Blog – BananaThai Language School

Recent Blog Posts

Tricky Thai Words That Sound Similar but Have Different Meanings

Learning Thai can be so much fun—until you hit those words that sound almost identical but mean completely different things! If you’ve ever felt unsure about how to say something correctly, you’re definitely not alone. Thai pronunciation, with its tones and subtle sound shifts, can feel a little intimidating at first. But don’t worry—this blog is here to help. We’ll walk you through the common pronunciation pitfalls, share simple tips to train your ear, and boost your speaking confidence. No more second-guessing yourself—let’s tackle those tricky Thai words together!

Learn the word “No” / “Not” in Thai (ไม่)

If you think “mâi (ไม่)” just means “no,” there’s a lot more to discover! Thai people use this tiny word in so many ways— to say no, sound humble, show doubt, or even add emphasis. In this blog, we’ll break down the most common uses of “ไม่” with easy examples and real-life dialogues. It’s a fun and friendly guide to help you speak more naturally and confidently in Thai.

Colloquial “Can / Cannot” in Thai: Verb Phrases You Should Know

In this lesson, we’ll explore a slightly more advanced concept: complementary verb phrases — combinations of two verbs that convey whether or not an action is possible. These are widely used in daily conversations and carry emotional or physical nuance.

Reduced vowels, reading Thai, writing Thai

Thai Reduced Vowels (สระลดรูป – sà-rà lód rûup)

In this blog we will help you mastering the “reduced vowels” in Thai by exploring the reason why the vowel forms vanish, how they influence pronunciation, and key examples to help you navigate this linguistic trickery with confidence.

Form-changing Vowels in Thai

Many Thai script learners find it confusing and thus feel unsure how to pronounce the vowel with certain small symbol over the consonant. In this blog, we explain how to read and write certain vowel sounds especially when there is an ending consonant – which is called “Form-changing vowels”.

How to Order Food in Thai as a Beginner

Discovering food in Thailand is an exciting way to dive into its lively culture and delicious cuisine. Whether visiting for a short trip or making Thailand your home, learning how to order food in Thai can be a fun and rewarding experience.

Mastering Thai Question Words

Asking questions is essential for learning Thai. With simple question words and an easy-to-grasp structure, you’ll quickly form natural sentences. This guide introduces common Thai question words, their syntax, and examples to help you confidently ask and answer in Thai, taking your conversational skills to the next level!

Learn Common Thai Ingredients: A Guide for Thai Food Lovers

Thai food is renowned globally for its bold flavors and aromatic herbs. Learning about Thai cuisine can help you cook authentic dishes and appreciate Thailand’s rich culinary heritage.

This guide covers eight common Thai ingredients, their uses, where to find them, and managing allergies. It also includes Thai names and scripts to help recognize them when ordering or shopping in Thailand.

Blog Image_Different Tones, Different Meanings (1)

How to Count in Thai | Learn Thai Numbers (ตัวเลขไทย)

Numbers are essential for daily life—whether shopping, telling time, or asking for prices. We’ll go through Thai numbers from 0-1 million, counting rules, and some exercises to help you master them!

How Are You? / I’m Fine in Thai – Greetings and Answering Them

Being able to master the phrases of greetings and answering on various occasions also helps you sound natural and confident in your Thai language learning journey.
This blog will help explain the importance of greetings in Thai culture, sharing common greetings and answering, as well as tips on how to use them effectively.

Understand Thai Ending Word “นะ” ná

If you’re learning Thai, you’ve probably heard the little word “นะ” (ná) used often in conversations. In this blog post, we will introduce you to this ending word, while teaching how to use this word in this different cases. So you can sound very Thai!

สระไอ vs. สระใอ: Understanding the Two Thai “-ai” Vowels

สระไอ (ai) and สระใอ (ai) sound exactly the same but are used differently.

Let’s break it down with easy explanations, examples, and a fun Thai song to help you memorize 20 words with สระใอ

Your Roadmap to Thai Fluency – Starts Here!

What Does It Take to Become Confident or Fluent in Thai? Let’s design your learning path. In this blog post, I will introduce you to designed paths to reach your learning goal, whether you want to have basic conversations, speak Thai fluently, or master all four language skills.

Blog Image_Different Tones, Different Meanings

Different Tones, Different Meanings in Thai

Did you know that saying “maa” the wrong way could mean “horse” instead of “come”? 🤯

Thai is a tonal language, meaning the way you pronounce a word changes its meaning completely! For beginners, this can be tricky, but don’t worry—I’ll break it down in an easy, practical way.

All meanings of ได้ (dâi)

ได้ (dâi) is one of the most frequently used in daily Thai. Maybe it’s because this word has many meanings. In this post, I will teach you all meanings of ได้ (dâi) and ways to use it in your Thai sentences.

Thai Past Tense อดีตกาล – Tell a story in the past

Who said Thai doesn’t have tenses? That’s not true. We do have tenses like in English but do not have conjugation to indicate the tense, instead, we use Tense particles (words put into a sentence to indicate tense). In this blog post, I will teach you how to make sentences in Past Tense effortlessly.

Quick Guide to Thai Classifiers (units of noun)

One of the most important concept to master Thai is classifier or units of nouns (ลักษณะนาม: lák-sà-nà-naam). This classifier concept is used in daily life especially when you want to tell an amount of things. You need to include the classifier of the noun. This guide will help you go through the important keys of this concept and finally be able to use it in your Thai conversation.

Thai Traditional Activities During Songkran Festival (Besides splashing water)

ประเพณีสงกรานต์ Sonkran Festiva is celebrated throughout 13-15 of April each year. It’s the biggest water festival where people gather and have fun by splashing water. More importantly, it’s Thailand’s national New Year.

20 common words and phrases that includes รัก (rák) “love” in Thai

Let’s expand Thai vocabulary from learning 20 compound words and phrases that include the word รัก (rák) or to love in Thai.

Common New Year Wishes in Thai คำอวยพรวันปีใหม่

As many of you are

The most common gift ideas for Thai people – What to buy for Thais?

Christmas and New Year are

Talk Thai with Dr.Donna Robinson from MedConsult

Great news! I am launching

Extra polite Thai phrases used with a service staff

I am now Traveling in

10 Sentences for Thai learners to use in the Thai class

Whether you’re attending a Thai

Making a Comparison in Thai language (with podcast)

You might already know the

Challenges to learn Thai scripts and ways to overcome them

Many people started learning Thai

Read Thai 101: Thai Ending Consonants

In the last blog post,

Read Thai 101: Learn Thai consonants

To begin learning the Thai script, the first thing you need to focus on is the “Thai consonants.” There are a total of 44 unique consonants in the Thai language.