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INTRODUCTION

Thai: Think Simple Sentences

Thai is unlike English in many ways. You may be afraid of Thai at first because of the tones and many odd sounds we do not have in the English language but Thai sentences are very easy.

Most Thai people do not expect a foreigner to be able to speak Thai language. However, they are always surprised if you can say a few sentences. With a fair amount of survival phrases, you will find it a lot easier to get discount at the markets, to order food and to travel around Thailand.

Note: Please read through the rest of this Introduction to help you understand that Thai is a tonal language and if you say a word correctly but with the wrong tone you will not be understood. You need this essential background on tones and odd character sounds in order to communicate.

Sound system and pronunciation guide

In this introductory section, you will find guidelines for the correct pronunciation of each Thai vowel and consonant. Throughout the book, each time a Thai word or phrase is used, romanized pronunciation is presented in parenthesis (….), and also a hyphen mark “–” is included for a syllable break within a multi-syllable word.

THAI CONSONANTS

There are 44 consonant characters in Thai representing 20 consonant sounds.

THAI VOWELS

There are 18 single vowels in Thai. Thai vowels have two “sounds”; short and long.

1. Short vowels

There are nine “short” vowels:

2. Long vowels

Each of the short vowels above has its long counterpart:

Note: The letter “อ” in Thai can be pronounced a, e, i, o, or u, depending on where it appears. For example:

อ่าน àan	/a/ as in at
เอ็ด èt	/e/ as in egg
อิ่ม ìm	/i/ as in it
อ้วน oûan	/o/ as in on
อุ่น ùn	/u/ as in up

ENDING

When these consonants appear at the end of a word, they are not voiced aloud.

TONES

Thai has only five distinctive tones; mid, low, falling, high, and rising. They all carry tone marks except for mid-level tones. The pitch of a particular word changes its meaning.

How a Thai sentence works

Thai grammar is very simple when compared with English or other European languages. Basic Thai word order is regular with every sentence structured by “subject-verb-object” order like English. But most Thai words are not modified or conjugated for tense, person, possession, singular or plural, gender, or subject-verb agreement. Also, determiners such as a, an, or the are not used.

POLITE PARTICLES (KHÁ/KHÂ/KHRÁP)

These particles are often used to end a sentence in order to make an utterance sound very polite and respectful, as well as vary the level of formality.

• The word khâ (for women) is used for statements, commands, and also used alone as a polite way to answer “yes.”

• khá (for women) is used at the end of a question.

• khráp is a neutral ending for men to use in any situation.