ithelcome to an exciting journey into the fascinating world of Thai language and culture! Thailand is a favorite vacation paradise and enjoys one of the world’s fastest growing economies More than any other factor, the Thai people’s legendary friendliness makes Thai a language well worth learning. THAI FOR BEGINNERS... W teaches all four language skills—speaking, listening, reading & writing. ¥ is effective for independent self-study or classroom use. Y offers clear, easy, step-by-step instruction, building on what has been previously learned. ¥V is written in a brisk, interesting style by a native Thai speaker fluent in English and experienced in teaching the Thai language. THAI FOR BEGINNERS is the perfect language guide for your journey to the Land of Smiles—Thailand! Useful vocabulary Realistic conversations Hands on writing practice Seen Cone eee ee De are sm Thai to foreigners in Thailand, Japan and the United States, SAS Spies Gan Geese) eR NAD PsIntroduction Many people interested in learning the Thai language have trouble finding a good textbook. Thai for Beginners solves that problem. Thai for Beginners teaches the basic four language skills—speaking, listening (with the cassette tapes), reading and writing. The first part of each lesson teaches vocabulary and sen- tence structure. A vocabulary list with Thai spelling, transliteration and definitions in English appears at the beginning of each chapter. The transliteration system assists you with pronunciation while you are learning the Thai alphabet. Each student must learn to properly pronounce the tones either by listening to the tapes or with the help of a good Thai teacher. Someone should listen to and correct your pronunciation, especially during your early days of learning the language. Often, beginning students of Thai only want to learn con- versation. Perhaps, learning the alphabet seems too difficult when their main goal is to talk to someone using the Thai language. This is a big mistake! The phonetic Thai alphabet will assist even basic conversa- tion. Using the Thai writing system develops speaking and listen- ing skills as well as reading and writing. Wean yourself off of transliteration as soon as possible. You won’t regret the extra effort spent learning the Thai writing system. The second part of each lesson teaches basic reading and writing of the Thai language. It provides a guided step by step introduction to the consonants, vowels, tone rules, and other fea- tures of the language. Written Thai uses no space between words. In this text, however, we often separate the words with a space to help you read the Thai script more quickly.‘Uhe appendix features an introduction to the Thai alphabet and a summary of the Thai writing system for quick reference. Characteristics of the ‘Thai language different from English include: * There are no variant or plural forms for adjectives and nouns, * Adjectives follow the noun. In Thai we say ‘car red” (rd sii deeng) instead of ‘red car’. * There are no verb conjugations in Thai. We understand tenses from the context or from adverbs of time. * There are no articles (a, an, the). * There is no verb ‘to be’ with adjectives. “She is beautiful’ would be ‘She beautiful.’ (kdo suai) * Thai usually omits the subject of a sentence when it is understood from the context. * Thai is a tonal language. If the tone is not correet, you won’ t be casily understood, even if your pronunciation is otherwise perfect. This book is designed for beginners and those who want to improve their basic Thai. Help in learning more advanced conver- sation and reading can be found in hai for Intermediate Learners.” The Thai language grows increasingly more important. Not only is Thailand a favorite vacation paradise. it enjoys ane of the world’s fastest growing economies. These factors, combined with the Thai people's legendary triendlness, make Thai a language well worth learning!Thai for Beginners Copyright ©1995 by Paiboon Publishing Cinsinflawlwysda funn) Printed in Thailand All rights reserved Paiboon Poomsan