Thai Sunflowers Resist the Sun
Thai sunflowers don’t follow, they resist the sun… When running around Thailand with K.Pi and K.Ph, a small event will often take over our conversation. … Read more
Thai Language Thai Culture: At the Supermarket
Supermarkets in Thailand… If you are going to live in Thailand, one of the things you will find yourself doing is food shopping. When I … Read more
Khmer Influence in Thai
Face it. Khmer influenced the Thai language… “The Siamese language began its formation not only from its original elements but also from a foreign root, … Read more
Thai Culture: Understanding Greng Jai (เกรงใจ)
Thai culture and the importance of เกรงใจ… Learning a language is not just about shoveling a bucket of grammar and vocabulary into your head until … Read more
Thai Language Thai Culture: Is That a Gan in Your Pocket?
Is that a กัน /gan/ in your pocket?… One thing I like to do as a vocabulary building exercise is when I come across a … Read more
How to Gain Insight into the Thai Language from How Thais Learn English
Just how DO Thais learn English?… Having recently written a book (Tenses for Thais) designed to help native English speakers and Thais who wish to … Read more
Thai Language Thai Culture: A System of Learning Thai Tones
The Do-Be-Do-Be-Do system of learning Thai tones… (Apologies to Frank Sinatra) If language were like a song, then the vocabulary and grammar of the language … Read more
Thai Language Thai Culture: A Sticky Problem
A Sticky Problem… I was reading one of those Thai expat blogs recently when I came across someone discussing the Thai word for “stingy” (seems … Read more
What are YOUR Top Useful Thai Phrases?
The Thai phrases you use most often… Moving to a county with a new foreign language to tackle, I depend on two sure-fire phrases. The … Read more
Learning Thai (for the shy)
Are you a shy Thai learner?… Back when I was much younger, I’d shrink from meeting new people, and sometimes people I knew. One time, … Read more
Thai Language Thai Culture: I’m Not Fine, Thank You
I’m not rine, thank you very much… From my years of teaching English I have learned that there is a two-line dialog that is ingrained … Read more
Grokking the Thai Writing System Part 1: Consonants
Grokking the writing system by doing things youʼre not supposed to… Iʼve seen a lot of posts on this site about how learning the writing … Read more