5 comments about Thai for Intermediate Learners.

1. I've tried many of the commonly available Thai courses, and Becker's series of three books is the best. This second book assumes that you've finally cracked the code and are now able to read basic Thai script. It's a very big step! Maybe it's a little too big. It certainly appears so at first. But persevere and I promise it can be done. There's nothing like a little pressure.
   I've now started her third book (Thai For Advanced Learners), having battled through this second book for about a year. And this really is the key: you have to keep working at it everyday. Becker's books are designed for quite serious learning, and I find I need to go through the entire book, slowly, five or six times, over a period of several months before it really sinks in. The CDs are indespensable for pronunciation, tones and rhythm...and well worth the extra expense.
   I'd like to respond to one common criticism of all Thai language books - the use of English transliteration (Thai to English script). The criticism of transliteration is justified, but there really is no alternative for the absolute beginner. Learning Thai speaking skills from scratch without any recourse at all to English script is simply too hard and will soon douse even the most ardent student's fire! But you do need to wean yourself off English transliteration as soon as possible if you are to have any hope of real progress.
   This is where Becker is very good. Her transliteration method is the best that I've used, but she still encourages the reader to learn Thai script right from the start (and does the best job of it too).
   But this second book assumes you've finally got over the trauma of it all and are well on your way to taking the next serious step up. The umbilical cord is finally cut loose, and you're left floundering a little with only your own prior learning of Thai script to rely on. Don't throw away the first book just yet! I was constantly referring back to the tones section in "Thai For Beginners". Gee, it's hard at first! But it's also absolutely necessary. I now profoundly understand why Becker insists on throwing us into the deep end. Persist!! Familiar patterns will soon start to emerge among all the meaningless spaghetti squiggles. Your brain will adjust. I had my "eureka!" moment somewhere around the third or fourth chapter.
   So is the pain worth it? Put it this way, if you're still enthusiastic about learning Thai after the first four chapters of this book then you're obviously serious about it. Then yes, absolutely...Becker's book is the best. It will make or break you.



2. The focus in this book is on expanding your vocabulary, improving your reading skills and teaching you more advanced grammar.
   
   More specifically, the typical structure of each chapter is:
   
   1. vocabulary listing; 60-100 new words
   
   2. grammar
   
   3. text/dialogues
   
   4. word-matching [exercise]
   
   5. Translation Thai -> English [exercise]
   
   According to the book notes the book will teach 400 new words, but the more accurate number is twice that: ~ 800 !
   This is if you include: Hotel names, Province names, Temple names, Bank names, Ministries, Parks, nicknames, common first-names etc.
   
   You don't get much in way of excercises besides reading, which I think is very unfortunate.
   
   I still give it 5/5 because I love learning through reading, so it suits me, but if want more stimulus you may have to use another Thai-book to complement this one.
   
   You can use this book you have completed either Thai For Beginner's by Paiboon (Thai for Beginners with CD (Audio)), or the Teach Yourself Thai book (Teach Yourself Thai (Teach Yourself Complete Courses)).
   I do not recommend Colloquial Thai as a pre-requisite because it does not teach the script properly.



3. I first reviewed the beginner's book in this series, and by now I have worked my way through the second volume. Since the two books are extremely similar in format, just about everything I said in my previous review applies here: a casual learner who idly flips through the pages will not get very far; a serious language learner with well-developed language study skills will be able to make good use of it. As in the first volume, a lesson consists of vocabulary lists, sometimes a bit of grammar, and example sentences. The exercises are still worthless, but at least they and the example sentences are now written without Roman transliteration. I think the best way to approach a textbook like this is to plug the vocabulary lists into an SRS (spaced repetition software (flashcards)) and use the example sentences as reading practice. But for any really substantive and extensive intermediate-level reading and conversation practice, you'll have to look elsewhere. Given the scarcity of quality Thai materials, however, especially above the beginner level, 'Thai for Intermediate Learners' is a worthy resource. The audio might also be worth a look.



