About work in Thai
Colleagues at lunch in Thai. 7 phrases that the conversation is made of: «คุณ ทำ งาน ที่ นี่ กี่ ปี แล้ว» — How many years have you worked here?; «สาม ปี แล้ว ค่ะ» — Three years.
How the whole thing sounds
The situation: colleagues at lunch. First the whole conversation, then each line on its own, with a translation.
- คุณ ทำ งาน ที่ นี่ กี่ ปี แล้วкхун тхам нган ти ний кий пий лаэоHow many years have you worked here?
- สาม ปี แล้ว ค่ะсам пий лаэо кхаThree years.
- หัว หน้า คน ใหม่ ดี ไหมхуа наа кхон май ди майIs the new boss good?
- ดี ค่ะ แต่ งาน มากди кха тэ нган макGood, but there is a lot of work.
- ผม จะ ลา พัก เดือน หน้าпхом ча лаа пхак дыан нааNext month I will take a vacation.
- ไป ไหน คะпай най кхаWhere are you going?
- กลับ บ้าน ครับ สิบ วันклап бан кхрап сип ванHome, for ten days.
Lines one by one
| Thai | Reading | Translation |
|---|---|---|
| คุณ ทำ งาน ที่ นี่ กี่ ปี แล้ว | кхун тхам нган ти ний кий пий лаэо | How many years have you worked here? |
| สาม ปี แล้ว ค่ะ | сам пий лаэо кха | Three years. |
| หัว หน้า คน ใหม่ ดี ไหม | хуа наа кхон май ди май | Is the new boss good? |
| ดี ค่ะ แต่ งาน มาก | ди кха тэ нган мак | Good, but there is a lot of work. |
| ผม จะ ลา พัก เดือน หน้า | пхом ча лаа пхак дыан наа | Next month I will take a vacation. |
| ไป ไหน คะ | пай най кха | Where are you going? |
| กลับ บ้าน ครับ สิบ วัน | клап бан кхрап сип ван | Home, for ten days. |
How to prepare for a conversation like this
Memorizing the lines is not enough: the other person will say their own thing, not what is written. What helps more is catching the key words by ear and keeping three rescue phrases ready: “I don't understand”, “repeat, please”, “slower”.
And one more thing phrasebooks do not mention: awkwardness gets in the way more than not knowing the words.
- Fear of making mistakes gets in the way of learning a language, and noticeably so. The link turns up study after study, and together those studies cover almost twenty thousand people.checked many timesTeimouri, Goetze & Plonsky, 2019, Studies in Second Language Acquisition 41(2) · 19,933 participants from 23 countries; correlation with results r = −0.36.
- That fear can be dealt with — the methods have been tested and they work.checked many timesXiong et al., 2024, Journal of Language and Social Psychology · 37 studies, anxiety reduced by −0.61. Of the seven conditions examined, only age turned out to matter.
Frequently asked
How do you start a conversation in Thai in this situation?
“คุณ ทำ งาน ที่ นี่ กี่ ปี แล้ว” (кхун тхам нган ти ний кий пий лаэо) — How many years have you worked here? The first line in such a conversation is almost always the same, and that is the one worth learning: the other person will carry it from there.
What if you did not understand the reply?
Say “I don't understand” and “repeat, please” — both are in the rescue set. Admitting your language is still shaky almost always makes the other person more patient.
Should you memorize the dialogue?
No. It is more useful to catch the key words by ear: the other person will say their own thing, and a memorized line will not always fit their reply.