colloquial Thai

[Geoffrobson2684]

I try and supplement my understanding of spoken Thai by listening to local radio and watching Thai soaps/movies. One of the frustrating barriers is the use of colloquial expressions and contractions that come up time and time again. I have tried trawling the internet but with limited success to find a really good guide for these. For example, I have found the following

Chii mai(R) is often spoken as chi mi
Mai(R) is often shortend to meh or even ah
Mai(F) Dai(F) can sound more like May dai(F) or even may(F) day(F) when spoken quickly

others I cannot work out, for example
mii la (shortend form of mee laaeow(R)?)
Koh baat (no idea, often seems to be used on its own in response to a someone, or at the end of a statement so some form of particle that seems to be equivalent to "do you/I understand)

These sorts of things are a real barrier to understanding Thai as they are used so frequently. It would be enormously helpful to have a list of these commonly used terms and what they are an abbreviation of. [/list]

[jaehwi]

Hi Geoffrobson2684,

Thank you for the post and suggesting the good idea.

Let us consider your idea when we make our plan for future development. We agree that it would help you and other listeners understand more natural Thai language if they know those simplified forms.

Thank you again, and if you have any questions please let us know anytime.

Jay / ThaiPod101.com

[brigydon1_19285]

I try and supplement my understanding of spoken Thai by listening to local radio and watching Thai soaps/movies. One of the frustrating barriers is the use of colloquial expressions and contractions that come up time and time again. I have tried trawling the internet but with limited success to find a really good guide for these. For example, I have found the following

Chii mai(R) is often spoken as chi mi
Mai(R) is often shortend to meh or even ah
Mai(F) Dai(F) can sound more like May dai(F) or even may(F) day(F) when spoken quickly

others I cannot work out, for example
mii la (shortend form of mee laaeow(R)?)
Koh baat (no idea, often seems to be used on its own in response to a someone, or at the end of a statement so some form of particle that seems to be equivalent to "do you/I understand)

These sorts of things are a real barrier to understanding Thai as they are used so frequently. It would be enormously helpful to have a list of these commonly used terms and what they are an abbreviation of. [/list]

It's a difficulty her in the Lanna province too

I get round it by chatting to local speakers. There are many such dialects in Thailand and I think for Thaipod101 to include examples would make the navigation of the site more cumbersome and make learning more confusion for readers