4. Those who gave this book 5 stars can't be serious.I appreciate volume 1 pretty much as it is the best I found on the marked despite all the improvements that should be made, espicially if the book is to be used for self-study. Thai for intermediate learners might only be for the people who, from lesson 1 from the 1st book, started also to learn the script. I want to see the geniuses who are are, on their own, able to work their way through THIS book. Even if you might with difficulties identify some words, I just don't believe that there are people who do this easily, espicially as the font is all to small, and there is no help at all to identify or verify the tones. If this would not be bad enough, I don't understand why also the english translation is missing, this makes the book almost worthless for self-learners as they use too much time for guessing instead of using this time for repeating and memorising. Don't buy this book if you don't have at any time a thai teacher on your side. There is plenty of very valuable thai learning material at [...]. My best advice, if you feel ready for the next step would be to go ( several times !!) through: Thai, an essential grammar by David Smyth.



5. This book is a good follow up for readers of the first book in this series. It has a format similar to the first book, with each chapter having a vocab section followed with sample sentences and conversation, and quizzes to test your knowledge.
   
   The number one strong point of this book is the sections completely in Thai. These sections have no English translations and no transliterations, forcing the reader to truly understand how to read the Thai alphabet and reinforces the vocabulary. I am a visual learner, and for learners like myself this is a very effective way to study.
   
   Another strong point of this book is the detail in which they go into the different usages of words like and . These words have multiple meanings in Thai and cause confusion for students. The intermediate learner can quickly improve their reading and listening, and the more advanced student can practice incorporating them into speech and writing.
   
   The only flaw with this book is the first two chapters. I don't understand what value the author saw in including a list of all 76 provinces of Thailand and the names of various places in Bangkok. These are the types of things that someone can learn if they are living in Thailand and need to learn them. In any case, the book is still worthy of five stars.

5 comments about Thai, Conversational: Learn to Speak and Understand Thai with Pimsleur Language Programs (Simon & Schuster's Pimsleur).

1. I have worked with this set of CD's and have found them to be both easy to use and effective. They are very well designed. It is clear to see that much thought went into the material that was selected, and the presentation of that material. I highly recomend this very inexpensive language package for anyone seeking a first time experience with the Thai Laguage.



2. Look, I wouldn't be in this credit crunch if it wasn't for the 1000's of dollars I've spent on learning languages. Personal tutors, audio, computers all of it (loads of books too).
   
   This course has me actually wanting to try what I've learned with my Thai BF. He loves it. Some small corrections, but I think that's formal vs. casual.
   
   I LOVE this course. Listen to one lesson a day, repeat it if you like (when traveling and you can't speak out loud) but make sure at least one is out loud.
   
   And it REALLY works.
   
   Pom khao jai pasai thai nitnoy krab!



3. I am a huge fan of the Pimsleur method and have had great success with Pimsleur's Spanish and French programs. I wish I could say a good word for their Thai program.
   
   First complaint is that it's far too short: 8 disks isn't even enough of a primer for Thai, and unlike their more popular language programs (offering 3 levels of 30 lessons each, for a total of 90 lessons) there are no follow on programs available.
   
   Second complaint is the "native Thai speakers" that are used. I've lived in Thailand for over 3 years and NO ONE speaks Thai like the people in these lessons. The male speaker on the lessons is so soft-spoken, effeminate, and utterly soporific that you first can do little but snicker and quickly fall asleep listening to him. No grown man will make any effort to sound like he does.
   
   Also, real Thai is the most muddled, soft-palated language on Earth: they have 47 consonants and don't pronounce any of them. Despite the fact that a Thai syllable may end in either a short/truncated vowel, a "long" sonarant vowel (which in practice is about 1.5 milliseconds longer than their short vowel) or one of 6 ending (unasperated and unreleased) consonants, in practice Western ears can't hear any of the ending sounds at all. As for the consonants that start a syllable, not only is it near impossible to distinguish between their Gs & Ks, their Ds & Ts, their Bs & Ps, their Ls, Rs & Ws, their Js & CHs, their Ys from no consonant at all, and even their Ms, Ns, and NGs, half the time it's impossible to identify the correct family at all: e.g., they'll say what sounds like a B/P but is in fact supposed to be an M or T or even a G. (And if you ask a Thai to repeat what they said slowly, they'll spit out each syllable like it was shot from a pop gun but will put long pauses between each syllable). To learn to deal with this a Thai language program needs to DRILL, DRILL, DRILL in tones and context. This program does not.
   
   This program is only of use to someone who will be visiting Thailand for a few days and wants nothing more than to be able to say Hello, Excuse Me, and Thank You in Thai.



