Learn Thai with Vira

ราคาทองคำจะรุ่งหรือจะร่วง
Will gold price rise or fall?
Ra: kha: thorng kham ja khûrn rűr ja ruâng

จะปังหรือจะพัง
Will it be a success or a failure?
ja pang rűr ja phang

จะตัดหรือจะติด
Will you cut (stop totally) or join (continue)?
ja tàt rűr ja tìt?

เจ็บแต่จบ
It hurts but it ends.
jèp tàe jòp.

The above are examples of pairs which a slight change in phoneme (consonant, vowel) change the meaning of the word totally.
This kind of wording is often used a lot in Thai expressions, be it an advertisement line, gimmick, slogan, jokes, etc because it sounds catchy.

Can you think of more examples to this? If you don't know enough Thai, you can give some thing like this in your language too. In English, you have something like "boon" and "bane".

Reading Thai script isn't harder than reading English script.
Thai vowels are always consistent unlike English.

Reading Thai vowels is easier than Reading English vowels Many people think that Thai is too complicated to read. But English is harder as there is no logical rule to the vowel sound. If you can read English vowel w...

Thai consonant chart that makes it easier for Thai learners.
More organized and systematic when compared to the traditional chart commonly used in classes.
Each row represents the place of articulation inside your mouth, and each column represents the manner of articulation and thus consonant classes.
You can also clearly see the relation between the initial and final sound of each consonant.

Learn to Read Thai in systematic approach.

Reading and Writing Thai Lecture Series

Learn to Read Thai in Systematic Approach Ep 01 Learning to read Thai script is daunting and intimidating to many foreigners. One of the reasons is because of the way the Thai consonant chart is usually pr...

คละ (khla) is a useful word when you are on a shopping errand. It means to make different combination, for instance milk of different flavours that cost the same or shirts of different colours that cost the same, and buying 2 or more of the same items (but different design, colours or flavours) will get you discount.
คละได้ไหม (khla dai mai) Can I mix the same items of different variation?
คละได้ (khla dai) Yes, you can.

One of the reasons for using English loan words is because there are not good equivalent Thai words to express the idea.
One good example is the Thai word "งาน". It has broad and generic meaning. By using English loan words, it helps Thais to narrow down the scope of the word.

The list of loan words to replace งาน are
Job: unlike English meaning, Job in Thai refers to adhoc or one-time assignment, and not full time employment.
Project: big job that takes longer time to complete and involves larger sum of money than "job"
Event: the word งาน also means "event". Using the word "event" will reduce the ambiguity.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Whx5o1yiG_Y&list=PLDbEdKRS9SLq85v1rCFaMrf-R6mcvxGR7&index=4&t=0s

Do you have problems in distinguishing between aspirate and non-aspirate consonants? What about the initial ng sound?

In this clip, these are the key points
1. There is no English "G" "J" in Thai sound system.
2. Distinction between non-aspirate and aspirated consonants. - English letters "k" "ch" "t" "p" are aspirated while ก จ ต ป are unaspirated.
3. The medial อ (glottal stop) that occurs in the middle of the word. In Thai language, you do not link a vowel of a word starting with a vowel to the ending consonant of the preceding syllable.
4. Sounding the initial ng. ง

Introduction to Thai sounds (3rd Part) - Consonants Did you think that you pronounce Thai correctly but yet they don't understand you? Perhaps the way you pronounce from Roman transliteration system sounds too...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fXhuByoWvF8&list=PLDbEdKRS9SLq85v1rCFaMrf-R6mcvxGR7&index=3&t=0s
Once you understood how to pronounce each basic vowel, it's time to move onto merging two vowels together into one vowel (2 syllables into 1) to pronounce complex vowel (diphthong).

Introduction to Thai sounds (2nd Part) - Diphthongs Introduction to Thai sounds (2nd Part) Diphthong is one of the sound features that many foreign learners of Thai find difficult. But, it's simply one more st...

My First Video Lesson on learning to pronounce Thai.
Knowing the Nine Basic Thai Vowels (by phonetic).

Introduction to Thai sounds (1st Part) - Nine Basic Vowels Introduction to Thai sounds (1st Part). To be able to pronounce Thai words correctly, you need to be able to identify each constituent sound units that make ...

สวัสดีครับ
Hello, S'wàtdiikhrap
I am a passionate Thai teacher and I am more than happy to teach and guide foreign learners who appreciate Thai language and culture. My dream is that one day Thai can become a popularly learned language. If you are interested to take up lesson with me, do not hesitate to contact me.