Yuki & Miki @ PickupThai

Both “ตั้งแต่ [tâng tàe]” and “จาก [jàak]” mean “from/since.” And both “จน [jon]” and “ถึง [těung]” mean “to/until.” Do you know when to use each one of these words? Test your Thai knowledge by taking our quiz below!

Complete the sentences below with ตั้งแต่ [táng tàe], จาก [jàak], จน [jon] or ถึง [těung].

Continue reading ตั้งแต่ [tâng tàe], จาก [jàak], จน [jon], ถึง [těung]

Everyone who has learned Thai probably knows that “ไป” [pai] means “to go” and “มา” [maa] means “to come.” But have you ever heard a Thai person say “ไป…มา [pai…maa]” and wondered what it means?

Thai people commonly use the structure “ไป…มา [pai…maa]” when they want to say that they went somewhere or did something somewhere in the past.…

Continue reading ไป…มา “pai…maa”

One word you may keep hearing throughout the Songkran (Thai New Year) festival is “เล่นน้ำ” [lên náam]. “เล่น” [lên] means “to play” and น้ำ [náam] means “water.” The literal meaning “เล่นน้ำ” [lên náam] is “to play with water,” and what that means is “to have fun splashing or throwing water as a way to celebrate the Thai New Year festival.”…

Continue reading เล่นน้ำ [lên náam]

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สุขสันต์วันสงกรานต์
[sùksǎn wan sǒng-graan]
Happy Songkran Day

สวัสดีปีใหม่ไทย
[sàwàt dii pii mài Thai]
Happy Thai New Year

สาดน้ำ
[sàat náam]
To throw/splash water

ปีนฉีดน้ำกระบอกละเท่าไหร่
[peun chìit náam gràbàwk lá tâo rài]
How much is one of these water guns?

จะไปเล่นน้ำที่…
[jà pai lên náam tîi…]
I’ll go celebrate the Songkran festival (by throwing water at other people and get soaked) at…

อย่าสาดผม/ฉัน
[yàa chìit phǒm / chán]
Don’t throw water at me!…

Continue reading Useful phrases for Songkran Day

Q1: What’s not in this picture?
a.) โคมไฟ [kome fai] b.) ผ้าม่าน [pâa mâan] c.) พรม [prom] d.) ปฏิทิน [patitin]

Answer:
a.) โคมไฟ [kome fai] lamp
b.) ผ้าม่าน [pâa mâan] curtain
c.) พรม [prom] carpet, rug, mat
d.) ปฏิทิน [patitin] calendar

 

Q2: What’s not in this picture?
a.) กระจก [grajòk] b.)

Continue reading Vocabulary Game: What’s Not in This Picture?

 
A beautiful and unique “I Love Thailand” design in handwritten Thai script, with a red heart and a small Thai flag printed on various items including T-shirts, mugs and stickers. Products can be personalized with your name or your own text to make them more special. This design is not only unique, beautiful and stylish, it’s also a great way to express your love for Thailand and the Thai language.…

Continue reading Personalized I Love Thailand

Private Lessons with Mary Jane

“I have taken Skype lessons with Khru Jane for several months now. She is very kind, flexible, and makes learning fun. She uses humor to make each experience entertaining, and she is very patient with my many questions about the lesson, Thailand, and the culture, and very accommodating of my demanding work schedule.

Continue reading A New Testimonial for Khru Jane

อาการปวดหัวแบบต่างๆ
[aa gaan pùad hǔa bàep dtâang dtâang]
Different Types of Headaches

ไมเกรน
[migraine]
Migraine

ความดันโลหิตสูง
[kwaam dan low hìt sǔng]
High blood pressure

เครียด
[khrîad]
Stress

เวลาขอแฟนไปเที่ยวกับเพื่อน แล้วแฟนบอกว่า “อืม ไปสิ”
[welaa kǎw fan pai tîao gàp peûan, léaw fan bàwk wâa um pai sì]
When you ask your girlfriend if it’s okay for you to go hang out with your friends and she goes “um, sure.”…

Continue reading Different Types of Headaches

Most Thai learners probably know what “จะ” [jà] means. It means “will.” At least, most of the time it does get translated as “will,” a modal verb expressing future tense. But what you may not know is that, in spoken Thai, we also use “จะ” [jà] to say “almost,” or to express that something is going to happen in the near future or about to happen, instead of the words “เกือบ [geùab]” or “ใกล้ [glâi].”…

Continue reading จะ…แล้ว “jà…léaw”

มีเมียสวย เพื่อนอิจฉา 5 นาที
[mii mia sǔai peûan ìdchǎ hâa naatii]
If you have a beautiful wife, your friends will envy you for five minutes.