4. =), luckly i bought it i can actually understand my thai drama's more, i am cambodian and very few of our words are the same, so i can pick up some of the words. but i highly recommend it =)



5. I like this product to some extent, but it needs improvement. I'm only on lesson 4 and so far, the things I don't like are:
   - There is no accompanying text. I have to listen and write things down phonetically so I can review words.
   - There is no instruction on where a word should be placed in the sentence. Mei, meaning no, sometimes is said near the beginning of the sentence and sometimes near the end. I would like a greater understanding of this.
   - They talk too fast and expect one to respond too quickly (especially the responding part. In my real life experience, when speaking to someone who is not fluent in the language, you have to speak slowly so they can understand, and you have to respond slowly.
   - There is a lot of repitition, which is good for learning, but it's focused on things that aren't that useful, for example, "I am an American". I think that will be obvious, or I could just point to myself and say "American" and they will understand that. Or "I am Thai". That will be obvious too.

5 comments about Thai, Basic: Learn to Speak and Understand Thai with Pimsleur Language Programs (Simon & Schuster's Pimsleur) (Thai Edition).

1. I travel by car roughly 10 hours every week and I was looking for a Thai language course that I could use while driving. Pimsleur turned out to be exactly what I was looking for. Agreed, you won't learn to read or write, but you will learn to speak. Good for a start. Recommended !



2. I purchased Pimsleur's Basic Thai 3 weeks before traveling to Thailand for a vacation with my husband. I listened to each unit three times before continuing to the next unit: first a quick preview, then a slow careful study, stopping and starting the audio to make sure I knew each part, then finally a quick review.
   
   After the first 2 units, I became frustrated with the lessons being catered toward an American male. Most lessons started with something like, "You are an American male, and you've just met a Thai woman." Well, I'm female, and because everything you say in Thai ends with something different depending on whether you're male or female, and often starts with a gender-dependent word as well, I was having to convert almost every sentence before repeating it. I do understand why they did this: Most American travelers to Thailand are male. So I stuck with it, and eventually I just got over it.
   
   It was worth the effort. On our first day in Bangkok we got lost in an area where there weren't many English speakers; it was noisy, hot and hectic and we just wanted to get out of there. I approached a tuk tuk driver, and directed him, in Thai, to take us to our hotel, even getting him to stop to buy beer en route!
   
   There were some silly things in the lessons, like learning to say "I am not Thai." Well, duh! But overall it was very effective. The cd's not only taught us useful Thai words and phrases, but they gave us the foundation to put together sentences with new words we learned while in Thailand.
   
   We didn't meet any other Western vacationers in Thailand who had bothered to learn Thai at all, and the Thai people were both surprised and pleased with our efforts. I'm very happy I purchased Pimsleur's Basic Thai, and I will buy their products in the future.



3. I am a visual learner (I would rather review a colleague's email on line than over the telephone), and this method is not meant for me! (Nor am I interested in learning to say something the way a woman would, since I am a man.)
   
   If you're an auditory learner, fine. If you're not, this will be a double challenge--new language and less helpful learning style.



4. 
   The Pimsleur method states that it doesn't have the learner repeat over and over, but that it will re-introduce a phrase right before your memory might forget it. In a sense, how a child learns.
   
   That's all well and good, I don't take exception to this. However, the adult who is not always in a position to be listening, may be able to glance at some word/phrase to review the pronouncing of the words from memory. This will accelerate that person's learning. The Pimsluer method falls short in this regard. Therefore, I believe this method is adequate but not excellent.
   David Fisher



5. I have found these Cd's really helpful. Male and female versions of each sentence are provided and the words are repeated multiple times. I was kind of worried that I would want to see the words written down to really understand what is being said, but I really have no problem understanding the speakers.

5 comments about Thai: An Essential Grammar (Essential Grammars).

1. This is more than just a grammar book. In addition to providing understanding of how to string Thai words into meaningful sentences, I get such a fine flavor of Thai culture as it is woven into the selected word/phrase usage etc. An essential guide for anyone who wants to advance beyond typical tourist phrase book Thai. I combined this book with a good Thai-English dictionary and a good English-Thai dictionary, and I now have what I need to effectively write and converse in Thai. This has been a godsend for me as a do-it-yourself Thai language learner. Bravo to David Smith. The only thing I'd change in the book is that I'd feature Thai script before the transliteration. That would help with the reading since I wouldn't first see the transliterations. But hey, it's a great book anyway.