Publishing 582 Amarinniwate Village 2 Sukhapiban Road 1, Bungkum Bangkok 10230 THAILAND 662-509-8632 Fax 662-519-5437 évinRulayndnfums 522 wy WENeUNIALIMNT 2 9. quinn 1 wadaqy MLM. 10230 T@ 662-509-8632 Unaems 662-519-5437 E-Mail: paiboon@thailao.com www.thailao.com Paiboon Publishing PMB 192, 1442A Walnut Street Berkeley, California USA 94709 1-510-848-7086 Fax 1-510-848-4521 E-Mail: paiboon@thailao.com www.thailao.com Cover and graphic design by Randy Kincaid Cover picture: Kanjana Saen-ong Kincaid Edited by Craig Becker, Ron Colvin II, Hal Schuster ISBN 1-887521-00-3 Printed by Chulalongkorn University Printing House May, 2004. [4708-012/3,000(2)] hutpy/www.cuprint.chula.ac.thThai for Beginners by Benjawan Poomsan Becker (iumaatin aut wwaine?) PAIROON nreilnes - 299 BAHT -Table of Contents Guide to Pronunciation Greetings; polile particles; yes-no questions: personal pronouns: cardinal and ordinal numbers; the That writing system; consonant classes: determining tones in written Thai middle consonants; long vowels: tone marks Lesson 2 “bpen’. ‘yuu’ (to be); more vowels; live and dead syllables; tone rules for middle consonants Lesson 3 Colors: ja (future tense); “dai? (can); more vowels: complex vowels; final consonants: Seven vowels that change their forms; tone rules for middle consonants (cont.) Lesson 4 Telling time; high consonants; tone rules for high consonants Lesson 5 Days of the week: months; tone marks with high consonants: low consonants introduced Lesson 6 “ne “yaak” (lo wants “gamlang’ (lo be... ing): fone rules for Jaw consonatits 39 él 87 \O7 [28Lesson 7 “dai-yin’ (to hear}, ‘jam’ (to remember}; “noon-lap’(to fall asleep); ‘maong’ (to look): tone rules for low consonants (cont.) Lesson & Body parts; everyday life; special 8; silent Lesson 9 Family and kinship terms; occupations: animals: how to use |; other features of written Thai Lesson 10 Comparisons; adjectives; classifiers Appendix I Summary of the Thai Writing System Appendix IT Test and Writing Exercise Answers 147 167 183 207 237Thai far Beginners ? Guide to Pronunciation Tones Because Thai is a tonal language, its pronunciation presents new challenges for English speakers. If the tone is wrong, you will not be easily understood even if everything else is correct. ‘Thai uses five tones. For example, lo pronounce a rising tone, your voice Starts at a low pilch and goes up (much like asking a question in finglish). The phonetic transliteration in this text book uses tone marks over the vowels to show the tone for cach word. Note that (he tone marks used for transliteration are different from those used in Thai script. ‘lone Marks ( Transliteration) Tong Tone symbol Example anicd None maa low x maa falling ® maa high # maa rising . maa Vowels Most Thai vowels have two versions, short and long. Short vowels are chpped and cut off at the end. Long ones are drawn out. This book shows short vowels with a single letter and long vowels with double letters Ca’ for short: ‘ua’ for long). The ‘Ww has no comparable sound in English. Try saying ‘u’ while spreading your lips mas wide « stnile as possible. If the sound you are making is similar to ene you might have ullered alter stepping on something disgusting, you are probably close!& Short & Long Vowels a aa i ii u uu u ant ee ee a like a in Alaska like a in father Hike i in up like ee in see like_oo in boot dike u in ruler dike u in ruler, but with a smile like a but longer like e in pet like a in pale dike a in cat like a in sad dike er in teacher Guide to Pronunciation fan - teeth maa - come sip - ten sli - four kun - you stun - zero hung - one mun ~ hand set - finish pleeng-song le - and deeng - red 13 - dirty withour the r sound like 9 but longer like Q in note like 0 in go like au in caught like aw in law Complex Vowels jaa - meet jon - poor joon -robber gd - island noon - sleep The following dipthongs are combinations of the above vowels. ai Pare ja ual ua ai vot ui co £0 mai - nol mao - drunk bia - beer dua- body Tua - boat ni Hike dooi by kui - chat reo - fast té0 - row adi sawi - sand aao—_kaao - rice jag tijao - sifeky ual rual - rich wai onal - sired an kool - wait oa] noar- butter iu hiu - hungry ceo CeO - Waist ceo 1éeu - alreadyThai for Beginners Consonants b as in baby ch as in chin d as in doit t asin fun g as in gold h ay in Honey j as in fet k as in kiss I as in love m as in money n as in need P as in preity t rolled like the Scottish r 8 as in sex ( as in tender w as in woman y as in you ng as in ringing dt uy in Stop bp us in spot bin - fly chia - name duu - look fai - fire gin - ear haa - five jet - seven kon - person ling - monkey mii - have naa - rice field pan - thousand tian - study sii - four tam - do wan - day yaa - medicine ngaan - work dlaa - eye bpai - go ‘The /dt/ sound lies between the /d/ and the A/, Similarly, the /bp/ is between /b/ and /p/. (Un linguistic terms, they are both unvoiced and unaspirated.) Unlike English, /ng/ frequently occurs atthe beginning of words in Thai. Thai people often do not pro- nounce the Af replacing iF with Ay Crian? will sound like lian’) When the Ay is part of a consonant cluster, itis oflen dropped com pletely. Ckrap’ will sound like "kap’.)10 Guide to Pronunciation Practice saying the words below while your teacher listens: Then have your teacher say the words and sec if you can hear the tones correctly. Mid Low Falling High Risin; _—————— maa - a maa maa te come hry dog mai mai mai mati mat inile Hes ne, Hot righi? sith glai = gla - - for near sai sai sai : sai akind uf fish ta wear intestine clear yap pa paa paa = paa fo take atone tent. we split ctonh elilf a kaao kaao kaao - kaao fishy news rie white : wat - wat - avold temple 2 sta sua 5 dual shirt fiver os yas yaa vat - mnedicrne don sramdueothier, wavs HSThal for Beginners i" Practice the Following Words A. Words with mid tones: le dit (&) - good Bs kon (#14) - person 3, jai a) - heart 4 aal (nw) - 10 he sity 5. kruu (#1) - teacher B. Words with low tones: ig nung cntta) - one 2 sti @ - four x jet (Lda) - seven 4. ja (a) - will Bt set (9a) - to finish C. Words with falling tones: Ts haa (¥)} - five 2. gaao (tf) - nine 3. nii (a) - this 4. chai Ct) - correct 5 mai (si) - not, no 1. Words with high tones: l faa ¢W) - blue 2. naam (sh) - water 3 chai (l4) - to use 4. ru) - to know 5. rak (in) - to love EK. Words with rising tones: 1 maa (vw) - dog 2 stung (ga) - tall a mange (He SRey = hook A, mou {v4} » pig sy, kdao (9°03) - whiters Guide to Pronunciation More About Tones, Short-Long Vowels, Similar Consonants and Vowel Sounds When you are not understood, often you are saying the tane wrong. However, the length of the vowel is also very important. Try to get the vowel length correct. This will help you to be understood better while you are still Icarning to master the tones. Practice saying the following words. Different Tone, Different Meaning lL. maa (N1) - to come maa Gh) - horse maa (WN) - dog 2. mai (ix) - mile mai (law) - new mai (13, 92)) - 0, to burn mai (HN) =, righe? mai (lan) — silk Be kao (atin) - knee kao (uit) = to enter kao (fin) - heAshe kao G21) animal horn 4, kaao (9112) - fishy kawo GI) = news Kaan ($79) - rice kau (099) - white 5 sii 14) - “a particle sit (BY four sli UR) ~ the classifier jor “rooth” si) ~ colorThai for Beginners 6. 10. glai glai ska sua sBa baa baa baa paa paa paa paa bpaa bpaa bpaa bpaa yaak yaak yaa yaa yaa bpuu bpuu naa naa naa mii mi mii (nay Cinay (Ba) i) (ua) (73) (1) (hy) (#1) () (a) (1) (@) ah) ah) ah - far - near ~ meet - shirt - tiger - bar - Shoulder - mad, crazy - to take along - to cut, to split - cloth ~ cliff - to throw - forest > aunt + father (of a Chinese Thai) (BEN) - 10 want to (gan) ay (ou) (uy a) 4) cw) (wth) (we) (i) caf (aly - diffieuit ~ medicine - don't - grandmother - crab - grandfather - rice field - face, season ~ thick - to have - dry noodle - hear18 Guide to Pronunciation 16. pet (fle) = spicy per (ents) - diamond 17 nal a) -in nar (ln) - where 18 wat (aA) - a cold wat (48) - temple 19. sai lt) = a kind of fish trap sai (ls) - to puton sai G8) - intestine sai (imy ~ clear 20, Saai (W918) - sured saai Gt) - to shake sdai (HL) - left saai (8H) date Short and Long Vowels Ts kao (2) - horn kaao (219) - white 2 kao (8) - fo enter kaao (211) - rice 35 jan (unt) - moon jaan (4) - plate 4. yang (ifs) - ver yaang (fs) - rubber 5: Kun {A - pote kuun (@t.i - tonnadtiply 6 sai flay ~ clear saai (OIL = date 7 mai (ky) = no maai mt) - widower 8 jak (Ses) - sewing jaak fan) - fron Machye 2 nat ft) - un baal Pid Mi 1) reo (Vy - We Tadao Ci ad = aboutThat for Baginners 15 Similar Sounds i. dil (#) - goo din - today 2 pai (iu) - leaf bpar (ey + logo 3 niu (4%) > mouse nguu fy) - snake 1 per fhm) - spicy bpct flay - duck 5 ting (a8 + bag wing (fs) - 10 6 kriang (faa) - machine — krang (9a) half ahs dao (kA) — - to guess dtao (499) - stove 8 non (fa) - mound, Rill ngon (4) - money 9, uur (9g) - came! aut (8A) - swollen 10 glua (nia) - to be afraid glue (Pe) ~ sult Practice the Following Sentences iR tao tam naa naa fon. (iwnsaa) ~ We plant rice in the rainy season. oe krai kaai kai gai. (lasmalabn) - Who sells chicken egys? 3 maai mai mai mai mai. (dibaale lade) - New wood doesn't burn, does it? 4. baan yiu glai glai. mai glai. (owadingey “ailsa, - The house is pretty near, not far. 5. saa yuu bon sda. A Aaariia Rey ~ The shirt is on the mat. sta yOu bon sta, (Beaguuiie) - the tiger ty on the mat. re Be The sdartis on the teer Sunny hon sta16 Guide to Pronunciation Irregular Tones The tone pronunciation of some common words has evolved and they are now usually pronounced differently from the way they are written in Thai script For example fal (di-chan) is usually pronounced ®4 idi-chan). ww (kao) is ‘was (mai) (the question particle) 19 usually pronounced fp (mai). usually pronounced (kao). In our transliteration system, we give the pronunciation most commonly used by modern Thai speakers. For example: Adu iv transcribed as di-cl 41) is transcribed ay kao, x : : v4N is transcribed ay mai. For poly-syllabic words, in normal speech, the tone of the initial syllable tends to become a mid tone. For example: ounds like aerai in normal speech. sa-waldii sounds like sa-witdii in normal speech.Lesson 1 eee polite particles; yes-no questions, personal pronouns; cardinal and ordinal numbers; the Thai writing system; consonant classes; determining tones in written Thai: middle consonants; long vowels; tone marksThai for Beginners botfii nang un kamsap 4 pom NN d-chanfehin Fu Aw) / Su kun ft chan Ze sa-watdii se sa-baai dii mdi/sa-baai dii ra eqineslia/ sueAvie sa-baai dii SUB yindii th daai ru-jak anenagin chén-gan inn k50-1001 awlny mai bpenrai “aitthula k3opkun taueoH la 6 krap ka/ ka ¢ mangstiu ar waite nangstu-pim wssonu naa: a wing bpaak-gaa alenea dinsso #urg bpde péentii sa-mul 4? mi fi nan wa, 19 A 9 Lesson 1 vi Vocabulary fome (male speaker) f you me (female speaker) name “Good day.”! “How are you?” to be fine Nice to meet you. Same here. it doesn't matter? se He, Thank you. “What about. polite particle (male speaker} polite particle (femate speaker)’ book newspaper watch, clock pen pencil bay mucip) wotebook thes thai20 Lesson 1 noon lis that (further away) a-rai xls what chai te yes mai ‘i no, not mai Wan a question particle4 chai mai Vehva ce FiGhL? raa/rt vn /9 or goo fi also kao-jai mai Linlelwy Understand? kao-jai inka (J) understand. mai kéo-jai ‘Laue (1) don't understand. -waldii can be used in greeting or leave-taking at any time of day or night 2. mai bpenrai has the following meanings: it doesn't matter: that’y afl right; not at all; it’s nothing; never mind: don't mention it; forget it; you're welcome, etc. 4 “krdp and ka/ ka” are used as a polite particles at the end of statements and questions. b, “yes” — when answering a question “yes?” — as a reply when called or spoken to ¢ d. particles placed after a name, title or kin term to address or attract the attention of someone. 