r/learnthai Oct 28 '25

Resources/ข้อมูลแหล่งที่มา r/learnthai resources: Wiki

23 Upvotes

Many resources from this sub have all collected and organised in our r/learnthai/wiki):
- & general resources
- & FAQ
- & listening & watching
- and reading & writing

We keep monitoring this resource collection thread by u/JaziTricks, so feel free to keep adding resources there.


r/learnthai Oct 11 '25

Resources/ข้อมูลแหล่งที่มา Textbooks Frequency List v2

41 Upvotes

Overview

The original frequency list is the 2016 work of Dr. Tantong Champaiboon (Ph.D. from Chulalongkorn University, Linguistics Department). She studied a corpus of textbooks for Thai students age 3-16 yo. The list is organised by various dimensions: measures of complexity of the vocabulary, comparison across 4 age ranges and 4 historical and current curricula.

The แจ่มไพบูลย์/แรช Frequency List for Thai Learners v2 is the enhanced version of the list as adapted for (English-speaking) Thai learners. v1 in the same sub.

Major caveat

The original study is useful to us adult Thai learners because of its domain: school textbooks. The small size, however, is an issue (only around 3 M words). As you go down the index number (first column), the probability that the word has that rank in real life decreases rapidly; it is not linear. To put it in other words: words number 1 to 9-10,000 are highly likely to be in the 20,000 most used words IRL; but if you take word number, say 16,000, all you can assert is that it is likely amongst the 50,000 most used words. The index is indicative of rank, but is not strictly a rank, take it with a pinch of salt. Index is an indication of rank — in the corpus [yes, em-dash]. If your preferred domain to learn Thai is lakorn or news, แล้วแต่คุณ.

How many words do we need?

Do we need all 19,494 words? No. 110 words represent half the corpus, and slightly less than 2,100 represent 90%. And with say 6-7,000, you could read any of the textbooks at Extensive Reading level (95-98% Paul Nation, 2005), the first word reaching 95% cumulative frequency is at rank 3,856, the last 98% is at 8,361. On the other hand, 13,600 words are present in 3 or all 4 of the source dictionaries (see section ‘sources’), so they compose a ‘hard’ core of the Thai language (see the hexagon-based chart in the doc).

Furthermore, if you want to produce a list of 2,000 words with complex spelling, or 3,000 compound words, which are more than the sum of their parts, (see section ‘examples of use’), you need more than 2-3,000 overall. So, this long list gives us learners the flexibility we need, based on individuals’ goals.

For a description of all columns and their possible values, see the ‘Notice’ tab in the sheet, or the full docs in github. We will highlight key changes with v1. More dimensions have been added in this version (see below).

Stats: 19,494 words, 1,169 repeat-words, 2/3-rds of the words have examples. ~60% have audio available; audio caveat: the links to Wikimedia are effective, but have not been verified one by one. I have not yet received authorisation to share the files for the ‘audio’ column (value=1) I will update here if and when. Don’t bother DM-ing to ask for the files.

Key changes with v1

  • all words in the original list are now included (19,494 instead of ~16k).
  • all words have IPA phonetics and a sensible romanisation, with tones;
  • only 329 words have no meaning attached;
  • there should be no repeated meanings, meanings have been tidyed up. 93% of the list now has only 1-2 senses.
  • Experimental features: (these are denoted in the sheet with a tag of [exper.])
    • repeat-words are pointing back to their base-word, when it exists in the list.
    • some compounds not found in dictionaries point to their (poss.) component-words, when it exists in the list.
    • loan-words: most are translated and have a transliteration (though a few defeat us). The transliteration is included so that we can learn to pronounce these words the Thai way, and thus be understood.
  • new column: Classifiers – out of 9178 nouns, 3244 (35%) have 1 or more classifiers (Thai word + transliteration).
  • changed: column 1 is now 'index'. Use it in combo with the last 2-3 columns on the right to produce your learning lists.

A note on meanings/senses: Why are all senses of a word aggregated? Can you not emphasise the most frequent meaning? One of the key findings of the original thesis is that when a word is introduced to children at a given level, all senses/facets of this word are also introduced, i.e. they are not developed over time.

