“It’s really hard to learn Thai”
-Me (a few years ago) and countless other expats in Thailand.
Well, we were half-right.
Thai is really hard… if you don’t know what you’re doing.
If you know what you’re doing? It’s not that bad.
Lucky for you, now I know what I’m doing 🙂
So if you want to seriously learn Thai?
Reading this article could save you from wasting 100+ hours along the way.
Or worse, giving up.
My story
In September 2017, I embarked on a 3 month trip to Southeast Asia (SEA) – the first destination was Bangkok, Thailand. After that, I would return to the U.S. and get another 9-to-5.
Well, I guess it half worked out like that. I came back to the U.S. in December 2017, but four months later, realized it wasn’t time for my adventure to end. I booked a one-way ticket to Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.
7+ years after first landing in Bangkok, I’m a location-independent entrepreneur (I run a business from my laptop) and Thailand has turned into a second home for me.
As of April 2022, my Thai language skills were virtually nonexistent.
But as of March 2025, I can hold basic conversations with Thai people and text at a more advanced level (yes, in Thai script). And I have a strong foundation due to my reading skills (we’ll get to that in a bit).
Why learn Thai?
I’m learning Thai for the following reasons:
- It’s difficult (it’s an exciting challenge)
- I want to make deep connections with locals, and truly understand the motivations, desires, and actions of people from an “alien” culture.
- I usually have some free time.
I want to elaborate on that second point. I believe that language is the gateway to a culture. There are many words and phrases that just don’t translate well to English – you really need to be immersed in the language to understand their full meaning.
Here’s an example:
And here’s another example:
Fortune teller is หมอดู.
หมอ translates to “doctor”, and ดู translates to “see.”
The doctor word is the same one that refers to medical doctors.
With this in mind, it’s easier to understand why Thai people revere fortune tellers.
Learn reading and tones first
If you are in the early stages of learning Thai and you only take one piece of advice from me, make it this:
Spend your next 50 to 100 hours of learning time on ONLY reading and tones.
Not starting with reading and tones was my biggest mistake.
Here’s a 2 step plan for you:
- Go through the Learn Thai from a White Guy program. (This isn’t an affiliate link.)
- Hire a 1-on-1 teacher to help you strengthen the foundation you got in Step 1. Be clear that you want them to be very strict on any pronunciation errors.
You’re probably wondering: why start with reading and tones?
Because learning to read Thai helps you speak better:
- You learn how to accurately pronounce every vowel and consonant. There are 44 consonants and 28 vowels – many of which don’t map to the Roman alphabet.
- It’s easier to remember the right tone for each word. There are 5 tones in Thai, and you can determine the tone of a word based on how it’s written – with very few exceptions. So, reading drills the right tones into your head.
- You have more opportunities to practice. Now you can text message Thai people, read menus, and read stories (okay, that last one might take some time… but you can eventually).
My pronunciation is my greatest strength in Thai – I’m rarely misunderstood. When I am misunderstood, there’s a good chance I learned the word before I learned how to read and haven’t read it in Thai script.
I admit there are people who speak good Thai who can’t read Thai – they do exist. But just because it’s possible doesn’t mean it’s advisable.
If you played a barefoot LeBron James in a 1-on-1 game, you would get crushed. Would you say, “Based on this, I shouldn’t wear sneakers when playing basketball.”
Of course not!
Some people are naturally gifted at learning languages and/or they put a lot of time into learning Thai.
I’m confident these people would speak even better if they learned to read.
Focus on the essentials after learning reading and tones
After you have a good foundation in reading and tones, you should learn essential everyday words, phrases, and situations with a teacher from a “book.”
But after you know the basics, focus on what’s needed in your situation, NOT whatever is next in the book.
✅ You are going to the post office to send a package to your friend – you role play the situation with your teacher a day or two before.
❌ You don’t take an active role in your learning, and the next lesson is “going to the doctor.” You have no immediate plans to go to the doctor, the doctor is likely to speak very good English, and you don’t want to risk miscommunication on a medical issue.
✅ You’re going through your daily life – going on dates, chatting with the Thai guys you meet playing basketball at the park, buying something at HomePro, etc., etc. As you go through your Thai interactions, you come across things you don’t understand but seem important & things you want to say but cannot convey. Note it all down in a Google Doc and ask your teacher next time.
Pro tip: italki is a good place to find a teacher for irregular one-offs – such as role playing a trip to the post office or getting answers to your constantly accumulating list of questions!
Getting beyond the basics
The Learn Thai from a White Guy program and 1-on-1 lessons will get you a nice foundation in 100-200 hours (roughly). But to get to get good, you have to spend 1,000+ hours learning Thai.
Below, I give you my opinion on a few ways to learn:
- Flash cards: My current – subject to change – opinion is that flash cards are good when you’re just getting started, but there are better ways to progress as you get more advanced. When you do use flash cards, focus on what you will use in “the wild” in the near future.
- Movies: I’ve consumed a lot of Thai content on Netflix. It’s definitely not the most efficient way to learn, but it’s an easy, enjoyable way to make some progress.
- Comprehensible Thai Youtube Channel: essentially, you watch videos of people speaking in Thai. You pick a level where you can understand most, but not all of what they are saying and your brain fills in the gaps. I think the total beginner videos rely heavily on visual cues (I started with the advanced beginner). You’re looking at hundreds of hours to see a meaningful difference, but I’m a believer in this method. Check out this video for more info.
Of course, as touched on earlier, you want to be practicing in real life every chance you get. This is the fastest way to get good at Thai. Pro tip: get off the beaten path – you’re more likely to encounter Thai people who speak little to no English (which = learning opportunity).
Final (for now) thoughts
What learning Thai has taught me is that you’re not done learning how to learn a language until you speak like a native.
Until then, you’re discovering undeniable truths (learn the script!!), figuring out how you learn best, and figuring out how to rack up the hours.
My parting advice is get started and keep at it.
I know that’s obvious.
But here’s the thing:
Learning a language is like anything.
You’re going to suck at first.
But then you get better and you fall in love with the process.
The pain/frustration of learning leads to the pleasure of reading, writing, and speaking.
Like how the pain of exercising leads to the pleasure of having hit the gym. And then you start appreciating the work because the connection is established.
(Feel free to substitute something for working out – the point still stands).
You just gotta stay in the game long enough to get to that point.
