Learn Thai with Thai dramas: the words you hear in every series

Why dramas work, and where they mislead

Dramas give you what textbooks can't: real intonation, fast everyday speech and the same phrases again and again, in situations you can see. After a few episodes you'll catch ไม่เป็นไรmâi bpen rai (never mind), จริงเหรอjing rǒe (really?) and ไปไหนมาbpai nǎi maa (where have you been?) without trying.

But on-screen Thai is louder and ruder than everyday life. Characters shout, swear and use pronouns you shouldn't, and the heroine of a "slap-kiss" lakorn, a ละครตบจูบlá-kawn dtòp jùup, is no model for talking to your landlord. Learn what you hear, then notice how people around you actually say it.

Phi, nong and nicknames

พี่pîi (older brother or sister) and น้องnáwng (younger brother or sister) are the first words every fan learns. Characters use them for anyone a bit older or younger, usually before a nickname, which is why subtitles write P'Win for Phi Win and N'Fon for Nong Fon. In a couple, the older partner is usually พี่pîi and the younger น้องnáwng, and both words double as "I" and "you": พี่รักน้องpîi rák náwng is "I love you" from the older one.

In Thai-Chinese families you'll hear เฮียhia (big brother) and เจ๊jée (big sister). Characters go by short nicknames, not their long official names. Our pages on Khun, Phi and Nong and on Thai nicknames explain the whole system.

Krap, ka, na and ja

Listen to the ends of sentences. Men end polite ones with ครับkráp, often said คับkáp, and women with ค่ะkâ, or คะká in questions. A character who drops them with someone older is being rude, cool or very close. นะná turns anything into a gentle plea or a promise: รอก่อนนะraw gàwn ná, "wait, okay?". จ้ะjâ and จ๋าjǎa sound sweet and caring, and ฮะhá is a soft, boyish "yes". Our guide to krap and ka covers them all.

Gu and mueng: the rude pronouns

University friends in BL series call each other กูguu (I) and มึงmueng (you). These are old, blunt pronouns: between close friends of the same age they sound normal, even warm, and in a fight they're a slap in words. In many series, the moment one character stops saying กูguu to another and switches to เราrao or พี่pîi tells you the relationship has changed.

Recognise them, but don't use them. From a foreigner they sound aggressive, and a Thai friend who talks to you that way isn't inviting you to answer in kind. แกgae (you, between close friends) and นายnaai (you, to a guy your age) are milder. Our page on Thai swear words explains the insults you'll hear in the fights.

Love, from flirting to sulking

The romance vocabulary is small, and it comes back in every episode:

• จีบjìip: to court, to flirt with, to chase someone.
• แอบชอบàep châwp: to have a secret crush.
• ชอบchâwp: to like. Confessions usually start here, not with "love": ชอบนะchâwp ná, "I like you".
• เขินkǒen: flustered, shy, blushing.
• หึงhǔeng: jealous, in love; หวงhǔang: possessive.
• งอนngawn: to sulk, so that someone comes to make it up to you; ง้อngáw: to win them back. The sulk-and-make-up cycle drives half the plots.
• แฟนfaen: boyfriend or girlfriend. เป็นแฟนกันนะbpen faen gan ná, "be my boyfriend (or girlfriend), okay?", is the big question.
• คิดถึงkít-tǔeng: I miss you; รักนะrák ná: love you.
• ที่รักtîi-rák: darling, and the cute couple pronouns เค้าkáo (me) and ตัวเองdtua-eeng (you).

Fans have words of their own: a คู่จิ้นkûu-jîn is an on-screen couple fans root for, to จิ้นjîn is to ship them, and ฟินfin is the swoon when they finally get together. Our pages on I love you in Thai and on Thai pet names have the sweet phrases, with audio.

Sorry, don't go, it's over

Every series has its tearful scenes. ขอโทษkǎw-tôot is sorry, and ขอโทษนะkǎw-tôot ná a softer, pleading sorry; to forgive is ให้อภัยhâi à-pai. อย่าไปyàa bpai is "don't go", ใจร้ายjai-ráai is "you're cruel" (literally "evil-hearted") and เลิกกันlôek gan is "we're over" or "we broke up". When someone storms off, the other calls after them: เดี๋ยวdǐaw, "wait!"

School and university words

Many series are set at a high school or a university, so you'll hear:

• มหาลัยmá-hǎa-lai: university, the everyday short form of มหาวิทยาลัยmá-hǎa-wít-tá-yaa-lai
• คณะká-ná: faculty, such as engineering or medicine
• รุ่นพี่rûn-pîi and รุ่นน้องrûn-náwng: seniors and juniors, at school or at work
• รับน้องráp-náwng: freshers' welcome activities, sometimes with strict, shouting seniors, the backdrop of SOTUS (2016)
• เพื่อนสนิทpûean sà-nìt: a best friend
• ชมรมchom-rom: a club; สอบsàwp: an exam; ติวdtiu: to cram or tutor

Words for the shows themselves

A Thai TV drama is a ละครlá-kawn (lakorn), and a series made for streaming is a ซีรีส์sii-rîi. BL series are ซีรีส์วายsii-rîi waai, "Y series", from the Japanese word yaoi, and their devoted, mostly female fans call themselves สาววายsǎao waai. The hero is the พระเอกprá-èek, the heroine the นางเอกnaang-èek and the villainess the นางร้ายnaang-ráai.

Thai BL series began with Love Sick (2014). GMMTV's SOTUS (2016) took the genre abroad, and 2gether: The Series (2020), streamed with English subtitles on YouTube during the pandemic, made it a global phenomenon, followed by hits like Bad Buddy (2021) and KinnPorsche (2022). Lakorn have their own crazes: in 2018 the period drama Love Destiny, บุพเพสันนิวาสbùp-pee-sǎn-ní-wâat in Thai, made the old Ayutthaya-era word ออเจ้าaw-jâo, "you", a nationwide catchphrase, and sent viewers to temples in traditional Thai dress.

How to learn Thai from a series

1. Watch for fun first, with English subtitles. You need the story.
2. Rewatch one favourite scene with Thai subtitles, if the show offers them (check the subtitle menu). If you can't read Thai yet, our free Read Thai course gets you there.
3. Collect three lines an episode. Pick short lines you understood and would actually say, look up the words and add them to your flashcards.
4. Shadow. Pause after a short line and say it with the same melody, until it sounds like the actor. For feedback on your tones, use our speech trainer with the phrases you learn in the course.
5. Notice who says what to whom. Pronouns and particles tell you age, closeness and mood.
6. Don't copy the fights. Keep the rough pronouns and the swearing for recognising, not for using.
7. Go without subtitles once a scene is familiar, and play the soundtrack: drama theme songs are great for vocabulary and listening (melodies bend the tones, so take those from speech), and our songs section explains the key lines of popular Thai songs.

Watch on official channels: the studios' YouTube channels, where GMMTV, the best-known BL studio, posts many of its series, the streaming services and the TV channels' own apps. And build the basics alongside in the free course: Unit 20 is all about family words and how Thais use them for everyone.