Thailand Grammar

Grammatically, Thai is very simple. There are no indefinite or definite articles, and verbs do not inflect to express tense or number. Questions are formed by adding mai to the end of any verb; for example, to ask if someone is hungry (hew) , you would say hew mai (“Are you hungry?”). Answering a question is equally simple: to answer affirmatively, just repeat the verb. From the example above reply with, hew (“I am hungry”). To answer negatively, place mâi in front of the verb—from the example above, mâi hew (“I am not hungry”).

Pronouns: Thai does have its own complexities, however, including its large number of pronouns. Some of these are gender specific, while others vary according to the relationship between the people conversing. The pronouns below are commonly used, and appropriate for informal use.

I	You	He/She/It	They	We
pôm/di-chân (m/f)	khun	khao	puak khao	Rao

Politeness: To be polite, men should add krap to the end of their sentences, and women should add ka to the end of theirs. These words have no specific meaning, but are used in place of words like please and other pleasantries.

Phrasebook

Meetings/Greetings		Days Of The Week
Hello.	sà-wàt-dee	Monday	wan jan
How are you?	sà-bai dee mâi	Tuesday	wang ang-kahn
I am fine.	sà-bai dee	Wednesday	wan pút
What is your name?	kun chêu à-rai	Thursday	wan pá-réu-hàt
My name is..	pôm/di-chân chêu..	Friday	wan sùk
Yes/No.	châi/mâi	Saturday	wan sôw
Goodbye.	lah gòrn	Sunday	wan ah tít

Numbers
1	nèung	9	gôw
2	sôrng	10	sìp
3	sâhm	11	sìp-èt
4	sèe	20	yêe-sìp
5	hâh	50	hâh-sìp
6	hòk	100	nèung roy
7	jèt	500	hâh roy
8	bpàat	1000	nèung pan

Emergency
Help!	chôo-ay dôo-ay	insect repellent	yah gun má-laang
Call a doctor.	dahm mor nòy	mosquito	yung
accident	ù-bàt-dì-hèt	My..was stolen.	..korng tòok kà-moy
doctor	mor	passport	nâng-seu deun tahng
emergency	hèt chuk-chern	pharmacy	ráhn kâi yah
fever	kâi	police	dam-ròo-at
fire	fai	rain	fôn
hospital	rohng pá-yaa-bahn	sore throat	jèp kor
ill	bpoo-ay	stomach ache	bpoo ut torng
immediately	tun tee	sunblock	kreem gan dàat