Super Hard Thai Words: Top 60 Mistakes You Should Avoid

Hard Thai Words-thai temple

When you arrive in Thailand, what is the first word you say in Thai? We bet that it’s สวัสดี (sà wàt dii), which means hello. There is a vast lexical landscape waiting to be explored. If you’re up for a challenge, we have many hard Thai words to throw you into a loop!

Before we throw you into a sea of hard Thai words, we want to know how far along you are in your Thai studies. If you’ve been studying Thai for a while, testing yourself by reviewing these words can ensure you’re using the language correctly. Then we want you to tackle these challenging Thai terms that are prone to spelling and pronunciation errors together; let’s get you up to speak Thai properly!

Hard Thai Words Even Natives Pronounce It Wrong

Let’s tackle the easier Thai word first. Most native speakers will mispronounce these terms; thus, if you hear someone using a pronunciation that differs from the one in the table below, you should not adopt that pronunciation yourself. Of course, speaking Thai with an accent similar to that of native speakers is preferable, but proper pronunciation is also important. Well then, let’s get this party started!

EnglishThaiPronunciationSound
Algebra – พีชคณิตพีชคณิตPii chá ká nít
Monk’s residential quartersมณฑปMon dòp
CrematoryเมรุMeen
Terminate/stopยุติYút dtì
Nearly – รอมร่อรอมร่อRɔɔm ma rɔ̂ɔ
Strange/abnormalวิตถารWít tǎan
QualificationวุฒิWút
CenturyศตวรรษSà dtà wát
HonestสุจริตSùt jà rìt
Temperature อุณหภูมิUn hà puum
Appointรังสฤษฎ์Rang sa rìt
RadicalสมุฎฐานSà mút tǎan
MedicineโอสถกรรมOo sòt gam
JulyกรกฎาคมGà rá gà daa kom
StrategyกลวิธีGon lá wí tii
Sexual pervertกามวิตถารGaam wít tǎan
Occasion/periodกาลสมัยGaa lót mai
MethodologyกุศโลบายGùt sà loo baai
ReachจรดJà ròt
PenaltyทัณฑกรรมTan tá gam
PublicธารกำนัลTaa rá gam nan
ConvictionทิฐิTaa rá gam nan
ChildhoodปฐมวัยBpà tǒm má wai
IllnessพยาธิPá yaa tí
Parasite (animal)พยาธิPá yâat
QueenพระบรมราชินีPrá bɔɔ rom má raa chí nii
DriverพลขับPon lá kàp
Paratrooperพลร่มPon rôm
hard-thai-words-hand-writing-1

Hard Thai Words Even Natives Can’t Spell Correctly

You can imagine the fantastic possibilities of this tonal language, given that the Thai script is one of the most difficult due to its 44 consonants, 18 vowels, and 5 tone marks. Aside from mispronouncing the word, the next lesson will cover the most often made spelling errors.

