Are you interested in learning the Thai language?

Did you know that as a women in Thailand you greet someone with “Sawaddee ka”? As a man, on the other hand, you say “Sawadee krap” when you meet somebody.   In Thai, the official language of Thailand, you always have to be able to tell if you are speaking as a man or a woman. (Naturally, in our language courses you will learn both forms.)

Here you can listen to the pronunciation of "hello" in Thai.
Just click on the play button.

สวัสดีครับ / สวัสดีค่ะ Hello. (m) / Hello. (f)

Learning the Thai script

You won't just get insight into Thai pronunciation.
You will also become familiar with the wonderfully ornamental Thai script: Thai has been written since the thirteenth century in the so-called Thai script.
This script originated in South India.

Here you can learn to write your first words in Thai:

ใช่ that means "yes"   ไม่ใช่ translates as "no"

Thai belongs to the Tai-Kadai language family

Thai belongs to the Tai-Kadai language family.
 
The Tai-Kadai family includes some 70 languages and is spread throughout the region, from China to Laos, Vietnam and Thailand and all the way to India.
Thai belongs to the largest sub-group of the language family (Kam-Tai language sub-group).

Thai is a tonal language

Thai is a tonal language.
When you learn Thai, you have to learn how distinguish between and pronounce the different five tones: you distinguish between a high, middle, deep, rising and falling tone.
But learning these tones won't present a problem for you because all words and phrases in our language courses have been recorded by native speakers from Thailand.

Dialects in Thailand

The standard language of Thailand is defined from the language in and around the capitol Bangkok.
Standard Thai is primarily spoken there as well as in central Thailand.
 
Along with standard Thai there are three major dialects that more or less strongly deviate form it.
As in many other countries, the dialects in the north and south of Thailand differ from one another strongly.
In northernmost Thailand, the dialect spoken differs the most from standard Thai.
There you will find a smooth transition between the Thai and Laotian languages.
 
In our language courses you will learn the standard pronunciation of Thai.

Thai in summary

Synonyms: Thai, Siamese Number of speakers: approx. 64 million Official language in: Thailand Lettering: Thai script

Interesting links about the Thai languages

We are delighted by your interest in the Thai language.
 
Maybe you will also find these links interesting?

• Entry in the on-line encyclopaedia Wikipedia about Thai
• The BBC provides 10 interesting facts about the thai language.
• If you would like to learn the Thai language, go here for Thai languages courses from 17 Minute Languages.
  We offer a wide range of learning material for Thai:
  A1 / A2: Thai Beginner's Course
  B1 / B2: Thai Intermediate Course
  C1 / C2: Thai Proficiency Course