Once you've made the decision to settle in Thailand, it would be useful to try and learn to speak some of the language. Although many Thais in Hua Hin speak rudimentary English, some understanding of their language can only make your life here more easy.
If you're dealing with Immigration, large restaurants or the like, English will get you through, but once you venture off the beaten track, it will not. The Thais really do appreciate the fact that you are conversing with them in their own language and even if you make mistakes, they will be laughed off and you'll be corrected - but only in a joking, helpful way.
Some expats don't make any effort to learn Thai and even after 10 years in the country are not able to say more than a few words. That's obviously up to them, but as you're likely to have quite a bit of spare time on your hands, at least an attempt to learn can't be a bad idea. At the end of the day, if you find yourself in a bit of a tricky situation, a few words of Thai can help to defuse the problem quickly and hopefully to everyones' satisfaction.
Some of us are more linguistically skilled than others and once the basics have been learnt, they'll pick the language up quickly. The less fortunate will have to perservere, but keep at it because it will reap rewards in the long run. Some learning aids will be indispensible, so a good dictionary will be necessary as will a decent introductory book to the language that explains the tones, sentence structure and everyday phrases.
There are plenty of audio tapes that you can get hold of, especially in Bangkok, and these will help you with pronounciation even more. If you have a computer, a really helpful tool to bookmark is:
It has has over 30,000 entries and you search a word or phrase in English with the translation being given in "English Thai" and Thai script.
As Thai is a tonal language (there are 5), it's important to listen carefully to how the locals pronounce a word. If you say it in the wrong tone, it will have a totally different meaning, although you generally won't be misunderstood in the context of a phrase or conversation. If you've made the effort to get a decent dictionary, one simple way to increase your vocabulary is to think ahead to the following day about a task you have to do. So, for instance, if you're going to the laundry, try to think of all the words you might want to use there - laundry, washing powder, conditioner, ironing etc etc. Learn them in Thai and using this system you'll be amazed at how quickly your vocabulary is expanded.
We would offer two other pieces of advice. Firstly, when you're speaking the language, do so slowly and clearly. There's no point in rushing things as it will only lead to confusion. Secondly, if you're really intent on speaking Thai well, then learn to read and write it as well. There will be no better substitute for the advancement of your linguistic capabilities.
In short, perservere, enjoy the learning process and don't be put off if you make mistakes at the start. The Thais won't mind at all.
If you're interested in improving your Thai, ask questions on our Language forum. There are plenty of good (and some novice) Thai speaking foreigners who will be only too happy to "educate" you.
We have tried to set out below some of the words and phrases that you may need at the outset in your everyday life here. It cannot be exhaustive, so again good language aids, as mentioned above, are necessary. Finally, Thais take great stock in politeness and this is reflected in the language. So, it is polite to end every sentence with either the word "krap" or "kap" if the speaker is male and "ka" if female. In practice, you will learn when these words are not necessary, but at the start, use them all the time and you'll never go wrong.
| Numbers and counting | |
| One | neung |
| Two | song |
| Three | sam |
| Four | sii |
| Five | haa |
| Six | hok |
| Seven | jet |
| Eight | bad |
| Nine | gow |
| Ten | sip |
| Eleven | sip et |
| Twelve | sip song |
| Thirteen | sip sam |
| Fourteen | sip see |
| etc to…. | |
| Twenty | yii sip |
| Twenty one | yii sip et |
| Twenty two | yii sip song |
| Twenty three | yii sip sam |
| etc to… | |
| Thirty | sam sip |
| Fourty | sii sip |
| Fifty | haa sip |
| etc to……. | |
| One hundred | neung roi |
| One thousand | neung pun |
| Ten thousand | neung meun |
| Hundred thousand | neung saen |
| One million | neung laan |
| Greetings and civilities | |
| Hello | sawadii |
| Goodbye | sawadii/lah gorn na |
| Thankyou | khawp khun |