2. Living in Thailand, I've found that speaking Thai is invaluable, even though many here can speak some degree of English. Since the logic behind Thai is so different than English, a good grammar book is a must if one wishes to seriously learn the language. This is by far the best grammar companion I have found.
   
   My only gripes are with the transliteration. There are some inconsistancies romanizing the Thai letter "Ro Reua (ร)", in some examples, they use an "r", and others, they use an "l", which could be confusing to some readers.
   
   Another gripe about the romanization is how they use "c" for "Jor Jan", which is a j/ch sound, and a funny "n" with a hook for the "ng" sound. Since a "c" never makes a "j" sound in English, and the "n with a hook" doesn't exist, it took me a while to get used to seeing them. I suppose that it's better to ignore the romanization all together and focus on the actual Thai alphabet, which is more important, which is what I did.
   
   Those gripes aside, I would recommend this title to anyone who wants to give learning Thai a serious go.



3. This book is a comprehensive guide to how sentences are formed in Thai. Perhaps it is not suitable for beginners, but after mastering the basics you will appreciate being able to go to a book like this to get help with understanding the structure of sentences you come across. For example, continuous tenses with 'yuu', constructions with 'hai', the use of 'wai' - it is all good stuff. I love it.



4. Review summary: clear explanations, many examples, examples written both in Thai script and phonetics.
   
   The book follows a logical organization according to topic, such as 'Verbs, ' Negation'...
   
   For beginners, the first chapter has a thorough coverage of pronunciation, the second chapter covers the whole writing system and tones.
   Obviously this should should not be used on its own if you are a beginner, but alongside your regular textbook.
   
   This is a grammar book truly directed towards all users: those studying by themselves at home, academic linguists, university students etc.
   
   It suits both beginners and intermediate learners, because the examples are written both in Thai and in phonetics.



5. First of all let me stress that I have this book in hardcopy as well - and I absolutely love it!
   
   This was also the reason that I picked this eBook as one of the first I purchased for my new Kindle 2. I did not check the preview before purchasing... that was a big mistake.
   
   The eBook edition is just not done right. All Thai letters are included as bitmap images. (If you look carefully in the "Product Detail" above, you will see it weights in with a whopping 20070 KB)
   
   Although it must have taken forever to do this way, it just does not work for the reader. The quality of the graphic characters is really terrible and besides it makes this otherwise slender book take a HUGE chunk of your Kindle memory.
   
   Am I missing something here? I thought the Kindle would be able to display Unicode characters...
   
   Can I return an eBook?

5 comments about Oxford Picture Dictionary: English/Thai.

1. I'm an American trying to learn Thai and was excited to have this book to supplement my other books and CD's, but it is pretty much useless to me because each illustration is written in English and Thai alphabet - not written phonetically for the Thai word. So if you don't fully comprehend the Thai alphabet, then this book will have no value for you. It's sad because it would have been very easy for them to include the phonetic translation with every picture. Sorry.



2. I am tutoring 3 middle school age children who just moved here from Thailand. I have found the Oxford Dictionary very helpful, especially the sections dealing with schools and school subjects. The index has also been helpful in teaching them how to break down words and sound them out. I am sure the dictionary will continue to be helpful to them when they enter school in August.



3. The OPD shines in providing practical vocabulary in American English with pictorial support for all kinds of everyday needs. The situation-based color-coded sections are easy to locate, the labeling is clear, and there are two word indexes in the back of the book, one in English and one in the second language (for the bilingual editions). I recommend the OPD to all my students.



4. Almost 2 weeks & I still haven't received my book. I live in Pa. & the company shipping it is in Pa. For $4.00 shipping & the company is local, I'm dissapointed, especially since they said it was shipped almost 2 weeks ago.



5. My wife is Thai, and I am using the dictionary to expand my knowledge base in this language. Over all, I found it to be a great book, but the only thing that I have found missing in many different picture dictionaries is the alphabet. It would be helpful to have the letters broken down so that reading it will be more helpful. The other issue was that you must have knowledge of the language to use this dictionary. There are not English breakdown of the words. For example, Ling (mean Monkey). Break down the Thai word such as Lee-ing. Just a thought. Overall this dictionary is well laid out, and easy to follow.

3 comments about Instant Thai: How to express 1,000 different ideas with just 100 key words and phrases! (Instant Phrasebook Series).

1. In conjunction with the Pimsleur Thai course I bought here, this is a great reminder and prompter when you get stuck on a word. Smart and simple. And worth every baht.



