How to say 'I'm learning' as a response to 'do you speak Thai'?

[JSixpack]

i always just answer ขี้เกียจ "kêe gìat" = "lazy"

[Mousehound]

I like to say "poot pasaa Thai, dtair mykoidee thao rai." I speak Thai but not so well.

Transliteration is a curse so I have been learning to read Thai. It makes a huge difference and I would suggest you read as well as get the speaking bit going. Sadly I have been out of the country for over a year and my speaking has gone downhill. But I am confident it will pick up pretty quickly when I get back. I have every "Teach yourself Thai book ever written and each has their own transliteration form but have found "Complete Thai" by David Smyth (www.teachyourself.com) easily the best laid out and best value book that also comes with CD. With this I like to use a rather poorly printed book called "What You See is What You Say Thai Phrase Handbook" by Bua Publishing. In addition I have tried to pick up some of the dialect used around Chiang Mai - at least as far as directions and a few other words go.

I do use the slightly rolled "R" in khrap if first meeting someone and if they are high status - don't really know why but for me it is actually easier as I have a Scottish mother and spoke German as a small child. It may be a bit snooty to do so, but I have never had a khon Thai tell me it is wrong - including a couple of my teachers.

I am just a beginner and I am not naturally good at learning so I really take into account some of the excellent comments from TV members that are really good at the language. I guess my comments are really from the point of view of someone possibly a little further along the journey than you seem to be but is in no way proficient. I am finding the duration of sounds that make up a word are becoming more important than the tones. I used to be too hung up on the tone thing and it was slowing me down a lot. As I started to recognise words being spoken I naturally started to copy the tones but found that I was clipping the words short or too long which was creating problems.

As previous posters have said, it will make your life in Thailand so much richer if you can speak and read even a little of the language. Also, I am sure that the Thai people you meet really appreciate that you are making an effort.

There is a very good forum on TV about Thai language and the Ajarn forum also covers some useful stuff.

Good luck.

[Eneukman]

I'd usually drop the ผม (pom) and maybe the กำลัง (currently) and just reply เรียนอยู่ (rian yoo), adding a smile and a คับ or จ้า (kap or ja)

In Thai you don't need to start sentences with 'I' in Thai, i.e. always start with ผม (pom). Thais make things as casual and short as possible, if it's obvious from the context that they're referring to themselves, if they're talking with friends, etc. Likewise you don't need the 'pasa thai' in your reply. I once heard a Thai say overusing 'gamlang' will make you 'sound like a textbook', but here it'd be okay. So either เรียนอยู่จ้า or กำลังเรียนอยู่คับ (dropping the ร in จร้า and ครับ too)

I would agree with you. I was taking Thai lessons until my teacher started a new job (managing a condo).

During the winter months, I am studying astronomy (hopefully) for a degree. She told me that "studying astronomy" was simply "rian dara saat". As I understand it, using "gamlang" is proper grammar but not required when speaking with the general population.

When I write a scientific report as an assignment or answer questions in a question sheet, my writing style is much more formal than when posting a reply here.

Alan

[laislica]

The question is - Do you speak Thai.

The answer is perhaps something like, a little bit. nit noi

Perhaps you would want the Thai speaker to accept that your command of the language is small so that they can help you by speaking slowly and using simple words.

A big problem for me is when the Thai speaker swaps L's for R's

Good Luck

[CaptHaddock]

Perhaps you would want the Thai speaker to accept that your command of the language is small so that they can help you by speaking slowly and using simple words.

In general, Thai speakers are not familiar with the notion of adapting their speech to help a foreigner understand. Most Thais cannot make such adjustments even if requested to. The only Thais I have encountered who slowed down, spoke more clearly, and made their usage even slightly more formal for my benefit were those who could already speak English fluently.

[Emster23]

I usually say something like "yang mai geng" (still not good at) or maybe "hasip hasip" (50-50). This way they can come back and say "mai chai. geng mak" (No, very good). give them opp to compliment you and all that. And good on all of you trying to learn. I think most Thais appreciate the effort regardless of results.

[laislica]

Perhaps you would want the Thai speaker to accept that your command of the language is small so that they can help you by speaking slowly and using simple words.

In general, Thai speakers are not familiar with the notion of adapting their speech to help a foreigner understand. Most Thais cannot make such adjustments even if requested to. The only Thais I have encountered who slowed down, spoke more clearly, and made their usage even slightly more formal for my benefit were those who could already speak English fluently.

