#1 Guide: How To Learn Thai Grammar Step By Step

Learning Thai grammar can be pretty challenging for a lot of learners. It involves understanding its alphabet, sentence structure, and a lot of Thai vocabulary. That’s why we’ve prepared an all-in-one guide for you on what components of the Thai language’s grammar you should know and how to learn Thai grammar step by step.

We’ll walk you through the details of constructing simple sentences, understanding the different sentence components, and learning the Thai alphabet for writing. Without further ado, let’s begin!

How To Learn Thai Grammar Rules

The first step in this process is to get familiar with the basic Thai grammar rules.

This means understanding the basic word order so you can easily expand on it by simply adding words in the right places.

Think of this as the building blocks of Thai sentences!

Thai Sentence Structure And Word Order

Like many Asian languages—and English—Thai follows the subject-verb-object (SVO) word order.

So, when you’re learning Thai grammar, you can directly translate the words from English sentences to Thai, which would generally make sense.

In a subject-verb-object (SVO) sentence, the subject comes first, followed by the verb, and then the object.

Take a look at the example below. We’ll use this basic sentence throughout the guide, so keep it in mind!

Thai: chǎn dəən glàp bâan (ฉันเดินกลับบ้าน)

English: I walk back home.

Meaning: chǎn (ฉัน) is the noun ‘I,’ dəən glàp (เดินกลับ) is the verb ‘to walk back,’ and bâan (บ้าน) is the noun ‘home.’

Understanding Thai Verbs

Thai verbs serve the same purpose as in English. These Thai words are used to describe an action that the subject will perform.

One notable feature of Thai verbs is that they don’t require conjugation. This makes learning this aspect of the language much faster.

Because there’s no conjugation, Thai verbs have only one form and don’t change based on tense, mood, or other factors found in other languages.

Instead of conjugating verbs for tense and mood, Thai uses specific words, particles, and markers to convey these meanings.

Let’s replace the word ‘walk’ with ‘run’ and see how it changes the meaning of the original sentence:

Thai: chǎn wîng glàp bâan (ฉันวิ่งกลับบ้าน)

English: I run back home.

Meaning: chǎn (ฉัน) is the noun ‘I,’ wîng glàp (วิ่งกลับ) is the verb ‘to run back,’ and bâan (บ้าน) is the noun ‘home.’

One important thing to note with verbs in Thai grammar is that verbs by themselves are in present tense unless paired up with a time marker!

The Most Common Thai Verbs

Take a look below to see some of the most common Thai verbs you can use in your sentences:

English	Thai	Pronunciation	Sound
To eat	กิน	gin	Play
To drink	ดื่ม	dʉ̀ʉm	Play
To walk	เดิน	dəən	Play
To run	วิ่ง	wîng	Play
To go	ไป	bpai	Play
To come	มา	maa	Play
To do	ทำ	tam	Play
To see/watch	ดู	duu	Play
To sit	นั่ง	nâng	Play
To stand	ยืน	yʉʉn	Play
To speak	พูด	pûut	Play
To listen	ฟัง	fang	Play
To read	อ่าน	àan	Play
To write	เขียน	kǐan	Play
To ask	ถาม	tǎam	Play
To answer	ตอบ	dtɔ̀ɔp	Play
To touch	แตะ	dtɛ̀	Play
To like	ชอบ	chɔ̂ɔp	Play
To love	รัก	rák	Play
To hate	เกลียด	glìat	Play
To fear	กลัว	glua	Play
To understand	เข้าใจ	kâo jai	Play
To have/possess	มี	mii	Play
To be	เป็น	bpen	Play
To stay	อยู่	yùu	Play
To move	เคลื่อนไหว	klʉ̂an wǎi	Play

Time Markers

Since Thai verbs are in the present tense by default, how do we communicate that we have done something or are planning to do something?

In Thai, time markers serve this function. It’s as simple as using words like ‘already’ and ‘yet’ and simply saying when you did it, like ‘yesterday.’

Time Marker	Thai	Pronunciation	Sound	Tense
Yesterday	เมื่อวานนี้	mʉ̂a waan níi	Play	Past
Already	แล้ว	lɛ́ɛo	Play	Past
Now	ตอนนี้	dtɔɔn níi	Play	Present
Later	ทีหลัง	tii lǎng	Play	Future
Tomorrow	พรุ่งนี้	prûng níi	Play	Future

Here’s an example of using the past tense time marker ‘yesterday’ with the basic sentence we’ve established:

Thai: chǎn dəən glàp bâan mʉ̂a waan níi (ฉันเดินกลับบ้านเมื่อวานนี้)

English: I walked back home yesterday.