2. Handy little supplement book! We all know that it's easier to remember vocabulary when learned in context. This book takes some of the more widely used conversational words and enables the learner to see them in the context of a variety of sentences. This greatly enhances the learning potential.
   
   While this book is useful, keep in mind that it is only a supplement for learning and you will still need a Thai-English dictionary and other Thai learning materials. However, this is a valuable addition to my Thai language library.



3. Instant Thai is less of a phrasebook than a small instruction manual for learning 100 words and putting them together to make coherent sentences. I love learning a country's language prior to traveling there. Phrasebooks are good for memorizing but not good for understanding. This book gives you both. I found the pronounciation guide helpful, but would recommend some sort of listening guide if you intend to pronounce the Thai language correctly. Overall, this book was extremely helpful in communicating with the Thai people and allowed me to ask questions not covered by any simple phrasebook, e.g. for a request from my wife 'Your make-up is excellent. What is it?'

3 comments about Thai (Lonely Planet Phrasebooks).

1. The book came in great condition but I was looking for something that was phonetic not actually wanting to "learn" the language but just use when travelling there. I ended up buying a much better phrase book



2. I bought this book as a present for a friend who frequently travel to Thailand. She absolutely loves this book, and says she has been trying to get something like this book for years



3. I spent a good amount of time looking through various bookstores before I left for Thailand the first time, trying to decide among the various phrasebooks that are available. This one is perfectly sized, logically arranged (for the most part), and has a very good selection of phrases (for the most part).
   
   The first time I went to Thailand, I was with a few other native English speakers. Among us, we had several different phrasebooks. I spent a little more time while there looking through the other phrasebooks (after experiencing Thailand for a few days) to see if maybe the others actually were better, because I wasn't getting anywhere with this one.
   
   Well, the others aren't better. They consistently were missing key words or phrases that I needed. In general, this one will have what you need. Basically, I think this is the best Thai phrasebook available right now, and you should definitely get it if you're going there. It's very useful in many situations, and certainly worth a good rating. I'm going to focus on what I see as the negatives, but keep in mind that no matter how many negative things I say about it, these are all only worth taking one star off of my rating.
   
   The biggest problem is strange choices on what to include and what not to include. Naturally, they can't include everything, but there are omissions in all sections of this book that seem strange to me. One example is in the section with phrases regarding occupations - it's designed so you can ask people about their occupation, and you can tell them yours. The problem is, they only give you a few things to choose from, and they're not broad - the options are civil servant, farmer, journalist, and teacher. Or, you can say you work in the fields of health, sales and marketing, or administration. Now, granted, you will find more options in the dictionary in the back, but that's a really rather bizarre selection, I think. I'm really not sure why they couldn't have included "student" in that list, for example - I'm guessing a significantly large percentage of people using this phrasebook as their only reference are going to be students. On the same page, they also give you how to say "What are you studying?" and "I'm studying..." (with only humanities, science, and Thai as the options...) but that, to me, doesn't seem like the right answer to the question "What is your occupation?"
   
   What I'm trying to describe is a systemic problem in this book, which is worse in other Thai phrasebooks. They give you the tantalizing beginnings of phrases, which you can theoretically use to substitute in the right word... but they don't make it easy to find that word. Another quick example: they give you "I'm from..." with the options Australia, Canada, and Singapore. Yep, that sure covers a really wide range of places that a lot of people who visit Thailand are from. England and the US should have been on that list instead of Canada and Singapore (not to slight those countries...) - instead, those from two of the largest sources of Thai tourists will be flipping to the dictionary in the back.
   
   Now, there are some neat phrases in here that you don't see in the other Thai phrasebooks (I mean mostly the fun stuff, not the basic practical stuff). The problem with these is that they're not basic phrases... if you say them to someone, they're going to reply with something that's probably complicated, and that doesn't really help you too much.
   
   Now, a couple of other things that caused me problems. First, the transliteration scheme - it's pretty good (and a *lot* better than some I've seen) but not perfect, and it will take a lot of work to actually pronounce this stuff correctly. Even if you follow all of their directions, try your best with the tones, etc., chances are you will still be pronouncing things incorrectly. I won't claim this can't be my fault at all, of course - maybe I'm just bad at it - but after saying things I was sure were correct yet still having Thai people not understand, after pointing to it in the book (everything is, thankfully, written in Thai script as well) they would pronounce it the right way and it would be *totally* different. So different, that I have no idea how they came up with the transliteration. I can't think of any specific examples, but it was a very common problem for me.
   