Then I am very fortunate.

I mostly speak with family members and I say each word slowly with much hand waving LOL.

I try to give them a chance to guess what I mean,

rather than for them to hear what I say.

It works quite often but I also refer to a speaking dictionary for complicated words.

As indeed they do to, they find the word in Thai and I can see the English meaning and a transliteration as well.

I live in the middle of nowhere and am the only Farang for miles.

Many of the younger shop workers even attempt English with me which is also unusual as Thais are generally quite shy.

As has been said in this thread, never give up because you make a lot of mistakes.

As George Bernard Shaw once said:-

A life spent making mistakes is not only more honourable, but more useful than a life spent doing nothing.

I'm sure that this applies to language learning as well.

[Daniel Boon]

I'd usually drop the ผม (pom) and maybe the กำลัง (currently) and just reply เรียนอยู่ (rian yoo), adding a smile and a คับ or จ้า (kap or ja)

In Thai you don't need to start sentences with 'I' in Thai, i.e. always start with ผม (pom). Thais make things as casual and short as possible, if it's obvious from the context that they're referring to themselves, if they're talking with friends, etc. Likewise you don't need the 'pasa thai' in your reply. I once heard a Thai say overusing 'gamlang' will make you 'sound like a textbook', but here it'd be okay. So either เรียนอยู่จ้า or กำลังเรียนอยู่คับ (dropping the ร in จร้า and ครับ too)

Phonetic please jspil ... (smile)

[Battybird]

Puut pasaaat Thai nit noy. I speak Thai a little. Covers it all and simple.

[AnotherOneAmerican]

So, if you learn to ask for a glass you would say: Kaw gay-ow noi cap

Sorry, but

No Thai person would have a clue what you wanted.

[Chernsarmkhuat]

I usually say, "Rien ngoo ngoo plah plah". "I'm learning snake snake fish fish (i.e. little by little)." It always gets a laugh.

Yes that usually gets a laugh but I still can't pronoun that damn "ng"

[TonyPaul]

Mattk1, congrats for starting on the path of learning Thai. Some great posts. I agree to keep it as simple as possible. Nit Noi (Little bit) is universally understood by Thais even if the pronunciation is incorrect. Many Farangs think they speak OK but in fact speak Thai with atrocious pronunciation. They then wonder why Thais do not understand them. "Talking Thai" is a mobile phone dictionary by Benjawan Poomsan Becker. About $40 from memory, but money well spent as the pronunciations are impeccable.

I firmly believe that you will always speak bad Thai if you don't learn to read and write it. Transliteration of Thai to English is often very misleading to the pronunciation. One saving grace with Thai is that it is almost 100% phonetic so by learning to read it you are on the way to reasonable pronunciation.

Finally, as a beginner, speak Thai with Thais as often as possible, and don't be overawed by its difficulty. Thais can tell straight away if you are a beginner and are usually very appreciative that you want to learn and are encouraging.

[1FinickyOne]

keep it simple...

gumlung rian…

[Chaiwallah]

I usually say, "Rien ngoo ngoo plah plah". "I'm learning snake snake fish fish (i.e. little by little)." It always gets a laugh.

Yes that usually gets a laugh but I still can't pronoun that damn "ng"

Is it really that difficult? I think if you can pronounce it at the end of a word like sing, you should be able to begin a word with it. As an aside, I've always thought it curious that Thais have the ng sound, as in ngoo or nguung nonn, while the Cambodians use sr, as in srey.

By the way, I've found a really excellent resource is the Google tranlate app for android. Not only does it translate the word, you can also hear the pronunciation.

Edited June 22, 2014 by Chaiwallah

[sgtsabai]

Good thread. Thanks posters. I've about given up ever learning, even in self defense. I usually just say "katote, mi phut Thai", sorry, not speak Thai, surely not 'correct' but most of time it seems to work and they aren't sure afterward whether I do or not. I do not seem to have the ability to learn languages and I lost about 1/2 my hearing courtesy Uncle Sam's Misguided Children on a little paid 'vacation' some years back. Makes it extremely difficult to hear tones at all. I have gotten to the point where I can sometime tell if I am the subject of conversation. Besides, nobody up here speaks Thai in general conversation, Issan/Lao. Reading the transliteration and pronunciation doesn't seem to help me, I always get the pronunciation wrong until somebody says, over and over again for me. Sometimes, sometimes I get it then. Speaking of translation apps etc. I've seen several Thai ladies use them and they seem to pick up English very quickly.