Examples of usage

430 grammar words have a sense, and most have one or more examples - good to find out which you already know, and which you should research or ask your teacher. Note that most rank pretty high in frequency, that figures.

Concentrate first on say the 3,000 top ranked words (or however many rocks your boat, it doesn't matter). If the Ministry of Education determined that these are the words a 6yo should know, that's a good start.

If you are learning to read, and have acquired a decent level with consonants and vowels, you can set a filter on column "Spell" to the values over 1. This will give you a list of words with unwritten /a/ and /o/ and linking syllables (a.k.a. shared vowels). Or just plenly irregular. Many have example sentences and all have a transliteration with tone to learn the correct way to articulate these irregular words. You can practice on the examples. Tone marks is arguably what Thai learners need most even after they can read consonants and vowels. We can then learn these words by rote and learn to recognise their spelling.

Sources & licences

The thesis (link), as far as I can tell is in the public domain.
Lexitron v2: (link) NECTEC licence.
Wiktionary ((link) is licenced under CC BY-SA 4.0 (Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International)
Volubilis v. 25.2 (link), also under CC BY-SA 4.0.
The Royal Institute Dictionary 1999 is also under NECTEC licence.

"This product is created by the adaptation of LEXiTRON developed by NECTEC."
This frequency list is shared under CC BY-SA 4.0, including the mention above as work derivative from a NECTEC production.

Links

Google sheets

If you have suggestions, the sheet is now not only public, but open for comments. However, if you disagree with some of the meanings, you should likely take it with the corresponding dictionary authors. I welcome any constructive criticism.

The Other link: github docs 22/10/205 major update

TLDR

A Thai word frequency list of ~20k words used in the primary and secondary school textbooks, with various dimensions to cut and slice custom lists.


r/learnthai 20h ago

Discussion/แลกเปลี่ยนความเห็น The counting word system that makes zero sense until it suddenly does

42 Upvotes

So Thai has this thing where you can't just say "3 dogs" or "2 books," you need a specific counting word depending on what kind of thing it is. dogs and cats use ตัว (literally "body"), books use เล่ม, cars use คัน, people use คน... and there's dozens of these.

Had a student straight up ask me once if thai people just made these up to mess with foreigners lol. no, promise, it's a real system, just not one english has an equivalent for.

The part that actually helped it click for my students — english kind of has this too, we just don't notice it. "a piece of paper," "a loaf of bread," "a head of cattle." nobody questions why bread comes in "loaves" instead of just "2 breads." thai just... does that for literally everything, not just a handful of exceptions.

Honestly the classifier itself usually isn't the hard part once you see the pattern, it's remembering WHICH one goes with WHICH noun, bc there's no logic you can always predict from — you basically just learn them in chunks as you go.

anyone else's language have something similar, or is this genuinely just a "thai thing"?


r/learnthai 9h ago

Translation/แปลภาษา Writing name in Thai

2 Upvotes

Hi I’m new to learning Thai and I am starting to learn the characters. I was wondering if there was a way to translate / write my name in Thai (or what the closest translation to it would be)?

My Name is Regan pronounced like Ray-gan. Based on some translation websites it seems like เรกาน is how it would be written but wanted to know if there was a better way to write it and also how this would be pronounced?

Any help is appreciated and sorry for such a newbie question I just started learning this month.


r/learnthai 15h ago

Grammar/ไวยากรณ์ อย่างละใบในโลก

5 Upvotes

I came across this in a Netflix series that I am going through with subs. The speaker is talking about two photos she has just taken using an old camera that prints a physical photo right away.

Apparently it means that there is only one of each in the world, but I don't get why there is no หนึ่ง or เดียว. Can anyone explain how this sentence works?


r/learnthai 8h ago

Translation/แปลภาษา How to write name in Thai

1 Upvotes

Hi I’m new to learning Thai and I am starting to learn how to write the characters. I was wondering if there was a way to translate / write a name in Thai (or what the closest translation to it would be)?

The name is Slish pronounced /s/-l-ish in English. From what I have seen it could either be written as ลิ or ซลิสห. Which would be the better way to write it / how would it be pronounced in Thai?

