Learning Thai in three months

[MalcolmB]

Hi, I was directed here from the Visa section.

 

I am getting married later this year and would like to be able to do a speech in Thai.

 

I have just started learning the thai alphabet, chicken, egg, bottle, buffalo etc.

 

Any good tips about how to learn quickly. Online courses etc. My girlfriend speaks good English so I am lucky there, she will help me.

 

It should take about 3-6 months I think. 
 

 

[Smokin Joe]

17 minutes ago, MalcolmB said:

Hi, I was directed here from the Visa section.

 

I am getting married later this year and would like to be able to do a speech in Thai.

 

I have just started learning the thai alphabet, chicken, egg, bottle, buffalo etc.

 

Any good tips about how to learn quickly. Online courses etc. My girlfriend speaks good English so I am lucky there, she will help me.

 

It should take about 3-6 months I think. 
 

 

 

My advice is to:

first write your speech and get someone translate it to Thai. I would suggest short "bullet" statements rather than long flowery phrases that might be difficult to remember.

 

Memorize it and repeat it while getting feedback on pronunciation from a Thai. Repeat this at least 100 times focusing on getting the pronunciation correct.

 

If you need to read it you can transliterate it using spelling that YOU understand how to pronounce.

 

Don't expect anyone to understand you.

[MalcolmB]

4 minutes ago, Smokin Joe said:

 

My advice is to:

first write your speech and get someone translate it to Thai. I would suggest short "bullet" statements rather than long flowery phrases that might be difficult to remember.

 

Memorize it and repeat it while getting feedback on pronunciation from a Thai. Repeat this at least 100 times focusing on getting the pronunciation correct.

 

If you need to read it you can transliterate it using spelling that YOU understand how to pronounce.

 

Don't expect anyone to understand you.

Good advice.

I learnt piano as a kid. Repeat and repeat until it gets perfect is the way to do it.

[thrilled]

I would say if your young it isn’t to difficult to learn. If you’re old then the new iPhones have a translator built in. That would be a lot easier 

[cdemundo]

Any effort you make to learn Thai will be appreciated by Thai people.

Remember to say krap a lot, it is appreciated.

Say krap when you practice and you will say it when you speak to people.

 

Be humble and have a sense of humor and you will learn a lot.

Keep in mind if someone laughs at your efforts that they are laughing because it sounds funny, not to laugh at you.

 

 

[MalcolmB]

2 hours ago, thrilled said:

I would say if your young it isn’t to difficult to learn. If you’re old then the new iPhones have a translator built in. That would be a lot easier 

I don’t think a translator would cut it.

i want to be able to hear what is being said, and social events etc

[SiSePuede419]

I don't think you can teach Thais in three months that they want to listen to a Farang speak. 😁

[Confuscious]

On 5/30/2024 at 10:28 AM, MalcolmB said:

Hi, I was directed here from the Visa section.

 

I am getting married later this year and would like to be able to do a speech in Thai.

 

I have just started learning the thai alphabet, chicken, egg, bottle, buffalo etc.

 

Any good tips about how to learn quickly. Online courses etc. My girlfriend speaks good English so I am lucky there, she will help me.

 

It should take about 3-6 months I think. 
 

 

 

Start learning the words you will use the most, such as:
- How much sin-sod will I need to pay for you?
- How much gold do your mother asks for marrying with you?

- How much will your family will ask on a daily base?
- In what bar you learned to speak Thinglish?
- Etc.

[Chris Daley]

Reading isn't speaking.  Left hemisphere of the brain:

 

 

 

[Bohemianfish]

I've used the services like Thaipod101 and Pimsleur. YT resource. I may be too old to absorb the ability to effectively read in any major capacity.

 

Having learned Chinese, Korean (fluently) and German, its just practice and memorizing and tuning into how people speak. Eventually, you'll pick it up.

[Tookea]

@MalcolmB you are to be commended, your heart is in the right place.

