Easy Thai Top 40: How to Speak Thai Like a Parent

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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Learning Easy Thai: At the Workplace

Learning Thai does not have to be hard or boring. At LivingHour.org we make learning Thai easy and fun. Our book The Original Thai-English Cognate Dictionary & Learning Tool is especially helpful to expats working in Thailand who want to learn the Thai language quickly. In one week’s time you can expect to add hundreds of easy Thai words to your working vocabulary.

The cognates, loanwords, and similar sounding words featured in the book makes it easy to remember new Thai words. And the colloquial Thai sample sentences help you to speak Thai correctly. Here is a brief excerpt of a few entries from the book and eBook dealing with the Thai workplace and working with Thais.

decide v. – ตัดสินใจ – dtàt-sĭn-jai
Don’t look at me. It’s up to you to decide.
อย่า มอง นะ แล้วแต่ คุณ จะ ตัดสินใจ
Yàh mawng ná. Láeo-dtàe khun jà dtàt-sĭn-jai.
lit. don’t look (soften), up to you will decide*

*decide (ตัดสินใจ) = dtàt-sĭn (ตัดสิน) decide/judge + jai (ใจ) heart/mind

graphic n. – กราฟิก – grah-fík
We need to change the graphics on this.
ต้อง เปลี่ยน กราฟิก นี้
Dtâwng bplìan grah-fík née.
lit. must change graphic this*

*When you point to an object as being the thing that you want or are talking about, the word for this takes a falling tone: nêe (นี่).

office n. – ออฟฟิศ – àwf-fít
I’ll see what I can do. But the office is closed for a week.
ผม จะ ดู ว่า ทำ อะไร ได้ แต่ ออฟฟิศ ปิด หนึ่ง อาทิตย์
Phŏm jà doo wâh tham à-rai dâi dtàe àwf-fít bpìt nèung ah-thít*
lit. I will see that do what can but office closed one week

*Note that the word ah-thít (อาทิตย์), which above means week, literally means sun, and is used in the word for Sunday, which is wan-ah-thít (วันอาทิตย์).

plan n. – แผน – phaen
Do you know why your plan failed?
คุณ ทราบ มั้ย ครับ ทำไม แผน พลาด ไป
Khun sâhp* mái khráp, tham-mai phaen phlâht bpai?
lit. you know (question) (polite) why plan fail go

*Note that the word sâhp (ทราบ) is the formal word for know. In most situations the less formal róo (รู้) is fine to use.

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Add 100s of easy Thai words to your working vocabulary in a week’s time with our Original Thai-English Language Cognate Dictionary & Learning Tool.

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