Free guides
Every Thai guide, in one place
16 guides for people going to Thailand, not people studying for an exam. Every Thai phrase carries its script and an honest romanization, and every word is checked against a real Thai dictionary. Free, no signup.
Before you go
Whether to bother, how hard it really is, and what actually works.
Should you learn Thai before visiting Thailand?
You do not need it. Twenty or thirty phrases still change the trip: better food, fairer prices, warmer rooms. What to learn if you only have two weeks.
Can you learn Thai with Duolingo?
No. There is no Thai course for English speakers and there never has been. What the actual options are, and which suits a traveler.
Is Thai hard to learn?
Honest answer: the tones and the script are hard, the grammar is genuinely easy. No verb conjugation, no plurals, no tenses.
How long does it take to learn Thai?
What you can realistically hold in your head after two weeks, three months, and a year, and why the traveler answer is much shorter than the fluency answer.
On the ground
The situations that actually come up, in the order most trips hit them.
Thai phrases for travel
The core set, grouped by situation: greetings, food, prices, directions, trouble. Every phrase with Thai script and easy romanization.
How to order food in Thai
Ordering at a stall where nobody speaks English: asking for a dish, one plate or two, and the words that get you fed quickly.
"Not spicy, please" in Thai
Mai phet, and why saying it once often is not enough. Also the allergy phrasing, which matters far more and is worth memorizing exactly.
How to bargain in Thailand
Where haggling is expected and where it is rude, what to open at, and the polite phrases that keep it friendly.
Thai phrases for taxis and tuk-tuks
Asking for the meter before any price talk starts, giving an address you cannot pronounce, and when Grab is simply the easier call.
Emergency Thai phrases
Help, hospital, police, allergy, and where it hurts. The set worth having before you need it, because you will not be studying at the time.
Thai numbers
One to a thousand, how prices are spoken at markets, and the shortcuts locals use that make a quoted number sound unfamiliar.
The language itself
The pieces worth understanding once, so the phrases stop being noise.
Hello in Thai
Sawatdee khrap and sawatdee kha, why the ending changes with who is speaking, and what to do with your hands while you say it.
Thank you in Thai
Khob khun khrap and khob khun kha, plus the warmer and more formal versions and when each one fits.
Krap and ka: the politeness particles
Two syllables that carry half of Thai politeness. Which one you use depends on your gender, not the listener, and dropping them is the most common beginner mistake.
The Thai alphabet
44 consonants, 32 vowels, and why the consonant class decides the tone. What reading actually unlocks on a menu or a sign.
The five Thai tones
Mid, low, falling, high, rising, and the famous mai mai mai sentence. Why the same romanization can mean four different things.
The same Thai, taught properly
These guides are the free version. Thailo teaches the whole set as a journey through Thailand, with audio, spaced review and AI-graded speaking practice. Join the waitlist for launch access.
Launching on iOS. One email when it's out. Maybe two, if something's truly worth telling you.