Answered3 years ago
Why is the Thai language considered so difficult to learn?
Why is Thai so difficult? Every word means 18 different things and 50% of the words sound the same!
Answer summary
The conversation discusses the perceived difficulties of learning the Thai language, highlighting the challenges posed by its tonal nature and the multiple meanings of words based on pronunciation. Participants share personal experiences and compare Thai to other languages, especially English, while also emphasizing the importance of tone and phonetics in communication. The discussion includes humorous anecdotes and opinions on language learning, suggesting that while Thai might seem daunting, it varies based on individual backgrounds and experiences.
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Av **********
No difficult u just lazy lol
Terry ********
@Av *********
if you find it easy, that’s great. The majority of people don’t.Av **********
@Terry *******
u wanna google my books? Avalon giuliano.....random house published author.....and internet writing is not the same as books.....I don't care when I'm on the internet trolling people who can't get a tonal language.....like come on, u can't learn Thai...it's easy peasyTerry ********
@Av *********
so your y and o keys are broken?Av **********
@Terry *******
*u'reAv **********
@Terry *******
I speak 3 languages and had a keyboard error ..oh u got me....and yes I speak Thai....not that hard if Thai people actually like u and want to talk to uTerry ********
@Av *********
you seem to be lazy at learning English.
Gray ******
English is just as bad.
Johnny ******
Ough has 9 different sounds in English
Sei *****
The tones are difficult for someone who never heard before. they are different but sound same for a foreigner.
Nick ************
I learn some phrases and proudly off I go to try them out on my Thai friends. No one knows what on earth I am trying to say!
Steve **********
@Nick ***********
Yeah, nothing like denying your confidence after practicing some phrases, then trying them out on the missus only to have her collapse on the floor in fits of laughter...Nick ************
@Steve *********
I once told a small child in perfect Thai that we were going to eat lunch. She ran screaming back into the house and would not come out. Her mother explained that she had interpreted my Thai for I am going to eat you for lunch. True story. The kid still wont have anything to do with me 4 years later.Steve **********
@Nick ***********
scarred the kid for life.. 555I have my stock phrases I know will work, or in the words of our man, Clint Eastwood… “man’s gotta know his limitations” … and get the missus..
Ken ********
I was going to comment on the difficulties of learning Vietnamese. However, at least the letters are recognizeable. When I travel to Thailand, I am lost when it comes to signage in Thai.
Nongnuch ********
Thais often don't even understand each other! You can watch them discussing endlessly while trying to explain the categories of their topics. It often becomes ridiculous when some technical content needs to be explained
Diego *********
Grammatically, English is much harder (and let's not get started with Romance, Germanic, Slavic...Latin!), but for our western ears we aren't accustomed to monosyllables at differing tones, but also... Thais seem to break completely if you get them wrong while expecting us to understand when they mishandle verb tenses.
Steve **********
@Diego ********
then there’s Australian... 555
Steve *******
@Terry *******
Not sure about thatSteve *******
It's called a tonal language. The good thing is the grammar's easy!
Henning **********
It's not difficult. There is no such thing as a difficult language. It all depends on your background. If you know only your mother tongue, it's more difficult. If your mother tongue is in a different language family than the language you want to learn it's even more difficult. If you don't have proper resources or access, it gets even harder. And because language is so closely linked to culture and cultural identity, a language from a different culture adds more difficulty to it.
Ruth *******
@Henning *********
I disagree. I’ve studied five foreign languages and found Japanese the easiest. The others were western languages. I will agree that if one spoke other tonal languages, certainly learning Thai would be easier. That’s different than “culture” though. That’s a matter of having developed the ear and the tongue for it.
Apichaya ***********
@Ruth ******
I think we have different opinions on languages based on one's preference also, I find Spanish, Italian, German, Japanese, Mandarin and even Korean super hard (and personally some of em doesn't sound pretty imo) compare to French and Russian. But you're not wrong about Thai being difficult thoHenning **********
@Ruth ******
i speak four languages fluently but I have never learnt a language. Thai is my only asian language and it is the easiest for me. But before I could speak it it seemed impossible to me. I think language learning is much more culture and personal experience/immersion than we would think.
