Phrasebook - Community Based Tourism in Thailand

1 20 Visitor s Visitor s PhrasebookPhrasebook CommunityCommunity-- Based Tourism in the North Andamanbased Tourism in the North Andaman Andaman DiscoveriesAndaman Discoveries 2 Memo 19 Notes 18 When do we leave? rao ja bei meua rai We leave at .. rao ja bei .. When do we get back? rao ja glab meua rai We get back at .. rao ja glab .. Numbers 0 soon 17 s p jet 1 neung 18 s p bpaat 2 sowng 19 s p gow 3 sahm 20 yee s p 4 see 21 yee s p et 5 hah 22 yee s p sowng 6 hok 30 sahm s p 7 jet 31 sahm s p et 8 bpaat 32 sahm s p sowng 9 gow 33 sahm s p sahm 10 s p 40 see s p 11 s p et 50 hah s p 12 s p sowng 100 neung roy 13 s p sahm 1000 neung pan 14 s p see 1st tee neung 15 s p hah 2nd tee sowng 16 s p hok 3rd tee sahm 3 CONTENTS Introduction ---------------------------------------- ------ 4 Thai Language ---------------------------------------- --- 4 Greetings & Introductions ------------------------------- 5 Conversation & Essential phrases ----------------------- 6 Language Difficulties ------------------------------------ 9 Homestay

2 Activities------------------------------ -------- 9 In the Homestay ---------------------------------------- - 10 Directions ---------------------------------------- -------- 11 Health and Emergencies----------------------------- ---- 12 Family ---------------------------------------- ------------ 12 What You Will See --------------------------------------- 14 Eating---------------------------------- ------------------- 14 Common Dishes---------------------------------- -------- 16 Time and Dates ---------------------------------------- -- 16 Numbers--------------------------------- ----------------- 18 Notes ---------------------------------------- ------------- 19 4 Introduction Although the language barrier in Thailand may seem a hindrance at times, trying to communicate can also be a fun and rewarding ex-perience. Using physical actions to convey a meaning often works and learning a little bit of the local language is always appreciated by the Thai people. The main thing is to make the effort and have fun.

3 The following book has been provided to help enhance the commu-nication between yourself and your host family, leading to a more enjoyable visit. We hope you find it useful and would appreciate your feedback to improve its content. Please fill in and return the attached feedback form. Thai Language Pronunciation The following is a guide to the phonetic system used in this phrase-book. The dots indicate syllable breaks within words (eg. sa wa dee krap hello). Consonants Vowels g as the g in good / get i as the i in it bp a single sound between a b and a p sound ai as the ai in aisle / Thai dt a single sound between a d and a t sound ah as the a in father k as the k in kite, aspirited (ie with an audible puff of air) a as the a in ago / about p as the p in push / pie aspirited e as the e in hen / pen t as the t in tie / tap aspirited u as the u in put ng like the ng at the end of sing, prac-tice by saying sing without the si ao as the ow in now r similar to the r in rat / run, many Thai s find it difficult to pronounce and substitute a l sound o as the o in hot / cot oh as the oe in toe 17 6pm hok mohng yen 7pm neung tum 8pm sowng tum 9pm sahm tum 10pm see tum 11pm hah tum day wan month deu an year bpee week ah t t When?

4 Muah rai today wan nee tomorrow prung nee yesterday muah wan Monday wan jan Tuesday wan ang kan Wednesday wan p t Thursday wan pa reu hat Friday wan suk Saturday wan sao Sunday wan ah tit January deu an ma ga ra kom February deu an gum pah pan March deu an mee nah kom April deu an may sah yon May deu an pr t sa pah kom June deu an m tu nah yon July deu an ga rak ga dah kom August deu an s ng hah kom September deu an gan yah yon October deu an du lan kom November deu an pr t sa ji gah yon December deu an tan wah kom dry season nah laeng rainy season nah fon morning chow afternoon bai evening dtorn yen How long? chai way la nahn mai .. hours .. choo a mohng .. minutes .. nah tee 16 Common Dishes Here are some common dishes you are likely to encounter during your homestay.

5 Green curry kang keow wan fried mixed vegetables pad pack reum sweet and sour seafood prewal wan talae fried fish bplah thawt roti roti squid with garlic bplah muek thawt gra thiem tom yum gung soup tom yum gung fish soup geng bpla southern yellow curry geng som dried squid bplah muek heng fried prawns gung thawt Time and Dates Telling the time in Thai can be a complicated business as the day is divided into four time periods. The list below shows each hour translated into the Thai system. What time is it? gee mohng laew 12 midnight tee ang keun 1am dtee neung 2am dtee sowng 3am dtee sahm 4am dtee see 5am dtee hah 6am hok mohng chow 7am jet mohng chow 8am bpaat mohng chow 9am gow mohng chow 10am s p chow 11am s p et mohng chow 12 noon tee ang 1pm bai mohng 2pm bai sowng 3pm bai sahm 4pm bai see 5pm hah mohng yen 5 Polite Particles and Gender Polite particles are added to the end of statements and questions to make the speaker s words sound more polite.

