Why is Thai language hard to understand? (Thai, English subs)

In this video, I talk about a few reasons why Thai is hard to understand.
A big reason that my students always talk about is that Thai people speak too fast. But is it true? I think the big reason is you are just not accustomed to spoken Thai.
For example, Thai uses less syllables than other languages.
Also, spoken Thai and written Thai are different. So even if you can read everything, when you listen, you might still struggle. For example, the letter R sounds like the letter "L" in spoken Thai. Also, Thai people shorten a lot of words.
Another big reason is trying to focus on understanding every single word and forgetting to listen to the rest of the sentence. I recommend filling in the blanks using the context.
TIMESTAMPS
00:00 Introduction
00:35 Do Thai people speak fast?
01:15 Thai uses less syllables than other languages
04:05 Spoken Thai and Written Thai are different
05:17 Thai people don't pronounce the "r" in spoken language
05:51 Don't try to focus on understanding every word and forgetting to listen to the rest
07:02 Conclusion
⭐️ Download the transcript here: thaiwithgrace.com/wp-content/...
⭐️ Subscribe to my Thai learning Channel to learn Thai: / @thaiwithgrace9231
Visit my site and get a free E book: thaiwithgrace.com
Twitter: / thaiwithgrace
Learn Thai with Thai teachers on italki (Referral link): bit.ly/italki-twg

[@polyglotgrace]

⭐ Subscribe to my Thai learning Channel to learn Thai: kzbin.info/door/txPNb4l4rf4msU-oD-Abqg

[@Smile-pk2gl]

I don't know why I'm here even I am Thai.

[@polyglotgrace]

lololol

[@Btran7591]

Trying to find a video with a list of common shortened words and this video helped a lot.

[@arashickarened]

I'm so glad to stumble upon your channel! I appreciate that you do your videos in Thai and give the subtitles in English, Thai, and romanisation. It's very helpful for practising listening. And I think the problems you highlighted in this video are very valid, especially for the third one. Looking forward to more videos from you!

[@polyglotgrace]

Glad you like my videos! I will keep making more

[@ix64006]

สมควรแล้วที่พูดได้หลายภาษาเพราะดูแล้วมีความพิเศษทางด้านการสื่อสารจริงๆ ชอบมาก❤️

[@jimfoster1501]

Hi Grace... yes.. i totally agree with all these points. especially the final one. my brain wants to investigate the words i dont know therfore losing the entire conversation. Also, certain people say certain things differently... ie theres different ways to say the same thing... all goes towards making it difficulty to understand people in real life situations

[@Hsunr]

thank you Grace for sharing this! I can't agree more on the spoken and written differences that i struggle the most in learning thai.

[@heymanheyguys7821]

สุดยอดมากเลยครับคุณครูเกรซ มีประโยชน์มากๆสำหรับชาวต่างชาติที่กำลังเรียนภาษาไทย อธิบายละเอียด ชัดเจน ตรงประเด็น เข้าใจง่ายมากๆครับ

[@polyglotgrace]

ขอบคุณคะ

[@johnhyung3413]

ขออนุญาตนะครับ แต่พิมพ์ขอบคุณค่ะจะดีกว่านะครับ กลัวคนต่างชาติเข้าใจผิดว่าสะกดยังไงกันแน่

[@phaexus]

Hey. Another awesome video. I love that you can download transcripts of your videos. I haven't seen other channels teaching Thai do that. It's super useful to me. Great job 😃😎🙏

[@polyglotgrace]

Thanks! I am glad it's useful.

[@HM-hu4hu]

Your videos are always so informative and useful, easy to grasp points, and a very pleasant voice as well.

[@polyglotgrace]

Glad you like them!

[@vili3189]

Great video! I learn for 2 month so i can understand like almost everything what you say without even looking translation , but if you start to speak fast and not clear then its hard for me to understand, but practice is the key! ❤

[@frias6467]

Excelente explicação👍🏻 Obrigado por postar!