Hubert *******
ChatGPT fails to handle Thai because not smart enough
Justin *********
It’s all just a plot to make sure nobody in the English-speaking world can figure out how to make khao soi.
Eric **********
Because they only have 3,500 words!
Angela *****
Clean your ears with cotton buds, tone sounds is key
Ruth *******
@Angela ****
and if one is hard of hearing? Your comment is quite dismissive. I don’t like people complaining about other people’s languages, but ableist comments are not the proper response.Angela *****
@Ruth ******
Fyi I am fluent in 4 languages from a young age, Thai is my 5th, I was having the toughest time mastering it thinking maybe acquiring a new language as an adult is much harder. Paying attention to Thai's 5 main characteristic sounds & tones in their language caught me finding it easy to master after all. Now I am fluent in 5 languages.You having a go at me coz you don't like my joke or you are judging me by my Asian features
Ruth *******
@Angela ****
I think I was quite clear about why I was having "a go at you". Making "jokes" at other people's expense is childish, but I guess you're just trying to fit in with this group. I don't give a flying f*** about your features.
Rahul ************
It's really difficult to pronounce. If the sound is incorrect, the meaning changes.
Terry ********
Spanish is the easiest. Each consonant and vowel make only one sound. No tones, no different sounds as in English, however the conjugations can be a bit tricky
Phil ********
44 consonants
32 vowels
5 tones
Whats the problem? 🤣
32 vowels
5 tones
Whats the problem? 🤣
Chris *********
Not as difficult as English
Danny *******
It's a tonal language. Just be thankful they don't have tenses too.
James **************
@Danny ******
they do. 'Ja' is will - future, which is very easy to use in Thai. Gamlang - similar to present continuous. Laew is similar to past simple in use. Maa as in 'bpi nai maa' where have you been? - similar to present perfect in use....
But it's basically only those 4 or 5 equivalent tenses and a lot of contextual language.
Tim *********
Mai
Soeren **********
Because then they say , that was not what I said😆😆😆
Olivier ************
Do a Thai reading course. It will all make sense 👍
John ***********
@Ray ********
Glai and glai for two things that mean the total opposite really irks me when I am trying to establish distances. Sitting in a restaurant ordering food and not having the waiter understand 'kaou' is another pet hate.
Cherokee *********
@Ray ********
reminds me of French. 🤣
Al ********
So true
Steve *******
It's hard for someone who doesn't already speak a tonal language since tone is the basis for the entire language. And since Thailand hasn't developed a universal way to write the tones with roman letters, there is no easy way to teach the language to big masses at an effective rate.
John *********
@Steve ******
Learn to read and all will be revealed.Steve *******
@John ********
I speak thai fluently. I'm just answering the question in the post.John *********
@Steve ******
I speak Thai stutteringly. I'm sure anyone attempting to speak Thai are aware of the difficulties. As I said, the questions of tone and vowel length are evident if one can read.
Jack ****************
Because it is a language isolate and didn't get smoothed out by cross breeding. Also your account name makes this comment seem disingenuous. How many people commented and then got a PM to attend language classes?
Luc ************
Thai language is not difficult, the writing is.
Naj *************
If you think that’s bad; try Chinese🤣
Isaac ******
Need more exposure over a longer period of time. Alot of people talk about the 5 tones but then there's also you got to get used to the phonetic sounds as well. Some of those sounds are different or don't exist in English so we may not even be used to making a particular sound. When it comes for Thais understanding us there seems to be a certain level of importance with pronouncing correct vowel sounds (there's long and short variants) in addition to the tones. Just practice practice practice. Tones and phonics.
Luke **********
So does every other word in every other language.
Carolyn ************
It's a tonal language
Brown ********
All you need to know is the following
Sawadee crup
Sabadi Mai
Conchew Arai
Yinde tee di ru juck
Towel rai boom boom!
Nung pan baht
Enjoy your stay
Sawadee crup
Sabadi Mai
Conchew Arai
Yinde tee di ru juck
Towel rai boom boom!
