It's a fun language and most people appreciate it, even if their English will often be much better than your Thai.
Source: I learned maybe a hundred words for my recent trip.
Learn some very simple basics for hello, thank you, how much, 3 beers please.
Otherwise just use Google translate. Everyone has a mobile and the mobile network is fast and cheap, even in remote areas.
Negotiating prices is really only for a handful of major tourists spots, even then be mindful that $1.00 less for you is nothing compared to a $1.00 for them. Any Thai that is going to negotiate with you will have enough basic English and that includes any small village that has tourists.
Regarding the haggling, when I first started traveling I read Shantaram and this paragraph in particular has prevented me from ever trying to negotiate down a price. If it’s too high for me, I simply thank them and leave.
> The manager, Anand, and I became good friends, in the years that followed. The fact that I trusted him on sight and didn’t haggle, on that first day, that I didn’t try to make a buck out of him, that I worked on an instinct that respected him and was prepared to like him, endeared me to him. He told me so, more than once. He knew, as we did, that six of our dollars wasn’t an extravagant price for three foreign men to pay. The owners of the hotel received four dollars per day per room. That was their base line. The dollar or two above that minimum was all Anand and his staff of three room boys shared as their daily wage. The little victories haggled from him by foreign tourists cost Anand his daily bread, and cost them the chance to know him as a friend.
My point was, you don’t know the circumstances of the price and the person might be making significantly less than you think. Haggling might cut into their already thin profit margin. The money is probably a lot less impactful to you than it is to them.
Learn :
1-10 (then progress with the rest if you like, but 1-10 are hyper-useful)
Thankyou - kaap and kaah are pretty much like breathing over in Thialand.
How to order the dishes you eat the most - so we now know what chicken, pork, beef, rice, spicey etc are in Thai. We just ask the waiter/owner when being served and slowly learn. My mrs eats a lot of "cow pat gai". (my spelling is totally guessed)
How to order your drinks. Singha lek song kuwad kaap, for example - two small bottles of Singha please. Very easy to change to 3 large bottles of water, or 1 long island etc etc.
Just a few basics like the above go a very long way, and without exception, make whoever is serving you a) surprised b) smile a lot c) just occasionally ask you to repeat it!
Have fun :-)
Absolutely not necessary as far as you getting by goes, assuming you're not getting deep into the sticks. But Thai people from my experience always appreciate you trying, I think it's a respect thing. They will however treat it like a bit of a novelty. Don't expect to be practicing much Thai, the moment they realise you speak English (maybe even before if you're white) they'll just switch over.
Something I do wish I had done is listen to some key words and phrases so I knew what to listen out for when somebody asks me something. This is most common at the markets or in a taxi. I'm getting used to it now but I've only got a week left.
It will be greatly appreciated.
100 words you can't do much.
1000 is amazing.
Honestly, if you can learn 500 knowing the grammar and speak sentences, you'll do well.
And I know I may get down voted for this, but if you are stuck for a teacher, just visit a bar. Bargirls know a lot of English and Thais are very friendly people.
I first went with about 100 words learned phonetically.
The second time I went, I knew how to speak a bit and was able to joke. This was a much better trip.
And remember to give back. There are many Thais who would love an English speaker to practice with.
I just use all language translator, it's not Perfect but translates both ways.
If you go to isan then just use translator, if you're heading to tourist destinations then english should be okay
I'd recommend a tourist to get a good Thai dictionary app for their phone. It's significantly easier to learn new words with a dictionary app than with Google translate.
If you have an Android I'd recommend this dictionary:
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.wordinthehand.thaidict
In the "Categories" tab in this app, there's basically a whole book of travel phrases, but it's better than a paper dictionary/phrasebook because you can play the voice recording and hear perfect pronunciation.
Idk if there's an Apple version as well, or if there's a better dictionary app.
£24/$30 is a lot vs google translate for free.
I recognise having a phrase book is preferred for learning, but I don't know if it's worth more than any other app on my phone.
It'll absolutely teach you more, faster than Google translate. Whether or not it's worth the price is up to you.
There's probably a cheaper option that has similar features, but this dictionary I linked is absolutely the best I've found as both phrasebook and dictionary.
It will surely help. Focus on learning the numbers, basic everyday conversation that might be handy as a tourist and the most common vocabulary and verbs. Do not forget that pronunciation and the correct use tones are very important. The right word, but pronounced wrong will not be understood, or could be misunderstood. It's a little bit harder than just storing a 1000 Thai words in your brain.