[@polyglotgrace]

Obrigada!

[@Bloooooooooopp]

Wow i learned a lot in a short video. Great video. Deserve so many more subs :)

[@polyglotgrace]

thank youu!

[@kimmy877]

Hello Grace, many thanks for your uploads. I have learnt a lot, so thank you so very much. All the three points that you highlighted are very interesting and valid of course. Personally, on point number 1 where you gave examples comparing the number of syllables in conveying the same message, I think it is precisely that there are less syllables used in Thai to convey the same message in English that Thai is spoken at Speedy-Gonzales’s speed ! Sometimes before one realises, the words have zoomed past. But like you say, and I agree whole heartedly, practice and hard work are what’s required. Thanks again

[@polyglotgrace]

haha Yes, kimmy, practice, hard work and HAVING FUN with the language is very important..

[@mirajang3879]

จริงค่ะ เป็นทุกภาษาแหละค่ะ แรกๆที่เรียนภาษาต่างประเทศคือเวียนหัวมาก เพราะเป็นคนชอบเรียนภาษาจากการฟังและพูดก่อนจะเรียนแกรมม่า แต่พอดูมากๆฝึกฝน ออกเสียงตามบ่อยๆจนชิน นอกจากจะเรียนแกรมม่าเข้าใจง่ายขึ้นแล้ว ยังช่วยเวลาสนทนากับชาวต่างชาติด้วย แต่พอมาอยู่เกาหลีคือยิ่งหนักเลยค่ะ เพราะมาอยู่โซนคยองนัม คนใต้พูดเร็วมากและพูดซาทูรีด้วย ที่เคยเรียนๆมาคือแทบจะต้องตั้งต้นใหม่ ยิ่งคุยกับคนแก่ท้องถิ่นคือยิ่งแกะสำเนียงยากมาก เท่าที่รู้จักคนต่างชาติที่เรียนภาษาไทย แทบทุกคนบอกเหมือนกันว่าภาษาไทยเรียนฟังพูดง่ายกว่าภาษาอื่นๆนะคะ

[@dond2807]

Amazing video loved it!

[@polyglotgrace]

Thanks so much!

[@LikeAGentlemanPlease]

I just watched a movie called Hunger on Netflix and somehow I found myself here thinking, “should I move to Thailand and learn Thai?”

[@dailyieltslisteningtestsch7383]

Keep up the good work 💪

[@andres19877]

Me encanta tu forma de enseñar el Thai. Los subtítulos en Thai me ayudan muchísimo. Mil gracias!!!!

[@polyglotgrace]

Muchisimas gracias Andrés! También tengo este canal solo para tailandés kzbin.info/door/txPNb4l4rf4msU-oD-Abqg

[@landgabriel]

I love the lesson and you.

[@charlene9308]

omg Khruu Grace your KZbin channel is booming so fast!! I’m so happy for you! I’m so happy to have stuck to your channel since the beginning😆😆

[@polyglotgrace]

Thank you Charlene!!!!

[@polyglotgrace]

Thank you for always being there for me!

[@AmazingWorldTaste]

ขอบคุณสำหรับคลิปนี้นะครับ เป็นคลิกที่ยอดเยี่ยมจริงๆ ชอบที่คุณครูพยายามพูด ช้า ๆ ชัด ๆ และสามารถแยกแยะ ปัญหาได้ลงลึกและละเอียดดีครับ เป็นสิ่งที่บางทีเจ้าของภาษาอาจจะนึกไม่ถึงจริงๆ อย่างเข่นคำว่า อะไร หรือ ใค ที่เรามักจะรวบคำตอนพูดจริงๆ I think this clip will really help people who learn Thai language.

[@polyglotgrace]

Thank you! I am so happy you like it. Yes. I have so many more examples of words like that 🤣🤣 I might make a part 2 in the future.