   Second, the dictionary in the back. This obviously can't include very much - it's a relatively small section in the back - but, again, it suffers from strange omissions and strange inclusions. The dictionary is not the purpose of the book, of course, so you can't expect it to be perfect. The Thai-English section is considerably smaller than the English-Thai section, and doesn't have a whole lot of useful stuff in it... a Thai friend had a lot of trouble trying to find words she wanted to use in here.
   
   Third, the language as used here is not how most people speak, and in some cases not how it's written either. I do not know the language very well, but after a while I could tell there are some pretty basic mistakes here. Especially if you leave Bangkok (I was in Chiang Mai most of the time), phrases and words in here will be *completely* different from how most Thais talk.
   
   Finally, the font used for Thai script. If you're not familiar with Thai script it probably looks perfectly normal, but it's actually kind of stylized. If you're trying to figure out specific characters from this book, sometimes you will have problems - there are some Thai characters that are very, very similar to each other, and the way they're represented in this book seems to make those small differences even smaller, rather than accentuating them and making them easy to see.
   
   Ultimately, I'll add, about half of the book will probably be useless to you. These are phrases that require decent understanding of the language to use (and to subsequently understand the replies you'll get), and you won't get that understanding from this book. And then there's the section on "sustainable travel", and other stuff like that... worthless unless you can understand the language fairly well, or if the person you're talking to speaks some English (in which case you're probably not going to say much in Thai). That's beside the fact that "sustainable travel" and eco-friendly is a pretty foreign concept to most Thais, and they'll have no idea what you're talking about even if you *do* pronounce it correctly...
   
   I recommend this for tourist travel, but if you become interested in any way with understanding the language better than just "getting by", you'll need something else almost immediately.

5 comments about Thai-English English-Thai Dictionary for Non-Thai Speakers, Revised Edition (Dictionary).

1. This dictionary is very easy to use, you can check a word in three different ways:
   
   1. English -> Thai
   2. Thai romanization (pronunciation) -> English
   3. Thai script-based -> English
   
   Regardless of how you use it each entry will show you: the script, the romanized pronunciation script, and the english meaning.
   
   Most advanced learners will probably find this book inadequate, it is mainly beginners and intermediate learners who'll gain most from this book. I hope Paiboon will make a more extensive dictionary one day, as there is a large demand for it.
   
   But let's not be spoiled, this is a quality product within most people's budget, and there are surprisingly few dictionaries for Thai as easily available as this one.
   For traveling this book is also very handy.



2. This dictionary has been very helpful. Especially useful is the section
   using Thai characters. This is missing in many other Thai-English
   dictionaries. The biggist problem is with the small font.



3. I went to Barnes and Nobles to check out all the Thai dictionary they had, and even asked them to order some more so I can see if the dictionary were adequate in terms of a variety of definition. The dictionaries were either incomplete and/or big and bulky. I then saw the reviews on this dictionary and decided to risk it an buy it. It is a perfect companion for those learning Thai. It isn't pocket size but it's small enough for traveling w/o taking up too much space. After checking out about 10 different dictionaries from various publishers (ex. Oxford) this dictionary is the top on the market right now. I recommend it.



4. This book is only barely useful "on the street." Thai is a very tonal based language and the same word can have vastly different meanings based on the tone of voice used and emphasis on different sylables.



5. Absolutely indispensable. The three different sections give you three different ways to untangle the Thai language. The middle section--where you can locate Thai words simply by their sound--is extremely helpful.

4 comments about New Thai-English, English-Thai Compact Dictionary for English Speakers with Tones and Classifiers.

1. I just spent the last hour "playing" with my new "three-way" English-Thai, Thai-English, Thai sound-English dictionary from Paiboon publishing.... I say "playing" because this dictionary is not only better than its predecessor, but for a lover of the Thai language, it is just plain "fun!"
   
   First of all, this is the best Thai-English/English-Thai dictionary on the market, anywhere, bar none. I don't even want to waste time explaining why it is "better" than the would-be competition.... But I suppose a few words are necessary. The advantages of the earlier edition -still- have not been matched by any other dictionary... 1) Comprehensive yet compact, 2) The only dictionary that allows the critical "third-way" of looking up a word in Thai, by it's pronunciation in English 3) Utilizes the most accurate and user friendly pronunciation system in existence, and 4) Has lots of cool extras presented with a "real life" no b.s. approach, with no loss of the subtle complexity of the language at any turn.
   
