Did you know that it’s very easy to convert the Christian Era or the Common Era (CE: ค.ศ. คริสต์ศักราช, [krítsàkkaràat]) to the Buddhist Era (BE: พ.ศ. พุทธศักราช, [pútthasàkkaràat])? You can do that just by adding “543” to the Christian era.

For example,
2016 + 543 = 2559
ค.…

When you learn that you have a new project/assignment/gig coming up, you can use the phrase “งานเข้า” [ngaan kâo], of which the literal meaning is “a job/project came in.” Usually, it is a good thing when that happens but since you won’t be available to do anything else except for working on that project, it could be considered a bad thing as well.…

ประธานาธิบดี [prathaanaatipbawdii] President
สหรัฐอเมริกา [sahàrát America] The United States of America
คนที่ 45 [kon tîi sìisìphâa] The 45th (person)

Grammar – – – – ( ^ n ^ )

Noun + (Classifier) + ที่ [tîi] + number
= The first, second, third…(ordinal number)

Examples:

วันที่หนึ่งสิงหา [wan tîi nèung sǐng hǎa]
= วัน [wan] + ที่ [tîi] + หนึ่ง [nèung] + สิงหา [sǐng hǎa]
= Day + tîi + 1 + August
= The first (day) of August.…

Since Thai food is undeniably tasty and Thai cuisine is a huge part of the Thai culture, plus, good and cheap food is available everywhere you go, 24 hours a day, you might easily find yourself overeating while in Thailand. If you hear someone say one of these phrases below to you, you should probably try to eat a little bit less because that person is telling you that you eat a lot (and it often implies that you eat too much)

กินจุจังเลย [gin jù jang loei]
literal meaning: “You eat a lot!”…

เท่ากับ [tâogàp]: “as (adj./adv.) as”

Did you know that in informal Thai, you can omit the word “กับ” [gàp] in “เท่ากับ” [tâogàp] when you compare something to something else? It actually sounds better and more natural without it. Let’s take a look at the examples!

ไม่มีใครหล่อเท่าแฟนฉัน
[mâi mii khrai làw tâo fan chán]
Nobody is as handsome as my boyfriend.…

แกล้งโง่บ้างจะได้มีความสุข
[glâeng ngôo bâang ja dâai mii kwaam sùk]
Play dumb sometimes and you’ll be happy.

– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –

แกล้งโง่
[glâeng ngôo]
To play dumb

จะได้
[jà dâai]
so that…

มีความสุข
[mii kwaam sùk]
To be happy…

Male polite particle::: ครับ [kráp] (always high tone!)
Female polite particles::: ค่ะ [kâ] and คะ [ká]

– – – – – When to use falling tone ค่ะ [kâ]
(in practice, often changed to low tone [kà])

1. At the end of a statement
2. After these following particles:
– เถอะ + ค่ะ [tèr kâ]
– อ่ะ + ค่ะ [à kâ]
– แหละ + ค่ะ [làe kâ]
– น่ะ + ค่ะ [nâ kâ]

– – – – – When to use high tone คะ [ká]

1.…

รู้ [rúu] is a verb meaning “to know”.
ทราบ [sâap] is a polite term for “to know”
ไม่ทราบ [mâi sâap] means “(I) don’t know”.
ทราบไหม [sâap mái] means “Do you know?”

Most Thai learners know all that. What most people don’t know is that when you use ไม่ทราบ [mâi sâap] before a question, it does not translate literally to “I don’t know,” which would not make sense.…

ไม่อยากผิดหวัง ก็อย่าคาดหวัง
[mâi yàak pìt wǎng gâw yàa kâat wǎng]
If you don’t want to get disappointed, then don’t expect.

– – – – V o c a b – – – –

หวัง [wǎng]: to hope
คาดหวัง [kâat wǎng]: to expect
ผิดหวัง [pìt wǎng]: to be disappointed…

One of the biggest common mistakes that nearly every male Thai learner makes is to pronounce “ครับ” [kráp] with a low tone or any other tone but a high tone, especially when it’s not in a question but in a statement. Remember to ALWAYS pronounce it with a “high” tone, even when it’s not a question.…