[@MayerConstance]

Wow!!! that research blows my mind. I have said that. You are so right - not enough practice. Such good points: I do get so stressed when I don’t know a word- then I find out later it means “and”. You are an excellent instructor - definitely grad school level. So smart! And watching/reading Thai authentic materials - some said below the same thing about his mistakes. Hmmm, what about a video regarding where to find the shows, books, etc.?

[@polyglotgrace]

I wrote an article about shows and books that I recommend in Thai. Please go to my website. thaiwithgrace.com -> Blog -> search bar -> enter 'drama'. You can find useful stuff in the blog. Thanks again constance

[@louierodriguez9880]

I’m happy you speak slowly and clearly with good diction.

[@polyglotgrace]

Thank you Louie :P

[@crondigady]

This is excellent. You bring up several important points. *written vs spoken *do not let one unknown word interrupt your listening (I do this all the time but I am improving!) *Listening and speaking alll the time! I will converse with myself when I drive. I’ll read aloud. I have realized how much work our muscles need in our mouths and throats to conform to Thai! Thank you Kru Grace!

[@polyglotgrace]

ขอบคุณคะ

[@armunro]

You should copy this video to your learn Thai channel. Glad you explained why I don't always understand spoken Thai!

[@prapaipeach5062]

อธิบายง่าย เข้าใจง่าย เก่งมากเลยค่ะฟังสบายหู ค่ะ

[@polyglotgrace]

อ้า คะ ดีใจจังเลยคะ

[@maithaiyou]

Very interesting thank you Grace. Now I’m happy I’m not learning to read or write. Only speaking 😊

[@lllolllintheworldegirl1305]

สุดยอดค่ะเป็นกำลังใจให้ทุกคน

[@jeromestavros]

Wow. You've reached 6K plus already in record time Kru Grace!

[@polyglotgrace]

Thanks Jerome! yes! My channel grew so fast since the polyglot video. so I will keep making more polyglot videos as well as the Thai videos.

[@jeromestavros]

@@polyglotgrace really happy for you Grace..picking up the choice of words in your speech when you speak (in) Thai

[@alexischuah639]

Hi Kruu Grace, can't agree more about not learning Thai through transliteration, especially at Intermediate and advanced levels. Looking forward to purchasing your updated audio course

[@polyglotgrace]

Alexis! Thank you for your comment! Yes, I'm updating my audio course. I want it to be really good. I want to put time in to it. Thank you for mentioning!

[@snehagupta8877]

Khôb khún kä 🙏 Ma'am for this vedio .... thought I am just a beginner in Thai I must say ma'am your guidance really helps me alot .. its my only wish if you made a vedio on grammer portion like uses of when, where , why ,How.

[@polyglotgrace]

I will make videos on Those point. Thanks for the suggestion.

[@kongLWZ]

สุดยอดมากครับ ทำซับปกติว่าเหนื่อยแล้ว อันนี้เล่นทำทั้งแปลอังกฤษ ภาษาไทย กับพินอิน สุดยอดมากครับ

[@polyglotgrace]

ขอบคุณมากคะ

[@darrenyau7392]

Another reason which I think learners may not understand spoken Thai is due to insufficient Thai vocabulary. Many of the words that learners come across are context-specific e.g. directions, ordering food, general greetings, family. But in real-life situations, the topics can be quite diverse and spread across a wide spectrum. Thus, with limited vocabulary, learners may not understand what is being said.

[@adrienjm3714]

Very good video

[@exploring_thailand]

I think another difficulty for English speakers is word order. The most obvious one is the placement of adjectives. But also in phrases like ฝังไม่ได้ยิน คิดไม่ออก มาไม่ถึง we're not accustomed to hearing that kind of construction and our brains are not used to parsing that word order. The same thing with can/ได้ - we're so used to hearing it before the verb, that we lose it when it moves behind the verb especially when gets moved right to the end of a long verb phrase. That's compounded further by the meaning of ได้ changing depending on whether it is before after the verb in the Thai sentence. When you're reading, you have time to deconstruct the sentence and understand what is going on. It's much more difficult to do that when listening.

