Excellent English-thai Dictionary

[meadish_sweetball]

Finally there is an up-to-date English - Thai dictionary of international standard. I bought it yesterday and was really impressed with the thorough work they have put in. The project was coordinated by and chiefly conducted at Chulalongkorn University in Bangkok.

The English entries in the dictionary were taken from Oxford's English-German dictionary.

So what is so special about this dictionary then? Well, the number one point has to be the usage examples, phrases and sentences that clearly illustrate when it is appropriate and not appropriate to use a certain connotation of a word.

The word 'make', just to take an example, covers almost two entire pages listing all of the word's various connotations such as

construct ทำขึ้น , สร้าง (บ้าน เขื่อน ปัญหา ฯลฯ); ตัด (เสื้อผ้า); manufacture ผลิด ; create ก่อ (มนุษย์) ; prepare เตรียม (อาหาร); ต้ม (กาแฟ)

and on and on and on. I type Thai far too slowly to be able to list the entire entry within any reasonable amount of time, but I hope you get the idea.

Another testament to it being a 21st century dictionary is that the Thai translations actually give accurate and idiomatic examples of coarse/street language in the Thai context. Looking up the word f*u*c*k will clearly illustrate that.

This gem is well worth the 990 baht I paid for it at Suriwong Book Centre in Chiang Mai.

Details for prospective buyers:

Title: Oxford-River Books English-Thai dictionary

Chief editors: Prima Mallikamas, Narisa Chakrabongse, Paisarn Piammattawat

Published in 2004 by

River Books Co., Ltd.

396 Maharaj Road, Tatien,

Bangkok 10200

Tel: (66 2) 622-1900 Fax: (66 2) 225-3861

E-mail: [email protected]

www.riverbooksbk.com

Distributed in Thailand and Southeast Asia by

D.K. Today Co., Ltd.

15/234 Soi Sua Yai Uthit, Tachada Phiek Road,

Lardyao, Chatuchak, Bangkok 10900

© Oxford-River Books English Thai Dictionary Oxford University Press and River Books 2004. Under license from Oxford University Press.

ISBN 974 8225 70 4

Printed and bound in Thailand by Sirivatana Interprint Public Co., Ltd.

[Jack Jones]

Sounds like a quality book Meadish. I'll have to make a trip to Asia Books next time I'm in Bangkok

[Ajarn]

Does it have phonetic spelling and tone markers?

[ponder]

Meadish Sweetball you are my hero!

I have been looking for a dictionary like this for some time.

I have posted here and on learningthai.com asking if anyone could recommend a good English-Thai dictionary but there did not seem to be one. Most have one-word translations with no explanations or examples of use.

I have copied and pasted your post onto learningthai.com because I think lots of users of that site will be pleased to hear of this publication.

Thanks again.

[meadish_sweetball]

Unfortunately there are no phonetics or tone marks for the Thai as the dictionary is directed primarily at Thai students of English.