สวัสดี ครับ / Hello,

In this first lesson we will learn pronouns along with some basic vocabulary, and see how to build some simple sentences in Thai.

But first let’s make a quick revision from our Introductory article.

Revisions

1. What is the meaning of the following words:

สวัสดี ค่ะ [sa^Lwat^Ldi~^M ‘kʰa^F]
ขอบคุณ [kʰɔ~p^Lkʰun^M]
ไม่ [mai^F]

2. How do you say … in Thai?

Hello. (man)
Please.
You are welcome.
Yes.

Answers:

Did you find the corrects answers? Let’s check:

สวัสดี ค่ะ [sa^Lwat^Ldi~^M ‘kʰa^F] means “Hello.” or “Goodbye.”. The ค่ะ at the end of the sentence indicates that it is being pronounced by a woman.
ขอบคุณ[kʰɔ~p^Lkʰun^M] means “Thank you.”.
ไม่ [mai^F] means “No.”.

Hello. (man) is “สวัสดี ครับ” [‘sa^L‘wàt^L‘di~^M ‘kʰráp^H].
Please. is “กรุณา” [ga^Lru^Hna~^M].
You are welcome. is “ไม่เป็นไร” [mai^F pe~n^Mrai^M] (No problem).
Yes. is “ใช่” [chʰai^F].

All right! Now let’s start the lesson.

Pronouns

There exists different pronouns in Thai according to gender, number but also politeness expressed toward the subject.

The table below lists polite pronouns:

ผม	[pʰomR]	I / me (only used by men)
ฉัน	[chʰanR]	I / me (mainly used by women)
ดิฉัน	[diLchʰanR]	I / me (only used by women), more formal than ฉัน
คุณ	[kʰunM]	You
เขา	[kʰe~oR]	He / him / she / her / they / them
มัน	[manM]	It, they (only for things or animals)
เรา	[re~oM]	We / us
พวก เขา	[pʰu~akF kʰe~oR]	They / them (more precise than เขา alone to indicate a group of people as พวก means group, party)

Nouns

Nouns in Thai are invariant in gender (like in English) and in number.

รถ	[rotR]	car, cars
ปากกา	[pakLkaM]	pen, pens
แมว	[mɛ~oM]	cat, cats (be it male or female)
หมา	[ma~R]	dog, dogs (be it male or female)

Note: Throughout the following lessons, only the singular form of the nouns will be indicated for nouns.

Simple sentences: S + V + O

Subject + Verb + Object sentences in Thai follow the same scheme as in English, that is to say Subject + Verb + Object. Look at the following examples:

ฉัน รัก คุณ	[chʰanR rakH kʰunM]	I/me (woman); [to] love; you	I love you.
เขา มี ปากกา	[kʰe~oR mi~M pakLkaM]	he/him/…; [to] have, possess; pen	He has a pen.

Vocabulary

Here is some vocabulary that we will be using to make some more sentences.

Thai	Transcription	Meaning	Comment
มี	[mi~M]	to have, possess
หนังสือ	[nangR/Hsɯ~u]	book
บ้าน	[ba~nF]	house
จักรยาน ยนต์	[chakLraLja~nM jonM]	motorbike	Literally: cycle + motorized
กิน	[kinM]	[to] eat
ข้าว	[kha~oF]	rice
เนื้อ	[nɯ~aH]	meat
ผัก	[phakL]	vegetables, vegetals, greens
ผัดไทย	[phatL thaiM]	Pad Thai	Thai-style fried noodles
เล่น	[le~nF]	[to] play	A game, an instrument…
กีตาร์	[ki~Mta~M]	guitar	ร์: As indicated in the Alterations part of the Introduction article, ◌์ makes a letter silent, therefore the ร is not pronounced.
เปียโน	[pi~aMno~M]	piano
ฟุตบอล	[futHbɔ~nM]	football/soccer
วิดีโอ เกม	[wiHdi~Mo~M ge~mM]	video game

And now, try to build the following sentences:

I (female) have a motorbike.
They have a dog.
You eat Pad-Thai.
I (male) eat rice.
She plays piano.
He plays video games.

Answers:

ฉัน มี จักรยาน ยนต์ [chʰan^R mi~^M chak^Lra^Lja~n^M jon^M]
พวก เขา มี หมา [pʰu~ak^F kʰe~o^R mi~^M ma~^R]
คุณ กิน ผัดไทย [kʰun^M kin^M p^hat^L t^hai^M]
ผม กิน ข้าว [pʰom^R kin^M k^ha~o^F]
เขา เล่น เปียโน [kʰe~o^R le~n^F pi~a^Mno~^M]
เขา เล่น วิดีโอ เกม [kʰe~o^R le~n^F wi^Hdi~^Mo~^M ge~m^M]

Well, this is the end of this first lesson. Do not hesitate to give me your feedback about this lesson, and share if you like it ^^.

Stéphane

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