[@polyglotgrace]

Really great points. I will try to write an article/make a video on this one day.

[@eyranyyra7777]

ฉันเพิ่งเข้าใจอักษรธรรมดาถ้าเป็นภาษาไทย แต่เมื่อเป็นอักษรไทย ฉันไม่เข้าใจอะไรเลย แต่ดีใจที่มีเพื่อนชาวไทยช่วยฉัน

[@duangchitphanchamfar1695]

I’m a native Thai speaker. This is my first time to watch your KZbin video clips

[@thestarisblinkblink]

The fastest way to learn Thai for me is watching more movie, series, and youtube. If you able to understand some Thai already. Don’t be stressed if you can’t understand all of the word in 1 sentence. I use this method to learn other languages. Try to listen normally conversations from video even you don’t understand them ,then sometimes you’ll catch some vocabulary you’ve learned before. And repeat what they say if you like their accent. Be like toddler or children that repeat everything they hear. I’m Thais but I think Thai is still hard sometimes when I need to face with slang words that can come from everything in your life, local language, and the last one is Loo language ภาษาลู that’s insane language for communicating it’s use spread in lgbtq lol I try to learn them for many years but still confused. These definitely different from every you’ve learned in Thai It's not necessary to know kind of these things its just make me understand when they talk more. Thai is fun when you use but not about Thai grammar, I can't even use it correct LOL วิธีที่พี่เกรซบอกคือตรงหมดเลย ใช้กับทุกภาษาเลยค่ะ หลังจากเรียนตามหนังสือแล้วจะไปหาคลิปฟังเจ้าของภาษามากกว่า เพราะบางทีเรียนมาแล้วไปดูคลิปเขากลับใช้ไม่ตรงกัน

[@polyglotgrace]

thanks, great tips

[@JimNichols]

Late to the party as usual 555555 all the things are true, but I understand you for the most part and pick up new words like And (Lag-or) by listening. You are correct about tuning out the speaker when I become inundated with new words, but I have found that even Thais, my wife for example, find Thais speak lao lao. My wife whom is a teacher tells her daughter all the time to poot cha cha because she cant even understand her, the daughters college friend understand fine but mom does not.. I agree with you, it seems that Thais speak quickly when most likely it is the listener tuning out the speaker because the listener is lagging behind translating in their head.... that is my issue. Thanks for the videos and the time it takes to make edit and post them ma'am...

[@polyglotgrace]

Thank you Jim

[@Paul_in_Thailand]

If I speak my native British English at my normal speed and normal accent, Thai people and most non-native English speakers won't understand me, so if I speak English in Thailand, I always try to pronounce my English correctly, speak slower and choose easier English words to be understood. My Thai girlfriend does the same in Thai and I understand her, but if she is chatting with her friends or family, then I hardly understand anything.

[@soidogcowboy3282]

Great video, but you are definitely speaking Thai slowly here :)

[@polyglotgrace]

haha thanks

[@rudydedios4852]

thank you Khun Grace.

[@polyglotgrace]

Thank you!

[@lucianolopes3452]

this video it's really good. everyday i listening to something in thai language and i speak that i feel sad because it's so hard undertanding thai. but the big problem to me is find out materials in thai to practice listening because a lot of materials has no subtile in thai language and it become the things more difficult . So if you THAIWITHGRACE can say me where i find out materials to practice i'll feel so glad and thank you so much for you do a lot of videos learning thai language..

[@alertcam7391]

Yes, that could help…. I have the same problem

[@polyglotgrace]

I'll keep making videos like this so hopefully that helps. Aside from this, I made this article with some resources that has subtitles thaiwithgrace.com/awesome-free-resources-for-intermediate-and-advanced-thai-learners/

[@lucianolopes3452]

@@polyglotgrace thank you so much Thaiwithgrace your videos are very good and help me a lot i really want to learn fluent thai .thank you so much

[@muganiwatsamanea4757]

Thank you Grace, you give a lot of motivation to people who are learning Thai. So I trouble with the word "เเบบ" how to use it in Thai conversation?

