Read Thai in 10 Days

As a European language learner, you don't think you're going to need a syllabic guide until you really do. I've learned from my limited experience in Asian languages that having a guide to the syllables of a language is, quite honestly, the best way for me to set a foundation for learning that language. I bought this book, along with its author's recommended teach-yourself Thai language book, because of the ratings. Let me tell you, they are HIGH for a reason. Though I personally find the title a little click-bait-y (for most of us, I think getting through this book well is going to take more than 10 days), the content is solid. Follow the author's advice (that means reading the introduction, y'all - check your expectations, pace yourself, and make sure you understand each chapter before moving on), DOWNLOAD the pronunciation tracks that he recommends, and actually put the work in, and this book is going to help get your feet beneath you for being able to read Thai as you see it. Caveat: I ALSO printed practice writing sheets specifically for the Thai characters, so that I can actively work on writing them while repeating the sounds to myself as I'm going; I am also working off of self-made flash cards. This is what I mean about doing the work. My only complaint is a matter of how the text prints in the format. For the most part, the book is very readable. That said, I have run into some difficulty when reading the clarifying comments. The Thai characters sometimes print too small to clearly make out the detail, which can be a hinderance for catching the nuance the author is trying to give you. In terms of complaints, though? That is such a small thing. It's not a miracle book. You need to put in the work. But it is a fantastic tool, and absolutely worth your time.

Before I purchased this book, I had been warned how difficult the Thai alphabet was to learn and how it, like the Latin alphabet with English, was not updated in hundreds of years to match spelling to pronunciation. This book is very well-written, and it breaks down the Thai alphabet into easy-to-remember groups. All of my fears about learning the Thai alphabet have basically disappeared. Despite the title, I actually DON'T recommend you learn the Thai script in 10 days. I think that's too quickly to let it all sink in. Instead, think of this book as 10 Lessons. I have taken my time with each one, and it has made my mastery of the alphabet and retention of it much better. As a language enthusiast who has learned quite a few different languages and writing systems from books, I can promise you this is one of the best.

Arthit has ingeniously written a book that cracks the code for reading Thai. As an immigrant American kid whose parents just happened to be Thai, I naturally grew up speaking Thai, but reading and definitely writing were skills that never made sense. I was put in weekend Thai schools and repeated sounds associated with symbols, but none of it made any sense. Now, I have mastered multiple languages in reading, writing, and speaking (eg. Spanish, Portuguese, Japanese, French, and German) and I purchased this book as a last ditch effort to not shame myself for not mastering my heritage language. To my great surprise, I am on Day 4 of my journey into this book and I am finding it joyful, relatable, and downright easier than that data dump teachers had us do: memorize without fully understanding how and why. I am reading and retaining what I learned. This book comes with directions to download the audio. The book notes that there's a request form, but I literally just went to the site and there's a zip file to download. It's accessible and I saved the files to my cell phone so it's there when I'm studying. The audio is a necessity so do not go without. The author is knowledgeable about how Thai works for English-speakers and keeps the material engaging and fun. It may be easier for me because I grew up hearing Thai and possessing a decent level of speaking, but even if I didn't, the book is broken down in such a way that makes sense with my default filters based on my American education and English dominant brain.

The writer is a good teacher who presents the material very well with a sense of humor. However, I believe the title is a bit optimistic. I have a modest background in foreign languages and Thai is the fifth alphabet that I am trying to acquire. I am having trouble accepting the premise that any new alphabet can be learned in 10 days by the average student. Nicely written book and a big help for this Farang.

Don't get me wrong. I'm very happy I got a copy. I'm marginally able to carry on a conversation in Thai, but couldn't read at all. Deep inside I sensed the value of learning to read, but just couldn't get started. This book pushed me over the hump. Beyond that I am REALLY enjoying and benefiting from the author's explanations for and encouragement for getting thru the various eccentricities of the Thai alphabet. Every language has them, particularly English. Beyond that I have to say, I found myself not really making much real progress with the book. Enter the numerous YouTube videos on the subject of reading Thai. Wow, finally I am on my way! And I couldn't be happier. I am pushing thru the book day by day as prescribed, and enjoying it like a favorite novel, but watching the YouTube videos is knocking it out of the park. Even the Youtube vocab building videos are helping my reading like crazy. Word after word going by, printed on the screen pronounced several times by a native speaker. Fantastic. Oh, btw, learning the 'names' of the alphabet characters is extremely helpful. I think the author knows that very well, but it's a tough part to present in a book like that. Once again, Youtube to the rescue. After a while, you get the perfectly pronounced name of each alphabet, which includes a simple vocabulary item, so stuck in your head, you will never forget it, automatically improving your pronunciation. As has been oft noted, there is no good way to replace Thai script with English transliteration and nowhere is this more true than in the alphabet names themselves. Do yourself a big favor: learn the Thai names of the alphabet characters! A. Watch/listen to native speakers pronouncing the 'names' of the characters (Gau Gai etc etc) on YouTube B. GET SOME FLASH CARDS! Practise them while your sitting on the can or whenever... Don't give up! You will get it

Wow. Excellent book. I got this book wanting to learn how to read Thai. (Disclaimer: I knew some spoken Thai already, but not enough really to get by. My mother is from Thailand. I already was familiar with most vowels and half the consonants.) It probably took me between 12-15 days of actually studying the book to get through it. Most days I would study for a couple hours probably. Also I would write down the consonants, their sound(s) and their class almost every single day to drill it in my head, as I learned them. I never thought I'd be able to remember all that this quickly. Definitely not in half a month's time. But with serious study and a good attitude you can do it too. The tone chart/visuals were great. I actually visualize the string theory diagram for non-tone marked works and with tone marked words, it actually helps me more to visualize the chart instead. So it was nice that both were included for whatever helps you better. The lessons were well organized giving just enough to learn and memorize to not be too overwhelming. (Except maybe the last two chapters!)I would recommend this book to everyone who wants to learn to read Thai. And now I can say I can read Thai!

