Like most visitors, the idea of being fluent in Thai is probably as far from your thoughts as those cold European winters. If you intend on staying a little longer though, we highly recommend giving the language a crack. Enough can’t be said about learning the basics, start your adventure in being ambi-linguistic with this easy to follow guide:
Give these a go……….
Hello / Good bye Sa Wa Dee Krup for the guys
Hello / Good bye Sa Wa Dee Ka for the ladies
Guys can also add Krup
And ladies can add Kah
to the end of any sentence to be polite
Thank you Kup un Krup / Kah
You’re welcome My Pen Rai
No problem My Pen Rai
{So if you forget your welcome remember it’s no problem}
Very good D Muck
I want Ow
I don’t want My Ow
Delicious Alloy
Keep in mind that this list was compiled by our own cunning linguist who happens to be an Aussie. So make sure you play with his phonetically rendered list. One thing we have notice here in the offices is the complete lack of agreeance how thing should be spelt out in English. Which puts us in good stead with the locals as they all generally have at least 3 different ways to spell most things. It’s not unusual to see conflicting spelling on street signs and advertisements and it truly does become a case of rose smelling just as sweet under a slightly different translation. And then there is always Google, which can point you to plenty of sites with audio recordings for you to hone and perfect that Thai twang. Keep your eye peeled for our next lesson in the vernacular where we will explore some easy to use taxi Thai. Till then Sa Wa Dee Krup.