[@polyglotgrace]

แบบ is exactly like the word "like" in english. Some people use it, like, too much, like, you know, like I don't even know how to explain. = บางคนใช้บ่อยเกิน. แบบ. รู้ปะ. แบบ ไม่รู้อธิบายยังไง

[@muganiwatsamanea4757]

@@polyglotgrace thanks for your explanation

[@Forzendream]

ชอบคลิปมากเลยค่ะ อยากเก่งภาษาอังกฤษค่ะ มีแอปคุยกับชาวต่างชาติแบบฟรีๆไหมคะ

[@polyglotgrace]

ไม่เคยใช้แต่ว่าเพื่อนที่ใช้บอกว่า hellotalk ดีคะ

[@luaanaalmeeida]

This is my main problem studying Thai! When I listen people talking or when I watch something I can't understand, I can just catch words I recognize. But if I read a text or read subtitles I can understand way more. It's really frustrating cause it seems like I'm not learning anything. Besides that, learning alone by oneself it's really hard to create situations where you can practice speaking and I think that speaking helps a lot in this process. And, not mention the incountable particles that comes along with ภาษาพูด

[@polyglotgrace]

I can relate! I have/had this problem with Turkish. One thing I can say is language learning is hard and you have to stick to it. Keep listening more and more , find content with subtitles (hopefully my Thai channel helps you with this), watch the same thing a few times and each time you should be able to understand more and more, and then come back to it a few weeks or months later again.

[@creth0N]

So true. My brain stop working when I hear a word I don't understand. That's a big reason why I often feel I don't understand when Thai people speak. The point you had about how few syllables Thai use, makes me think that once you get used to it, it should be a easy language to speak. One problem I'm facing now is understanding all the uses of ให้ Like some times it's ช่วยให้คุณ .... other times ช่วยคุณให้ and all of that

[@polyglotgrace]

It can be a bit complicated. For your specific example, both mean the same. I have an article about ให้ that might help you a bit: thaiwithgrace.com/different-uses-of-hai/

[@creth0N]

@@polyglotgrace Thank you! Very helpful. Love your videos :)

[@B3-R]

Grace, khun put wan , thanks a lot, very true😀🍦

[@youngsuk3329]

He may be the tallest person I’ve ever met เค้าอาจจะเป็นคนที่สูงที่สุดที่ผมเคยเจอมา 10 syllables vs 14 syllables, not exactly that thai is shorter though

[@blutey]

Same with me. Thai reading, writing and speaking skills are ok-ish but my listening skills are the worst.

[@jeromestavros]

I need more practice stringing sentences together. Learning patterns doesn't help..so..i.know I just need to get the usage going and I'll be fine. My Thai vocabulary is quite large I think. I would say my level is upper intermediate...

[@BobtheMoneythedbr]

Love your glasses

[@VeganFootsoldier]

the problem that i have is that everything is super alien from the sounds to the writing to the grammar, it’s different from english, german, spanish, italian and dutch so i’m having big challenges. but i aim to be able to speak borat style by december

[@polyglotgrace]

You can do it. haha. Yes the sounds are different and it will take a lot of listening practice. But the grammar is not that different. In fact, it's a lot simpler, although yes, at first, it seems so alien. I will make a video on the grammar soon.

[@VeganFootsoldier]

@@polyglotgrace nice one!