6 A male speaker will add krap and a female ka. Krap and ka can also be used to answer yes to a question or show agreement. The pronoun I also changes depending on the gender of the speaker. A man refers to himself as pom (I, me) while a woman will refer to herself as chan (I, me). Greetings & Introductions In the villages one of the first words you will hear is farang for-eigner. Just being a farang will attract attention and it is always nice to nod your head and say hello (sa wa dee [krap / ka]) to vil-lagers you meet. There are other common greetings apart from the customary sa wa dee [krap / ka]. For example pai nai (Where are you going?) is often used. The speaker normally isn t too concerned what your destination is but it is polite to give an answer or smile back. Food is a big part of Thai life, illustrated by the common greeting kin kow reu yang (Have you eaten?). You will often be invited for food with strangers which if accepted can be a very sociable experi-ence.

7 Hello ( / ) sa wa dee [krap / ka] How are you? ( / ) sa bai dee mai [krap / ka] I m fine thanks sa bai dee I m not so good mai sa bai Goodbye / bye bye [krap / ka] Good luck chok dee Excuse me kor toht Nice to meet you yin dee tee dai roo jak Good night rah dtree sa wat What is your name? ( / ) kun cheu a rai [krap / ka] My name is .. ( / ) .. [pom / chan] cheu .. What is your nick-name? ( / ) kun cheu len a rai [krap / ka] 6 Where are you from? kun mah jak nai I'm from .. ( / ) .. [pom / chan] mah jak .. Where are you going? pai nai I m going .. pai .. home / to the beach / bahn / chai haht Have you eaten? kin kow reu yang I have already eaten ( / ) kin laew [krap / ka] khop khun I haven t eaten ( / ) yang mai dai kin [krap / ka] khop khun Conversation & Essential phrases In Thai culture it is not considered impolite to ask someone their age.

8 Thai people often ask this so they will know how to address you in the future adding Pi before your name if older than them. Another common question which may seem forward to Westerners is mee fan mai (Do you have a boyfriend / girlfriend?). It is just a Thai way of being friendly and getting to know you more, they are not (always!) trying to chat you up. Thank you (very much) ( ) ( / ) khop kun (mak) [krap / ka] Yes chai No mai Please kor Sorry kor toht Pardon arai na Do you like it here? chop tee nee mai I love it here chop tee nee mak I don't like it here mai chop tee nee Just joking put len Just a minute bpep diaow It's OK / that's fine / never mind mai pen rai Can I take a photo (of you)? ( ) tai roop (kun) dai mai 15 I don't want it spicy mai dtorng gahn pet I'm hungry ( / ) [pom / chan] hew I'm full ( / ) [pom / chan] im Excuse me (sorry), I can't eat this.

9 ( / ) kor toht [pom / chan] mai tan What's this dish called? jan nei reak wah a rai rice kow water nahm ice nahm khaeng fish bplah chicken gai pork moo coffee kah fay tea chah toothpick mai j m fun I don t eat .. ( / ) .. [pom / chan] mai tan .. I'm allergic to .. ( / ) pom / chan pae .. chilli prik dairy produce ah hahn jam poo ak nom eggs kai gelatine w n gluten bpaang honey nam peung MSG choo rot nuts tua seafood ah hahn ta lae shellfish hoy I'm a .. ( / ) .. pom / chan .. vegetarian than ah hahn jair vegan mai than ah hahn tee mah jahk sat Do you have ..? .. mee .. mai chilli sauce sahws pr k fish sauce nahm bplah pepper pr k tai salt gleu a ketchup sahws ma keu a tet fork sorm spoon chorn glass geow plate jahn 14 What You Will See monkey ling coconut ma prow orchid gloo ay mai snake gnoo turtle dtao mangroves bpar gong gang sand flies rin mosquitoes yung bamboo mai pai palm tree dton palm cashew / ga you / ga yee mango ma muang What.

10 Is that? .. nan .. a rai animal sat flower dork mai plant dton mai tree dton mai Is .. man pen .. mai common hah ngai dangerous an dta rai endangered glai ja soon pan protected bpen khong sa ngoo an rare hah yahk Eating Have you eaten yet? kin kow reu yang I have already eaten ( / ) kin laew [krap / ka] khop khun I haven t eaten ( / ) yang mai dai kin [krap / ka] khop khun To eat kin To drink duem Just a little n dt noi Is it delicious? a roi mai It is delicious a roi I like it ( / ) [pom / chan] chop It smells nice hom jang spicy pet too spicy pet mak 7 How old are you? kun ar you tao rai I'm .. years old ( / ) .. [pom / chan] ar you .. Do you have a boyfriend / girlfriend? mee fan mai Do you like ..? .. chorp.