EnglishThaiPronunciationSound
Corpse
(also refer to people with bad behavior)
กเฬวราก (commonly misspelled as กเลวราก)Gà leeo râak
Goldsmith’s feeกำเหน็จ (commonly misspelled as กำเหน็ด)Gam nèt
Honorary – กิตติมศักดิ์กิตติมศักดิ์ (commonly misspelled as กิติมศักดิ์)Gìt dti ma sàk
Be energeticขะมักเขม้น (commonly misspelled as ขมักเขม้น)Kà mák kěe món
Reignครองราชย์ (commonly misspelled as ครองราช)Krɔɔng râat krɔɔng râat
Villaคฤหาสน์ (commonly misspelled as คฤหาสถ์)Krí hàat
Murderฆาตกรรม (commonly misspelled as ฆาตรกรรม)Kâat gam
Laymanฆราวาส (commonly misspelled as ฆารวาส)Ká raa wâat
Emperorจักรพรรดิ (commonly misspelled as จักรพรรดิ์)Jàk gà pát
Intentionเจตจำนง (commonly misspelled as เจตจำนงค์)Jèet jam nong
Brightชัชวาล (commonly misspelled as ชัชวาลย์Chát chá waan
Ambassadorทูต (commonly misspelled as ฑูต)Tûut
Penaltyทัณฑ์ (commonly misspelled as ฑัณฑ์)Tan
Balanceถ่วงดุล (commonly misspelled as ถ่วงดุลย์)Tùang dun
Referเท้าความ (commonly misspelled as ท้าวความ)Táao kwaam
Customธรรมเนียม (commonly misspelled as ทำเนียม)Tam niam
Reconstruct (refer to the temple)บูรณปฏิสังขรณ์ (commonly misspelled as บูรณะปฏิสังขรณ์)Buu rá ná bpà dtì sǎng kɔ̌ɔn
Orientationปฐมนิเทศ (commonly misspelled as ปฐมนิเทศน์)Bpòt má ní têet
Commandประกาศิต (commonly misspelled as ประกาษิต)Bprà gaa sìt
Virginพรหมจรรย์ (commonly misspelled as พรมจรรย์)Prom jan
Brahmanพราหมณ์ (commonly misspelled as พรามณ์)Praam
Commerceพาณิชย์ (commonly misspelled as พานิชย์)Paa nít
Storekeeperภัณฑารักษ์ (commonly misspelled as พันธารักษ์)Pan taa rák
Circumstanceภาวการณ์ (commonly misspelled as ภาวการ)Paa wá gaan
Palaceมนเทียร (commonly misspelled as มรเฑียร)Mon tian
Functional advantageสารัตถประโยชน์ 
(commonly misspelled as สารัตถะประโยชน์)
Sǎa rát tà bprà yôot
Plunderปล้นสะดม (commonly misspelled as ปล้นสดมภ์)Bplôn sà dom
Resultผลลัพธ์ (commonly misspelled as ผลลัพท์)Pǒn láp
Procrastinateผลัดวันประกันพรุ่ง (commonly misspelled as ผัดวันประกันพรุ่ง)Plàt wan bprà gan prûng
Die (refer to the monk)มรณภาพ (commonly misspelled as มรณะภาพ)Mɔɔ rá ná pâap
Magicalมหัศจรรย์ (commonly misspelled as มหรรศจรรย์)Má hàt sà jan
Decorative artsมัณฑนศิลป์ (commonly misspelled as มันทนศิลป์)Man tá ná sǐn
Giantราพณาสูร (commonly misspelled as ราพนาสูร)Raa pá naa sǔun
hard thai words-hand-writing-2

Easy Thai Words That Are Often Misspelled

We’re not just here to teach you the difficult Thai words; we also want to teach you the common Thai terms that even Thai people often need clarification on. So let’s review these words again to be sure you don’t make the same error everyone else does.

EnglishThaiPronunciationSound
Ice creamไอศกรีม (commonly misspelled as ไอศครีม)Ai sà griim
Cakeเค้ก (commonly misspelled as เค๊ก)Kék
Chocolateช็อกโกแลต (commonly misspelled as ช๊อกโกแลต, ช็อคโกแลต)Chɔ́k goo lɛ̂ɛt
Pad Thai (Thai food)ผัดไทย (commonly misspelled as ผัดไท)Pàt tai
Shaved iceน้ำแข็งไส (commonly misspelled as น้ำแข็งใส)Náam kɛ̌ng sǎi
Film/movieภาพยนตร์ (commonly misspelled as ภาพยนต์)Pâap pá yon
Permissionอนุญาต (commonly misspelled as อนุญาติ)à nú yâat
Suddenกะทันหัน (commonly misspelled as กระทันหัน)Gà tan hǎn
Jokeมุกตลก (commonly misspelled as มุขตลก)Múk dtà lòk

In Summary

There are obviously many difficult terms in Thai that even native speakers get wrong. It doesn’t matter how frequently a word is used; its spelling and pronunciation will still be improperly spelled and pronounced by many. In addition to the difficulties associated with the Thai language’s tonal system, the Thai writing system presents unique challenges to those trying to master the language.

We bet you’re a Thai learner who wants to become an expert in Thai spelling and pronunciation; if this is the case, you should download the Ling app immediately!

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Learn Thai With The Ling App

The Ling app helps improve your Thai pronunciation and memorization. If you need help with Thai pronunciation, the Ling app can help! We offer a wide range of terms that Thai learners can study from the comfort of their own homes or offices. In addition, the provided audio will allow you to capture how the words sound, recall them and listen to how they are pronounced in natural and different tones. The Ling app has it all and more!

Most Thai learners chose the Ling app to help them succeed, so why not join them? Download the Ling app from Google Play Store and Apple App Store now, and prepare to be fluent in Thai soon!

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