Thai/english & English/thai Dictionary

[thaibebop]

Sorry if this is a repeat, but I didn't find a thread that suited my inquiry. I am in need of a good, not pocket, dictionary that contains Thai to English and English to Thai as well as readable Thai writing. I have a book now, not a dictionary and the Thai script is so small I can't make it out and everytime I try to write out what I think I know, I am wrong. I have seen some on-line, like Oxford and a few others, but I can't see inside them to know if they have what I need.

Thank you so much.

[thaibebop]

Oh please, someone suggest somthing. I am begging you guys.

I have to place an order as no stores here carry these books. This means that I will have to pay for what is shipped, even if it sucks. Does anyone know of any that are good ones. Oxford, maybe?

[briley]

Maybe the lack of reply is because there are so many variables?

I use a small english thai dictionary basically for the transliteration and I can carry it about, any simple one would do.

For Thai English I use the Se-Ed big one so the thai is big enough to read and went for one without transliteration so I have to practice reading Thai. Bit big to carry around.

Where are you? DK bookshop on the moat in Chiang Mai has an extensive range, or even Tesco has some books.

[thaibebop]

Maybe the lack of reply is because there are so many variables?

I use a small english thai dictionary basically for the transliteration and I can carry it about, any simple one would do.

For Thai English I use the Se-Ed big one so the thai is big enough to read and went for one without transliteration so I have to practice reading Thai. Bit big to carry around.

Where are you? DK bookshop on the moat in Chiang Mai has an extensive range, or even Tesco has some books.

I am in America and need a big one that can be read easily, but that has alot of entries.

[Rikker]

From my experience the best (bigger) ones don't have both Thai-English and English-Thai. It's usually one or the other. If we're talking desk dictionaries, my favorite Thai-English is Mary Haas, and I don't really have a favorite English-Thai, because I find them all lacking, but the new Oxford River Books English-Thai is decent. Also, I like So Sethaputra's dictionaries (both English-Thai and Thai-English), but I don't think they're readily available in the states.

[jdinasia]

my reference shelf has more dictionaries etc than ever before ... every time I see one I buy it .... most are now just Thai dictionaries as my vocab has improved enough to find that usefule but there is always a Thai/English dictionary nearby at home ...

one of my other issues is not always clearly knowing from a dictionary (and the source) if what I am reading is strictly the formal written language or is standardly used for speaking too ...

[justwilliam]

As you will have gathered, your question does not have an easy answer. Among many other things, it depends on the stage of your learning, and also your approach to learning.

If you are in the early stages of learning, the So Sethaputra volumes (both E-T and T-E) mentioned above will likely suit your needs. The ISBN for the Thai-English version is 974-08-3254-7. They are also available on a CD from ThaiSoftware Enterprise for about $20, which you can find with a web search, and which can be shipped to the US. I find this meets about 80% of my needs.

If you need something more comprehensive, the Oxford River Books volume may be the best compromise for English-Thai, although be warned that its Thai script is quite small. I sometimes have to use a magnifying glass, but then again, I am in my sixties. It has been criticised in another forum for using an English language word set that is common to Europe and the US, and that is not necessarily appropriate for Asia.

Regarding Thai-English, I use two separate dictionaries. I start with the ThaiSoftware Enterprise CD, but if its translation doesn't make sense, which as I mentioned seems to be about 20% of the time, I then refer to another Thai-English dictionary that I like very much. It's written by Thianchai Iamworamet, published by Ruamsarn 1977 Ltd., and you can find this with a search on "Ruamsarn 1977" without the quotes. If neither of these seem to have the right answer, I refer to a Thai-Thai dictionary first.

I also have Mary Haas, but hardly ever use it. It's a beautiful volume, but was published more than 40 years ago, and is missing too many words in current usage for my particular needs.

Good luck with your search.

[thaibebop]

From my experience the best (bigger) ones don't have both Thai-English and English-Thai. It's usually one or the other. If we're talking desk dictionaries, my favorite Thai-English is Mary Haas, and I don't really have a favorite English-Thai, because I find them all lacking, but the new Oxford River Books English-Thai is decent. That's the one I was thinking about getting, as I have a very good one from Oxford that is Chinese-English/English-Chinese. Also, I like So Sethaputra's dictionaries (both English-Thai and Thai-English), but I don't think they're readily available in the states.

I might be able to find them on-line though, have them shipped in. Thank you very much.

As you will have gathered, your question does not have an easy answer. Among many other things, it depends on the stage of your learning, and also your approach to learning.

If you are in the early stages of learning, I am at the very begining, but I would like one that grew with me, or perhaps I should say, one I grow into. the So Sethaputra volumes (both E-T and T-E) mentioned above will likely suit your needs. The ISBN for the Thai-English version is 974-08-3254-7. They are also available on a CD from ThaiSoftware Enterprise for about $20, which you can find with a web search, and which can be shipped to the US. I find this meets about 80% of my needs.

Thank you.

If you need something more comprehensive, the Oxford River Books volume may be the best compromise for English-Thai, although be warned that its Thai script is quite small. In truth I am having trouble finding anything written in Thai that isn't super small. I sometimes have to use a magnifying glass, but then again, I am in my sixties. It has been criticised in another forum for using an English language word set that is common to Europe and the US, and that is not necessarily appropriate for Asia.

Regarding Thai-English, I use two separate dictionaries. I start with the ThaiSoftware Enterprise CD, but if its translation doesn't make sense, which as I mentioned seems to be about 20% of the time, I then refer to another Thai-English dictionary that I like very much. It's written by Thianchai Iamworamet, published by Ruamsarn 1977 Ltd., and you can find this with a search on "Ruamsarn 1977" without the quotes. If neither of these seem to have the right answer, I refer to a Thai-Thai dictionary first.

I also have Mary Haas, but hardly ever use it. It's a beautiful volume, but was published more than 40 years ago, and is missing too many words in current usage for my particular needs.

Good luck with your search.

Thank you every one, very much. This really helps.

[sking_is_leaving]

Doesn't match the spec of the OP of course, but I have to plug the 3rd Edition of Domnern/Sathienpong's Thai-English which came out this year. No transliterations, but it includes a CD-Rom with native speaker pronunciations. Especially, the typefaces and layout used are very easy on the eye, which is something I can't say of any of the other Thai-English / English/Thai dictionaries that I've seen.

I would be interested to hear anyone else's impressions of this dictionary.

[Rikker]

Doesn't match the spec of the OP of course, but I have to plug the 3rd Edition of Domnern/Sathienpong's Thai-English which came out this year. No transliterations, but it includes a CD-Rom with native speaker pronunciations. Especially, the typefaces and layout used are very easy on the eye, which is something I can't say of any of the other Thai-English / English/Thai dictionaries that I've seen.

I would be interested to hear anyone else's impressions of this dictionary.

I'm glad to hear you say this. My copy will be here soon enough. That is, I've ordered it off matichonbook.com and had it delivered to a friend in Bangkok who is coming to the States next month. I'm as much interested in the print book as the CD-ROM, but it's a nice bonus. I'll post my thoughts when I do get it.