4% mai Cora) and chai mai Uglva)are question particles placed at the end of sentences to form yes-no questions, eg. dil = goad dii mai = fs it good?Thai for Beginners: 2r Supa: sa-watdii ka. qm: BAN rie Hello. John: sa-watdii krap. qovu ain mtu Tfello, Supa: chan chau st-paa, kun chee a-rai ka. am: a fe qa am fa ass ar My name is Supa. What's your name? John; pom chau joon krap. yin-dii fli daai riiv-jak. ay §a aovu evu fue f TA Fan My name is John, Nice to meet you. Supa: chén-gan ka. ga: viufin ay Nice to meet you, too. Conversation 2. Somchai: sa-baai dii rau krap. mime: mind A wie atu How are you? Ginny: sa-baai dii ka. kun 1a _ka. awh wu & as am ay ay i'm fine. How about you? Somehai: pom g3o sa-baai dij. kdspkun krap. SUSE oN funn A OUR MIU Mn also fine. Thank vou. Note When proct ing dialogues such ay those abuve, ase the appropriate gender pariicles and pronouns fkrap and pom for males: KA Ka und di-chan ot chin firr jemnates}22 Lesson 4 bpra-yook qhelaa Sentences 1. Ac nii nangsde chai mai. §owtete ly laa Is this @ book? B: chai, nii nangstu. ‘ln A athe Yes, this iy @ book. 2. A: nan sa-mut chai mai : Suoye i lua : Is that a notebook? B: mai chai, nan mai chai sa-mut. ta de te li la oa No, that iy not a notebook. 3. At nit a-rai. & ala What is this? B: nan gra-bpao. Yu nteith hat iy a bag. 4. A: nli naa-li-gaa rin bpaak-gaa. Gower v8a whim dy this a watch or a pen? 8: nan bpaak-gaa. wa ouanm That is a pen. 5. A: kao-jai mai. vita len Do you understand? B: kao-jai. als Fes, Uf understand) mai kao-jai. ‘A ouls No, (F dont anaderstand).oe Thai tor Beginners 23 6. A: kdo-toot. aE Facitse sme. 1B: mai bpenrai. Ya oatluls That's all righi. ee koopkun, “eb Thank you. B: mai bpenrai. ¥ an ‘youd You're welcome. Notes: 1 The speaker decides whether io use the polite particle kyap ar ka at the end of a sentence depending on the tevel of politeness desired. Knip (for nica) alwavs keeps the same tone. For women, i is used when asking questions. and ka is sett when making « verement. a-baai dii mdi ka, (How are you?) (Pan fine} people greet cach other with bpen-ngai its, ey, Woman Ar si Moman Be sa-baai dti ka. A or of Thal (How is gedag?"] trstead of using sa-baai dil madi, 2. The subject of u sentence is often omitted when wulerstood from the context, eg. che kun sa-baai div mdi, s sa-buai di mit. few eve ven?) 2 pom sa-baai dit, = sa-baai dit, (f'p1 fine) £0 That has no direct “ves or “no” We simpty repeat the main verb or adpectve used mn the question AL ka Bs kav-ja, (Urideestaad.) eu yey mar. (Understand) Coal kia-ja (Nor understanc.) Be cerefid not ter use “chai” far "ves" and “mai chai” for “ne” : inte, Use then primarily when) the question es “bed mai 1 Phe tear does not use polite articles at the cad of the sentences nthe pracine seuence sections. You can add thear ir the appropriate or by vourseil Your specrin may sven rude and abrupt without «liberal sprinkling of polite particles, bur vou don't need te se then fier evere sentence24 jamnuan ‘u.4 0 suun 1 ming 2 song 3 saam 4 sii 5 haa 6 hok 7 jet Rg bpeet 9 10 I 12 13 20 2, 22 yii-sipssong 30 saamsip 31 saamsip-¢ 32 saamsipssong 40 Sii-sip 50 haa-sip 60 hoksip 70 jctsip 80 bpéetsip 90 gaao-sip 100 (nding) 139i 200 sdongraoi 300 saamrsoi Lesson Numbers fulde Susas ausny dau Hua Fituses sineu enndurda saNnaunas ff voRu aneu atu uueifiu unas Cufla) far aosioe oniag— Thai for Beginners 1,000 (nang) pan 2,000 songpan 3,000 saampan 10,000 (nang) maan 100,000 (ming) séen 1,000,000 (nang) laan 10,000,000 sip Idan 100,600,000 (ning) r3oi Jaan 1,000,000,000 (mang) pan laan 10,000.000,000 (ning) moun laan 100.000,000,000 (nang) séen Idan 1,000 13 23/5 42 Notes: .000,000,000 (nung) laan laan nang jut saam sSong seel saam suan haa sii gamlang sdong 25 Cafe) Waa nosvin sonwy (ay) wiia (atts) warm (afha) daw Audi (vtta) Fouts Catts) Wad (da) wud Cate) wars Catia) dna wdlsqaeny ROSLYN WAY Bnkasas 1. For ordinal numbers, add ti @) in front of cardinal numbers: cg. fi nung (nfl) = the first tii ssong (Anas) = the second fi saam (favu) = the third fii sip (lu) = the tenth 2. Far telephone numbers, 2 is sometimes pronounced as too (). e.g, 326-9452 iy read as saam-too-h gaao-sii-haa-too‘Test 1 Match the English words with the Tha: words, od. waite a.d-rai ests 2. book b. bpaakgaa