มีเมียดี เพื่อนอิจฉาตลอดชีวิต
[mii mia dii, peûan ìdchǎ talàwd chiiwít]
If you have a good wife, they will envy you their entire lives.

V o c a b u l a r y – – – *

เมีย [mia] wife (informal)
สวย [sǔai] beautiful, gorgeous
ดี [dii] good
นาที [naatii] minute
เพื่อน [peûan] friend
อิจฉา [ìdchǎ] to envy
ตลอดชีวิต [talàwd chiiwít] one’s whole life…

Continue reading Beautiful wife vs. Good wife

The word “ต้อง” [tâwng] in Thai is equivalent of the verb “must” in English. And like “must,” apart from expressing obligation, strong recommendation or necessity, “ต้อง” [tâwng] can also be used to make a deduction or a conclusion about something that is very likely to be true. But for the latter use, we don’t just say the word “ต้อง” [tâwng] by itself, we use the structure “ต้อง…แน่(เลย) [tâwng…nâe (loei)].”…

Continue reading ต้อง…แน่เลย “tâwng…nâe loei”


ถ้าคุณทำได้ จงช่วยผู้อื่น
[tâa khun tam dâai, jong chûai pûu èun]
Help others if you can.

ถ้าคุณทำไม่ได้
[tâa khun tam mâi dâai]
If you can’t,

อย่างน้อย จงอย่าทำร้ายผู้อื่น
[yàang nói, jong yàa tam ráai pûu èun]
at least don’t hurt them.

ดาไล ลามะ : Dalai Lama

[ – – – Vocabulary – – – ]

ถ้า [tâa] if
จง + verb [jong] imperative form
ช่วย [chûai] to help
ผู้อื่น [pûu èun] other people 
อย่างน้อย [yàang nói] at least
อย่า + verb [yàa] do not + verb!…

Continue reading At least…

วันนี้ เราสองคนดีใจมากค่ะ
[wanníi rao sǎwng kon dii jai mâak kâ]
Today, we’re very happy.

เราได้รับอีเมลแจ้งข่าวจากยูทูปว่า
[rao dâai ráp email jâeng kàao jàak Youtube wâa…]
We received a notification from Youtube saying that…

แชนเนิลยูทูปของเรามีคนติดตามเกิน 10,000 คนแล้ว
[channel Youtube kǎwng rao mii kon tìd tàam gern nèung mèun kon léaw]
Our Youtube channel has exceeded 10,000 subscribers.…

Continue reading We hit 10000 Subscribers!


ข้าทำงานจนไม่มีเวลาพักผ่อน
[kâa tam ngaan jon mâi mii welaa pák pàwn]
I spend so much time working that I don’t have time to rest.

ส่วนข้าพักผ่อนจนไม่มีเวลาทำงาน
[sùan kâa pák pàwn jon mâi mii welaa tam ngaan]
And I spend so much time resting that I don’t have time to work.

Vocabulary – – -*

ข้า [kâa] I, me (used by people in the ancient period)
ทำงาน [tam ngaan] to work
จน [jon] …so much that…, until
พักผ่อน [pák pàwn] to rest, to relax
ส่วน [sùan] and / as for…

Continue reading Balance is Key

สวัสดีปีใหม่ค่ะ ทุกคน
[sawàddii pii mài kâ túk kon]
Happy New Year, everyone!

ขอบคุณทุกคนที่ติดตามเราตลอดปี 2018
[khàwp khun túkkon tîi dtìd dtaam rao dtàlàwd pii sǎwng pan sìp bpàed]
Thank you for following us throughout the year 2018.

การสนับสนุนของทุกคนมีความหมายต่อเรามากๆ
[gaan sanàpsanǔn kǎwng túkkon mii khwaam mǎai dtàw rao mâak mâak]
Your support means a lot to us.…

Continue reading Happy New Year 2019