Thai Handwriting

[Beanster1]

Hi All,

I've been told my Thai handwriting looks like a 5 year-olds. Does anyone else have this problem? I tried to make it more fluid once and I was told I wasn't writing the heads properly, even though everyone could read it ok! (I thought it looked good!)

It's also really difficult to change the way you write, try doing it in English?

Short of starting form scratch, anybody got any suggestions?

Cheers

Beanster1

Ps, Been reading the forums for ages, but this is my first post!

[loong]

If your Thai writing is like a 5 year old's then it is probably readable.

I find it impossible to read the majority of adults' Thai handwriting.

My gf used to write letters, but I had to tell her that unless she wrote really tidily or had it printed it was impossible for me to read!

[Boon Mee]

I can't read 99% of Thai handwriting either. I have to ask my wife to rewrite most everything she leaves for me.

But what the he11, unless it's a grocery list or something similar, everything is written on a computer these days.

[meadish_sweetball]

Hi All,

I've been told my Thai handwriting looks like a 5 year-olds. Does anyone else have this problem?  I tried to make it more fluid once and I was told I wasn't writing the heads properly, even though everyone could read it ok! (I thought it looked good!)

It's also really difficult to change the way you write, try doing it in English?

Short of starting form scratch, anybody got any suggestions?

Cheers

Beanster1

Ps, Been reading the forums for ages, but this is my first post!

The AUA textbooks for reading and writing have practical advice for how to speed up your Thai handwriting and make it follow the generally accepted rules. I am at the same stage as you, carefully emulating the printed version... Apart from reading the advice in the AUA books, the only way to go, I suspect, is practice, practice, practice... Remember how long it took you as a kid to develop your handwriting in your own language...

[RDN]

Hi All,

I've been told my Thai handwriting looks like a 5 year-olds. ......

Ps, Been reading the forums for ages, but this is my first post!

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Welcome to the forum! My g/f tells me that mine is "suai", but maybe she also means "like a 5 year old's"

I do like to write Thai, and have practised the letters using the book by Benjawan Poomsan Becker "Thai for Beginners". ISBN 1-8875-2100-3.

This book has lessons where you can trace around the outlines of Thai letters to practice how to write them. The book also tells you where to start and which way to go with each letter. Very useful.

I find it impossible to read the majority of adults' Thai handwriting.

My gf used to write letters, but I had to tell her that unless she wrote really tidily or had it printed it was impossible for me to read!

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Exactly the same for me. My g/f must write very slowly and carefully for me to understand her shopping list!

[Bobcat]

Try writing your letters smaller than you're used to - that will help your writing look less childish. Meadish is right, just keep at it and you'll speed up and improve over time. But for a quick fix, write smaller.

[boris]

Try writing your letters smaller than you're used to - that will help your writing look less childish.  Meadish is right, just keep at it and you'll speed up and improve over time.  But for a quick fix, write smaller.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Very good advice on quick fix, but of course practice is the real key.I have the same problem of childish Thai writing but then I have slightly childish English writing as well.A Canadian friend of mine has beautifully neat handwriting in English and his Thai writing is equally neat and tidy.I have often wondered whether there is a connection.

[Beanster1]

Try writing your letters smaller than you're used to - that will help your writing look less childish.  Meadish is right, just keep at it and you'll speed up and improve over time.  But for a quick fix, write smaller.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Very good advice on quick fix, but of course practice is the real key.I have the same problem of childish Thai writing but then I have slightly childish English writing as well.A Canadian friend of mine has beautifully neat handwriting in English and his Thai writing is equally neat and tidy.I have often wondered whether there is a connection.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Good point Boris! My English handwriting is ###### ugly!

Thanks for the tips everyone!

[ponder]

I asked (on learningthai.com) for examples of handwriting because I had seen only printed Thai. They scanned me some examples and these can be found at :

http://www.learningthai.com/handwriting.htm

There are examples of handwriting by Thai children aged 5 and 11. As I suspected, my own writing most closely resembled that of the 5-year-old, except that mine was not so neat.

There is also a very stylish-looking example of an adult's writing but I cannot make head nor tail of it!

It is interesting to see these examples.

[RDN]

I asked (on learningthai.com) for examples of handwriting because I had seen only printed Thai. They scanned me some examples and these can be found at :

http://www.learningthai.com/handwriting.htm

There are examples of handwriting by Thai children aged 5 and 11. As I suspected, my own writing most closely resembled that of the 5-year-old, except that mine was not so neat.

There is also a very stylish-looking example of an adult's writing but I cannot make head nor tail of it!

It is interesting to see these examples.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Mine is definitely like the 5 year old's ! But all the 11 year olds' are beautiful. And I too would have a lot of trouble trying to read the adult's.

[gburns57au]

I have been told I have neat Thai writing skills,

This due to the fact I didnt learn from the net but from a real teacher.....when I made errors, they were corrected and explained to me. I was then shown how to write the character properly.

In time like all, I took short cuts based on how I saw other people write...but this has not lessened the readers ability to understand my writitng.

Persist and where possible ask for corrections.....any learning is better than no learning......and practise....

[Spee]

I have been told I have neat Thai writing skills,

This due to the fact I didnt learn from the net but from a real teacher.....when I made errors, they were corrected and explained to me. I was then shown how to write the character properly.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

IMHO, this is a really key point. I just finished up the first of three terms in the Thai Beginners course at U of London. The way the courses are set up, handwriting and reading Thai script does not become a focal point until the intermediate courses start, which is after the 3 beginners terms.

