Heart Talk will be an essential language resource for making the most out of your stay in the kingdom. Like our Original Thai-English Cognate Dictionary, each easy Thai entry is complimented with a colloquial sample sentence that will help you better communicate with the Thais that you meet during your trip or those who are part of your daily life as an expat.

While there are hundreds of heart (jai) words in the Thai language, only a small percentage of these are commonly used on a daily basis. And if you use one of the uncommon heart words, you may not be understood. In Heart to Heart Talk, we give you the heart talk that every Thai will understand and which covers a broad range of emotions and situations. It is all the heart talk you likely will ever need. The following is an excerpt from the introduction to Heart to Heart Talk and two easy Thai sample entries:

Welcome to Heart to Heart Talk, the 2nd mini-ebook in our Easy Thai Top 40 series. In this edition you will learn the most commonly spoken Thai “heart” (jai) words, along with related sample sentences, so that you can start today having heart to heart talks and easily remember all the vocabulary. Each entry is written both in the Thai script and an easy to understand phonetic spelling in English. The heart talk word is defined both figuratively and literally. This is followed by an easy Thai heart talk sentence, the equivalent sentence in English, and a word for word translation of the Thai into English. With this book you will see exactly how Thai heart talk sentences are formed and quickly begin creating heart to heart talks with your Thai friends, colleagues, wife, husband, or lover.

Why should you learn how to have heart to heart talks in Thailand? Well, because the language we speak is a window into the way we view the world and interact with people. In addition, sometimes a particular language seems especially suited to a certain aspect of culture. For example, the musicality of the Italian language seems tailor made for poetry and opera; the vast multicultural vocabulary of the English language makes it a useful tool for modern science; and the heart talk of the Thai language helps us communicate with others with kindness, understanding, sympathy, patience, and joy. Learning how to use heart talk not only helps you better understand the spirit of the Thai people, it helps you better understand yourself.

SAMPLE

bplìan-jai – เปลี่ยนใจ – v. – to change one’s mind (lit. change heart)
I just changed my mind. That’s all.
ฉัน เปลี่ยนใจ ไม่ มี เหตุผล
Chăn bplìan-jai. Mâi mee hàyt-phŏn.
lit. I changed mind, not have reason

jai-rawn – ใจร้อน – v./adj. – to be hot-tempered (lit. heart hot)
Hold on a sec’. Don’t be a hot head.
แป๊บ นึง นะ อย่า ใจร้อน ไป หน่อย เลย
Bpáep nèung ná. Yàh jai-ráwn bpai nòi leuy.
lit. just a second one (soften), don’t hot head go (soften) (emph.)

Purchase the PDF eBook version of Thai Heart to Heart Talk for only 99 cents!*

Or pick up the eBook edition for your iPad, Palm Pilot, Kindle, Sony Reader, Nook, iPhone, or other portable device by clicking on the following link:

Buy The Easy Thai Top 40 eBook: Colloquial Thai Heart to Heart Talk

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Due to popular demand, the new edition of our Easy Thai Top 40™ series is For Lovers & Friends: How to Flirt in Thai. In this book you’ll quickly learn 40 easy Thai sentences that can be used to flirt with your Thai girlfriend/boyfriend or close friends of the opposite sex. What you won’t find is “dirty talk” (or Thai sex talk) that will get you slapped or perceived as a tourist with bad intentions, just playful talk about the heart. Flirting (or Making Out) in Thai really is no different than flirting in your own native language. To do it successfully (and without potentially offending the other person) just means keeping a smile on your face and an easy laugh.

As with all of the material in our Easy Thai Top 40 series, How to Flirt in Thai focuses on those sentences which you won’t likely find in other Thai phrasebooks, language books, and free online lessons. Each English sentence in How to Flirt in Thai is followed by a colloquial Thai translation in the Thai script; followed by an easy to read phonetic spelling (with tones) in English; followed then by a word for word translation of the Thai in English, so that you know exactly which English word corresponds to the Thai word.

Here are a couple sample entries:

C’mon now. I’m only teasing because I like you.
ใจ เย็น นะ หยอก ก็ เพราะ ชอบ เธอ
Jai yen ná. Yàwk gâw phráw châwp thuh.
lit. heart cool (soften) tease (joiner) because like you

I injured my leg falling in love with you.
ฉัน ขา แพลง เมื่อ ตก หลุม รัก เธอ
Chăn khăh phlaeng mêua dtòk lŭm rák thuh.
lit. I leg wrench when fall hole love you

Keep checking back with us at LivingHour.org for more mini-ebook Thai lessons. The next book up in The Easy Thai Top 40 series will be covering the Isaan language. At LivingHour.org we minimize the time you spend learning Thai and maximize the benefits!

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Purchase the PDF eBook version of How to Flirt in Thai for only 99 cents!*

Or pick up the eBook edition for your iPad, Palm Pilot, Kindle, Sony Reader, Nook, iPhone, or other portable device by clicking on the following link:

Buy The Learn Thai Top 40 eBook: How to Flirt in Thai
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Learn how to speak Thai the way Thai parents do in LivingHour.org’s 3rd installment of our Easy Thai Top 40™ series: Family Talk: Speaking to Thai Children. In this edition you’ll find 40 common and easy Thai sentences which parents speak to their children – sentences that cover situations in the living room, bedroom, bathroom, and dining room; upstairs and downstairs; inside the house and outside the home.