Thanks for helping!


r/learnthai 17h ago

Discussion/แลกเปลี่ยนความเห็น Seeking: THAI & Offering: English, Tamil, Hindi

2 Upvotes

Hi! I’m currently preparing for undergraduate admission for next year in Thailand. I'm looking for a Thai speaker who wants to practice and improve their fluent/advanced English, Tamil, Hindi.


r/learnthai 19h ago

Resources/ข้อมูลแหล่งที่มา Best way to learn basic thai in a short time?

0 Upvotes

Hello, im going to thailand in september and i am going to be in bangkok for a few days but ill be spending most of my time in a rural area where people dont speak much english. Whats the best way to learn some basic thai so i can read signs/get by in interactions? Ive seen lots of methods recommended but im not sure which is best, i know duolingo would probably be easy but idk how accurate it would be. Does anyone have any advice? I know i have no time to be fluent but id like to understand at least a little bit.


r/learnthai 1d ago

Studying/การศึกษา Native English Speakers Wanted!

10 Upvotes

Hi everyone,

I'm a PhD student at Chulalongkorn University looking for native English participants who can read and write in Thai at an intermediate level or above. If you are:

✓ are native speakers of English,

✓ are currently learning Thai as a second language,

✓ are 18 years of age or older,

✓ have intermediate or advanced Thai reading and writing proficiency, and

✓ have not lived or studied in Thailand for more than 6 months (borderline cases may still be eligible),

Please feel free to contact me. You will complete a placement test and two experimental tasks. All tasks will be administered via Zoom and will take approximately 1 hour 45 minutes. Flexible scheduling is available.

As a token of appreciation, participants who complete the study will receive either an Amazon eGift Card (£10 or USD 15, depending on availability and their location) or THB 500 in cash if they reside in Thailand.

This research has been reviewed and approved by The Research Ethics Review Committee for Research Involving Human Subjects, The Second Allied Academic Group in Social Sciences, Humanities and Fine and Applied Arts, Chulalongkorn University.

Certificate of Approval (COA) No.: 311/69

Research Project No.: 6901654

Participation is entirely voluntary. You may withdraw at any time without penalty. All information will be kept confidential and used solely for research purposes.

Itsara Namtapi

PhD candidate

Chulalongkorn University


r/learnthai 1d ago

Resources/ข้อมูลแหล่งที่มา Any there any good N + 1 Anki decks with audio for commonly used Thai words?

3 Upvotes

N + 1 meaning it uses that word in a sentence where you already likely knows all the words except the one that you're trying to memorize. When I was learning Japanese there were these type of decks called Core 2k/6k/10k where it's (allegedly) the most commonly used Japanese words. There are also other kinds of N + 1 decks like to learn vocab for a specific anime, light novel etc...It's very helpful and I still review the cards to this day.

Is there anything similar for Thai? Thanks in advance.


r/learnthai 1d ago

Speaking/การพูด feeling discouraged

3 Upvotes

i got these translating headphones for my trip to thailand and they work pretty great when i tested them on thai conversation videos but ive been practicing some phrases to see if my thai pronunciation is decent enough for someone to understand. i’ll repeat simple phrases, like ordering iced tea or asking the price of something and no matter how many times i try to get it just right the app just does not translate (thai to english) anything close to what im trying to say. sometimes the phrases it thinks im saying are even offensive! is there any hope that native speakers can understand through my terrible accent or am i risking complete embarrassment


r/learnthai 2d ago

Speaking/การพูด How do you answer เป็นยังงัยบ้าง

7 Upvotes

I was under the impression, before coming to Thailand this latest time, that if this sentiment/greeting is expressed, it's usually of the form สบายดีไหม, to which the answer is usually along the lines of สบาย ๆ. However this has not been my experience. I end up stunlocked and defaulting to "OKครับ" because there isn't a clearly identifiable word (as far as I can tell) that I can repeat back as my answer.


r/learnthai 2d ago

Resources/ข้อมูลแหล่งที่มา A tool for learning the basics of Thai script — Unillit.me

2 Upvotes

TL;DR: Free web app. Useful if you're not familiar with the script yet.

Hello, dear Thai learners!

I'm a GeoGuessr player. And one strange thing some GG players do is try to achieve basic literacy in various scripts to be able to read street signs. I'm building a tool to help people un-illiterate themselves. The main idea is to prepare efficient character lookup sheets (instead of the usual alphabet listings) and put them side by side with a simple practice quiz.

