Though it's not really necessary to get by, you will undoubtedly have an easier and more enjoyable experience in Thailand from any time you spend learning Thai. Most Thais don't expect a foreigner to be able to speak any of their language, and...

???? a^ao shows surprise or disappointment at an unexpected turn of events.

The Thai language has its own set of numerals, although the standard Arabic/Western numerals are much more commonly encountered. You may come across the Thai numerals in government and official documents, legal documents, religious texts, page numbers of...

When first learning Thai, it can seem as if the Thais don't care for much politeness. The words a Thai dictionary would translate as 'please' (such as ga-ru-nah and bproht) are rarely heard in normal speech, while the 'softer' phrasing sometimes...

The particle นะ ná is extremely common in spoken and informal Thai, at least as much so as any of the polite particles. It's used to make a sentence sound gentler,...

On the surface, Thai grammar is much simpler than European languages - there's no verb inflection and tenses can often be shown just using the words "will" or "already", single and plural nouns are by-and-large the same, no noun...

As the majority of visitors to Thailand can speak little or no Thai, most communication between them and the Thais takes place in English. Although many Thais can speak some English, getting yourself understood, or understanding them, can...

In Thai, the name of the each country is also an adjective to describe things from that country. The word อังกฤษ ang-grìt, for instance, can mean either "England" or "English". To unambiguously refer to...

Although the names of the days of the week in Thai are very different from in English, they are derived from the names of planets in the same way. In a similar fashion, the names of the months in Thai are named after signs of the Zodiac. ...

Below is a list of pronouns meaning 'I/Me' in Thai, in approximate order of how common they are in everyday speech. Although there is a great range of pronouns, they're actually used quite sparingly and often omitted unless it's absolutely necessary to...

• What are the basic do's and don'ts ?
• What are Thai people like ?
• What sort of clothes should I wear while I'm there ?
• How difficult is to talk with the Thais ?
• Is it okay to go...

What are the basic cultural do's and don'ts?

There are several main differences in behaviour that westerners should be aware of before visiting Indonesia. In the most popular tourist destinations, locals will take less offence to cultural...

These are written in the Thai script, with the approximate English pronounciation written to the right of it. The literal translation and the English equivalent (if there is one) or meaning (if not) are also written below. Many of the ...

In an era of declining popularity of royalty in many countries, there's no doubt that Thailand's King Bhumibol Adulyadej  - the longest reigning monarch in the world - and his wife Queen Sirikit stand out as extraordinary exceptions. Held in...

Asking questions in Thai is straightforward, though there's a few different ways of doing it depending on what time of question you want to ask. An important thing to remember is not to automatically change the tone of your voice to indicate a question on...

Even if you can speak no other words of Thai, most European and American visitors to Thailand will quickly become familiar with the Thai word farang (often mispronounced (even by Thais) as falang - farang with a slightly trilled 'r' is...

Is Indonesia an easy country to travel in?

In general, it is. The country is very cheap, its people are exceptionally friendly, the transport options are plentiful (if a little slow) and limited English is widely spoken. Unsurprisingly, travel is...