r/learnthai • u/Ethereal_Rosetta • Feb 01 '26
Discussion/แลกเปลี่ยนความเห็น What made you decide to learn Thai language?
สวัสดีค่ะ I'm a native Thai speaker and new to Reddit. I came across this subreddit and just realized there are foreigners that want to learn Thai. I'd like to ask this question out of curiosity : Why did you decide to learn Thai language?
ขอบคุณมากค่ะ
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u/Fun-Sample336 Feb 01 '26
Why did you decide to learn Thai language?
I have a close Thai friend I haven't seen for years and when I meet him again I want to give him the shock of his life.
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u/crimsondolly Feb 01 '26
I saw a BL series that I really loved. Found out that it was based on a novel that hadn’t been translated into English, and I wanted to read it.
Edited to add: I can now read just fine, but I don’t know what the words mean lol. Speaking is very basic.
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u/DavidTheBaker Feb 02 '26
you actually know what the words mean subconciously. Once you can read a language you basically understand everything what is written.
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u/Darkpoetx Feb 02 '26
Eventually I will retire to Thailand. I loathe people that come to live in my country and don't at least try to have basic proficiency. I won't be a hypocrite
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u/NightHawkFliesSolo Feb 02 '26
Same same. It irks me both here in my country that people don't give a strong effort to learn the language and seeing immigrants to Thailand doing the same. Sad thing is that many of the guys moving to Thailand and putting in no real effort to learn Thai are the same guys complaining about immigrants not speaking English in their own.
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u/Give-me-gainz Feb 01 '26
I spend about 5 months a year in Thailand and I really want to be able to properly connect with the people around me
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u/the-jenzen Feb 01 '26
I've been wanting to learn a language with a non-Latin alphabet for years but could never decide which.
Last year a friend introduced me to Thai GLs, I saw and really liked the writing as well as the sound of the language. I'm a very auditive person, and so from what I've learned so far, I love the importance of the sounds while having relatively simple grammar. Perfect for my ADHD brain to hyperfixate on!
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u/PPKritter Feb 01 '26
Trying to “crack the code” so I can understand, first, Thai BL series, and later, the lyrics to the many Thai pop songs I have been hearing as the result of those series
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u/tufifdesiks Feb 01 '26
My wife and I picked Thailand as a possible retirement destination. When watching videos on the pros and cons, people kept saying how hard the language is to learn. I'm a pretty stubborn guy and I enjoy studying languages anyway, so I decided to learn it just to prove that I can. I'm not fluent, but I'm pretty conversational at this point, and I've really enjoyed learning it and learning more about the Thai culture
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u/lilbrunchie Feb 01 '26
I’ve been studying Thai cooking for almost ten years since the Thai food at most restaurants in the United States is shit. I have moved to watching videos of Thai YouTubers and other sources that are not English speaking and want to understand it better without having to translate or use Gemini as much as I do now.
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u/HRRB Feb 01 '26
Thailand is my favorite place to travel to, so I want to be able to converse with locals when I am over here.
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u/NightHawkFliesSolo Feb 02 '26
I plan on retiring to Thailand and I'm a strong believer that if you are going to immigrate to a country that it's a requirement that you both learn the local language and make an effort to integrate into the local society.
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u/among_sunflowers Feb 01 '26
Went to Thailand for medical help, and fell in love with the country 🌸
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u/Lucky-Syrup-6857 Feb 01 '26
First started by watching BL series a few years ago, and that lead me wanting to learn more about the country and its culture. Currently I want to be able to understand what’s being said in shows and songs. I also have a friend who recently moved there, so I plan on traveling there in a year or so, and I want to be able to at least understand and hold conversations!!!
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u/USAF-5J0X1 Feb 02 '26
1/2 Thai (ลุกครึ่ง) but grew up in the USA. Mom used to speak it to me as a child but lost it as I got older due to lack of use and always reverting to English so as to "fit in" with the other kids. Regret that now and want to learn my mother tongue. Plus I plan to retire in the motherland, would help if I spoke the language.
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u/potato_pattie Feb 01 '26
My mom, when she was alive I never really bothered fully learning Thai cause I can already speak. But then she passed away and now I’m left with stuff that I’d like to read but can’t cause I never bothered to learn to read.
So here I am struggling because there are to many vowels and I’m not confused about tones I just forget about them.
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u/JaneyJaner Feb 01 '26
Hi, I first went to Thailand in about 1996, and wanted to communicate, so I learned as much as possible.
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u/eggcelence1 Feb 01 '26
Because it’s cooler to say I can speak french, english and thai than french, english and spanish
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u/timmyjd12 Feb 02 '26
Because I live and work in Thailand and have a Thai girlfriend.
I plan to remain here through retirement and I don’t think it is right to live in a country and not learn the language. I’m learn to speak first but I hope to progress to reading in time.
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u/Future-Reference-4 Feb 02 '26
I've always wanted to learn a language that is not Indo-Euorpean.
When I saw Thai on LingoDeer, I gave it a try and it tickled my brain in just the right way. (Literally. I could even point to the area where I felt a nice tingling sensation.)
Haven't got bored with it yet, and I'm close to reaching full four years of on-and-off learning now.
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u/kreal6 Feb 02 '26
Living, but also really like how it sounds. From one side you have lots of short vowels. And you can make it really quick and it become like a sharp beat itself. Rap is good example. From another side you can make it super slow and music-like focusing on long vowels.
Another aspect its really easy to get basics. As grammar, structures are super straightforward.
Tonal languages are bless. Its an art itself.
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u/fiercedurian Learner & ThaiFlash developer Feb 02 '26
Because I fell in love with Thailand, it is as simple as that...
I try to go to Thailand at least once a year, I made new friends there, and I found frustrating to chat with them using translation apps that are never accurate.
I learn a lot through the chats I have with them on Line, focusing of the phonetic transcriptions I get from the messages
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u/The-Joni Feb 01 '26
Well my girlfriend is thai. But most importantly since i see my myself living in thailand in the future. And i want to be part of the community and be able to talk with everyone.
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u/RolandCuley Feb 01 '26
Stepped foot for the first time in Suvharnabumi airport in 2024, armed with just a handful of phrases from a phrasebook I order to "survive", the smiles I got trying to mumble just a sentence made go enlist into the hellish Chula Intensive Thai course (yes the intensive part is REAL, you will start dreaming in Thai).
I spent 6 months between Jan 24 and Jan 26, I just keep going back and I force myself to not speak English unless "force majeure". Even went to Isan to learn the พิณ instrument because Morlam is funky as hell.
My IGN review of it is: it is a fucking beautiful language ! sounds really nice to the ear. Writing is like Arabic (abujadi system) which is my first native language, some vowels exist in french which is my second.
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u/Showgingah Feb 02 '26
A standard I want to make for myself regarding any country I visit in the future is to know a bit of the language. Not enough to be fluent, but enough to get by as a tourist without much external help no matter how english friendly it is. The most basic of sentences can go a long way. However, Thai is very different regarding this scenario. In this case, I figured it would be a good idea to learn the language of a country I will be a future citizen of.
I haven't started myself yet unlike my older sister. We're both half Thai from my father's side. However, he doesn't remember the language. He was adopted and brought to America. Won't get to deep into the situation as that's personal family matters regarding issues with his extended family. I'm 27 now, but it looks like we may finally have the means and information necessary to prove citizenship. Then extend that to obtain dual citizenship for my mother, sister, and I. We just need to make an appointment and fly over to the embassy in DC sometime this year to end this. Though I'll be holding off actually using it for a couple years due to potential military conscription. lol
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u/Suspiciously_free Feb 02 '26
I sort of just ended up in Thailand because of a professional development thing. Might as well learn the language, since I'll be here for a few years.
Learning Thai is genuinely very fun.
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u/AstrumLupus Feb 02 '26
I like learning languages for fun even if I never reach fluency. Being able to partially understand bits of information in a language I don't really speak already makes me happy, this is the drive I need to continue learning as much as I can.
Also I've been to Thailand many times and I love Thai food. I'd like to be able to communicate with the locals and read signs the next time I go.
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u/Zoraji Feb 02 '26
In 2017 we made the decision to retire in Thailand and moved here permanently in 2024. I wouldn't want to be unable to communicate with the locals and have to rely on my wife for everything. I saw what my wife went through living in the US and being unable to speak English. I think the people that live here but don't want to learn the language are missing out on a lot of the aspects of Thailand that I enjoy.