[@IrinaN865]

ขอบคุณค่ะ. You're right. I'll find it easier to understand English, then Thai. But in Russia we speak faster then Thai people. I will try to follow your advice

[@boydsudhammo2150]

Hello Grace thank you for your channel Do you know where I could find more Thai video with Thai Subtitles in order to practice listening ? I can understand a lot already would be able/willing to watch native content but Subtitles would help to be able to see and learn new vocabulary. I can find videos with English subs but not many with Thai, other than yours. Thank you

[@polyglotgrace]

Hey do you know about my other specific for Thai channel : youtube.com/@thaiwithgrace9231?si=BGnYbo4RL5HwqAK8 Aside from that check out kittichai in thailand, he puts the yt subs in all the video

[@boydsudhammo2150]

Hello Grace yes I do know about your Thai channel and it is great, we'll done and thank you. I just realised that it is possible to turn on Thai Subtitles with some videos so that answers my problem. Thank you for your reply

[@dongtheinvestor]

ข้อ 3 นี่เห็นด้วยมากๆเลยครับ

[@Vanandearth]

You are such an inspiration!! ผมคนไทยครับ พูดอังกฤษได้ดีระดับนึง อยากเรียนเกาหลีครับ ปกติครู grace สอนคลาส online ที่ช่องทางไหนครับ อยากเป็นลูกศิษย์มาก

[@polyglotgrace]

จะพยายามทำวิดีโอเกี่ยวกับภาษาเกาหลีสำหรับคนไทยค่ะ

[@warungmamahadam]

Wow 👍👍👍❤❤❤❤

[@bangkokadventures298]

I love using the Netflix Language Learning app, but I keep getting my butt kicked. 555 It's like you said, missing just one word will throw you off. The other thing is that I try to listen first and read second. (I'm watching Girl From Nowhere) I often can't understand anything. But then when I read it, I realize I should have known every word! lol... My ears aren't trained to understand native speakers

[@polyglotgrace]

That's normal, try harder. It seems like my bf is the same level as you lolol. He's studying from Girl From Now where as well!

[@bangkokadventures298]

@@polyglotgrace 555 Then I guess he can relate to my struggles

[@ggoko6435]

พี่ไปที่บราซิลได้ยังไงอะครับผมก็อยากไปอยู่ทำงานที่นั้นเหมือน(Foi intercambista do brasil)

[@polyglotgrace]

พี่ทำงานออนไลน์ก็เลยไม่ยาก. คนไทยไม่ต้องใช้วีซ่า

[@bobbysayasane3413]

🙏🙏🙏

[@dailyieltslisteningtestsch7383]

❤❤❤

[@gawakhasdon7094]

One of the problems I face while learning thai is that I get confused with the spellings, for example while writing ใคร, I often get confused which kh should I use because ค,ข,ฃ all these are kh. Similarly with ส,ศ ,ษ พ,ผ etc. Do you have any advice as to how to learn where to use which one? And yeah, today's lesson was really nice as always, thanks a lot kru grace ☺

[@shadowshiro7301]

It's hard to explain. I remember vividly when I was 6-9 yrs old. We had to remember and practice all the tones and grouped the sounds of each character. After that, it's automatic. We don't have to remember anymore. A lot of usage, I guess. ส is more often used for starting a word and ษ is more of the ending. ศ can be the starting one. พ and ผ are different sound. พ is used more. ค and ข are also different sound. Again go back to when I was 8 yrs old learning about tones and grouping them. Grace can explain better.

[@gawakhasdon7094]

@@shadowshiro7301 okay, thanks a lot for the explanation . I really appreciate it 💕

[@polyglotgrace]

Hi Gawa, I agree with everything Pailin said. Also keep in mind the letter can change the tone. so it helps to know the tone rules and knowing the group of the character. Then it can get easier. For example "I" for men (ผม) can't be (พม) because พม wouldn't produce a rising tone. I will make videos on this soon.

[@gawakhasdon7094]

@@polyglotgrace ok, thank you so much for the reply☺. I will try to keep the tones in mind and associate it's sound with the letter. Thank you

[@abcdef-kx2qt]

@@shadowshiro7301 : MY TEACHER GIVE US A POEM. THE FIRST LETTER OF EACH WORD OF ABOUT 25 WORDS WERE IN GROUP TWO. THREE GROUPS FOR SPELLING . FIVE TONES . GRAMMAR !

