Thinking about visiting Thailand? Timing is key. There are three seasons —ฤดู (rue:´-duu)—in Thailand: “cold,” “hot,” and “rainy.” The “cold” season is no quite cold the way many of us think of it: take a look below at the seasons in Thai and their typical temperature ranges so you can choose the best time to visit.
| Season | Months | Temperature |
| ฤดูหนาว rue:´-duu naawˇ cold season |
November to February | from around 10 or 15 degrees to 25 or 30 degrees Celsius (from around 50 or 59 degrees Fahrenheit to 77 or 86 degrees Fahrenheit) |
| ฤดูร้อน rue:´-duu rawn´ hot season |
March to June | from around 30 to 40 degrees Celsius (from around 86 to 104 degrees Fahrenheit) |
| ฤดูฝน rue:´-duu fo:nˇ rainy season |
July to October | from around 20 to 35 degrees Celsius (from around 68 to 95 degrees Fahrenheit) |
Language is almost as important as your timing. If you want to learn Thai before you travel to Thailand, here are some tips:
The Thai language is alphabetic, like English, meaning that each sound of the language is represented by a special letter and a word is written by putting together consonant and vowel letters. However, Thai has its own Thai alphabet, as you can see in the table above.
Thai is also a tonal language, like Chinese. There are five tones in Thai: a mid, low, falling, high, and rising tone. We also use tones in English, though we don’t think of them as tones: just think of the difference between the sound of “store” in “You went to the store.” versus “You went to the store?” That’s similar to the rising tone in Thai! The tone changes the meaning of the word, so pay close attention to the tones when speaking Thai.
Finally, Thai gives importance to both politeness and gender in its language. There are two different words for the pronoun “I” in Thai depending on if the speaker is male or female, and the polite sentence endings also change according to the gender of the speaker.
Now let’s look at ten essential Thai phrases you could use on your travels. (Note that there is one to use if you are male, and another one to use if you are female. Can you spot the difference?)
สวัสดีครับ (m.) / สวัสดีค่ะ (f.)
sa`-wad`-dii khrab´ / sa`-wad`-dii khaˆ
Hello.
ลาก่อนครับ (m.) / ลาก่อนค่ะ (f.)
laa-kawnˋ khrab´ / laa-kawnˋ khaˆ
Good-bye.
ขอบคุณครับ (m.) / ขอบคุณค่ะ (f.)
khawbˋ khun khrab´ / khawbˋ khun khaˆ
Thank you.
โปรด
prodˋ
Please.
ใช่ครับ (m.) / ใช่ค่ะ (f.)
chaiˆ khrab´ / chaiˆ khaˆ
Yes.
ไม่ใช่ครับ (m.) / ไม่ใช่ค่ะ (f.)
maiˆ chaiˆ khrab´ / maiˆ chaiˆ khaˆ
No.
แทกซี่อยู่ที่ไหนครับ (m.) / แทกซี่อยู่ที่ไหนคะ (f.)
thae:kˊ-siiˆ yuuˋ thiiˆ naiˇ khrabˊ? / thae:kˊ-siiˆ yuuˋ thiiˆ naiˇ khaˊ?
Where are the taxis?
ขอบิลครับ (m.) / ขอบิลค่ะ (f.)
khawˇ bin khrabˊ / khawˇ bin khaˆ
The check, please.
ของชิ้นนี้เท่าไรครับ (m.) / ของชิ้นนี้เท่าไรคะ (f.)
khawngˇ chinˊ niiˊ raa-khaa thauˆ-raiˋ khrabˊ? / khawngˇ chinˊ niiˊ raa-khaa thauˆ-raiˋ khaˊ?
How much does that cost?
รหัสไวไฟคืออะไรครับ (m.) / รหัสไวไฟคืออะไรคะ (f.)
raˊ-hadˋ waay-faay khue aˋ-rai khrabˊ? / raˊ-hadˋ waay-faay khue aˋ-rai khaˊ?
What’s the wi-fi password?
You can get more Thai instruction, including many phrases to get you through almost any situation on your travels, as well as interactive flashcards, games, and access to online one-on-one tutoring sessions with a native speaker by signing up for our Passport Thai course, available now!