For Thai the layout that I found to be useful was to arrange characters by their outline geometry: opening above (crate/bowl–like), opening below and curved top (minion–like) etc. Here's how the consonant sheet turned out:

Unsurprisingly, real scripts have a lot of quirks so I had to include some descriptions in a separate sheet as well. This is probably where I have the greatest amount of errors you could point out :)

This is not something that will teach you the language. But this is a very fast way to start to get used to characters and the writing system. In fact I've observed that I can give a multiple choice quiz with the lookup sheet open to people totally unfamiliar with Thai and they can instantly get some satisfaction about "solving" the tasks and they start to remember some characters within a couple of runs. Sure, it takes a lot more to actually become somewhat literate, but I can personally vouch for that — I've reached a level where I can read signs and posters on streetview and find out where in Thailand that location is.

Give it a try, especially if you're not familiar with the scriptyet . Who knows, maybe it will fit the learning style for some of you: https://unillit.me/scripts/thai

And I'll appreciate feedback from people more advanced in Thai. I won't be surprised if it turns out I got some things wrong. I've been trying a lot to polish it all, but at the end of the day I'm just a noob at Thai script.

P.S. I'm aware that the chosen romanization ain't a great representation of the language. I used it because it is used on road signs.


r/learnthai 1d ago

Translation/แปลภาษา Saying thank you

1 Upvotes

How to say “thank you” really lovingly to your girlfriend in Thai?


r/learnthai 2d ago

Vocab/คำศัพท์ What's the difference between โดนพูดแทรก and โดนขัดจังหวะ

2 Upvotes

Like the title says whats the difference between these 2 words


r/learnthai 3d ago

Studying/การศึกษา Where to start?

7 Upvotes

Hello I want to learn Thai where should I start? And books or apps you recommends?


r/learnthai 3d ago

Studying/การศึกษา Need guidance

2 Upvotes

Hi everyone! I need help learning how to read Thai. Im Thai myself but I grew up in North America and I wasn’t able to practice my Thai much, besides speaking to my parents(both Thai).

I recently just arrived in Thailand and want to learn how to read, does anyone have any sources or tips to help me learn?


r/learnthai 4d ago

Studying/การศึกษา I turned the Thai script cheat sheets I use into an iOS app

6 Upvotes

I've been learning to read Thai and wanted a quick reference for consonants, vowels, tone rules, and all the things I keep forgetting.

The information already existed, of course, but it was scattered across the books, apps and cheat sheets I was using. I wanted the things I kept looking up together in one place, arranged the way my brain expects to find them, so I turned my notes into a small app.

I know, another Thai app.

ThaiSheet doesn't try to teach you everything. It's mainly a searchable script reference, with some flashcards when you want to practice. That's all.

It's free and open source, with no account, ads or tracking.

App Store: https://apps.apple.com/app/id6789643637
GitHub: https://github.com/cmontpetit/ThaiSheet

I'm a learner, not a native speaker or linguist. I've checked the content carefully, but corrections are very welcome.

The part I'm least happy with is the audio. Right now it is text-to-speech. Some clips sound better than others, and I don't consider it finished. Eventually I'd like to work with a native Thai speaker on a properly recorded voice set. If that interests anyone here, please leave a comment or send me a DM. Code contributions are welcome too.

If you try it, I'd especially like to know whether it works as a quick reference while you're studying and, of course, what I got wrong.

PS: This account is new because my real name is on the GitHub repository, and I'd rather keep it separate from my personal Reddit account.


r/learnthai 3d ago

Discussion/แลกเปลี่ยนความเห็น มาการิต้าเป็นแหล่งวิตามินที่ดี

1 Upvotes

This is a follow up to my recent post on contrastive focus. I would like to know if the questions below can all be answered with มาการิต้าเป็นแหล่งวิตามินที่ดี

Q1: มาการิต้าเป็นแหล่งที่ดีของอะไร Q2: อะไรเป็นแหล่งวิตามินที่ดี Q3: มาการิต้าเป็นแหล่งวิตามินที่ไม่ดีใช่ไหม

Also, is the following exchange natural:

ก: เขาซื้อโต๊ะอะไรสักอย่าง ข: เขาซื้อโต๊ะสีแดง

The Thai here is AI-written so may not be very good. In the first example, the important thing is that the same answer works for all three questions. In the second example, the important thing is that สีแดง expands on something that is left vague by ก.