[@RuthiDemir]

Very nice language 😊👍

[@polyglotgrace]

Thank you! 😃

[@cashmerecat9269]

I am struggling to read the Thai new fonts which spread allover the public spaces there. :(

[@polyglotgrace]

Yeah they can be hard to read

[@RNGZ8_]

YOO thanks friend for something

[@flippenlife]

พี่แนะนำบางซีรี่ย์แบบ Friends ที่ใช้ภาษาพูดไหม

[@polyglotgrace]

แนะนำให้พูดและเข้าใจถึงระดับสัก 80 เปอร์เซ็นก่อนแล้วค่อยดูซีรี่คะ ถ้าไม่งั้นจะกลายเป็นอ่านซับหรือดูผ่านๆ ไม่ได้เรียนอะไร

[@budwhyte424]

สวัสดีค่ะ ลูกสาวพี่สนใจเรียนภาษาไทยออนไลน์ได้ไหมคะ น้องพูด อังกฤษกับ โปรตุกีส ฝั่งบราซิลค่ะ รบกวนสอบถามรายละเอียดเพิ่มเติมได้ไหมคะคุณ เกรส ขอบคุณค่ะ

[@polyglotgrace]

สวัสดีคะ ยินดีคะ ติดต่อมาทางอีเมลสะดวกไหมคะ [e-mail]

[@joecoreano]

Nice shirt. My wife is Thai & I got her the same one from Atlantic City hard rock casino.

[@polyglotgrace]

Haha

[@bbcries2884]

2:24 Thai would probably say “กินไร?” (Gin-rai) Which is basically like “Eat what?” Lol

[@polyglotgrace]

Yes lolol I always say like that lol

[@shans5999]

Hello Grace

[@Captain-Groovy]

I think Thai is one of the easiest language in the world. but "K, P, T vs KH, PH, TH" might be hard for westerners.

[@AjSAS108]

100% Agree. ภาษาไทยง่ายมาก หัดพูดไทยง่ายมาก แต่อ่านกับเขียนอันนี้ไม่แน่ใจ

[@Orphan2008Go]

Ha! Even the words that I may possibly understand may have a dozen sometimes conflicting meanings. And don't get me started on the tones. English isn't a tonal language, so you are in a deep hole from day one. Context is so important, but on occasion it is possible to listen to a salad of familiar Thai words for minutes at a time and still fail to identify the subject being discussed. That is why spoken Thai is difficult to understand. With written Thai you most always have a contextual foothold. It makes all the difference.

[@user-hq5ug4pr5e]

อังหยอง สึนิมาเส/คึนิจิวา ไฮ สวัดดี

[@adrienjm3714]

What kind of series do you recommend ?

[@polyglotgrace]

Hi Adrien, Try seeing what Thai series you have in Netflix. I like Netflix because you can alternate between the subtitles. so if you don't get what they said in Thai, switch it to english subtitles to check. I enjoyed Girl from Nowhere

[@adrienjm3714]

@@polyglotgrace any movie ? Or thai youtuber with english subtitles

[@polyglotgrace]

@@adrienjm3714 I wrote an article about that here: thaiwithgrace.com/awesome-free-resources-for-intermediate-and-advanced-thai-learners/

[@kungkit201]

ภาษาไทย ไม่มีคำไวยากรณ์พวก article หรือ verb to be, to do , to have นอกจากพวกนี้ ก็ยังจะย่อคำให้สั้นลงกว่าเดิมอีก อย่างที่พูดในคลิป "กินไรอยู่" ต่างชาติจะงงก็ไม่แปลก จริง ๆ คำไวยากรณ์ที่คล้าย ๆ กับของภาษาอังกฤษหน่อยก็มีคำว่า "การ" ถ้าอยู่โดด ๆ ก็จะไม่รู้เรื่องเหมือน is , am , are ต้องเติม การ + "คำกริยา" จะมีความหมายเป็น "คำนาม" เหมือนกับภาษาอังกฤษ คำกริยา + "ing" แต่ก็มักจะใช้กับ ภาษาเขียน มากกว่า ภาษาพูด

[@jt21419]

Now I understand why Thais can afford to waste space on "ครับ" and "ค่ะ" !