These are the kind of sentences left out from other Thai phrasebooks, language books, and online learning lists, which spend most of their time dealing with the needs of tourists and not those of expats with Thai families. At LivingHour.org we are dedicated to fulfilling all those language needs which other Thai language publishers don’t cover, from helping expats and professionals better manage their long term stays in Thailand to assisting tourists get off the beaten track to discover authentic travel experiences in “the real” Thailand.

Each English sentence in Family Talk: Speaking to Thai Children is followed by a colloquial Thai translation in the Thai script; followed by an easy to read phonetic spelling (with tones) in English; followed then by a word for word translation of the Thai in English, so that you know exactly which English word corresponds to the Thai word.

Keep checking back with us at LivingHour.org for more Easy Thai Top 40 and Easy Isaan Top 40 mini-ebooks, as well as forthcoming audio books to accompany the series. At LivingHour.org we minimize the time you spend learning Thai and maximize the benefits!

The following are three sample entries from the book:

Get up! It’s time for school.
ตื่น นอน เถอะ ได้เวลา ไป โรงเรียน แล้ว ตอนนี้
Dtèun nawn thùh. Dâi-way-lah bpai rohng-rian láeo dtawn-née.
lit. wake up sleep (urge), time to go school already now.

Sweetheart, wash your hands. Breakfast is ready.
ลูกรัก ล้าง หมือ ซะ อาหารเช้า เรียบร้อย แล้ว
Lôok-rák* láhng meu sá*. Ah-hăhn cháo rîap-rói láeo.
lit. sweetheart, wash hands (urge), food morning ready already

*The meaning of the particle sá (ซะ) is more than simply adding encouragement to your command or request; it implies that you want something done completely and/or quickly.

Wake up your Mom. Grandma is here.
ปลุก แม่ สิ ยาย มา แล้ว
Bplùk mâe sì. Yai mah láeo.
lit. awaken mom (urge), grandma come already

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Purchase the PDF eBook version of Thai Heart to Heart Talk for only 99 cents!*

Or pick up the eBook edition for your iPad, Palm Pilot, Kindle, Sony Reader, Nook, iPhone, or other portable device by clicking on the following link:

Buy The Learn Thai Top 40 eBook: Family Talk: Speaking to Thai Children

 

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We are pleased to announce the launch of a new learning Thai language series titled the Easy Thai Top 40™. The first edition of this series is Colloquial Language and Expressions, and includes 40 popular colloquial Thai expressions along with related Thai language notes.

In the coming weeks, we will be offering a wide variety of other “top 40″ Thai language eBooks, including a spin off series titled Easy Isaan Top 40™. All books in this series will cost only 99 cents. In addition, we will soon be offering accompanying Thai language audio books for this series for only 99 cents per book.

The following is an excerpt and two sample entries from the Easy Thai Top 40: Colloquial Language Expressions. Please check back with us regularly for new additions to the series, as we expect to add new eBooks and audio books every week or two.

Welcome to the Easy Thai Top 40: Colloquial Language Expressions, the first offering in a series of mini-eBooks aimed at helping Thai language learners acquire colloquial Thai in the quickest time. Inspired by the fact that foreign language students learn faster when related knowledge is clustered together in easy accessible chunks, the Easy Thai Top 40 series minimizes the time you spend learning Thai and maximizes the results.

In the Colloquial Language Expressions edition, you will learn 40 popular expressions in the Thai language, many of which are not included in other books or Thai language websites. These expressions will quickly help you down the path of speaking more like a native Thai and less like a Thai dictionary or phrasebook. The 40 Thai expressions included here are based on our ten years of living and working with both professional Thais and rural folks in the provinces of Thailand.

Daily expressions can be tricky but they are important to learn when studying any language, especially so with the Thai language. All too often, Thai-English language teachers and authors get tripped up by either the nuances of the Thai phrase or the English equivalent. These teachers thus provide translations that are not quite accurate. For example, many people have translated the English expression “No Way!” into Thai as “mâi mee thahng” (not have way). Because they have translated the English expression literally, they have missed the nuance, which is that “No Way!” is used to show shock and surprise. One correct equivalent expression in Thai would be “Dtòk-jai leuy ná nîa!”, which incorporates the Thai word for shocked, followed by three Thai particles.

In this edition of the Easy Thai Top 40™, you’ll learn how to use such Thai particles correctly. Organized by the equivalent English expression, each colloquial Thai entry is written phonetically and in the Thai script. This is followed by a literal English translation of the expression and a Thai language note covering such areas as particle usage, pronouns, root words, and similar sounding words.

SAMPLE

Busted!
Jàp dâi láeo (จับ ได้ แล้ว)
lit. caught can already

*The word jàp (จับ) is used when someone is caught doing something wrong, as well as to refer to when someone is arrested.

Cheer up!
Râh-ruhng* khâo wái! (ร่าเริง เข้า ไว้)
lit. cheerful enter keep

râh-ruhng (ร่าเริง) cheerful = râh (ร่า) joyfully + ruhng (เริง) lively

Purchase the PDF eBook version for only 99 cents!

Or pick up the eBook edition for your iPad, Palm Pilot, Kindle, Sony Reader, Nook, iPhone, or other portable device by clicking on the following link:

Buy The Easy Thai Top 40 eBook: Colloquial Language Expressions