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has yet been devised to assure both consistency and readability. The Thai government uses the Royal Thai General System of transcription for official government documents in English and for most highway signs. However, local variations crop up on hotel signs, city street signs, menus and so on in such a way that visitors often become confused. Added to this is the fact that even the government system has its flaws.

Generally, names in this book follow the most common practice or simply copy their roman script name, no matter what devious process was used in its transliteration! When this transliteration is markedly different from actual pronunciation, the pronunciation is included (according to the system outlined in this chapter) in parentheses after the transliteration. Where no roman model was available, names have been transliterated phonetically, directly from Thai.

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ACCOMMODATION

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CONVERSATION & ESSENTIALS

When being polite, the speaker ends his or her sentence with kráp (for men) or kâ (for women). It is the gender of the speaker that is being expressed here; it is also the common way to answer ‘yes’ to a question or show agreement.

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SIGNS

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DIRECTIONS

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HEALTH

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EMERGENCIES

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LANGUAGE DIFFICULTIES

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NUMBERS

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PAPERWORK

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SHOPPING & SERVICES

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TIME & DATES

Telling the time in Thai can be very challenging for an outsider to master. While the Western 12-hour clock divides the day between two time periods, am and pm, the Thai system has four periods. The 24-hour clock is also commonly used by government and media. The list below shows hours of the 12-hour clock translated into the Thai system.

For times after the hour, just add the number of minutes following the hour.

To give times before the hour, add the number of minutes beforehand.

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TRANSPORT

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Public Transport

What time does the ... leave?

TRAVEL WITH CHILDREN

Is there (a/an) ...

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ROAD SIGNS

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Glossary

This glossary includes Thai, Pali (P) and Sanskrit (S) words and terms frequently used in this guidebook. For definitions of food and drink terms, Click here.

ah·hhn – food

ah·hhn àh – ‘jungle food’, usually referring to dishes made with wild game

ajahn – (aajaan) respectful title for ‘teacher’; from the Sanskrit term acarya

amphoe – (amphur) district, the next subdivision down from province

amphoe meu·ang – provincial capital

AUA – American University Alumni

bâhn – (ban) house or village

baht – (bàat) the Thai unit of currency

bàht – a unit of weight equal to 15g; rounded bowl used by monks for receiving alms food

bai se – sacred thread used by monks or shamans in certain religious ceremonies

ben·jà·rong – traditional five-coloured Thai ceramics

BKS – Baw Khaw Saw (Thai acronym for the Transport Company)

BMA – Bangkok Metropolitan Authority; Bangkok’s municipal government

bodhisattva (S) – in Theravada Buddhism, the term used to refer to the previous lives of the Buddha prior to his enlightenment

bòht – central sanctuary in a Thai temple used for the monastic order’s official business, such as ordinations; from the Pali term uposatha (ubohsòt); see also wí·hhn

bòr nám rórn – hot springs

Brahman – pertaining to Brahmanism, an ancient religious tradition in India and the predecessor of Hinduism; not to be confused with ‘Brahmin’, the priestly class in India’s caste system

BTS – Bangkok Transit System (Skytrain); Thai: rót fai fáh

ah·é – batik

àk âi – southern Thailand

èe·pâht – classical Thai orchestra

ohng·lahng – northeastern Thai marimba (percussion instrument) made of short logs

CAT – CAT Telecom Public Company Limited (formerly Communications