Thai phrasebook
Photo: Fobos92, CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons
Thai (ภาษาไทย phaasǎa Thai) is the official language of Thailand, and also spoken by the Thai diaspora around the world.
Thai, and the closely related Lao, are members of the Tai-Kadai language family. Several dialects are spoken in distinct regions of the country, spawning primarily Central, Northern, and Southern variants. Additionally, in the Northeast, Isaan is spoken; virtually identical to Lao. The Central dialect, spoken around Bangkok is taken to be the standard, and is used in all news broadcasts.
As a Buddhist country, the Thai language has been strongly influenced by Sanskrit and Pali, and numerous words from those languages can be found in Thai. Due to a long history of Chinese immigration to Thailand, the Thai language also contains a large number of loan words from various Chinese dialects, especially Teochew, most evident when it comes to culinary terms. There is also a large number of loan words from American English for modern concepts due to heavy post-World War II American influences.
Pronunciation guideThai is a tonal language of five tones: Mid, Low, Falling, High, and Rising.
GrammarBasic Thai grammar is fairly straightforward. Word order is subject-verb-object, as in English. Nouns and verbs do not change, and there are no plurals or grammatical genders.
Phrase listNote that the polite suffix ครับ khráp (for men) and ค่ะ khâ (for women) can and should be attached to all phrases when talking with strangers. The suffix depends solely on your gender.
Sources and licences
- Guide text adapted from the Wikivoyage article "Thai phrasebook" by its contributors, available under CC BY-SA 4.0. Read on Wikivoyage · Contributors · CC BY-SA 4.0
- Photo: Fobos92, CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons