The Madness of Spelling Thai Words in English
Is it LARB? or LAAB?
Sawaddee ka 🙏🏼
Or should I have said sawasdee ka or sawatdi ka? And is it pad see ew or pad see you? Pad thai or phat thai?
Why are there so many different ways to spell Thai words in English, and which one is correct?
This is the topic of my most recent video, and it’s a topic that’s been simmering inside my head for YEARS. So in this video I talk about:
Why spelling Thai words in English is more complicated than it seems.
Why there are a million ways to write out the same Thai dish name. (After browsing Thai menus I found 8 different ways Thai restaurants spell pad gaprao!)
What is the “correct” way to go about it (and is it actually correct?)
Some Thai language tips that will be useful for when you order Thai food or go to Thailand! (And…why is it not Tailand? We’ll talk about that too.)
Watch the video here:
And in case you’re wondering what are all the 8 ways to spell pad gaprao? Here they are below. And none of them happens to be the way I choose to spell it, so make that 9!
Yes, I agree about Thai spelling but it would be quite difficult to standardize it.
I lived in Thailand for a total of 17 years and studied Thai in Bangkok. I lived in Pattani (Saiburi) and worked at Saiburi Christian Hospital and then later I taught English at St Francis Xavier School in Pakkret. Do you still have the substitute and healthier option for MaMa? I couldn't find it when you first let us know. I now live the Lower Mainland (in part of Metro Vancouver.
Was it one of your Patreons? And if we mentioned that we watched your videos we would get a special dea on the healthier version of MaMa? I think it was made in Canada.