Unfortunately this is doomed to failure - as @Smokin Joe points out no Thais will understand you.  Really. You are going to stress yourself out for nothing; I tried this and in the first sentence or two I went off-road and it was trash from that point on.

Your girlfriend most likely has a Thai friend with decent English language (preferably speaking and reading). Let her give it. Spend an evening going over this with her (you may have to pay a bar fine)  Damn, I wish I had done this ...

[MalcolmB]

Failure is not an option.

If other people can do it I can to.

 

I am already up to กขคฆงจฉ

 

My NZ mate says you will fail if you do not learn the alphabet first.

 

Maybe that is where you went wrong.

 

Ps i assume there is no keyboard key for the bottle and the person as they are not used anymore?

[ColeBOzbourne]

I say just get up and wing-it with no preparation at all. It'll be from the heart, and more adventurous. Catch everyone off guard as you rise to your feet and start speaking in tongues. Everything will turn out fine...trust me.

[Smokin Joe]

1 hour ago, MalcolmB said:

Ps i assume there is no keyboard key for the bottle and the person as they are not used anymore?

 

My dual language keyboard has both of the obsolete consonants on it (Bottle -  ฃ and  Person -  ฅ).

 

 

[josephbloggs]

8 minutes ago, Smokin Joe said:

 

My dual language keyboard has both of the obsolete consonants on it (Bottle -  ฃ and  Person -  ฅ).

 

 

Do you use your keyboard as an ashtray??

[mikecha]

4 hours ago, Confuscious said:

 

Start learning the words you will use the most, such as:
- How much sin-sod will I need to pay for you?
- How much gold do your mother asks for marrying with you?

- How much will your family will ask on a daily base?
- In what bar you learned to speak Thinglish?
- Etc.

marvellous  i take it you did the same   ummmmmmmmmmmmm

[Toby1947]

On 5/30/2024 at 4:28 AM, MalcolmB said:

Hi, I was directed here from the Visa section.

 

I am getting married later this year and would like to be able to do a speech in Thai.

 

I have just started learning the thai alphabet, chicken, egg, bottle, buffalo etc.

 

Any good tips about how to learn quickly. Online courses etc. My girlfriend speaks good English so I am lucky there, she will help me.

 

It should take about 3-6 months I think. 
 

 

Forget it these falangs who think they can speak Thai are deluded. They are laughed at behind their backs. 

[nrasmussen]

2 hours ago, MalcolmB said:

My NZ mate says you will fail if you do not learn the alphabet first.

 

Yes, first learn the alphabet and then the tone rules. Otherwise, getting the pronunciation correct will be difficult.

[MalcolmB]

15 minutes ago, nrasmussen said:

 

Yes, first learn the alphabet and then the tone rules. Otherwise, getting the pronunciation correct will be difficult.

Got it.

 

[UKJASE]

i did a small speech last year at our wedding, and did it in thai.  i got a few laughs in the right places, so some of it must have been understood by some 🙂

 

i wrote mine down in phonetic, and read it from my paper on stage

 

i am not sure you need to learn how to read thai quite yet.  just write what you want to say in english, get it translated, write it in phonetic, practice it to someone and see if they can follow what you're saying.... repeat, repeat

 

good luck. i was really pleased i did mine, but as always, a good wedding speech is always quite short

[1FinickyOne]

On 5/31/2024 at 2:53 PM, Toby1947 said:

Forget it these falangs who think they can speak Thai are deluded. They are laughed at behind their backs. 

Just not so... 

[BeastOfBodmin]

On 5/31/2024 at 2:09 PM, Smokin Joe said:

 

My dual language keyboard has both of the obsolete consonants on it (Bottle -  ฃ and  Person -  ฅ).

 

 

As does mine, but the Thai characters are on the left, not the right.