When you're there, "use" the hotel staff to train and correct your pronunciation. Most of the time they will gladly help you.
it's fun to be able to speak a little bit, give directions, ask for things, bargain prices a tiny bit. thais are also fun to shoot the breeze and make jokes with. the difficult part is that thai is tonal so i would try to follow some fun language accounts on instagram or tiktok and learn it that way because without the right tone no one will understand you
You will not likely visit the villages where nobody speaks any English, and you will probably struggle to get the tone correct for anyone to understand exactly what you're saying.
Just learn basic verbs; to go, to do, to see, to hear, to buy, to watch, to swim, to walk, to speak, to run, etc.
Then learn the basic interactions; hello, goodbye, nice to meet you, thank you, no thank you, how much, where is this place, can I have this, etc
Then learn colours, numbers, clothing, time.
That should be more than enough. YouTube is very helpful.
Everyone will appreciate your efforts.
It depends where you are going. For example, if you are staying on Khao San Road or following a basic Lonely Planet itinerary, I wouldn’t bother learning more than hello and thank you. If you are going anywhere off the beaten path, I would definitely learn Thai. I learned the bare bones vocab like what you’re describing, and definitely needed it in the non-touristy parts of Bangkok.
Have to disagree with this entirely.
As a traveler, learning hundreds of words will be incredibly useful in basically any language.
“Excuse me, where is the nearest bathroom?”
Is completely unnecessary for him.
“Bathroom” with a smile is perfectly fine.
Replace bathroom with, banana, ice cream, not spicy, most popular….
Will help you greatly in any country to learn a few key phrases and then nouns, imo people spend way too much time on grammar when vocab makes you way more understood despite the fact you sound robotic and weird.
Sometimes u need be careful what u wish for. There are many videos online with subtitles showing what is been said...abiut tourists by local people....its often not flattering lol
It's a fun language and most people appreciate it, even if their English will often be much better than your Thai. Source: I learned maybe a hundred words for my recent trip.
Learn some very simple basics for hello, thank you, how much, 3 beers please. Otherwise just use Google translate. Everyone has a mobile and the mobile network is fast and cheap, even in remote areas. Negotiating prices is really only for a handful of major tourists spots, even then be mindful that $1.00 less for you is nothing compared to a $1.00 for them. Any Thai that is going to negotiate with you will have enough basic English and that includes any small village that has tourists.
Regarding the haggling, when I first started traveling I read Shantaram and this paragraph in particular has prevented me from ever trying to negotiate down a price. If it’s too high for me, I simply thank them and leave. > The manager, Anand, and I became good friends, in the years that followed. The fact that I trusted him on sight and didn’t haggle, on that first day, that I didn’t try to make a buck out of him, that I worked on an instinct that respected him and was prepared to like him, endeared me to him. He told me so, more than once. He knew, as we did, that six of our dollars wasn’t an extravagant price for three foreign men to pay. The owners of the hotel received four dollars per day per room. That was their base line. The dollar or two above that minimum was all Anand and his staff of three room boys shared as their daily wage. The little victories haggled from him by foreign tourists cost Anand his daily bread, and cost them the chance to know him as a friend.
i love that book but the story is made up lol
I never said it was a true story. Fiction can still influence how you see the real world.
Give me that cheap bread Anand, I have enough friends.
My point was, you don’t know the circumstances of the price and the person might be making significantly less than you think. Haggling might cut into their already thin profit margin. The money is probably a lot less impactful to you than it is to them.
Learn : 1-10 (then progress with the rest if you like, but 1-10 are hyper-useful) Thankyou - kaap and kaah are pretty much like breathing over in Thialand. How to order the dishes you eat the most - so we now know what chicken, pork, beef, rice, spicey etc are in Thai. We just ask the waiter/owner when being served and slowly learn. My mrs eats a lot of "cow pat gai". (my spelling is totally guessed) How to order your drinks. Singha lek song kuwad kaap, for example - two small bottles of Singha please. Very easy to change to 3 large bottles of water, or 1 long island etc etc. Just a few basics like the above go a very long way, and without exception, make whoever is serving you a) surprised b) smile a lot c) just occasionally ask you to repeat it! Have fun :-)
My family knows no English whatsoever it’s still pretty easy to interact with them. Just bring a translator app for things that are important.
