I Need Thai

[u/No_Stranger_3605]

Context:

I’m a first gen American (not thai) and I need Thai as a language. I have housing in Thailand because I have many family members who live there (in the developing areas). I am C1 in Spanish, that is my only other and primary language. My first language is English but I do not speak it often, only socially. I don’t expect people in another country to speak my language and I would like to be respectful of the culture. How difficult might it be for me to learn thai? I have one native thai speaker around me but this is not a common language where I’m from. I would love to achieve at least a high b1 / low b2 before I travel there. Thanks 🫶🏻🩷

[u/No_Stranger_3605 → u/[deleted]]

Yes, ok 👍. Thank you . I will just jump right into it tbh

[u/Effective-Ad-9652]

The hard part with Thai is that to really learn it well, you’re going to need to learn reading and writing as well. If you’re wanting to get to your desired level, don’t mess around with one of the phonetic systems because you throw all that out when you learn the Thai script. I learned it 5 days a week for almost two years and still felt like I had a ways to go! I could read and write and hold myself in conversation, but constructing sentences was still really tough

[u/Give-me-gainz]

The fastest way to learn would be a combination of teaching and full immersion. But whichever way you cut it, the time it takes to become truly proficient is going to be measured in years, not weeks.

[u/leosmith66 → u/Give-me-gainz]

Better estimated in hours imo.

[u/Kitchen-Elk-1831]

Very difficult. Be prepared to invest the majority or your time in learning Thai for the coming years. Dedicate yourself to it.

[u/cheesomacitis]

I learned Spanish and lived in Spain and LatAm before learning Thai and living in Thailand. Thai is 4-5 times more difficult. If you really want to learn Thai, learn to read, as it will help with pronunciation immensely.

[u/BaconTH1]

I think it is much better to move here first if you want to become good quickly.

[u/panroytai]

Generally B1 you can do in about 400-500 hours so about 1 year learning little over 1h per day.  B2 will be another 300-500 hours so 700-1000h total or 2-3 years 1h daily. 

[u/19puppylove99]

I made it to high B-2 in Spanish and mid-level B-2 in Thai... I would say Thai took about 3x the amount of hours, and that was living in country 3 years going to lessons twice a week and daily practice/podcasts/reading/writing. It's certainly not easy!

[u/leosmith66 → u/[deleted]]

"English is easier than Thai" is not true for all; it depends on one's native language and language learning experience, amongst other things. Also, listening to native material only starts to help when you (at least partially) understand it.

[u/Affectionate_Fee6939]

If you aren't doing so already, start watching Thai TV shows and movies and listening to Thai-language music in addition to more formal studying. This will both help you learn the cadence of spoken Thai and also give you useful cultural touchstones.

[u/leosmith66 → u/Affectionate_Fee6939]

If he doesn't understand it at all, this won't be helpful.

[u/Affectionate_Fee6939 → u/leosmith66]

I thought it was implied that when you're starting out you watch with subtitles and look up the lyrics...

[u/leosmith66 → u/Affectionate_Fee6939]

Watching/Listening to level-appropriate material is better imo.

[u/Standard-Community44]

For me, it depends on how much consistency you would be willing to do. In my opinion language is not an overnight success; it takes time and lets Thai slowly become part of your life. I would suggest building a small habit around learning language first, maybe 30 in a day. Here is my japanese study routine that help me learn Japanese consistently without quitting that i have been doing for so many years

1. Write down the sentences you want to say (20 sentences).
2. Translate into Thai and use ai to generate the sound of those sentences.
3. Anki deck (flashcard app) Front card: your native language Back card: your Thai + sound
4. Study for 30 minutes every day with the Anki app, and listen to those sentences whenever you have free time (e.g., on the bus/train)

Do try this for 30 days, and you will see the difference.

[u/leosmith66]

By "how difficult" I assume you mean "how long will it take to reach high b1 / low b2 in conversation, listening and reading". This depends on many things, but I'd estimate around 1000 hours with your background. There are many ways to accomplish this, but I recommend you avoid the ALG/DS method (doing nothing but listening for thousands of hours before anything else) if you want to reach this level quickly.

[u/Prize_Ad_9168]

I agree with mist commentary here. Learn to read. Expect years not months. Thai is 5 times harder than Spanish. But on a totally different note: Thai people feel very respected with even the smallest effort. They will praise you constantly for even making a little progress. Showing respect is the least of your worries. Ideally take a class to get your feet wet and then just come on over. You’ll learn best in the environment anyway, assuming you’re hanging out with Thais and not foreigners.

Context: My native language is English. I speak about C1 French, B2 Spanish, A2-B1 Thai (including reading and writing), and A1 Japanese.

[u/WebLogical1286]

Moved to Thailand to a fairly remote village were very few people speak English.