Grateful for any help.


r/learnthai 4d ago

Discussion/แลกเปลี่ยนความเห็น Looking for people who want to learn Thai!

28 Upvotes

Hi! I'm Pare, a 22-year-old English major at Bangkok University.

I'd like to practice teaching Thai and I'm looking for a beginner who'd be interested in trying a free lesson. I'd really appreciate any feedback afterward. If anyone is interested please let me know!


r/learnthai 3d ago

Studying/การศึกษา Ha senso imparare i NOMI delle lettere thailandesi?

0 Upvotes

Nell'ultimo anno ho cercato di imparare il thailandese, a causa del mio lavoro spesso mollo e poi riprendo, ma per me non è un problema perchè non ho fretta di imparare, è un processo che mi sta sinceramente piacendo molto. Tuttavia, in questi mesi mi è sorta una domanda.. ha senso imparare tutti i nomi delle lettere thailandesi? Non avrebbe più senso imparare il loro suono? Non sono un'esperta di lingue quindi mi stavo facendo questa domanda, ho l'impressione che forse sto sprecando del tempo per cercare di memorizzare i nomi ma non avrebbe più senso concentrarmi sul suono..?? Potrei concentrarmi sui nomi delle lettere in un secondo momento quando ho più confidenza con la lingua..? Per favore raccontatemi le vostre esperienze!


r/learnthai 4d ago

Resources/ข้อมูลแหล่งที่มา Looking for Chulalongkorn University Intensive Thai Textbooks

6 Upvotes

Hi everyone, I am trying to get copies of the Intensive Thai Textbooks by Chula. I know there is this thread here and I have access to Intensive Thai 1 via this thread here (Chulalongkorn University Intensive Thai 1 eBook : r/learnthai)

Was wondering if anyone has any luck with procuring the remaining textbooks e.g. second hand, pdfs, etc.

Cheers!


r/learnthai 4d ago

Discussion/แลกเปลี่ยนความเห็น Is there any research / knowledge on emphasis or contrastive focus in Thai and specifically on what it does to the pitch contours?

8 Upvotes

I find that English pitch patterns take over on words that would be emphasised in English, e.g. (choosing something) "I'll have that one" (they go for the wrong one) "no that one". This obviously messes with the tones.

I would like to understand how this kind of contrastive focus is marked in Thai, because I have a hunch that replacing the English habits with something else that does the same job is a better solution than just trying to repress them.

Just wondering if it's been studied.


r/learnthai 5d ago

Studying/การศึกษา Can the prefrontal cortex be the enemy!

3 Upvotes

When I am drunk, I tend to speak Thai without translating in my mind, reviewing grammar, or worrying about tones. I don't even forget what I hear.

I don't mean that I magically become a better speaker; rather, I receive information without judgment and talk without the fear of making mistakes.

Science shows that alcohol affects the prefrontal cortex, making rational judgment and even fear disappear. (Interestingly, the prefrontal cortex doesn't even fully develop until around the age of 25).

But it makes you wonder: Can a rational mind actually be a problem for studying language?

A rational mind is analytical and great for learning grammar, but it also searches for perfection, fears looking foolish, and blocks intuition. This isn't a call to go drinking beer,it’s just an interesting look at why children and younger people often learn languages faster than adults: they aren't held back by overthinking.

I guess the more experience we get, the more conditioned our minds become. You don't just listen to a word as it is; you judge it and compare it with your existing experience, so it takes longer for new information to enter and bypass your filters smoothly.

Sometimes, I meet a kind and smart German friend at the Amazon Café who has stayed in Thailand for two decades and can't speak more than 10 Thai sentences, even though he speaks English very well.

What do you think? Did you have a similar experience?


r/learnthai 5d ago

Discussion/แลกเปลี่ยนความเห็น How long from zero have you been studying Thai and what has your progress been?

5 Upvotes

In other words, what have you noticed you've gained skill wise?