Thai: Lonely Planet Phrasebook [Paperback]

Bruce Evans (Author), Lonely Planet Phrasebooks (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 1, 2004

Thailand is the Land of Smiles. A grin shows companionship. A laugh shows forgiveness. But what if you need a second-class train ticket from Bangkok to Chiang Mai? Keep smiling - this phrasebook will show you the way.

Did You Know?

When people talk about the Thai language they are really referring to a Central Thai dialect that has succeeded in becoming the standard official language for the whole country. For this reason Thai is only spoken as a first language in the central provinces of the nation. As Thai is the official language of education, government and media it's basically understood from North to South although recent estimates suggest that less than half the population of Thailand speak and understand Thai fluently.

Editorial Reviews

Review

National Geographic Traveler, September 2006
'Lonely Planet Phrasebooks. Portable, pocket-size, cheap, and available for almost any country you might want to visit...'

From the Publisher

Who We Are
At Lonely Planet, we see our job as inspiring and enabling travellers to connect with the world for their own benefit and for the benefit of the world at large.

What We Do
* We offer travellers the world's richest travel advice, informed by the collective wisdom of over 350 Lonely Planet authors living in 37 countries and fluent in 70 languages.
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* We tell it like it is without fear or favor in service of the travellers; not clouded by any other motive.

What We Believe
We believe that travel leads to a deeper cultural understanding and compassion and therefore a better world.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 256 pages
• Publisher: Lonely Planet; 5 edition (September 1, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 174059231X
• ISBN-13: 978-1740592314
• Product Dimensions: 5.5 x 3.4 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #957,438 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Will help you learn much more than the basics, March 9, 2008

By 

Joseph Barrett "thailand english teacher" (Bangkok, Thailand) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Thai: Lonely Planet Phrasebook (Paperback)

I've been to Thailand twice now and am planning to live there for a few years. This book has taught me the basics and beyond. I recommend it because the tone marks and pronunciations are easy to understand and the book teaches you the rules so that you can figure out different variations of a word. There is also an English/Thai, Thai/English dictionary in the back and the book is small enough to fit in your pocket. Thai script plus phonetic thai is included. The only downside I can see is that the words are so tiny that it's sometimes hard to see thai script vowels and tonal marks.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent!, March 28, 2007

By 

Susan Dunn (Eugene, OR USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Thai: Lonely Planet Phrasebook (Paperback)

The best part about this book is the pronunciation guide. Thai can be tricky with all the tones, this book made it very simple to understand. If anything the sex and drug sections can just be for entertainment. I tried out these phrases just for fun, never seriously used them. Good for a laugh. Several Thai people have asked me to send them a copy.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great phrase book, March 3, 2008

By 

S. Hammer (Honolulu) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Thai: Lonely Planet Phrasebook (Paperback)

This is a great little reference book if interested in learning Thai. Using some kind of on line or person audio assistance is necessary since Thai is tonal.