   While Thai uses an alphabet, the word ordering in the dictionary is not immediately apparent... very frustrating... Benjawan and Chris (the two authors) explain a simple way -and- the "real" way to quickly look up words. Problem solved.
   
   Thai has multiple letters that sound like "P" or "S" or "F" or "T" or "K"... Maybe you have heard a word spoken and want to look it up, but you have no idea what "K" or "T" was used to actually start the word because you have not mastered "tone rules" enough to guess. If you don't think this is a problem, you have not tried to understand spoken Thai. This dictionary provides a whole section that lets you look up the word by the way it sounds IN ENGLISH. Then it directs you to the right Thai letter and definition. In an awesome improvement from the earlier edition, you are directed to the correct Thai word by page number in the Thai spelled section... eliminating the need to essentially re-print definitions in this section; a move which saves a large amount of space that the authors have used to fill with a much larger amount of entries than in the previous edition.
   
   Let's say that you read something in Thai, but of course it is written in some crazy font that does not remotely resemble the standard Thai letters you have assiduously struggled to learn.... No problem... the dictionary has a section that shows each Thai letter in a number of different fonts.... Much as the previous edition, but improved by depicting in one place, the name of the letter (written in Thai, phonetically and with the English translation of the letter's name), it's "class" (high, low or mid), along with the various fonts.. AND how the letter would sound at the beginning OR the end of a word (not always the same!)
   
   Maybe you are more than 20 years old and have something less than 20/15 vision or the mind reading ability of Thais to decipher the micrographic small print in which Thai normally appears... No problem. The authors have graciously increased the font size that allows your eyes to luxuriate in washing over the beautiful Thai script without placing the book under a microscope! I should note here that the physical dimensions of the book are somewhat larger than the previous edition, but it is still quite manageable enough for a cargo pocket and has the advantages of the larger script, more entries and more extras. The authors consciously have made efforts to be more efficient so that every extra page provides added value and not just added size.
   
   Oh... this is my favorite .... In Thai, most nouns have "classifiers" (in other languages also known as modifiers or quantifiers or measure words). We have but few examples of this in English, but in Thai they are the norm. So, for instance, you would not say that you had five children and leave it at that. You would say something like you have "child, five people" or "television three devices." These words like "people" or "devices" and when to use which are VERY annoying because while there is some predictability, what word you use with what noun is not obvious... most of the time in fact. It is like knowing that you have to say that you want two "slices" or "cuts" of pizza, but that you want two "pieces" of candy. How would you know how to say that in English if you did not already just "know it" as a native speaker? Well, it is 100X worse in Thai.... But the dictionary comes to the rescue by offering two advantages from the earlier edition and something I NEVER SEE in other dictionaries (except one, but done poorly). The Paiboon dictionary lists the appropriate classifier along with the entry of each noun if one exists for that noun... thank god! Secondly, to give you some idea that the classifiers are not all picked out of a hat, there is a small section in the back that lists major classifiers... not as a laundry list, but by explaining the different classifiers used within each kind of idea, such as classifiers often used with food, or in writing or in classifiers that have something to do with a shape of the object etc. A really ingenious descriptive technique.
   
   I can't believe it took this long to describe a critical aspect of the dictionary... the English pronunciation system. .... Of course it is best if you learn how to read Thai... but even then, there are more than a few exceptions to the rules and beyond that there are exceptions in the way a word is pronounced in everyday speech (versus the way it appears that it should be pronounced). The "Paiboon" system takes two minutes to learn and is vastly more accurate than any other, including the actual and dreaded "official system" which gives us words like Suvarnabhumi. Try to use -that- word and make it to the airport! In any case, the Paiboon system is used in all of the Paiboon published books and CDs on learning Thai... As those resources are also the absolutely best way to learn Thai, you might as well own a dictionary that uses the same pronunciation system.
   
   Above all, this is the only dictionary with a sense of humor. There is a section on vowels, consonants, tone and parts of the language that seems to empathize with your struggles instead of making it seem like understanding Thai is all simple and you are the only idiot not getting it all. It makes you feel like you have a friend helping you through...
   