Of course I can understand their rationale for focusing on basic phraseology and pronounciation with relatively minor emphases on reading and writing Thai script. But at the same time, I think it is also a shortcoming in the way the courses are delivered. I guess time has shown them that this is the best way to deliver the material.

I remember when I was younger (4th grade I think), I had a teacher who told us at the beginning of the year, that if we learned nothing else from her, we would all have very good penmanship. And she held true to that and my handwriting in English has always been very good.

One thing I've noticed with writing Thai script is that it seems to be very difficult for left-handers, of which I am one. Lefties often become "hookers" in that when learning to write the left hand tends to be placed in a hook over the top of the line being written.

Being used to that in English seems to make it difficult to reproduce some of the Thai letters and numbers. For example, with some letters where the little loop points toward the left, it is pretty easy to write. But for letters where the loop points to the right, my letters tend to all lean toward the right, which is abnormal.

As a result, I find it hard to keep my letters "square" and "upright". Very often, I find that my letters are narrow and tall and leaning to the right. I guess I need more practice and training.

Well, sometimes writing is good therapy and opens up the mind to new possibilities. As I was just finishing up this post, it dawned on my that I could buy some graph paper with fairly large boxes and use that to practice writing my letters, trying to make them fill up the box evenly without going outside of it.

Time to go to the store ....

[Peripheral]

I have been told I have neat Thai writing skills,

This due to the fact I didnt learn from the net but from a real teacher.....when I made errors, they were corrected and explained to me. I was then shown how to write the character properly.

In time like all, I took short cuts based on how I saw other people write...but this has not lessened the readers ability to understand my writitng.

Persist and where possible ask for corrections.....any learning is better than no learning......and practise....

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I'd be curious to se an example of your handwriting. Any chance you could scan one?

[loong]

The way the courses are set up, handwriting and reading Thai script does not become a focal point until the intermediate courses start, which is after the 3 beginners terms.

Maybe they consider that students faced with Thai script would find it rather daunting. This is a mistake as learning to read Thai certainly helps pronunciation

[gburns57au]

I have been told I have neat Thai writing skills,

This due to the fact I didnt learn from the net but from a real teacher.....when I made errors, they were corrected and explained to me. I was then shown how to write the character properly.

In time like all, I took short cuts based on how I saw other people write...but this has not lessened the readers ability to understand my writitng.

Persist and where possible ask for corrections.....any learning is better than no learning......and practise....

I'd be curious to se an example of your handwriting. Any chance you could scan one?

not at this time......you will just have to take my word for it...

[gburns57au]

The way the courses are set up, handwriting and reading Thai script does not become a focal point until the intermediate courses start, which is after the 3 beginners terms.

Maybe they consider that students faced with Thai script would find it rather daunting. This is a mistake as learning to read Thai certainly helps pronunciation

How did we learn english.....other than what our parents taught us, we started with the alphabet and then built vocabulary from there, Why would you not learn Thai the same way ???

[loong]

How did we learn english.....other than what our parents taught us, we started with the alphabet and then built vocabulary from there, Why would you not learn Thai the same way ???

Because English was the first language we learnt. At Birth we are starting from scratch.

[Spee]

Maybe they consider that students faced with Thai script would find it rather daunting. This is a mistake as learning to read Thai certainly helps pronunciation

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I think this is indeed the case. If the course were made too complex, then students would never return for subsequent sections. Also, the ones who do come back for intermediate courses are most likely sufficiently motivated.

I also agree with your point that the spelling helps with pronounciation. The generic transliterated word "kao" comes to mind. IIRC, there are about 8 different ways to speak the word (long and short vowels, middle, falling, rising and high tones) and each way means something completely different. If one understands the spelling and the tone rules, then it becomes evidently clear that each individual case is a different word with a different meaning.

I guess this is just that much more motivation to have individual self-study outside of class.

BTW, nice avatar!

[endlessnights]

my friend laughed when she saw me write my name.. I got all defensive, but she was like, no no it's very cute, like a childs handwriting

uhh.. thanks? at least it's legible!

it annoys me to DEATH the way thai ppl write! I can't read it!! I don't think I WANT to change.. I guess the more you see handwritten thai, the more ideas you can get.

one thing you can do is get rid of all the little circles (ok, most of them).. and just write more curvy.. for example.. yaw ying (sorry I don't know how to write it in english).. start off at the top like always, leave out the little circle, then write something like a backwards "3".. when you get the bottom, curve it then either go straight up for the right part or you can curve that a little too. uhhhh.. I'm sure that made no sense. but goodluck

Hi All,

I've been told my Thai handwriting looks like a 5 year-olds. Does anyone else have this problem?  I tried to make it more fluid once and I was told I wasn't writing the heads properly, even though everyone could read it ok! (I thought it looked good!)

It's also really difficult to change the way you write, try doing it in English?

Short of starting form scratch, anybody got any suggestions?

Cheers

Beanster1

Ps, Been reading the forums for ages, but this is my first post!

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

[Richard W]

yaw ying (sorry I don't know how to write it in english).. start off at the top like always, leave out the little circle, then write something like a backwards "3".. when you get the bottom, curve it then either go straight up for the right part or you can curve that a little too.  uhhhh.. I'm sure that made no sense.  but goodluck

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I think you mean yo yak ย, not yo ying ญ. You could go further, and let it roll onto its back (i.e. the left-hand side in the printed attitude).