Customer Reviews

Thai: Lonely Planet Phrasebook

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

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.

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.

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.

I am a huge fan of lonely planet guidebooks however I am not a big fan of phrasebooks in general. I have this phrasebook and can honestly say that i have never used it. The problem with phrasebooks is that no 2 are alike. Different phrasebooks give slightly different pronunciations (and with Thai slightly different tones) but again this all has to do with translation from one language into another which is not the best way to learn a new language( acquisition is proven to be the most effective but takes time!). However with this said, phrasebooks are practical for people who do not have time to study a particular language such as Thai which is very difficult for westerners and lonely planet is just as good as any other phrasebook that I have seen on the market to meet the needs of holiday travelers.

This book was great in Thailand. It fits in your bag really well, and gives you all of the important phrases. It was definately not a necesity because everyone spoke English, but it was fun to try to speak in the native language.

I've been studying Thai and living in Bangkok for over a year now. This book has useful street Thai phrases and might be handy for those doing a vacation. However, the phrases taught in this book are mostly slang or low level Thai. Thus, it's not very useful for the serious learner. Many things could be spoken and written in a more proper or grammatical manner. Thus, I found this book a hinderance in study rather than a benefit for me.

I bought this book before spending 3 weeks in Thailand last year. I only cracked it a couple of times and had difficulty deciphering the phonetics. However, having just completed a Beginning Thai course offered by my county's adult ed department the book makes a lot more sense to me and I find the grammar notes and pronunciation easier to understand. I am headed back to Thailand next week and feel a lot more confident that I will be able to communicate if/when I come across non-English speakers. But for as good as this book is, I agree with the other reviewer that it helps to at least take a basic Thai course or listen to CDs like Pimsleur so you can hear the language. And as others have noted, top marks for including the Thai script along with the English phrases so you can just point if necessary.

This is an excellent phrase book, easy to carry, easy to read and broken into easy to find section. Combined with a short language program this book carried me across Thailand comfortably. I mentione the language program because the pronunciation is a bit tricky to break down phonetically, altho Lonely Planet does a great job of it. I have used lonely planet phrase books for all of Asia and Northern Africa, but I must admit I use Rick Steve's phrase books for European travel. Lonely Planet Guide Books are also very good, especially for the bargain traveler.

This book has several great features.
-It is small and easy to fit in a pocket, bag etc.
-It has the words written out in thai. Without hearing and practicing pronunciation I find it very hard to get the tones and accent right. When people give me a blank look I can just point. VERY helpful. Especially considering that Thai words written in the roman alphabet make no sense to Thai people.
-It covers all sorts of situations. Basic travel needs like getting around, buying things, to dealing with medical problems, and even to pick-up lines
-some of the situations are so absurd (in that the average person would know a lot more thai or be dealing with an english speaker before that would happen) that it makes a great conversation piece hanging around the hostel. "Oh, yeah, well I know how to say 'don't worry, it happens to lots of guys. Beat that!'

If you're not looking to actually learn thai, but just want some help getting around and trying not to be the Ugly American, then I recommend this book.

I bought this book because it's small and you can carry it with you on your trips. it's easy to use and understand as well. great book if you're just vacationing and want to learn enough to get around the country.