Thai language advise

Hi there. Am now on countdown for my trip to Chiang Mai - 2 weeks to go! Everything sorted except I haven%26#39;t managed to furnish myself with any basic Thai phrases and vocabulary. Whenever I look at simple guides, my brain turns to mush!

Any advise as to any on-line help I could get? I dislike going to other countries without a smattering of the language, feel its really rude - but, would I be able to get by with virtually no Thai?

Thai language advise

Look at this link:

tripadvisor.com/Travel-g293915-s604/Thailand…

However, Thai is a tonal language and radically different to European languages. A mispronounciation can change the meaning of a word.

You don%26#39;t need to worry, no one expects a tourist to speak Thailand and there are plenty of English speaking people around.

Thai language advise

...but don%26#39;t be afraid to give it a try ;-)

Thanks! I%26#39;ll study hard; if only I can say a few basics!

Hi Suffolk!

We found ourselves able to get by on our own in Thailand without any knowledge of Thai. We made a point of learning ';Suwadee Krap'; (the ';r'; is silent) and, if you%26#39;re a woman, ';Suwadee Ka'; to say thank you. You really won%26#39;t need any other Thai phrases, though, even in remote rural towns. Everyone in the tourist industry knows enough English to get by. You%26#39;ll likely find your phrase book a waste of money.

Most business signs of interest to tourists will be written in the Roman aplhabet as well as in Thai. Restaurants where tourists might eat have bilingual menus. The biggest area where you could use a knowledge of Thai is the inscriptions in the temples. Good luck! Having said that, the bonze offered us a booklet in English!

You will feel that you%26#39;ve accomplished something if you learn the Thai alphabet. It%26#39;s about 45-letters long, a bit more complicated than the Roman alphabet, but still interesting. You may be able to transliterate a few Thai words. We rented a car and drove ourselves in our own rental car, so it helped to be able to recognize a few Thai place names.

The alphabet is easy to find on the internet. Two weeks should be just about enough time. The test that you%26#39;ve achieved progress will come when you buy a can of Coca Cola, and are able to transliterate the ';Coke'; logo written in Thai!

Happy travels, and let me know if I can help further!

David

capetien10@gmail.com

';';Suwadee Krap'; (the ';r'; is silent) ';

Actually, in correct usage the R sound is not silent but many people drop the sound in lazy daily use. สวัสดีครับ

Oh, and Sawadee doesn%26#39;t mean Thank You - its a greeting.

';We made a point of learning ';Suwadee Krap'; (the ';r'; is silent) and, if you%26#39;re a woman, ';Suwadee Ka'; to say thank you.';

___________________________________

Even ';dropping the r'; won%26#39;t make sawatdee krub mean ';thank you';.

*DC you beat me to it :-)

I%26#39;ve been practicing some key phrases on this site:

learn-thai-podcast.com/blog/…

I always like to know the basics - hello, please, thank you, toilet :)

We leave tomorrow!

YOu can also gets some basics here:

http://www.learningthai.com/speak_thai.html

With auditory and english/thai visuals for each word/phrase. Very helpful!!