Not a bad intro to Thai script. I bought this after I had spent some time with the script so I probably didn't get the full benefit. Anyone planning to read must still put in a lot of work recognizing and learning the sounds of all vowels. Vowels make consonants seem like a piece of cake. And reading the script so that it sounds as written doesn't let you bypass learning vocabulary and connecting the script with the words. This is a decent part of a larger learning project.

I tried to read this book when I was first starting Thai, and got a little discouraged and set it aside for awhile. For me it was a little overwhelming trying to acquire grammar and vocabulary while also learning the writing system. When I came back to this book, I was already conversational in Thai and had good listening skills just from watching the Comprehensible Thai Youtube channel (it's free listening practice from beginner to advanced). After knowing 1,000+ Thai words and having an ear for the tones/vowels, I found this book very easy to go through, especially the part on tones. I used my iPad and practiced writing the letters and copied down all of the "Give it a go!" exercises. I think 2 weeks is totally reasonable if you already have a bit of a foundation in everyday Thai. Many people will say you should start reading as soon as possible, but personally I feel that it's better in the long run to get an ear for the language first (if you have no immediate need to be functional in reading/writing Thai). I don't buy the argument that it's important for pronunciation because no native speaker learns proper pronunciation from reading and writing. However, I learned from audio and not any kind of transliteration. By tons of listening you will be able to tell when your pronunciation is not quite right and will be able to correct it on your own. There are only 3 or so sounds that might be difficult for English speakers to make/discern but they aren't hard to figure out yourself after lots of listening, especially by watching videos about those particular sounds. I was able to put this book into practice immediately in Thailand as I lived in a more local area where all the menus were in Thai. I would advise you to get practice reading the modern Thai font that doesn't have the loops on the letters, as this font will be your greatest adversary when ordering food!

Système d'apprentissage pour un mois pas 10 jours pour 90% des apprenants parlant et comprennant les bases de la langue orale. . Dommage c'est à cause ce ''petit'' mensonge que j'ai mis 3 stars.

It is best to equip oneself with basic Thai consonant and vowel . I have download the said (from those teach yourself Thai vowel and consonant ) and noticed that the vowels sound is different from Track 5. I would follow the sound from Read Thai in 10 days. . The author patiently guide it step by step. It is a good book and looking forward to master it

I recommend this book if you really want to read Thai written words. I've been visiting Thailand for several years and have a sense of the language and some basic vocabulary but the written language has always looked like strange hieroglyphics to me. I was determined to learn to speak better, and being able to read is a definite aid to both speaking and comprehension. Don't even try to read the book in 10 days. Maybe think 10 weeks instead. Everything you need to read is here but you will need to concentrate. I have been using it in conjunction with David Smyth's excellent 'Complete Thai' in the Teach Yourself series. The book covers recognition of all the consonants and vowels and introduces all the main pronunciation rules, plus the rare exceptions. *** Please be aware that what it doesn't cover is vocabulary, translation or romanisation of the words you are reading. *** This you will need to get elsewhere (like David Smyth's excellent book). The downloadable audio files are helpful for the first half of the book; thereafter I didn't really need them unless I was having a struggling day. The two summaries, after Chapters 5 and 9, are excellent as reminders. And the final chapter offers some very useful tips. One suggestion I would make for future editions. I would really appreciate several more extended reading passages to be included throughout the book. If you're living in Thailand whilst studying this is not a problem as you are surrounded by written material, but if you're studying in another country more such passages would be helpful to keep practising.

Finalmente un testo serio per l'apprendimento della scrittura Thai. Serio perché finalmente è scritto da un insegnante Thailandese, in gamba ed esperto, e non dal solito studioso anglofono che si rivolge ad altri anglofoni , ( e poi quali : americani, inglesi, australiani ecc. con tutti gli slangs del caso) ! Anche se l'inglese è la lingua veicolare è perfettamente comprensibile, pulita anche per chi non è di lingua madre inglese, ottimo per il resto del mondo! Ottimo.

I don't normally review purchases but I think this book deserves it. Writing style is humorous and entertaining, which really helps to keep me engaged during the learning process. Book is printed in a good sized font, good quality paper and content is nicely spaced out. Summary of key points at the end of chapters is helpful in case I forget something and need to go back and find the chapter to re-read. As opposed to other Thai language learning books that I own, I feel this one is more "approachable". While other books may have tons of important content gem packed into them, this one I'm not afraid to open whenever I have time (even on the subway train). I hope Bingo will publish other Thai language learning books in the future also. Tried searching online and couldn't find any news on new books from Bingo so far...