Meaning: chǎn (ฉัน) is the noun ‘I,’ dəən glàp (เดินกลับ) is the verb ‘to walk back,’ bâan (บ้าน) is the noun ‘home,’ and mʉ̂a waan níi (เมื่อวานนี้) is the time marker ‘yesterday.’

Familiarize Yourself With The Thai Alphabet

Now that you know how to make simple sentences in Thai. The next step in learning Thai grammar is to study the Thai alphabet, also known as the Thai script.

Mastering this isn’t essential for Thai grammar, but reaching a level where you can read Thai at a basic level will help you in future lessons or learning situations.

Here are some general bullet points to help you out:

• That is written from left to right.
  
  
• There are no spaces between words; instead, spaces are used to separate clauses or sentences with separate ideas.
  
  
• Punctuation marks are generally used the same way as in English.
  
  
• The alphabet is made up of 72 characters, including 44 consonants and 28 vowels, categorized into three consonant classes: 12 long vowels and 16 short vowels. Six of these characters aren’t used anymore in modern writing.
  
  
• There is an official acrophonic system to help you practice speaking and memorize the consonants.

Thai Consonants

Below, you’ll find a list of all the Thai consonants, including their official acrophonic sounds, so you can memorize them like Thai schoolchildren do.

English Translation	Thai Consonant	Example	Pronunciation	English Sound
chicken	ก	ก ไก่	go-kày	g
egg	ข	ข ไข่	kǒ-khày	k
bottle (no longer in use)	ฃ	ฃ ขวด	kǒ-khùat	k
buffalo	ค	ค ควาย	ko-khwaay	k
person (no longer a direct object)	ฅ	ฅ คน	ko-khon	k
bell	ฆ	ฆ ระฆัง	ko-rákhaŋ	k
snake	ง	ง งู	ngo-ŋuu	ng
plate	จ	จ จาน	jo-caan	j
cymbals	ฉ	ฉ ฉิ่ง	chǒ-chìŋ	ch
elephant	ช	ช ช้าง	cho-cháaŋ	ch
chain	ซ	ซ โซ่	so-sôo	s
tree	ฌ	ฌ เฌอ	cho-chəə	ch
woman	ญ	ญ หญิง	yo-yǐŋ	y
headdress	ฎ	ฎ ชฎา	do-chadaa	d
goad	ฏ	ฏ ปฏัก	to-patàk	t
pedestal	ฐ	ฐ ฐาน	tǒ-thǎan	t
Montho	ฑ	ฑ มณโฑ	to-montoo	t
elder	ฒ	ฒ ผู้เฒ่า	to-phûu thâw	t
novice monk	ณ	ณ เณร	no-neen	n
child	ด	ด เด็ก	do-dèk	d
turtle	ต	ต เต่า	to-tàw	t
sack	ถ	ถ ถุง	tǒ-thǔŋ	t
soldier	ท	ท ทหาร	to-thahǎan	t
flag	ธ	ธ ธง	to-thoŋ	t
mouse	น	น หนู	no-nǔu	n
leaf	บ	บ ใบไม้	bo-baymáay	b
fish	ป	ป ปลา	po-plaa	p
bee	ผ	ผ ผึ้ง	pǒ-phʉ̂ŋ	p
lid	ฝ	ฝ ฝา	fǒ-fǎa	f
tray	พ	พ พาน	po-phaan	p
teeth	ฟ	ฟ ฟัน	fo-fan	f
junk boat	ภ	ภ สำเภา	po-sǎmphaw	p
horse	ม	ม ม้า	mo-máa	m
giant	ย	ย ยักษ์	yo-yák	y
boat	ร	ร เรือ	ro-rʉa	r
monkey	ล	ล ลิง	lo-liŋ	l
ring	ว	ว แหวน	wo-wɛ̌ɛn	w
pavilion	ศ	ศ ศาลา	sǒ-sǎalaa	s
hermit	ษ	ษ ฤๅษี	sǒ-rʉʉsǐi	s
tiger	ส	ส เสือ	sǒ-sʉ̌a	s
chest	ห	ห หีบ	hǒ-hìip	h
kite	ฬ	ฬ จุฬา	lo-cùlaa	l
basin	อ	อ อ่าง	o-àaŋ	o
owl	ฮ	ฮ นกฮูก	ho-nókhûuk	h

Thai Vowels

The Thai vowels, also known as sara (สระ), are written as diacritics and are placed around the consonant. Take a look!