saen> 3. pen emi 4 4 this d.di-chan fatu 3. Fomaie speaker) e.nae-ti-gaa wit ___ 6». alia fnan th 7. map g.pom AN name h.chiw $6 8, what i.gra-bpao ntesi 10. bag jenangste thee k. péentii unt igdo Al ‘Translate the following into English I. kun sa-baai dii mai. ea pure & Lei 1 3. nii nangstu-pim chai mai. & vilefedurt Is lan 4. kun chiw a-rai. eo fo oes a nan peentu ru dinsas. fs ase0Te Thai for Beginners Lesson 1 Reading & Writing 27 The Thai Writing System Thai uses an alphabet of 44 consonants, 32 vowels, four tone marks and various other symbols for punctuation, numbers etc. Although there ure irregular pronunciations, That is generally phonetic. It is pronounced the way it is written. Leaming to read and write Thai from the beginning has many advantages. Due to the fact that it is phonetic, you will be reinforcing your listening and speaking skills while learning to read and write. In fact, most people find that their pronunciation is more accurale when reading Thai script. Unlike many transliteration sys- tems, il incorporates all the clements of pronunciation— including tones and vowel length. The longer you rely on transliteration, the more time you waste reinforcing a writing system that will be virtually uscless in Thailand. Furthermore, transliteration is a confusing hodgepodge with almost as many systems as there are books about Thailand Put a fittle extra effort into leaming the alphabet now! Then you can use Thai script while studying conversation, reinforcing read- ing and writing skills that will be invaluable to you in Thailand. Consonant Classes Thai consonants are divided inte three classes— high, middle and low. Since it is one of the critical factors in determin- ing a syllable’s tone. you must knaw the consonant cluss in order to correctly pronounce what you have read. The names (high, middle and low) of the consonant cla: are completely arbitrary. For example, a low consonant may gen- erate a high tone and a high consonant can generate a low tone, cle28 Lesson 1 What Determines the Tone Consonant class; whether the initial consonant is high, middle or low. Vowel length: whether short or long. ‘Tone Mark: whether or not there is a tone mark placed above the initial consonant of a syllable. (If the consonant has a superscript vowel, the tone mark is placed above that vowel.) Final consonant: whether sonorant final or stop final.Thai for Beginners 29 Middle Consonants (pssnais) There are nine “middle” consonants in Thai as follows Consonant Consonant Name Sound fl tA goo gai (chicken) /of 241% — jpo jaan (plate) iif g) Bedi doo chd-daa(a kind of crown) /d/ ) uzgn dive bpa-dtak (a kind of spear) /dt/ ArrsssasHMwM 2 2D ALAN — doo dék (child) fd/ ALF — dios dido (turtle) /at/ U LU b00 bai-maai (lean [bf Juan bpso bplaa (fish) /op/ 8 1G 99 Aang (basin} /silent/ Nowe: J) and J) ure rare.39 Lesson 1 Practice Writing the Middle Consonan All the middic consonants ure written with one stroke ing near the @. Notice that you always start with the small circle lart- where there is one,Thai for Beginners AA doo deck32 Lesson? Vowels siz (sa-ra) Thai has two kinds of vowels: short and long. In_ this lesson we will learn the following long vowels. Every Thai syllable starts with a consonant (even if the consonant is a silent ©) /-/). Although the consonant sound comes first, the vowe! may be written before, above, below, after or around the consonant depending on the vowel. In the examples below, the dash repre- sents the place where the consonant should be written. Vowel Vowel Name Sound 4 sa-ra aa jaaf ach We Aen n as sa-ra ii hif 7 sa-ra wu fuuf k= sa-ra ee fee i sa-7a 00 foof Us sa-ra ai fai b-7 sa-ra ao faolThai for Beginners 33 Practice Writing the Following Vowels Use 6 /-/ as the consonant when practicing the following vowels. Always start with the small circle where there is one. Ove bao. -oLesson 1 ta (9 la 0 87 687 680 LanThai for Beginners 35 Read The Following Aloud bom fA oq in In th om 2 7 9 9 ta ly te om 3 mm & 9 ww Im ta om 4 om 4 @ iw la ta wer s wd yw ly Ww own 6. wm # yo ow