Colloquial Thai – Thai Slang Dictionary – Idioms

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.

If you are a Thai language student looking for the latest Thai idioms and slang; a tourist looking for a Thai language book that’s not filled with the same old stuff; or an English teacher struggling to understand your Thai students, Learn Thai Language: Generation Next is the book for you. 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.

Click here to view sample pages.

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.

Unlike other Thai slang resources that focus on curse words and vulgar language which could get you into deep trouble in Thailand, we focus primarily on common “G” rated slang. As a guide, we have rated the Thai as (G) for general inoffensive words, (PG) for slightly stronger language, and (R) for words which should not be used except when with close friends. The English words and phrases are likewise rated.

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.

Order your copy today from our secure Createspace store, email us the receipt, and we will send you a free copy of our mini-ebook: Colloquial Language Expressions.

Buy the Trade Paperback edition from our Bookstore for $9.99*

Buy the PDF eBook version for only $4.99*

Buyers in Thailand. Buy the workbook edition for 225 baht (price includes shipping). Contact us at: living(at)livinghour.org to make arrangements for an ATM money transfer.

*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.

Ysaan Institute: Learn Online Courses in Thai & English

LivingHour.org is pleased to announce the establishment of the Ysaan Institute, a cyber learning center for students, scholars, and teachers in Thailand and surrounding countries. Our mission is to enhance the curriculums of schools and universities with unique online educational materials which can be integrated easily with existing courses of studies.

We are currently accepting proposals from university instructors who would like Ysaan Institute to host their courses, tests, quizzes, readings, videos, audio books, or other educational materials. We are particularly interested in proposals from university teachers involved in the fields of sustainable development, eco-travel, green living, community-level entrepreneurship, and the Thai, Isaan, and English languages.

Affordable digitalization services will be offered by the Ysaan Institute to those instructors who need help placing their educational material in a digital format which can be offered online.

We are currently working on several projects, the first two of which are the Science Scholars English Reading Certificate (SSERC) program and the Life Scholars English Reading Certificate (LSERC) program. Both programs take ESL learners slowly and systematically from a 3rd grade English reading level to the college level over a period of 30 weeks (two academic terms), with quizzes and English passages of 100 words, 250 words, and 500 words. To learn more please click on the following link:

Ysaan Institute (http://moodle.livinghour.org)

If you are a university or college instructor with a proposal (or if have any special request for learning materials), please contact us at: living (at) livinghour.org.

Free Thai Language Lesson: The Learn Thai Top 40

LivingHour.org would like to thank all the Thai language students and tourists of Thailand who have been purchasing the paperback and ebook versions of The Original Thai-English Cognate Dictionary and Learning Tool since its recent release.

If you have purchased a copy, please email your receipt of payment to us at: living (at) livinghour.org. And we will send you a free copy of the first Thai language lesson in our Learn Thai Top 40 series: Colloquial Language Expressions.

New customers can take advantage of our free offer too. If you have yet to purchase your copy of our Thai-English cognate dictionary (which is loaded with colloquial Thai sample sentences and Thai language tips), simply purchase today the PDF version of the Thai-English Cognate Dictionary for only $3.99.

Click on the following “Buy Now” button, which will take you to our secure PayPal shopping cart provided by e-junkie. After purchasing your copy, we will send you a free copy of the colloquial Thai language expressions mini-ebook too.

Buy The Thai-English Cognate Dictionary PDF eBook for Only $3.99

If you purchase our cognate dictionary and learning tool (ebook or paperback) through Amazon.com, Barnes & Noble, or any of our other retail partners please email us the receipt of your payment to receive your free learn Thai ebook.

Here are a couple samples from the learn Thai language books that you will be getting:

The Original Thai-English Cognate Dictionary & Learning Tool

bill n. – บิล – bin
Excuse me! We’ll take the bill now.
น้อง เช็คบิล ด้วย นะ
Náwng*, chék-bin dûay ná.
lit. young person, check-bill (polite) (soften)

*In restaurants you can call the attention of your waiter/waitress with the word náwng (น้อง), which is how an older person commonly addresses a young person. It is not to be used though if the server is clearly older than you.

Learn Thai Top 40: Colloquial Language Expressions

I’m just looking.
Doo cheuy cheuy.* (ดู เฉยๆ)
lit. look indifferent indifferent

*This is the expression to use with a salesperson when you don’t want to be bothered.

Thanks again for supporting LivingHour.org by purchasing our books and ebooks. All proceeds go to course and materials development at the Ysaan Institute: Sustainable Development Through Education.

Thai for Lovers Lesson: Flirting & Making Out in Thai

Due to popular demand, the new edition of our Learn Thai Top 40™ series is For Lovers & Friends: How to Flirt in Thai. In this book you’ll quickly learn 40 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 Learn 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 Learn 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

*All proceeds from book sales go to the development of lessons and course materials at the Ysaan Institute.

Learn Thai Heart to Heart Talk

The mini-ebook Heart to Heart Talk, the 2nd book in our Learn 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 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 sample entries:

Welcome to Heart to Heart Talk, the 2nd mini-ebook in our Learn 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 a sample 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.)

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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: Colloquial Thai Heart to Heart Talk

*All proceeds from book sales go to the development of lessons and course materials at the Ysaan Institute.

Learn Thai Top 40: Learn 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 Learn Thai Top 40™ series: Family Talk: Speaking to Thai Children. In this edition you’ll find 40 common 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 Learn Thai Top 40 and Learn 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

*All proceeds from book sales go to the development of lessons and course materials at the Ysaan Institute.

Thai-English Translation & Editing Service – Free Quote

LivingHour.org provides outstanding Thai-English and English-Thai translation services for corporations, small businesses, and private individuals at competitive rates. Every project is handled by a native Thai fluent in English and a native English speaker who can read and speak the Thai language. LivingHour.org’s experienced staff has consulted with and edited material for such large Thai advertising agencies and corporations as Young & Rubicam, Dentsu, King Power, East West Siam, and Blue River Diamond.

Whether it is a commercial script, press release, brochure, website, or private correspondence, you can be assured that our translations are accurate and precise, and capture the nuances of both the Thai and English languages. We are especially good at translating the colloquial aspects of spoken Thai and English, and are accomplished speech writers. In addition, we are familiar in the traditional and modern forms of Thai poetry and short stories, and welcome literary translations.

No project is too small or too large.

Prices vary depending on the translation project and the speed at which it needs to be delivered. If you would like a free quotation for a Thai to English or English to Thai translation, please send us the material and a message stating how quickly you need the translation finished by to:

living (at) livinghour.org

We also provide English editing services for Thai scholars, scientists, and academics who are working on dissertations or submitting papers to international peer-reviewed journals. We have broad English editing experience across the arts and sciences, including everything from pedagogy, business management, and social psychology to nanotechnology and biophysics. Contact us to today to let us know how we can help you complete your dissertation or successfully achieve publication.

Payments for our Thai-English translation and academic editing services can be easily made via ATM transfer or Paypal.

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