Pronunciation	Vowel	Vowel Name	Short/Long Sound
a	-ะ	sara a	Short
aa	-า	sara aa	Long
i	-ิ	sara i	Short
ii	-ี	sara ii	Long
ue	-ึ	sara ue	Short
ue	-ื	sara ue	Long
u	-ุ	sara u	Short
uu	-ู	sara uu	Long
e	เ-ะ	sara e	Short
ee	เ-	sara ee	Long
ae	แ-ะ	sara ae	Short
ae	แ-	sara ae	Long
o	โ-ะ	sara o	Short
o	โ-	sara o	Long
o	เ-าะ	sara o	Short
o	-อ	sara o	Long
ua	-ัวะ	sara ua	Short
uua	-ัว	sara uua	Long
ia	เ-ียะ	sara ia	Short
iia	เ-ีย	sara iia	Long
uea	เ-ือะ	sara uea	Short
uea	เ-ือ	sara uea	Long
oe	เ-อะ	sara oe	Short
oe	เ-อ	sara oe	Long
am	-ำ	sara am	Long
ai	ไ-	sara ai	Long
ai	ใ-	sara ai	Long
ao	เ-า	sara ao	Short

Thai Tone Marks

Being a tonal language, the Thai language uses four tone marks to represent the five different tones you can find in Thai. The absence of a tone mark represents the mid-tone.

Tone	Character	Name In Thai	Pronunciation	Sound
Mid	(No mark)	สามัญ	sǎa man	Play
Low	่	ไม้เอก	mái èek	Play
Falling	้	ไม้โท	mái too	Play
High	็	ไม้ตรี	mái dtrii	Play
Rising	๋	ไม้จัตวา	mái jàt dtà waa	Play

Thai Question Words

The next step in mastering Thai grammar is learning how to ask questions.

Thai question words are placed at the end of sentences to ask the six most common question types: who, what, where, when, why, and how.

Here are their equivalents in Thai, including the unique ‘how often’ question word:

English	Thai	Pronunciation	Sound
Who	ใคร	krai	Play
What	อะไร	à rai	Play
Where	ที่ไหน	tîi nǎi	Play
When	เมื่อไหร่	mʉ̂a rài	Play
Why	ทำไม	tam mai	Play
How	อย่างไร	yàang rai	Play
How often	บ่อยแค่ไหน	bɔ̀ɔi kɛ̂ɛ nǎi	Play

Here’s an example of using the question word ‘when’ with the basic sentence we made earlier:

Thai: chǎn dəən glàp bâan mʉ̂a rài (ฉันเดินกลับบ้านเมื่อไหร่)

English: When will I walk back home?

Meaning: chǎn (ฉัน) is the noun ‘I,’ dəən glàp (เดินกลับ) is the verb ‘to walk back,’ bâan (บ้าน) is the noun ‘home,’ and mʉ̂a rài (เมื่อไหร่) is the question word ‘when.’

Learn The Different Thai Particles

There are three different particles in Thai you should absolutely know as a beginner. These are used to modify sentences to make them more polite, and you’ll hear them all the time if you visit Thailand.

The politeness particles kráp (ครับ) and kâ (ค่ะ) are used by men and women, respectively. These go after the sentence to convey a polite tone or mood.

Thai: chǎn dəən glàp bâan kráp/kâ (ฉันเดินกลับบ้านครับ/ค่ะ)

English: I walk back home.

Meaning: chǎn (ฉัน) is the noun ‘I,’ dəən glàp (เดินกลับ) is the verb ‘to walk back,’ bâan (บ้าน) is the noun ‘home,’ and kráp/kâ (ครับ/ค่ะ) are the politeness particles.

Another important politeness particle is ná (นะ). It’s most commonly used to ‘soften’ the tone of sentences and demand or ask permission to do something. It’s very versatile!

Thai: chǎn dəən glàp bâan ná (ฉันเดินกลับบ้านนะ)

English: I’ll walk back home, okay?

Meaning: chǎn (ฉัน) is the noun ‘I’, dəən glàp (เดินกลับ) is the verb ‘to walk back’, bâan (บ้าน) is the noun ‘home’, and ná (นะ) is the politeness particle.

Describe Things With Thai Adjectives

When talking with native speakers, it helps to give detailed explanations. That’s where Thai adjectives come in. Adjectives come after the word they modify and can be placed after verbs or nouns.

