The most common curse word in Thai is the word for the water monitor. In this article, you will see the reason behind it. Moreover, you will see how variety this word is used in the modern Thai. Table of contents Why เหี้ย (hîa) become the most common curse word in Thai ตัวเหี้ย (tua hîa) … Read more
Since Halloween has just ended this year, this month’s newsletter is going to be about the five most well-known Thai ghosts in Thai culture. Do not worry, these ghosts are the most well-known ones, not the scariest ones. Do Thais celebrate Halloween? A few times I have got this question. For us, วันฮาโลวีน (wan haaloowiin) … Read more
During rainy seasons every year, some provinces in Thailand encounter flooding issues. In this article, you will practice listening to a short story about floods and pick up some new words related to floods in Thai along the way. The topic might seem advanced to some students, but I’m sure you will learn something. At … Read more
Let’s explore what mai mean in Thai. It is not a word with many meanings, but there are different words with similar pronunciations. In the transcription that I use, it is written as ‘may’ instead. However, in this article, we will use ‘mai’ as most of the people are familiar with this format. I will … Read more
ยี่ห้อ (yîi-hɔ̂ɔ) means brand in Thai. Today, we will see what brands turn into generic terms in the Thai language. Have you heard Thai people called instant noodles มาม่า (maa-mâa) Mama? Well, มาม่า (maa-mâa) does not mean instant noodles in Thai. 1. มาม่า (maa-mâa) an instant noodle brand in Thai The actual word for instant … Read more
I remember one student asked me “Do Thai people call foreigners ฝรั่ง (fáràŋ) Farang because we are white like guavas?” Well, in fact, Thai people named guava after foreigners. Let’s go back to the past to find out the origin of the word ฝรั่ง (fáràŋ) in the Thai language together. Farang is a borrowed word … Read more
Let’s learn something about the words related to the sea and ocean in Thai. The first week of this month, I went to สมุทรสาคร (samùt sǎa-khɔɔn) Samut Sakhon province for a whale-watching trip. I was expecting to see วาฬบรูด้า (waan bruu-dâa) Bryde’s whales swimming in อ่าวไทย (ʔàaw Thai) the Gulf of Thailand. วาฬ (waan) means … Read more
สงกรานต์ (sǒŋkraan) Songkran is known as the Thai New Year. But what does this word actually mean? Let’s find out! Table of Contents Songkran doesn’t exactly mean Thai New Year The word สงกรานต์ (sǒŋkraan) Songkran is a borrowed word from Sanskrit. The original term is Sankranti (सङ्क्रान्ति), which mainly means transference. You can see other … Read more
You probably have learned that the word แฟน (fææn) as a Thai word for girlfriend and boyfriend. Do not worry, you’ve learned the right word. But today, you will learn that this word is not originally a Thai word. Back to พ.ศ. 2490 (AD 1947), Thai people started to use the word แฟน (fææn) in … Read more
I’ve just been back from ขอนแก่น (Khon Kaen) and กาฬสินธุ์ (Kalasin) provinces in อีสาน (Isan) or Northeast of Thailand. I had a good experience and had something to share with you. I visited พิพิธภัณฑ์ ไดโนเสาร์ (phíphítthaphan daynoosǎw) or Dinosaur Museum in กาฬสินธุ์ (Kalasin). The museum’s official name is พิพิธภัณฑ์ สิรินธร (Sirindhorn Museum). While I was … Read more