[@duangchitphanchamfar6893]

พี่เกรซคะสวัสดีค่ะ

[@maximumkillmtg]

I just wanna comment about the R sound in Thai. Originally, this is a rolling R like in Spanish. But in the past two hundred years ago or so, the Bangkok accent, aka the accent of the hodgepodge port town of countless cultures and languages, began to take hold and eventually became the dominant accent in Thai culture. One of the most prominent features of this Bangkok accent is the pronouncing of R as L as many foreigners back then couldn't do the rolling R correctly. And that's why most Thai people you see speak lazily with R as L and oftentimes L as nothing. That doesn't mean it's good practice as it causes a lot of confusion and creates a huge rift between the written and the spoken language. I personally try to roll the R "correctly" but obviously if people want to pronounce R as L that's not my business to change them.

[@polyglotgrace]

True, it causes confusion because now we have to memorise which one is ร or ล in the written thai since everything is pronounced the same (ล)

[@user-nx9ic7hq3u]

พี่อยุ่ที่ประเทศไหนอ่าตอนนี้

[@polyglotgrace]

ประเทศบราซิลค่ะ

[@user-pc2lc6up9k]

อาจารย์เกรซเก่งมาก👍👏

[@user-vr6wq8xl2u]

I try my best to avoid using English or Chinese to talk to my Thai friends....😆

[@home2non]

รู้ล่ะฟังแปลกๆว่าทำไมคริสพูดช้าเพราะต้องการให้ต่างชาติเข้าใจนั่นเอง

[@polyglotgrace]

555 ใช่คะ คุณนนท์ :)

[@germyagermy4499]

Interesting. Chop maak!

[@jayb.j.1822]

คนไทยฟังออกว่าพูดอะไรครับ

[@tura491]

omg การฟังนี่แหละเป็นปัญหาของชั้นในการเรียนภาษาไทย ชั้นฟังไม่ได้หลายๆคำ ก็ จะ มี ถ้า คำสั้นๆแบบนี้

[@abcdef-kx2qt]

THEY DON'T SPEAK LOUD ENOUGH !

[@polyglotgrace]

lol 😂

[@jaybae8056]

ove your videos. i just subscribed like 1 minute ago. any help with: ขึ้น. like ดีขึ้น vs ขึ้นดี. etc. thanks a bunch. and how to improve listening comprehension? thai peeps speak fast. i used to speak pretty good thai, bqck in the late 80s and esrly 90s when i did muay thai, and worked in an indochine restaurant, but i have not really had the chance to use it much after that. please help

[@polyglotgrace]

hey, ดีขึ้น is just like improved, is better. Are you confusing it with กว่า? กว่า is used for comparison instead (i.e., ดีกว่า = better than ("I am better than you", you can't use ดีขึ้น). Not sure where you got ขึ้นดี from. Regarding listening comprehension, I recommend listening to things with subtitles over and over again. I have a lot of videos like that on my thai channel here: www.youtube.com/@thaiwithgrace9231

[@jaybae8056]

@@polyglotgrace i got confused with คืนดี, like ก็คืนดี and ขึ้นดี.

[@polyglotgrace]

ah okay. yeah ขึ้นดี doesn't exist. the คืน here is a mid tone and you can think of it as to return so คืนดี is to "return to good" (aka to reconcile with somebody after a fight or misunderstanding). ขึ้น is a falling tone and means to rise, increase, go upward. You just have to get used to hearing these words a lot and knowing in what context they are used in.

[@jaybae8056]

@@polyglotgrace aaaaaaaaah! i get it now!!!