[MalcolmB]

On 6/1/2024 at 8:28 AM, UKJASE said:

i did a small speech last year at our wedding, and did it in thai.  i got a few laughs in the right places, so some of it must have been understood by some 🙂

 

i wrote mine down in phonetic, and read it from my paper on stage

 

i am not sure you need to learn how to read thai quite yet.  just write what you want to say in english, get it translated, write it in phonetic, practice it to someone and see if they can follow what you're saying.... repeat, repeat

 

good luck. i was really pleased i did mine, but as always, a good wedding speech is always quite short

Yeah thanks.

I was told it is better to learn the thai writing from the start so I am going with that.

i am up to บ now. I have also learned the basic vowels. ะา ิี ึื ุ ู

For my speech I might use the phonetics to help me though.

Good idea

[MalcolmB]

On 5/31/2024 at 2:53 PM, Toby1947 said:

Forget it these falangs who think they can speak Thai are deluded. They are laughed at behind their backs. 

Well t least they will not be laughing in my face.

[Deserted]

You can get it done in two weeks easily. Just learn 35000 words a day! I did it easily and it's no big issue that no one can understand a word I say. It's definitely the way to do it. 

[Bredbury Blue]

On 5/30/2024 at 10:28 AM, MalcolmB said:

Hi, I was directed here from the Visa section.

 

I am getting married later this year and would like to be able to do a speech in Thai.

 

I have just started learning the thai alphabet, chicken, egg, bottle, buffalo etc.

 

Any good tips about how to learn quickly. Online courses etc. My girlfriend speaks good English so I am lucky there, she will help me.

 

It should take about 3-6 months I think. 
 

 

So how has your thai progressed in the 6 months.

 

Presumably you are now married (congrats if you are) so how did your speech go?

 

Interested to know as a fellow student of thai.

[CaptainPeacock]

On 5/31/2024 at 2:53 PM, Toby1947 said:

Forget it these falangs who think they can speak Thai are deluded. They are laughed at behind their backs. 

 

TOTAL sh!te!

 

30 yrs ago b4 internet etc...a mate here spoke Thai FLUENTLY... he even corrected some Thai's on their sentence structure!

 

BOTTOM line is if you WANT to learn Thai badly enough YOU can do it!

 

...UP yours to the naysayers!

[MalcolmB]

On 1/10/2025 at 11:15 AM, Bredbury Blue said:

So how has your thai progressed in the 6 months.

 

Presumably you are now married (congrats if you are) so how did your speech go?

 

Interested to know as a fellow student of thai.

Ditched the marriage idea. Living in the UK she was a reasonable catch.

But living in Thailand I realized I could do much better.

 

Reading, writing and speaking going quite good. 
Problem is listening. ฟันไม่ทัน It is a bit frustrating. Conversation ok, but can’t keep up with TV etc.

 

How about yourself?

[ColeBOzbourne]

I'm interested in what level you are reading at? Six months into learning I was reading very simple children's books. Now I read at middle school level. For me, speaking and reading are going well. I read silently much better than reading outloud. Listening is a big challenge and sometimes frustrating. My writing skills are embarrassing. 

 

I'm also wondering about "ฟันไม่ทัน". Is this a misspelling or a slang term I've not heard? Did you mean "ฟังไม่ทัน"? I often use "ฟังไม่ออก" as well.

[MalcolmB]

34 minutes ago, ColeBOzbourne said:

I'm interested in what level you are reading at? Six months into learning I was reading very simple children's books. Now I read at middle school level. For me, speaking and reading are going well. I read silently much better than reading outloud. Listening is a big challenge and sometimes frustrating. My writing skills are embarrassing. 

 

I'm also wondering about "ฟันไม่ทัน". Is this a misspelling or a slang term I've not heard? Did you mean "ฟังไม่ทัน"? I often use "ฟังไม่ออก" as well.

Yes misspelling. 
listening is the hardest by a mile.

 

i probably read as good as a 6 year old. I often don’t know what the words I am reading mean. I struggle with newspaper reports.
I have found continual revision to be the best way, although it can be boring.

panthip is quite interesting and easier to follow.