I teach various levels of Thai in my classes, and we speak progressively more Thai the more advanced the students get. Close towards the end of my beginners level class, when the students are now comfortable responding to basic impromptu questions in Thai, I occasionally speak Thai to them.

In a class setting there are certain words and phrases that will always come up. It’s important students become familiar with these words and phrases so that they could continue their education in a Thai-language-only setting.

 

The two languages you need to know are,

Thai (language)
Paa^Msaa^R thai^M
ภาษาไทย

English (language)
Paa^Msaa^R ang^Mgrit^L
ภาษาอังกฤษ

 

In most cases, you can refer to any language by putting ภาษา in front of the country name where that language is spoken. As for English, it uses the country of England. Very unfortunate, given that only Americans speak correct English . . .

 

When it comes to vocabulary, these words are important to know. The key word used in each is คำ,

word
kum^M
คำ

vocabulary
kum^Msap^L
คำศัพท์

question
Kum^M taam^R
คำถาม

Do you have a question?
mee^M kum^M taam^R mai^R?
มีคำถามไหม?

 

Often I ask my students ‘what does this word mean?’ In Thai, it is better to say ‘… translates to what?’

translate
blaee^M
แปล

What does [that] mean?
Blaee^M waa^F a^Mrai^M?
แปลว่าอะไร

What does _____ mean in [English/Thai]?
_______ Blaee^M waa^F a^Mrai^M?
_______ แปลว่าอะไร

 

You can learn more about ‘arai’ in a previous blog post.

 

My students always find themselves saying ‘I don’t know’ to answer my questions. The everyday word for ‘know’ is รู้.

Know
Ruu^H
รู้

 

So if you don’t know something, you just say:

I don’t know
Mai^F ruu^H krap^H
ไม่รู้ครับ

 

If you aren’t buddy-buddy with your teacher, or your teacher is a monk or someone requiring polite vocabulary, you should instead use ทราบ instead of รู้. Remember that ทร is a consonant cluster that makes the ‘s’ sound.

Know (formal version)
saab^F
ทราบ

 

After answering your teachers’ question, he will respond with one of these two phrases.

correct
tuuk^L
ถูก

 

The problem with the word ถูก is that it can have other meanings, so it’s preferred to say

Correct
Tuuk^L dtawng^F
ถูกต้อง

 

And if you’re wrong, you’ll hear:

Incorrect
Mai^F tuuk^L
ไม่ถูก

 

When I was a nooby Thai learner my monk teacher would play with my mind. Regardless of being correct or not, he’d ask ‘are you sure?’ or ‘how sure are you?’ I’ve opted to continue the tradition by instilling doubt in my students . . .

Are you sure?
Nae^F jai^M mai^R?
แน่ใจไหม?

What percent are you sure?
Nae^F jai^M gee^L ber^Mcent^M?
แน่ใจกีเปอร์เซ็นต์

 

While I’ve gone into more detail on ‘yang’ in a previous article, expect your teacher to ask you these questions after assigning classwork.

Are [you] finished?
Set^L yang^M?
เสร็จยัง

Not yet
yang^M
ยัง

Not yet finished
Yang^M mai^F set^L krap^H
ยังไม่เสร์จครับ

 

One useful question you could ask for learning Thai with a teacher who doesn’t speak English is,

What is this?
Nee^F kue^M a^Mrai^M
นี่คืออะไร?

 

Oftentimes you will need to call your teacher, or refer to him. Use one of these two words:

Professor
aa^Mjaan^M
อาจารย์

Teacher
kruu^M
ครู

 

If your teacher is a monk, you instead need to use one of these words:

[a reference for a person of high respect; no English word for it]
taan^F
ท่าน

Monk Teacher
Pra^H aa^Mjaan^M
พระอาจารย์

 

When in class, there are several ways you can call the attention of your teacher before asking a question. First say ‘teacher’, and then follow it up with ‘krap’:

ท่านครับ
ครูครับ
อาจารย์ครับ

 

And lastly, whenever you walk into the classroom, be sure to always greet your teacher:

Hello, teacher.
Sa^Lwat^Ldee^M krap^H kun^M kruu^M
สวัสดีครับคุณครู

 

Or if your teacher is a monk, say:

[word for greeting only monks]
na^Hma^Hsa^Lgaan^M
นมัสการ