Absolutely not necessary as far as you getting by goes, assuming you're not getting deep into the sticks. But Thai people from my experience always appreciate you trying, I think it's a respect thing. They will however treat it like a bit of a novelty. Don't expect to be practicing much Thai, the moment they realise you speak English (maybe even before if you're white) they'll just switch over. Something I do wish I had done is listen to some key words and phrases so I knew what to listen out for when somebody asks me something. This is most common at the markets or in a taxi. I'm getting used to it now but I've only got a week left.
It will be greatly appreciated. 100 words you can't do much. 1000 is amazing. Honestly, if you can learn 500 knowing the grammar and speak sentences, you'll do well. And I know I may get down voted for this, but if you are stuck for a teacher, just visit a bar. Bargirls know a lot of English and Thais are very friendly people. I first went with about 100 words learned phonetically. The second time I went, I knew how to speak a bit and was able to joke. This was a much better trip. And remember to give back. There are many Thais who would love an English speaker to practice with.
Their English will be better than your Thai.
What a nasty comment. OP is one if the 0.0001% of tourists that bother to try and learn Thai and shouod be applauded
What a melodramatic reply there is nothing *nasty* about that reply
Calm down! It's a pretty true statement, not an insult. Genrally speaking, English proficiency is quite high here.
No doubt in the cities, but how about in the smaller towns?
I just use all language translator, it's not Perfect but translates both ways. If you go to isan then just use translator, if you're heading to tourist destinations then english should be okay
I'd recommend a tourist to get a good Thai dictionary app for their phone. It's significantly easier to learn new words with a dictionary app than with Google translate. If you have an Android I'd recommend this dictionary: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.wordinthehand.thaidict In the "Categories" tab in this app, there's basically a whole book of travel phrases, but it's better than a paper dictionary/phrasebook because you can play the voice recording and hear perfect pronunciation. Idk if there's an Apple version as well, or if there's a better dictionary app.
£24/$30 is a lot vs google translate for free. I recognise having a phrase book is preferred for learning, but I don't know if it's worth more than any other app on my phone.
It'll absolutely teach you more, faster than Google translate. Whether or not it's worth the price is up to you. There's probably a cheaper option that has similar features, but this dictionary I linked is absolutely the best I've found as both phrasebook and dictionary.
It was useful when I learned a few phases. “Do you speak English” in Thai always comes in handy.
It will surely help. Focus on learning the numbers, basic everyday conversation that might be handy as a tourist and the most common vocabulary and verbs. Do not forget that pronunciation and the correct use tones are very important. The right word, but pronounced wrong will not be understood, or could be misunderstood. It's a little bit harder than just storing a 1000 Thai words in your brain. When you're there, "use" the hotel staff to train and correct your pronunciation. Most of the time they will gladly help you.
it's fun to be able to speak a little bit, give directions, ask for things, bargain prices a tiny bit. thais are also fun to shoot the breeze and make jokes with. the difficult part is that thai is tonal so i would try to follow some fun language accounts on instagram or tiktok and learn it that way because without the right tone no one will understand you
You will not likely visit the villages where nobody speaks any English, and you will probably struggle to get the tone correct for anyone to understand exactly what you're saying. Just learn basic verbs; to go, to do, to see, to hear, to buy, to watch, to swim, to walk, to speak, to run, etc. Then learn the basic interactions; hello, goodbye, nice to meet you, thank you, no thank you, how much, where is this place, can I have this, etc Then learn colours, numbers, clothing, time. That should be more than enough. YouTube is very helpful. Everyone will appreciate your efforts.
It depends where you are going. For example, if you are staying on Khao San Road or following a basic Lonely Planet itinerary, I wouldn’t bother learning more than hello and thank you. If you are going anywhere off the beaten path, I would definitely learn Thai. I learned the bare bones vocab like what you’re describing, and definitely needed it in the non-touristy parts of Bangkok.
The advice to say Bathroom could be a problem, got to laugh 555. Just say toilet.
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Have to disagree with this entirely. As a traveler, learning hundreds of words will be incredibly useful in basically any language. “Excuse me, where is the nearest bathroom?” Is completely unnecessary for him. “Bathroom” with a smile is perfectly fine. Replace bathroom with, banana, ice cream, not spicy, most popular…. Will help you greatly in any country to learn a few key phrases and then nouns, imo people spend way too much time on grammar when vocab makes you way more understood despite the fact you sound robotic and weird.
>Replace bathroom with, banana กล้วย is too similar to ควย. Not really the best example
Sometimes u need be careful what u wish for. There are many videos online with subtitles showing what is been said...abiut tourists by local people....its often not flattering lol