Wd iW uh 7 2 6 Qg to to le om Tone Marks (Thai Script) Thai has four tone marks. When a tone mark is used, it is always placed above the initial consonant of the syllable. If the consonant has a superscript vowel, the tone mark is placed above that vowel. Tone Mark Name mai éek (lsion) mai too (itn) mai dtrii Clin) mai jat-dta-waa (lin)36 Lesson 1 Tone Marks With Middle Consonants With middle consonant syllables, all five tones are possible and all four tone marks can be used. Tone Mark Tone Name Tone Examples None siang saa-man — mid 1 aa) = siang éek low m (gaa) = siang too falling ™m (gaa) = siang dtrii high 11 (gaa) fo siang jat-dta-waa_rising AI aa) Read The Following Aloud Lo ommmn mm 2 fo AoA ff Al a ee 4. in iA uA LA oA s In ta WwW Wh 6 ln li WW Wi 7 6A brs bob37 Thai for Beginners we Re Ww we - we hs fice He a ie Oe es ede de a ge EEE Cer ES E'S ES E'S (2 2 Cc ic me a He Ww |S |W 2 >; *E 26 WE *E *E ® FQ PAD AAD A a tee Sy eG Stet SS Se S'S Se Soo So. 2S . i a i oie a a a a a a ay a a a * i LS a ie (IGG ig S/S 26S (Ss te (SCS ae “ae c eis as A 3 [Sg a, ce eG ss GeESGEegsesegadeaatae - ion Cc Cc i - eBSiGeS EERE EE Saaaaease ~SHontaa tu BCr ke ASH NK FH Br ow et ee eet ee en eR er ee ee ee a Se EN GT at PE ONLesson 1 Writing Exercise 1 Transcribe the following into Thai script. Use © and # for the /d/ and /dt/ sounds respectively. . daa U1. jai 2. goo 12. dtao 3. bai 13. 00 4, dtau 14. bpai 5. ao 15. guu 6. bpoo. 16. bOO 7. gao 17. jaa 8. fii 18. dao 9. ai 19. gii 10. bee 20. aaLesson 2 ‘bpen’, ‘yuu’ (to be); more vowels; live and dead syllables; tone rules for middle consonantsThai for Beginners bottii ssong too-ra-sap Traini too-ra-tat/tii-wii Tnavient/ #4 wen-dtaa wiHen ngen \34 dik/pétja-naa-ni-grom An/ wawUynTNn ruup/ruup-paap quU/qumw gra-daat nize dio Wr gaoii ind hong vas hSng-noon Vosuey h3ng-naam Yew baan thu bpen ity yuu of ao 187 nai ly bon uy dtaai ‘We ra-waang 3¢"i18 gap fu mai daai ‘ail muang flay kon Au unt le kamsap 7 44 Lesson 2 Vocabulary telephone television eye-glasses money dictionary picture paper table chair room bedroom bathroom house to be something to be somewhere (live, stay) to get, take, want in on under between and, with not town, city person42 kon tai avlnu kon laao fuN1I kon jiin Ausy kon yii-bpin audily kon a-mee-ri-gaa ueivtm kon fa-rangséet nuslS sve kon gao-li auinnual kon ang-gnit mudangy kon kaai nuts bpra-téet seine bpra-téet tai/muang tai Uszunelng/ ifoslne bpra-téet jiin Ussinety bpra-téet yii-bpan Useinedfily bpra-teet a-mee-ri-gaa . dazineawtn bpra-téet ang-grit Useunedongy paa-saa ae paa-saa tai aqwilne paa-saa ang-git mwifenqe fi 4 fini 44 finan fitu on Alin fiinai flu taang 119 saai the kwaa 911 ni 4 ae: nan “U Lesson 2 Thai Laotian Chinese Japanese American Frenchman Korean Englishman vendor country Thailand China Japan America England language Thai language English language at (over) here (over) there (over) there (further) where way left right this! that!Thai for Beginners noon Tin annii Sul annan Sutin an noon éuldu annai Sulvm tao-rai witli gi fi baat um don/donlaa on/mannirs yeen 1h tuk Qn peeng un yaak gn ngaai ‘8 maak wn rao/puak rao W90/ wantad kao un (igi) puak kao} wania Cwannin) man fu that (further away)! this one that one that one (further away) which one how much? how many? baht dollar yen cheap expensive difficult easy very, many we, us he, she, him, her they, them it 1. nii, nan noon are pronouns which can stand alone. nii, nan noon are adjectives which modify classifiers. e.g. 1, mii tao-rai. = How much is this? 2. annii tao-rai. = How much is this one? 2. You use tao-rai (Wvitlwi) , which means “how much”, without a classifier when asking about the quantity of uncountable nouns. But gii (f) which means “how many" must be followed by a classifier e.g. 1, anni taozai. = How much is this one? 2. anni gii baat. = How many baht is this one?Lesson 2 Conversation 1 Lek: di-chan bpen kon tai ka. kun bpen kon a-rai ka. ian: Au udu mu ins am udu mu ols as I’m Thai. What nationality are you? Tony: pom bpen kon a-mee-ri-gan krap. Ind a udu