Nung pan baht
Enjoy your stay
Karim ***************
@Brown *******
you forgot “Nam Keng”… Come on now, a life without ice here would be unbearable.Brown ********
@Karim **************
I'll stick to the granddaddy purple broJames **************
5 tones, so 5 potential meanings.
Sam *********
@James *************
yea but not every word is like that. I can think of a few where there are 4 different tones for the same "word", but that doesn't happen often.James **************
@Sam ********
yep that's true, not every word HAS 5 tones and hence 5 diff meanings, but there are 5 tones- (4 and a no tone).
Martin *********
Not to them it doesn’t 😉
Steve *******
Their
There
They’re
There
They’re
Mick *********
@Steve ******
were, we're, where
Tony ******
@Steve ******
and westerners even mess them up 😆 🤣 😂
Mark ******
Right (opposite to left AND wrong), write, rite, wright.
Steve *******
@Mark *****
right
Dave *********
@Steve ******
I've been pronouncing they're incorrectly all these years...Mick *********
@Dave ********
depends on your English accent 🤣
Brett ******
Kim *********
@Brett *****
were is pronounced completely different than where and wearSteve *******
@Brett *****
Nope, totally different wherever you're from unless you can't speak English 😂Ruth *******
@Brett *****
which makes it even worse!Kim *********
@Brett *****
thanks I know that now 😊 sorryBrett ******
@Kim ********
depends where you are from 😆Kim *********
@Steve ******
ohh I see 👍sorrySteve *******
@Kim ********
depends if you’re Irish or not
Jason ***************
I don’t think they understand each other most of the time anyway 😂
Marty *********
Study Thai enough and you will learn that much of English doesn’t make sense. Languages are inherently ambiguous.
Steve *******
@Marty ********
Study English enough and you'll understand Thai doesn't make sense! Doh!
Billy *******
@Marty ********
On freeways you pay tolls. You park in the driveway and drive on a parkway. Shipments go by truck. Cargo goes by ship. We live close together in APARTments. a-LIE'ns dont exist. The forbidden fruit was Apple. Apple Tablets like Pharmacueticals probably have harmful side affects.Terry ********
English is much harder to learn than most Asian languages. In Thai , if you’re a Falang speaking Thai, they will get the gist of what you’re saying even if your tones are incorrect
Eric *******
@Terry *******
No, they certainly won't.That's the problem with a tonal language. If you don't use the right tone for a word (and there are five different (possible) tones for each word in Thai, whether the tone has an actual meaning or not), the word you're using (or think you're using, ) will have a total different meaning from the one you intended to, OR no meaning at all cause the specific tone you used for this word has no existing meaning.
I've had three consecutive years of Thai language classes in a proper school here in Phuket. (for the context of what I'm saying).
Nick *******
@Eric ******
Can I ask school do you use?Terry ********
@Terry *******
not necessarily. I was once in Tesco looking for honey. I asked someone working there and because I didn’t use exactly the right tone (you have to widen the mouth) she had no idea what I was asking.Billy *******
@Terry *******
Krabi didnt come across until i said KraBEEE!Terry ********
@Billy ******
really !! Tried to take a cab to E-Mart. Said it about 10 times to no avail. Finally said oh ! E-Mart- uh. And he says ok ok ! How big of a leap is it from E-Mart to E-Mart-uh. And it’s a huge department store everywhere in Korea
Billy *******
@Terry *******
Really?Terry ********
@Billy ******
try living in Korea for a nightmare language 😂 😂
Todd *********
Wait til you try to teach someone English.
Frank **********
Funny because I was watching a tik tok video and you're right. The same word can have multiple meanings as the tone and which part of the word is given the most emphasis determines the meaning. It can be embarrassing.
Ruth *******
@Frank *********
The fact that they have different tones makes them different words, not the same word
Twiggy ******
555 So hilarious. Thank you 😁
Paul ********
The Thais think the same about English dude 🕶
Dave **********
@Paul *******
no they don't
Garrett ***********
@Paul *******
Any Thai I've met agrees Thai is very difficult to learn.
Jim ***********
@Mick ******
😅😅Garrett ***********
I think 50% is a bit understated 😂😂😂
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