| Please | krap/kap/ka |
| How are you? | sabai dee mai? |
| I'm fine | sabai dee |
| Everyday words and phrases | |
| Me/I | pom (men) |
| diichan (women) | |
| You | khun |
| What is your name? | khun cheu arai? |
| My name is.. | pom cheu (men) |
| diichan cheu (women) | |
| Do you have….? | mee……mai? |
| I have | mee |
| I do not have | mai mee |
| Yes | chai |
| No | mai chai |
| It doesn't matter | mai pen rai |
| I would like….. | ao |
| Who? | krai? |
| What? | a rai? |
| Where? | tee nai? |
| Why? | tam mai? |
| When? | mua rai? |
| (I) inderstand | khao jai |
| (I) do not understand | mai khao jai |
| A little | nit noi |
| What is this? | nii arai? |
| Today | wan nii |
| Tomorrow | prung nii |
| Yesterday | meua wan |
| Go | bai |
| Will go | ja bai |
| Come | maa |
| Will come | ja maa |
| (I) like | chawp |
| (I) do not like | mai chawp |
| Food and Drink | |
| Bowl | chahm |
| Chopsticks | dta gee up |
| Cup | too ay |
| Dessert | korng wahn |
| Fish | bplah |
| Fork | sorm |
| Glass | gair o |
| Knife | meet |
| Meat | neua |
| Menu | may noo |
| Noodles | goo ay dtee o |
| Pepper | prik thai |
| Plate | jahn |
| Rice | kao |
| Salt | gleu a |
| Soup | soop |
| Spoon | chorn |
| Table | dto |
| Another | eek………neung |
| Excuse me (to waiter) | koon krap/kap/ka |
| The bill please | chek bin |
| Butter | neree sot |
| Chilli paste | nam prik |
| Coconut milk | ga ti |
| Fish sauce | nam bplah |
| Sugar | nam dtahn |
| Vinegar | nam som |
| Chicken | gai |
| Beef | neua |
| Pork | moo |
| Duck | bpet |
| Lamb | neua gair |
| Fish | bplah |
| Crab | bpoo |
| Lobster | goong yai |
| Mussels | hoy mairng poo |
| Octopus | bplah meuk yuk |
| Oyster | hoy nahng rom |
| Seafood | ah harn talay |
| Shellfish | hoy |
| Prawn | goong |
| Squid | bplah meuk |
| Fruit | |
| Apple | ah bun |
| Banana | gloo ay |
| Coconut | ma prao |
| Durian | too re un |
| Fruit | pon la mai |
| Grapes | a ngoon |
| Guava | fa rang |
| Jackfruit | ka noon |
| Lemon/lime | ma nao |
| Longan | lam yai |
| Lychee | lim yee |
| Mango | ma moo ung |
| Mangosteen | mang koot |
| Melon | dtaing tai |
| Orange | som |
| Papaya | ma la gor |
| Pineapple | sap bpa rot |
| Pomelo | som oh |
| Rambutan | ngo |
| Rose apple | chom poo |
| Sapodilla | la moot |
| Strawberry | sa dtror ber ee |
| Water melon | dtairng moh |
| Vegetables | |
| Asparagus | nor mai farang |
| Aubergine | ma keua |
| Bamboo shoots | nor mai |
| Bean sprouts | tooa ngork |
| Cabbage | ga lam bplee |
| Carrot | hooa pak gaht dairng |
| Cauliflower | dork galam bplee |
| Chilli | prik |
| French fries | man farang tort |
| Cucumber | dtairng gwah |
| Garlic | gra tee am |
| Ginger | king |
| Lettuce | pak gaht |
| Mange tout | tooa lan dtao |
| Morning glory | pak boong |
| Mushrooms | het |
| Onion | hooa horm |
| Lentils | tooa |
| Potato | man farang |
| Sweetcorn | kao poht |
| Tomota | ma keua tayt |
| Vegetables | pak |
| Chilled | yen |
| Coffee | gah fair |
| Tea | nam chah |
| Coconut juice | nam ma prao |
| Coke/pepsi | coke/pepsi |
| Orange juice | nam som |
| Ice | nam kairng |
| Milk | nam |
| Water | nahm |
| Beer | beera |
| Bottle | koo ut |
| Gin | lao yin |
| Whisky | lao wit sa gee |
| Wine | lao wai |
| Wine list | rai gahn lao wai |
| Travel | |
| Airport | sanam bin |
| Customs | soon la gah gom |
| Immigration | dtroo ut kon kao meuung |
| Ticket office | tee jam nai dtoo a |
| Entrance | tahng kao |
| Exit | tahng ork |
| Air con bus | rot bprap ahgaht |
| Information | bpra chah sampan |
| Ticket office | tee jam nai dtoo a |
| Timetable | gam not way la dem rot |
| Tour bus | rot too a |
| Train | rot fai |
| Platform | chahn chah lah |
| Accommodation | |
| Hotel | rohng rairm |
| Coffee shop | korp fee chorp |
| Double room | horng koo |
| Floor | chan |
| Guesthouse | gayt haot |
| Room | horng |
| Single room | horng dee o |
| Swimming pool | sa wai nahm |
While there is no official school for teaching Thai to foreigners in Hua Hin a number of individuals happily offer their services for an hourly fee. The best way to locate them is through local classifieds or message boards. Many would be happy to trade Thai lessons for English ones. The Hua Hin schools page has more info on learning Thai in Hua Hin.
Books are also an invaluble resource if you can learn without a teacher, Megabooks, which is situated by The Sofitel Hotel, has a good selection however a better choice can be found in the larger shops of Bangkok.
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