Sawaddee ka!🙏🏻 

Welcome to Let’s Talk Thai, my newsletter that gets sent out every other week to this community that loves learning about the Thai language and culture. 🥰

Can you believe it's already November? We call this month "Prú-sà-jì-ka-yon" พฤศจิกายน in Thai, but that's a really long name (even for Thai people!) so it tends to get shortened to just "Prú-sà-jì-ka" พฤศจิกา.

This year has gone by so quickly (to me) and looking back at it I feel so grateful for all that has happened. This community has been one of the highlights of my year and I just want to say thank you for following along. I appreciate you all very much.💖 

Now, let's jump into the newsletter with Words of the Week! 

Thai Words of the Week

As you start to speak and listen to more Thai, you may notice a few extra words or sounds in Thai sentences. A normal part of Thai conversation involves something we call Particles.

Particles are words or sounds that we put at the end of sentences to help convey politeness, tone, feeling, or intention. Since Thai is a tonal language, we can't change the tones of our words to include emotions or emphasis like we can in English. For example, in English, you can sound happy, mad, or irritated saying the word "Yeah" just by adjusting your tone or volume. In Thai, however, particles would be needed to help a speaker better convey those feelings or emotions. 

I like to think of particles as using emojis in our text messages because they both can give words more meaning without doing or saying very much.

To understand these particles, let's use the word Àrai อะไร, or "what", for this lesson. 

Here are the most commonly used particles: 

1. Kà/Krúb ค่ะ/ครับ 😊 

This particle makes your sentence polite. It's always good to use this particle with acquaintances or people that are older than you. Kà ค่ะ is for female speakers and Krúb ครับ is for male speakers. Note that for ka, it is a low tone kà ค่ะ when making a statement but it is a high tone ká คะ when asking a question.

• Àrai ká อะไรคะ - "What was that?" (in a polite way)

2. Ná นะ 😊

This particle makes the sentence sound friendly or personable, and can be used in most situations. You can also combine this with ká/krúb to make it a little more polite, like ná ká นะคะ or ná krúb นะครับ.

• Àrai ná อะไรนะ -"What was that?"

3. Já จ๊ะ 🥰 

This particle makes you sound very friendly and, many times, is used between romantic partners. You can also use this with close family members, like your parents, but you wouldn't want to use this with acquaintances or professional relationships.

• Àrai já อะไรจ๊ะ - "What was that, sweetie?"

4. Wa วะ 😠 

This one is very impolite and combative. It may be okay to use with friends (as long as they are okay with it), but you should not use it with anyone else because it will most likely offend them. You use this particle when you're angry and want to pick a fight!

• Àrai wá อะไรวะ - "What the $#%&?" 🤬

5. Yá ยะ 😉 

This particle adds sass and is mostly used by women or trans women. You can use this in casual conversations with your girlfriends, but it can be disrespectful when used with family, elders, or professional relationships.

• Àrai yá อะไรยะ - "Say what now?"

Fun Facts about Thailand & Thai Culture 

In November, Thai people celebrate an annual festival called Loy Krathong ลอยกระทง. Loy ลอย means float and Krà-thong กระทง refers to a vessel or basket. During this festival, each person launches a krathong into a river, canal, or pond. As the krathong floats away, it symbolizes letting go of bad luck, past transgressions, and negative thoughts. It is letting go of negativity in your life and welcoming good luck/fortune in the coming year. The krathong is also a way of paying respect to the Goddess of Water, Phra Mae Khongkha พระแม่คงคา, or the Hindu Goddess Ganga. 

The krathong is usually made of a slice of a banana tree trunk, banana leaves, flowers, and sometimes bread - materials that are buoyant and biodegradable. Incense sticks and candles are added to the krathong, and a small coin is sometimes included as an offering to the river spirits. Once all the krathongs are launched, they beautifully light up the body of water.

Loy Krathong is determined by the Thai lunar calendar and it takes place on the evening of the full moon of the 12th month. The exact date is different every year, and this year it falls on November 27th. Chiang Mai is widely known for its Loy Krathong Festival, and this year it will be held between November 26-28th. 

For more information about the Loy Krathong festival, including the history and meaning behind it, visit the Thailand Foundation website.

Tip & Tricks

Did you know that Thailand follows a different calendar system? If you're in the US, like me, you'll know this year as 2023, but in Thailand it is currently 2566!

The year 2023 can be noted as 2023 A.D. (Anno Domini), which marks the years after the birth of Jesus. The Thai year is 2566 B.E (Buddhist Era), which counts the years from the death of Buddha. In Thai, Buddhist Era is called "Pút-tá-sàk-kà-ràad" พุทธศักราช and abbreviated as พ.ศ (read as “Paw Sǎw”). You will see this year written as พ.ศ. 2566.

An easy way to calculate the difference between A.D. and B.E. years is to add 543 to the A.D. year. The months and days remain the same across these two calendar systems.

While Thai people know the A.D. year, the B.E. calendar is the standard that is used in Thailand. If you're planning on visiting or moving to Thailand, you may need to memorize this!