The fastest way to learn Thai is to spend most of your study time on Thai you can mostly understand. That kind of Thai is called comprehensible input. What you read and listen to should change as you improve, so the plan below shows what to do at each level and how to split an hour of study.
What to Do at Each Level
Find the level that sounds like you. Its bar shows how to spend an hour of study.
- First Week
I can't read the Thai alphabet yet.
Learn the Thai alphabet 40 min. Listen 20 min.
Thai has 44 consonant letters, two of which are no longer used, and vowel signs that sit above, below or beside them. Learn them first, and listen to easy Thai while you do, so the tones start to feel familiar.
- Level 1
I can sound out words but not much else.
Read and listen 35 min. Review 15 min. Speak 10 min.
Thai puts no spaces between words, so read short stories where each word lights up as you hear it. Watch the first videos of a free listening course, and say a few lines out loud.
- Level 2
I can read simple sentences.
Read and listen 40 min. Review 10 min. Speak 10 min.
Read Thai picture books, and switch to English only when you lose the story. Watch videos taught all in Thai, and start short talks with a tutor or a friend.
- Level 3
I can read short stories and messages.
Read and listen 40 min. Review 5 min. Speak 15 min.
Read graded stories with audio, and listen to each one once more without reading along. Add a podcast for learners that has transcripts, and talk about what you heard for longer.
- Level 4
I can read longer texts about everyday life.
Read and watch 45 min. Review 5 min. Speak 10 min.
Watch a Thai series with Thai subtitles, one episode a week. Listen to talks in Thai about everyday life, such as a day at the office.
- Level 5
I can follow complex topics, but miss some details.
Read and watch 50 min. Speak 10 min.
Read the news on Thai PBS with its read-aloud button, and watch Thai shows without subtitles. Look up only the words that block the story.
- Level 6
I can follow detailed arguments and different writing styles.
Read and watch 50 min. Speak 10 min.
Read Thai novels and newspapers, listen to the news in Thai, and talk about them for their own sake.
Move up a level when your lessons start to feel easy, and move back down if you lose the thread by the third line.
How Long Does It Take to Learn Thai?
Thai takes about 1,012 class hours to reach professional fluency, according to the U.S. Foreign Service Institute. That puts Thai in the group it calls hard languages, with Vietnamese, Khmer, Lao and Russian.
| Language | FSI group | Full-time weeks |
|---|---|---|
| Spanish, French | Category I | 30 |
| German, Indonesian | Category II | 36 |
| Thai, Vietnamese, Russian | Category III | 44 |
| Korean, Japanese, Mandarin | Category IV | 88 |
Chulalongkorn University in Bangkok teaches Thai to foreigners in nine courses of 90 class hours each: three beginner, three intermediate and three advanced. Its three beginner courses take 270 hours, and all nine take 810. Here is how long those take at different amounts of study a week:
| Study per week | Chulalongkorn beginner courses (270 hours) | All nine Chulalongkorn courses (810 hours) | FSI professional fluency (1,012 hours) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3½ hours | About 1½ years | About 4½ years | About 5½ years |
| 7 hours | About 9 months | About 2¼ years | About 2¾ years |
| 14 hours | About 4½ months | About 13 months | About 17 months |
| 28 hours | About 2 months | About 7 months | About 8 months |
These are class hours, so treat them as a rough guide. Time you spend understanding Thai on your own counts too.
What Slows Learners Down
- RomanizationThailand's official way of writing Thai in English letters shows no tones and no long or short vowels. Learn each word in Thai letters with its sound.
- Tone Rules AloneA Thai syllable's tone depends on its first consonant, its vowel length, its last sound and its tone mark. A chart of these rules is hard to use until you have heard many words.
- Content Far Too HardA Thai drama where you know one word in five teaches you very little.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which Thai app should a beginner choose?
If you are serious about learning Thai, start with Bubblegum. Poppy writes lessons at your level about things you like. Our Thai app comparison covers courses, tutors and speaking apps too.
Can I learn Thai in three months?
You can learn the Thai alphabet and enough Thai to greet people and order food. At 14 hours a week, three months is about 180 hours, which is two of the nine 90-hour courses at Chulalongkorn University.
How much should I study Thai each week?
Aim for three to five hours a week of Thai you understand, in sessions of at least 15 to 30 minutes. A longer session lets you get lost in a story, which teaches more than five minutes a day, and steady time each week matters more than a daily streak. Our post on deep sessions over daily streaks explains why.
Is Thai hard for English speakers?
Yes, by the Foreign Service Institute's measure, though it is one group below Japanese and Korean. Thai verbs don't change form for the past or the future, so most of the time goes into hearing the five tones and learning words, which you pick up fastest from Thai you understand.
Is Bubblegum free?
Yes. The lesson library is free for everyone, because we believe everyone should be able to learn. It holds lessons that other learners asked Poppy for. A new custom lesson costs us real money to make, so your first one is free, and Bubblegum Pro gives you unlimited custom lessons.
The Thai Alphabet course on this site is also free and needs no account.
Sources
- Wikipedia, Thai script (44 consonant letters, two no longer used; vowel signs above, below or beside the consonant; no spaces between words; tone rules)
- U.S. Department of State, Foreign Language Training (FSI language categories)
- Chulalongkorn University, Center for Thai as a Foreign Language, Intensive Thai Program (nine courses of 90 class hours each)
- Wikipedia, Royal Thai General System of Transcription (does not record tones or vowel length)
- Wikipedia, Thai language (five tones; verbs do not change for tense)