   Look, if you already own the older version of this dictionary, keep it for street use until it falls apart, but BUY this new one... it is a quantum leap beyond an already fantastic product. If you own any other dictionary or none at all... THIS is the one to buy. You can buy something bigger, but you would be wasting your time and getting a monster book you won't want to use. Good luck and enjoy!



2. I was already a big fan of khun Benjawan's previous dictionary (I owned four copies to make sure I had one handy wherever I was). I purchased this new version as soon as I heard it was available.
   
   I had two small complaints about the previous version: first, sometimes words I was looking for was only in one section and not the other (only in the Thai-English but not English-Thai for example) which did cause some translation delays, and secondly it seemed like there were more than a small number of words that were omitted, which forced me to rely on my much heavier (but more thorough) Mary Haas dictionary. The good news is that these problems seem to have been taken care of in the new version; at least so far as I can tell having had it for a short period of time.
   
   I am also greatly looking forward to the Desktop Edition that is mentioned in this pocket version as becoming available in late 2009.



3. This new edition is a quantum leap forward. Very user-friendly, elegantly presented with crisp and clear fonts, thoughtful tools such as sidebars to find a letter quickly, and the most helpful inclusion of classifiers that go with the nouns. With many new benefits, it's still conveniently sized if you are inclined to study on those long bus rides.



4. I purchased this dictionary as soon as it was available from the publisher. This dictionary is a great improvement over the previous edition. The inclusion of classifiers and "word register (formality)" is of great utility to any serious student of Thai. The introduction is also vastly improved. It serves as a quick reference for the Thai language as well as a guide for using the dictionary. It is packed with useful information including a pronunciation guide, examples of Thai font variations, and classifier usage.
   
   As mentioned by other reviewers, the previous edition seemed to be lacking more than a few common words. During my most recent trip to Thailand, I kept this dictionary in my backpack at all times during the trip. I found its coverage of the vocabulary I encountered in "real life" nearly 100%.
   
   Like the old edition, the new edition includes the "Thai Sound" section makes it easy to find that word you heard on TV or overhead in a conversation.
   
   In summary, this edition is a must have upgrade over the old edition. Don't hesitate to purchase it.

5 comments about Thai for Beginners.

1. This book prepares the absolute beginner to the Thai language with the foundations to start speaking, reading, and to some extent, writing Thai. The topics covered include pronunciation rules and examples, basic greetings, introductory grammar rules for verbs and adjective, and vocabulary for tell time and body parts etc.
   
   I like the format of this book because each chapter is laid out with vocab, sample sentences and conversations based off the vocab, and quizzes to test your retention. It is ideal for classroom use or self study.
   
   I didn't give this book five stars because there really isn't 260 pages of solid material here. For example, the Read Aloud exercises I did not find useful whatsoever and the alphabet tracing exercises take up altogether too much space. I think it's debatable whether or not a student of this level should even worry about how to draw each symbol in the alphabet.
   
   All in all, this is a book that any beginner to intermediate student of the Thai language should have in their collection.



2. I've owned the Thai For Beginners book for several years, just purchased the CD to go with it. The book is excellent. The CD follows the book very well and is helpful with pronunciations. I only have two minor criticisms of the CD: When the conversations are read in Thai, it would be helpful if they were spoken a bit more slowly. Also, throughout the CD, you can hear a lot of background noise -- Music playing, traffic noise, even airplanes flying overhead! It would have sounded more professional if the CD had been recorded in a studio or soundproof room.



3. The book and companion CD are widely used to learn Thai language. In my opinion English speakers will learn faster and with better pronunciation using these materials and having a tutor as well.



4. This book/CD deserves five stars as a beginner's guide to learn the Thai language. The pronunciation is 'spot on'. I love learning a country's language before traveling there. However, like many people, I am quite busy. This language CD/teaching tool allowed me to download software to learn Thai on my computer. However, it would have been more helpful to learn during my commute, e.g. via lessons that can be accessed by an MP3 player or CD player. Even though this is a superior product for learning Thai when compared to others, for a tourist eager to quickly learn Thai, a product offering simple phrases and pronunciations for an iPod might be better.



5. This cd was only 20 bucks, and i'd have to say the best 20 bucks i've ever invested. Very easy and helpful unlike Rosetta stone. It actually teaches you stuff you need or want to know. Not like how Rosetta Stones teaches you "the boy is under the table" "the boy is sitting on the plane" thank you Rosetta stone!!! I would recommend this beginner thai cd to anyone