Take a look at some of the most common adjectives you can use below:

Adjective	Thai	Pronunciation	Sound
Big	ใหญ่	yài	Play
Small	เล็ก	lék	Play
Loud	ดัง	dang	Play
Quiet	เงียบ	ngîap	Play
Quickly	เร็ว	reo	Play
Slowly	ช้า	cháa	Play
Beautiful	สวย	sǔai	Play
Handsome	หล่อ	lɔ̀ɔ	Play
Cute	น่ารัก	nâa rák	Play
Strong	แข็งแกร่ง	kɛ̌ng grɛ̀ng	Play
Weak	อ่อนแอ	ɔ̀ɔn ɛɛ	Play

Let’s make our original sentence more detailed by adding an adjective to describe the situation better:

Thai: chǎn dəən reo reo glàp bâan (ฉันเดินเร็วๆกลับบ้าน)

English: I walk back home

Meaning: chǎn (ฉัน) is the noun ‘I,’ dəən reo reo glàp (เดินเร็วๆกลับ) is the verb and adjective pair ‘to walk back quickly,’ and bâan (บ้าน) is the noun ‘home.’

Work On Your Thai Language Pronunciation

Thai pronunciation can be challenging, but it’s essential if you’re learning the language and plan to use your Thai skills in real-life situations.

Thankfully, there are many ways for you to work on your pronunciation. The easiest and most effective way is to consume Thai media.

Thai music, films, and TV shows are perfect for listening to Thai native speakers. Immersing yourself in Thai media can expose you to correct Thai grammar and culture, fast-tracking you to speak Thai with an authentic accent.

Tips On How To Learn Thai Grammar Step By Step

To help you learn Thai grammar step by step, use these tips below when you’re learning this important part of the Thai language:

1. Don’t get too worried about having perfect grammar. Thai is a highly contextual language, which means that even if you don’t use perfect grammar, Thai people will still understand you.
   
   
2. When consuming Thai media, imitate native speakers. Copy the way they pronounce their tones, cadence, as well as sentence structures. Practice at least 10 minutes every day!
   
   
3. Use the Ling app’s Thai language course to help you practice Thai grammar. The beginner introductory units 1-10 provide a solid foundation and teach you essential grammatical points.
   
   
4. Focus on the different Thai question words during practice sessions. Remember that they can be used with existing sentences to produce questions without changing the sentence structure.
   
   

With these tips, you should be on track to mastering Thai grammar in no time!

Frequently Asked Questions About How To Learn Thai Grammar Step By Step

1. How Easy Is Thai Grammar?

Thai grammar rules are relatively easy to understand compared to those of European languages. This is because constructing basic sentences and adding grammar components is simple, with very few fixed rules. Compared to English grammar, it’s definitely much easier since verb conjugation isn’t present. In place of conjugation, the Thai language uses particles, time markers, and context clues in place of tenses.

2. What Is The Grammar Order Of Thai?

For many learners who are native English speakers, learning Thai sentence structure tends to be a very quick process. This is because both languages use the same SVO word order (subject word object). This means that the subject of the sentence goes first, followed by the verb, then the object. For example, the English language sentence ‘I drink water’ can be directly translated with the same word order: chǎn dʉ̀ʉm náam (ฉันดื่มน้ำ).

3. How To Learn Grammar Step By Step?

As with the grammar of any language, it’s important to focus on sentence structure first in order to build practical spoken language skills. Language learners should then focus on making simple sentences, slowly adding on more sentence components such as verbs, questions, adjectives, and prepositions as they go along. Learning to read and write can be secondary, but at least being familiar with the language’s alphabet is necessary for basic reading and further learning.

Master Thai Grammar Rules

Thai grammar rules cover a wide range of topics. The ones we’ve introduced aren’t everything, but they are the most essential for basic to intermediate learners to understand and apply in conversation.

More advanced topics, such as Thai prepositions, classifiers, and advanced conjunctions, should be learned once you’ve become comfortable with the topics above.

Along with the tips we’ve given you, we hope you practice and use them wisely to help you along your Thai language journey!

Master Thai Language Concepts Easily

Out of all the tips and advice we’ve given you, we cannot stress enough the importance of speaking Thai. It’s the best way to apply what you’ve learned when studying Thai in the real world.

It’s one thing to learn about Thai grammar topics, but using them in practice is what separates a Thai learner from a fluent Thai speaker. If you want to take your Thai language skills to a higher level and boost your confidence when speaking, reading, or writing, using a language learning app like the Ling app can really help you stand out.

With units 1-20 covering beginner to intermediate topics, you’ll learn much more than just Thai grammar. Topics like colors, clothing, and other valuable vocabulary terms will be introduced in a digestible way, making sure that you’re able to learn at your own pace. As you learn, more complex Thai language topics will be gradually introduced to you so it doesn’t overwhelm you all at once.

If you want to learn the Thai Language quickly and effectively, try the Ling app!