ny ounaiy ony I’m American. Lek: kun yuu fii-nai ka. iin: gm ag Mun ay Where do you live? Tony: pom yuu fii saanfraan_krap. Tre: ww og A mouvay Adu I live in San Francisco. kun 14 krap. Am ay Au And you? Lek: yuu fii grung-téep ka. tin: of ff onqainw fiz I live in Bangkok. Notes: 1. kon a-mee-ri-gaa or kon a-mee-ri-gan = American 2. grung-téep = Bangkok 3. yuu fii grung-téep literally means ‘I live at Bangkok’Thai for Beginners Conversation 2 Jim: an nii tao-rai_krap. au: dud ulus atu How much is this one? Konkaai: sii-sip baat ka. nwn: uy um fiz Forty baht. Jim: peeng maak. ay: uws own That’s very expensive. an nan gii baat krap. gut A ann fu How much is that one? Konkaai: saam-sip baat ka. aun: mNfu wan Fe Thirty baht. Jim: mai peeng. pom ao an nii. fa li uws aN ion dud That's not expensive. I take this one. Konkaaintk3opkun maak ka. AMT: YBUAM NIN Ae Thank you very much. Jim: mai bpenrai krap. au i utils atu You're welcome.46 Lesson 2 bpra-yook dselan Sentences 1. A: A: too-ra-sap you fi-nai. Tnafiwr og flu Where is the phone? : too-ra-sap yuu bon dtd. Tnafwri og un Tae The phone is on the table. > kun yuu fii-nai. Am oy Alun Where are you? : pdm yiu fii baan. aN oy 7 wy I’m at home. kao yuu fii-nai. weg lun Where is he? : kao yuu fi-nii. 7 0g AB Re is here. : hSng-naam yuu fii-nai. ome i Fos ag lw Where is the bathroom? : hdng-naam yuu taang saai. Fos ay ms he The bathroom is on the left. : kun bpen kon a-rai. nm iu aw ozls What nationality are you? : di-chan bpen kon a-mee-ri-gan. Ady ody ay oowitin Jam American. : kao bpen kon a-rai. woudy an orls What nationality is he?Thai for Beginners 47 B: kao bpen kon tai. wiudy aw ine He is Thai. A: kun taa-naa-ka bpen kon a-rai. Am omnes iu Ay orls What nationality is Mrs. Tanaka? B: kao bpen kon yii-bpin. wm oidunn diy She is Japanese. 3. A: an nij tao-rai. bud wintlus How much is this one? B: an nii SO. baat. dud 50 un This one is 50 baht. A: an noon tao-rai. Sultu uli How much is that one over there? B: 2,000 yeen. 2,000 Luu 2,000 yen. A: nan téo-rai. ty untlws How much is that? B: ni 6 don (laa). 6 mon (i774) This is 6 dollars. 4. A: too-ra-sap yuu bon dto chai mai. nsw eg un Taz Le law Is the phone on the table? B: chai, too-ra-sap yuu bon dto. Ve Tnsfwi og un Tas Yes, the phone is on the table. C: mai chai, too-ra-sap mai daai yiu bon dtd. Wis nsw log un Tite No, the phone is not on the table.48 Lesson 2 . A: puak kao bpen kon yii-bpun rau kon gao-lii. wana dunn gilw wise au ind Are they Japanese or Korean? B: puak kao bpen kon gao-lii. wan wa iu nw unanfi They are Korean. A: kun bpen kon tai chai mai. qm wy aw tne We Iva Are you Thai? B: chai, pom bpen kon tai. Veo onw udu nu ine Yes, I’m Thai. C: mai chai, pom bpen kon laao. io Id oww udu au ana No, I’m Laotian. A: paa-saa tai yaak mai. aq ‘ne eon ‘Ins Is Thai difficult? B: yaak. ui; Yes. (Difficult) C: mai yaak. ‘Vi ann No. (Not difficult) A: paa-sda tai ngaai. mn ne se Thai is easy. B: paa-saa tai mai ngaai. mm ne Wo he Thai is not easy. C: paa-saa ang-grit yaak. mw dang enn English is difficult. D: paa-saa ang-grit mai yaak. mm dengy lai wan English is not difficult.Thai for Beginners 49 9. A: an nii peeng. aud uns This one is expensive. B: an nii mai peeng. ‘bi uws This one is not expensive. 10. nangsua yuu ra waang dto gap gao- ji. wivfte ej aswhe Ts fu un The book is between the table and the chair. Notes: 1, ‘kun’ means “you”, and it is placed in front of people's first names to address them in a polite way. 2. ‘mai-daai’ is a negative form like ‘not’ in English, and is used with verbs. It also means ‘cannot’ (see lesson 3) and ‘did not’ (see lesson 7). @g. nangsiu mai _daai yuu bon dtd, (The book is not on the table.) pom_ma bpen kon yii-bpiin. (I'm not Japanese. ) 3. mai chai is a negative form like ‘no’ or ‘not’, and is used with nouns. e.g. pom mai-chai kon yii-bpun. (I’m not Japanese. ) 4. There is no exact ‘yes’ or ‘no’ in Thai. To answer ‘yes’, simply repeat the verb or the adjective used in the question. To answer ‘no’, put mai before the appropriate word (see sentence number 7).