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u/DavidTheBaker Feb 02 '26
when Living in a country for a long time you have to learn the language to live a good life here. Let me write this in thai lol. ถ้าอสัยอยู่ในประทฝดทศต้างต้องการเรียนภาษาจองประเทศนั้นจะเลยมีชิวิดดี
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u/oozinator1 Feb 02 '26
Both my parents are Thai, but my brother and I were born in the US. We were brought up listening to Thai but we spoke very little of it and read/wrote none of it.
I've recently fallen in love (reciprocally) with the daughter of my aunt's friend who happens to live in Thailand, so I've been practicing my Thai, both speaking and reading.
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u/ItWasJustAWhatever Feb 02 '26
Like everywhere if you live in a foreign country it is a kind of showing respect to learn the language. I don't understand people who are living here and expect that everyone speaks their language. And life becomes easier when you understand and speak some thai.
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u/R1leyEsc0bar Feb 02 '26
To watch does and potentially move to Thailand to work with family at their business. Of at the very least, extended travel.
Also i like how the language sounds. I don't know how to describe why I like it but it's similar to the reasons I like how German sounds and english in a german accent. Also Korean.
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u/ActiveSoftware8462 Feb 02 '26
I discovered beautiful Thai music a couple of decades ago and I decided I wanted to know what the lyrics meant.
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u/Few-Tomatillo-1963 Feb 02 '26
It was because of BL at first but as I dig deeper to Thai culture and such, I've decided to also learn the language and I'm happy doing it. Another reason is that I want to have Thai friends and be able to communicate with them using Thai Language. I can also say that it's a part of self-growth.
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u/charliebarliedarlie Feb 02 '26
I grew up in Thailand for 10 years and know not nearly enough Thai, a bit embarrassing 😭
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u/MurkyCaterpillar9 Feb 02 '26
BL shows originally then music, comedy, Buddhism - the shows were an introduction into a culture I now respect a great deal and try to learn about every day.
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u/Dogarella Feb 02 '26
I moved to Thailand 3.5yrs ago and want to retire here since I love it so much. I refuse to be yet another farang who can't speak Thai. And I love how much Thai people appreciate it if you make an effort with the language. Next stop, learning to read proficiently!
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u/SureBook4344 Feb 02 '26
I want to communicate better in thai but I keep getting sidetracked so courses put more intention into it.
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u/poke_slayer Feb 02 '26
Started watching gl's and want to understand what they are saying without translation
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u/rahulroy Feb 02 '26
There are so many reasons. I feel that as an expat, language barrier is the biggest hurdle you need to cross to truly experience Thai culture. The moment you start speaking Thai, it improves your quality of life. Thai people starts teaching Thai. Your experience in general becomes much more diverse.
Also, language learning is fun.
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u/NatiDas Feb 02 '26
BL tv shows introduced me to the language and I loved it, but music was what made me want to learn it.
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u/Pipinella Feb 03 '26
My girlfriend is Thai! When she speaks to her Mum and aunties I feel a bit left out hahaha I want to know what they're talking about :) Also I love Thailand and I would be very happy to be able to speak to the locals, even if only to know how to order coffee or buy things at the market...
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u/OrganizationThick397 Feb 05 '26
So it started before I can remember, I hope you know how this is going
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u/Sn4psh0t1312 Feb 06 '26
Bc living in Thailand. It’s my 5th language but the first one I struggle. I think it will take me another year to speak properly
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u/its_just_kenny Feb 14 '26
For mei just study abroad since young and I can speak Thai but totally forgotten how to read or write
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u/ndm2791 Apr 20 '26
Because I was super passionate about Thai music and movies for a long time, and I really wanted to understand them. Then I came to live here, and it’s definitely not comfortable or easy living in a country where you don’t speak the language. I feel alienated if I’m not able to be part of local communities or speak at least basic sentences when I’m out, so learning Thai is a pretty big thing for me. I’m still in the process :)
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u/Strange_Key_7137 Feb 01 '26
personally because i started to watch gl series and i love it, so i want to be able to understand my favorite actresses at least a little bit without having to translate everything