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Thai Beach Vocabulary, Part II

Red and green Thai letters in random order
Now that you have learned our Thai Beach Vocabulary Part I, you are ready to move on with Part II.

Not ready yet? Then have another look at Part I to freshen up or kick-start your Thai language skills. You can download our free Thai Beach Vocabulary guide for Part I here: PDF / Image. If you are still with us here, today we will move on to more Thai words that will be useful for your Thai beach experience. Remember to check how each word is actually pronounced by clicking on the speaker icon ““, and say it out load to the enjoyment of your surroundings. This will greatly enhance your chances of being understood (and appreciated) in Thailand!

Thai Beach Vocabulary, Part II
Beach Word Common Transliteration(s) Pronounciation and Tone Thai Spelling Sound
fish  pla/bplaa  bplaa (mid) ปลา  
crab pu/bpoo/bpuu  bpuu (mid) ปู
shell/clam/oyster hoi hŏoi (rising) หอย
turtle tao/dtao dtào (low) เต่า
bird nok/nohk  nók (high) นก
coconut  ma-prao/phraao má-phráao
(high-high)
มะพร้าว
boat ruea/reuua/reua reua (mid) เรือ
swim  wai/waai-nahm/nam wâai-náam (falling-high) ว่ายน้ำ
snorkel/dive dam-nahm/nam dam-náam
(mid-high)
ดำน้ำ
sail laen-ruea/reuua/reua lâen-reua
(falling-mid)
แล่นเรือ
surf to/dtoh-khluen/kleun dtôh-khlûeen (falling-falling) โต้คลื่น
barefoot thao/tao-plao/bplao tháao-bplàao (high-low) เท้าเปล่า
sun bed dtiang/tian-ap/aap/-daed/daet  dtiiang-àap-dàaed (mid-low-low)  เตียงอาบแดด
sun cream khrim/kreem/cream-aathit/aatit khreem-aa-thít (mid-mid-high) ครีมอาทิตย์
towel  pha/paa-chet-tua/dtua phâa-chét-dtua (falling-high-mid) ผ้าเช็ดตัว
sunglasses waen-kan/gan-daet wâaen-gan-dàaed
(falling-mid-low)
แว่นกันแดด
 hammock ple/bplay bplaee (mid) เปล

Download the free Thai Beach Vocabulary Part II here: PDF / Image.

Next post in this series will give you some handy Thai beach phrases. Don’t forget to beach with us on social media, so you don’t miss any of our exciting upcoming posts.

Thai Beach Vocabulary, Part I

Thai letters and script in random order, Thai alphabet

When it comes to learning a foreign language, learning the basic beach vocabulary is the most important, obviously.

Well, maybe that’s a stretch, but it’s fun and useful to know some of the many Thai words and phrases related to beach life. Perhaps you wondered what Koh, Ao, and Haad means, or maybe how to actually pronounce them. Anyone who has been to Thailand knows that learning Thai words is next to worthless if you do not have the slightest idea of how to pronounce them. The problem is that there is no single agreed upon method of transcribing Thai words into the Roman alphabet (Romanization), and did we mention the 5 Thai tones? So in case you are not up for learning the Thai alphabet and the corresponding tone rules, we have transcribed the words and added a sound link for you to practice the pronunciation. Below we have put together a survival Thai beach vocabulary guide.

 Thai Beach Vocabulary, Part I

Beach Word Common Transliteration(s) Pronounciation and Tone Thai Spelling Sound
island koh or ko gàw or gòr (low) เกาะ  
bay ao àao (low) อ่าว
beach haad, haat, or hat hàat (low) หาด
sand sai or saai saai (mid) ทราย
sea talay, thaleh, thalae thá-laeh (high-mid) ทะเล
pier/harbour taa/thaa-reua/reuua thâa-reua
(falling-mid)
ท่าเรือ
stone/rock hin hĭn (rising) หิน
wave khluen or kleun khlêuun  (falling) คลื่น
cape laem lăaem (rising) แหลม
coral pakarang bpà-gaa-rang
(low-mid-mid)
ปะการัง
low tide nam/nahm- long/lohng náam-lohng (high-mid) น้ำลง
high tide nam/nahm-keun/kheun náam-khêun
(high-falling)
น้ำขึ้น
moon phra/pra-jan/chan phrá-jan (high-mid) พระจันทร์
sun phra/pra-aathit/aatit phrá-aa-thít (high-mid-high) พระอาทิตย์
wind lohm/lum/lom lohm (mid) ลม
rain fon/fohn fŏn (rising) ฝน
shade (and umbrella) rom/rohm rôm (falling) ร่ม

Download the Thai Beach Vocabulary Part I here: PDF / Image.

Please not that Thais often exchange “R” with “L” in the beginning of syllables. This means that a word like shade or umbrella will actually come out as lôm and not rôm.

For our Thai beach vocabulary we have consulted the website thai-language.com, the best online Thai language resource in our opinion. Especially if you want loads of context and valuable information, this site is helpful. The website also has a free iPhone and iPad app which is handy.

We will be back with more Thai beach vocabulary in our upcoming Part II.